Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(737)
- Faculty Publications (173)
- September 2003 (Revised September 2004)
- Case
Hearthside Homes
By: Jason R. Barro, Brian J. Hall and Aaron Zimmerman
Investigates the "controllability problem" inherent in bonus systems. Ideally, an incentive system accurately measures performance in areas that the individual can control. But most measures are either too broad, including factors outside the influence of the employee,... View Details
- February 2003 (Revised November 2006)
- Case
Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (A)
By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Michael Y. Yoshino and Perry Fagan
A young Italian MBA working for a Swiss multinational is sent to India to establish a subsidiary and implement the strategy he prepared at headquarters as a strategic planner. This case focuses on three core strategic decisions he must make as his plan is challenged by... View Details
- November 2002 (Revised March 2006)
- Case
Global Conservation Trust, The: A Foundation for Food Security
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Biodiversity is being lost due to the delegation of the ability to store and maintain various types of plants to governments and foundations with no or little financial base. How does one develop the resources to maintain plant diversity for the future benefit of... View Details
- November 2002 (Revised September 2013)
- Case
Building a Cluster: Electronics and Information Technology in Costa Rica
By: Michael E. Porter and Niels W. Ketelhohn
Describes the actions of Costa Rica President Figueres and his cabinet in attracting an Intel assembly and testing plant to their country. The effort was part of a government strategy that sought to develop further the Costa Rican electronics and information technology... View Details
- October 2002 (Revised May 2003)
- Case
Dynatrol Corporation: Andover Assembly Division
By: H. Kent Bowen, Janice H. Hammond and Ramchandran Jaikumar
While grappling with glitches in the design and operation of its production system, Andover Assembly must also launch a new sensor product line to meet ultimatums issued by frustrated Signatron vice presidents. The financial returns of the division are not meeting... View Details
- May 2002 (Revised August 2006)
- Case
Yangcheng: AES in China
AES, an American electric power company with 141 plants worldwide, is just completing construction of a 2,100-MW plant in China--the largest ever. The project, a joint venture with five local companies, has several environmental, ownership, and operational issues as... View Details
- December 2001 (Revised April 2003)
- Case
Financing PPL Corporation's Growth Strategy
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Carrie Ferman
PPL Corp., an electric utility in Pennsylvania, needs to finance $1 billion of peaking plants as part of its new growth strategy. In February 2001, Steve May, director of finance for PPL's Global Division, is responsible for recommending a finance plan. After... View Details
- March 2001 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
MiCRUS: Activity-Based Management for Business Turnaround
By: Robert S. Kaplan, Jonathan B. Schiff and Stanley Abraham
MiCRUS is a new company, spun off from IBM as a joint venture between IBM and Cirrus Logic to produce semiconductor wafers at world-class costs for its two parent companies. The senior management team needs to overcome the bureaucratic, internally focused culture that... View Details
- December 2000 (Revised January 2002)
- Background Note
Incentives and Controllability: A Note and Exercise
By: Brian J. Hall
Describes three performance measures for "plants" or businesses: cost centers, revenue centers, and profit centers. Discusses what should be done if a function outside of the "controllability" of the manager affects the performance measure and therefore compensation. View Details
- December 1999 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
Avon Products China (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine and Jennifer Gui
In April 1998, when the Chinese central government bans all forms of direct selling in China in April 1998, executives at Avon China must decide how to respond. The first direct sales company to enter China after its opening to outsiders, Avon sparked widespread... View Details
- June 1999 (Revised November 2006)
- Case
Basil "Buzz" Hargrove and de Havilland, Inc. (A)
By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Angela Keros
Buzz Hargrove, national president of the Canadian Auto Workers, needs to find a way to secure an agreement from a negotiated contract with de Havilland, Inc. Local union leaders feel the deal is not good enough, but Hargrove is convinced management will close the plant... View Details
- May 1999 (Revised November 2000)
- Case
AES Global Values
By: Lynn S. Paine
Members of the development team for the AES Corp.'s power plant project in India must decide what plant technology to specify in their application for techno-economic clearance from the government of India's Central Electric Authority. Their choice is between more... View Details
- February 1999 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Cherkizovsky Group (A), The
By: Lynn S. Paine and Hal Hogan
Describes the transformation of a formerly state-owned meat processing plant in Russia into a privately-owned and operated food processing conglomerate under Russia's economic reforms of the 1990s. Among the challenges the CEO, Igor Babaev, and his top management team... View Details
- October 1998 (Revised December 1999)
- Case
Gene Research, the Mapping of Life and the Global Economy
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Juan Enriquez-Cabot
A new firm is being created to speed up the process of mapping humans, animals, and plants by combining gene technology with rapid gene identification to improve the health and well being of the human population and the productivity of crops and animals. How does one... View Details
- June 1998 (Revised April 2000)
- Case
GM Powertrain
By: Amy C. Edmondson and Mikelle Eastley
Discusses a young MBA plant manager who is improving the operations of a small General Motors components plant in Fredericksburg, Virginia. At 29 years old, Joe Hinrichs is the youngest plant manager at GM, and in his new assignment, he is faced with the daunting... View Details
- January 1998
- Case
Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corporation (B)
By: H. Kent Bowen, Massimo Russo and Steven J. Spear
Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (CSSC), a 50-year-old spring manufacturing and metal stamping firm, is experiencing slow sales growth and feeling the impact of global competition. The company has over 800 customers but little understanding of those customers'... View Details
- December 1997
- Case
Wriston Manufacturing Corporation
Wriston Manufacturing is a broad-line maker of components for the automotive industry. It has developed a network of nine plants as its product line has grown. Newer, higher-volume products tend to be made in newer, focused, high-volume plants, while older product... View Details
- April 1997
- Case
Peoria Engine Plant (A): (Abridged)
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
- April 1997
- Case
Romeo Engine Plant (Abridged)
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Amy P. Hutton
A newly reopened automobile engine plant has been organized along total quality and teamwork principles. Employees now solve problems and ensure quality, rather than watch parts being produced. New operating and financial systems have been installed to promote... View Details
- March 1997 (Revised December 1999)
- Case
Alden Products, Inc.--European Manufacturing
By: Robert H. Hayes
The European organization of Alden Products, Inc. is contemplating a doubling of unit sales over the next ten years. Their largest plant, located in Holland, was set up 25 years earlier to supply all demands of the EEC countries on the continent. It has since expanded... View Details