Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(859)
- Faculty Publications (125)
- January 1998 (Revised March 1998)
- Case
Staples (C)
By: Myra M. Hart, Marco Iansiti and Barbara Feinberg
The search for appropriate hardware and software to support the launch of a new large-scale retail operation forces the management team to define their goals at a very detailed level and to make all underlying assumptions explicit. View Details
- May 1996 (Revised March 1998)
- Case
SaleSoft, Inc. (A)
By: Das Narayandas
SaleSoft, a start-up firm, markets Comprehensive Sales Automation Solutions (CSAS) that automate a firm's sales, marketing, and service functions. Even though the product has received very favorable responses from prospects, product complexity and a long buying cycle... View Details
- September 1994
- Case
American Airlines: Object Oriented Flight Dispatching Systems
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Espen Andersen
American Airlines Describes has organized and developed their Systems Operation Control (SOC) center in Dallas, from which the day-to-day running of the airline takes place. This case details the decision support system used by the flight dispatchers, and the... View Details
- May 1994 (Revised July 1995)
- Case
Taco Bell--1994
Taco Bell CEO, John Martin, boldly proclaims a growth goal of 200,000 points of access by the year 2000 (the company had approximately 3,600 in 1991). To realize such growth, Martin embraces a philosophy of continual change. The implications for Taco Bell are dramatic... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Food; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Goals and Objectives; Change Management; Expansion; Business Growth and Maturation; Communication; Growth and Development Strategy; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States
- April 1994 (Revised October 2001)
- Case
Mrs. Fields, Inc. (1977 - 1987)
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Keri O. Pearlson
Describes a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage of MIS... View Details
- December 1992 (Revised March 1997)
- Case
Peoria Engine Plant (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Amy P. Hutton
Describes the cost control system used at an automobile engine plant for labor and overhead costs. The finance staff prepares daily, weekly, and monthly variance reports against budgets. Department supervisors, finance staff, and the plant manager discuss the use and... View Details
- February 1992 (Revised September 2003)
- Case
Beech-Nut Nutrition Corporation (A-1)
By: Lynn S. Paine
The CEO of Beech-Nut Nutrition Corp. must decide what to do when he receives information that the company's supply of apple juice concentrate may be adulterated. The concentrate is used in many of the company's juice products. It appears that others in the company may... View Details
- September 1991 (Revised January 1992)
- Case
Allegheny Ludlum: Research and Engineering Resource Allocation
By: Dorothy Leonard-Barton and Geoffrey K. Gill
Allegheny Ludlum's (AL) technical vice president, Jack Shilling faces the task of determining how to allocate engineering resources among five areas of technology. AL's technology organization has great strategic importance and has therefore been untouched by the... View Details
- spring 1991
- Article
Breaking the Cycle of Failure in Services
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Heskett
Most managers recognize that good service is a direct result of having effective, productive people in customer contact positions. However, most service companies perpetuate a cycle of failure by tolerating high turnover and expecting employee dissatisfaction. This... View Details
- February 1991
- Case
Burlington Northern: The ARES Decision (B)
By: Julie H. Hertenstein and Robert S. Kaplan
The ARES team formally proposes that Burlington Northern implement the ARES system. The project meets resistance. In light of financial restructuring and high level of debt, executives wonder whether the company can afford ARES. Weak links during the ARES development... View Details
- April 1990 (Revised November 1992)
- Case
Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh (Abridged)
By: James E. Austin
Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency founded to disseminate family planning information and to market birth control products, primarily in less developed countries seeking to curb their population explosions. In 1976, PSI concluded an... View Details
- March 1990 (Revised October 1994)
- Case
IBM-Fujitsu Dispute
Describes a dispute between IBM and Fujitsu over allegations that Fujitsu stole proprietary IBM software for controlling mainframe computers. Also describes a novel arbitration agreement intended to resolve the dispute, an overview of intellectual property law in the... View Details
- March 1990 (Revised June 1991)
- Case
IBM Corp.: ""Make It Your Business"" (A)
By: Robert L. Simons
In 1987, IBM changed its strategy in an attempt to become a market-driven company rather than a product-driven company. The case begins with a description of the new strategy and the reasons for the change and then describes the top-down sales planning and quota system... View Details
- February 1990 (Revised July 1990)
- Case
Internal Revenue Service: Automated Collection System
By: Nitin Nohria
Describes how the IRS's collection operations changed from a largely manual system (COF) to an automated system (ACS). A central aspect of ACS was the electronic scheduling and maintaining of work. While with ACS the IRS accomplished significant improvements in the... View Details
- January 1990 (Revised March 1991)
- Case
American Red Cross Blood Services: Northeast Region
By: Robert L. Simons
Recounts the financial difficulties and management changes experienced by American Red Cross Blood Services: Northeast Region (NER) during the 1980s. After summarizing industry-wide changes in the collection, testing, and distribution of blood and blood products, the... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Budgets and Budgeting; Financial Management; Restructuring; Health; SWOT Analysis; Social Enterprise; Marketplace Matching; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry; North and Central America
- January 1989
- Background Note
Managing Information Technology: System Development
By: James I. Cash Jr. and Thomas H. Davenport
Provides an overview of the system development process in large organizations. Describes traditional life cycle approaches as well as more recent methods, e.g., prototyping. The objective is to familiarize students with the terminology and issues involving system... View Details
- September 1988 (Revised September 1993)
- Case
Mrs. Fields Cookies
Mrs. Fields Cookies is a small company selling freshly baked goods through privately owned specialty stores (each store sells only Mrs. Fields products). The company has about 8,000 employees worldwide and less than 150 information systems people for a unique leverage... View Details
- September 1985 (Revised July 2007)
- Case
Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh
Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency founded to disseminate family planning information and to market birth control products, primarily in less developed countries seeking to curb their population explosions. In 1976, PSI concluded an... View Details
- August 1983 (Revised May 2007)
- Case
Milford Industries (A)
By: Robert J. Dolan and Benson P. Shapiro
The new district sales manager for a tool company must determine how to get his district "back on track." The case presents various qualitative and quantitative information on the salespeople. Teaching objectives include the specification of the tasks of a district... View Details
- Research Summary
Lean Startup Management Practices
Many information technology startups have embraced "lean startup" management practices. Lean startups confront high levels of uncertainty about both customer problems and product solutions: the strength of demand for new... View Details