Publications

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July 1985 (Revised January 1988)
Case

American Hospital Supply Corp.: The ASAP System (A)

American Hospital Supply, the largest firm in the U.S. hospital supply industry, has achieved success in part through the use of information systems. Changes in the hospital marketplace suggest a shift in strategy would be appropriate. What role should information... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution Industry; Health Industry; United States

May 2017 (Revised January 2020)
Case

Webasto Roof Systems Americas: Leadership Through Change (A)

By: Francesca Gino and Paul Green

Webasto Roof Systems, Americas, the North American subsidiary of Germany-based Webasto Group, limped into 2014 in poor financial and operational shape. The company's early optimism emerging from the financial downturn had proven naive, and now, five years later, the... View Details

Keywords: Culture Change; Change Management; Leading Change; Crisis Management; Organizational Culture; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; North and Central America

February 1989
Case

Reorder Point Based Inventory Control Systems

By: Janice H. Hammond

Keywords: Logistics; Management

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April 1993 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Safeway Manufacturing Division: The Manufacturing Control System (MCS) (A)

Describes a decision that SMD management made to implement an MRP II system in its 38 plants. Raises the issues that needed to be addressed to enable the implementation, and is positioned so the students can develop a detailed implementation plan. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Production; Planning; Manufacturing Industry

August 1994
Teaching Note

Topcon Corporation: Production Control System TN

By: Robin Cooper and Robert S. Kaplan

Keywords: System; Production

06 Sep 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Cross Functional Alignment in Supply Chain Planning: A Case Study of Sales & Operations Planning

Keywords: by Rogelio Oliva & Noel Watson

March 2021 (Revised January 2023)
Background Note

The Pandemic's Impact on the U.S. Food System

By: José B. Alvarez and Natalie Kindred

This note is intended not as a comprehensive account but as a starting point for discussion about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the U.S. food system. Written in late 2020, the note describes, in part through the voices of industry leaders, how the pandemic... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Agribusiness; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Leadership; Change Management; Safety; Health; Health Pandemics; Disruption; Adaptation; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Consumer Behavior; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Transportation Industry; United States

July 1991 (Revised September 1995)
Case

Eastman Kodak Co.: Managing Information Systems Through Strategic Alliances

By: Lynda M. Applegate

In January 1988, Colby Chandler, Kodak CEO, created the Corporate Information Systems (CIS) and appointed Katherine Hudson head. She at once became the first head of IT and first woman corporate vice president in the company. Throughout 1989, Hudson inaugurated a... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Information Technology; Partners and Partnerships; Organizational Structure; Success; Trends; Information Management; Service Operations; Manufacturing Industry

Web

Systems Integration - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Measure Outcomes & Cost for Every Patient Aligning Reimbursement with Value Systems Integration Geography of Care Information Technology Systems Integration Systems Integration... View Details

Web

Technology & Operations Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Operations Research and the Management Sciences Information Systems Society (INFORMS ISS). Feng Zhu : Recipient of the Inaugural Management Science Best Associate Editor Award in Information View Details

15 Nov 2022
News

What Really Makes Toyota’s Production System Resilient

February 1995
Teaching Note

Vanity Fair Mills: Market Response System TN

By: David E. Bell

Teaching Note for (9-593-111). View Details

Keywords: Production; Performance Efficiency; Investment; Agreements and Arrangements; Supply Chain; Partners and Partnerships; Distribution Channels; Apparel and Accessories Industry

March 1993 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Johnson Controls, Automotive Systems Group: The Georgetown, Kentucky Plant

Prior to the 1980s, automakers purchased individual seat components and built the seats alongside their auto assembly lines. This case describes how Johnson Controls, Automotive Systems Group, blossomed when automakers turned to outsourcing the complete seat set. The... View Details

Keywords: Production; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Kentucky

January 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Cisco Business Councils (2007): Unifying a Functional Enterprise with an Internal Governance System

By: Ranjay Gulati

In response to the 2001 market downturn, Cisco Systems implemented a major restructuring that transformed the company from a decentralized to centralized organization. While recognizing that a centralized, functional structure was necessary to avoid product and... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Customer Focus and Relationships; Governing and Advisory Boards; Resource Allocation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Technology Industry

September 2016 (Revised July 2018)
Case

United Airlines: More Out-and-Back Flying?

By: Ryan W. Buell, Willy Shih and Mike Toffel

This case looks at United Airlines when it is facing a decision on whether to shift its aircraft routing to more "out-and-back" routing in order to try to improve its on-time performance. As one of the world's largest airlines, United had a very large fleet and... View Details

January 2024 (Revised August 2024)
Case

Essex County Community Foundation: Pivot to Systems Philanthropy

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Brian Trelstad and Courtney Han

2023 marked five years of the Essex County Community Foundation (ECCF)’s “systems philanthropy” approach to grantmaking. Located in northeastern Massachusetts, the community foundation served 800,000 residents across 34 cities and towns that varied widely by... View Details

2003
Article

Developing a Management Systems Approach to Sustainability at BMW Group

By: Michael W. Toffel, Natalie Hill and Kellie McElhaney

This article describes how Designworks/USA, a subsidiary of BMW Group, developed a Sustainability Management System (SMS) by integrating the management of environmental, social, and traditional business issues. After several months of deploying the SMS throughout its... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Management Systems; Standards; Operations; Auto Industry

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October 2016
Article

Technical Debt and System Architecture: The Impact of Coupling on Defect-related Activity

By: Alan MacCormack and Daniel J. Sturtevant

Technical debt is created when design decisions that are expedient in the short-term increase the costs of maintaining and adapting this system in future. An important component of technical debt relates to decisions about system architecture. As systems grow and... View Details

Keywords: Information Infrastructure; Performance Efficiency; Applications and Software; Infrastructure

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