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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,550)
- News (258)
- Research (1,132)
- Events (2)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (366)
- 03 Oct 2023
- HBS Case
Layoffs Can Be Bad Business: 5 Strategies to Consider Before Cutting Staff
points to study after study that show that layoffs have hidden costs that make companies less profitable, innovative, and productive. Senior leaders may be saying, “If companies I know and admire are doing this, it can’t be that bad, or... View Details
- February 1985 (Revised July 1986)
- Case
Applichem (A)
Applichem has six plants in different countries making the same chemical product. The purpose of this case is to allow students to think about what costs are relevant to management in this process industry environment, about how to define a comparison of costs and... View Details
Keywords: Business or Company Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Performance Productivity; Operations; Performance Improvement; Chemical Industry
Flaherty, Marie-Therese M. "Applichem (A)." Harvard Business School Case 685-051, February 1985. (Revised July 1986.)
- September 2009 (Revised October 2010)
- Case
Elkay Plumbing Products Division
By: Robert S. Kaplan
The vice president of sales learns that the most profitable 1% of the division's customers generate 100% of profits, and that two of the division's largest customers lose 50% of profits. The division has just finished a project to install a time-driven activity-based... View Details
Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Profit; Management Systems; Consumer Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry
Kaplan, Robert S. "Elkay Plumbing Products Division." Harvard Business School Case 110-007, September 2009. (Revised October 2010.)
Transforming Manufacturing Waste into Profit
Every manufacturing process leaves waste, but Assistant Professor Deishin Lee believes much of this left-behind material can be put to productive—and profitable—use. Key concepts include:
- The concept of "by-product synergy" consists... View Details
- Winter 2013
- Article
How to Identify the Best Customers for Your Business
By: Frank V. Cespedes, James P. Dougherty and Ben S. Skinner III
How can businesses achieve profitable growth so that their costs don’t grow faster than sales? This article focuses on scaling a venture’s sales process and provides a methodology for identifying core customers and some implications for governance criteria and... View Details
Cespedes, Frank V., James P. Dougherty, and Ben S. Skinner III. "How to Identify the Best Customers for Your Business ." MIT Sloan Management Review 54, no. 2 (Winter 2013): 53–59.
- Article
Turning Waste into By-Product
By: Deishin Lee
This paper studies how a firm can create and capture value by converting a waste stream into a useful and saleable by-product (i.e., implementing by-product synergy [BPS]). We show that BPS creates an operational synergy between two products that are jointly produced.... View Details
Keywords: Value Creation; Innovation and Invention; Cost Management; Opportunities; Market Participation; Framework; Profit; Competition; Wastes and Waste Processing; Product; Business Processes
Lee, Deishin. "Turning Waste into By-Product." Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 13, no. 1 (Winter 2011).
- August 1994 (Revised May 2001)
- Case
ITT Automotive: Global Manufacturing Strategy (1994)
By: Gary P. Pisano and Sharon L. Rossi
ITT Automotive is in the process of developing a new-generation antilock brake system (ABS), designated the MK-20. The case focuses on the level of automation to be used in the production of this new system, and whether all plants should use the same process... View Details
Keywords: Information Technology; Innovation Strategy; Production; Product Development; Globalized Firms and Management; Performance Productivity; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Belgium; Germany; United States
Pisano, Gary P., and Sharon L. Rossi. "ITT Automotive: Global Manufacturing Strategy (1994)." Harvard Business School Case 695-002, August 1994. (Revised May 2001.)
- 2021
- Working Paper
No-fault Default, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, and Financial Institutions
By: Robert C. Merton and Richard T. Thakor
This paper analyzes the costs and benefits of a no-fault-default debt structure as an alternative to the typical bankruptcy process. We show that the deadweight costs of bankruptcy can be avoided or substantially reduced through no-fault-default debt, which permits a... View Details
Keywords: No-fault Default; Chapter 11; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Borrowing and Debt; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Financial Institutions; Contracts
Merton, Robert C., and Richard T. Thakor. "No-fault Default, Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, and Financial Institutions." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 28341, January 2021.
- March 1974 (Revised June 1996)
- Case
First National City Bank Operating Group (A)
By: Jay W. Lorsch
Growth in the banking field has produced new demands on the "back office." Traditional management practices in check processing and paper handling operations have resulted in ten years of cost increases and quality loss. New manager of the operating group faces an... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Transition; Banks and Banking; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Production; Banking Industry
Lorsch, Jay W. "First National City Bank Operating Group (A)." Harvard Business School Case 474-165, March 1974. (Revised June 1996.)
- September 2007 (Revised January 2009)
- Case
Reading Rehabilitation Hospital: Implementing Patient-Focused Care (A) (Abridged)
By: Roy D. Shapiro
Reading Rehab Hospital has experimented with a popular concept in health care--patient-focused care--intended to increase quality and reduce costs by organizing care delivery around particular diagnoses or "service lines," rather than around the functions or... View Details
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Quality; Cost; Management Practices and Processes; Business Strategy; Service Delivery; Health Industry
Shapiro, Roy D. "Reading Rehabilitation Hospital: Implementing Patient-Focused Care (A) (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 608-070, September 2007. (Revised January 2009.)
- July–August 2016
- Article
The Decoupling Effect of Digital Disruptors
By: Thales S. Teixeira and Peter Jamieson
A new wave of Internet startups is disrupting established businesses by the process of “decoupling.” In this article, the authors discuss how these new digital disruptors allow consumers to benefit from one activity (e.g., watching shows) without incurring the cost of... View Details
Keywords: Competition; Internet and the Web; Business Startups; Product Marketing; Customization and Personalization
Teixeira, Thales S., and Peter Jamieson. "The Decoupling Effect of Digital Disruptors." European Business Review (July–August 2016): 17–24.
- June 2011 (Revised August 2011)
- Background Note
China and the Yuan-Dollar Exchange Rate
By: Aldo Musacchio
This note explains how the People's Bank of China (PBOC) manages (some say manipulate) the dollar-yuan exchange rate. It discusses briefly the process of sterilization in China and the possible costs for the PBOC. Therefore, the note summarizes some of the main... View Details
Musacchio, Aldo. "China and the Yuan-Dollar Exchange Rate." Harvard Business School Background Note 711-110, June 2011. (Revised August 2011.)
- May 1988 (Revised June 2023)
- Case
National Cranberry Cooperative, 1996
By: Roy D. Shapiro
Describes the continuous flow process used to process cranberries into juice and/or sauce. Requires student to analyze process flows to determine where the bottlenecks are and to decide how, and whether, to expand capacity. Original version written by J.G. Miller and... View Details
Keywords: Logistics; Performance Capacity; Performance Improvement; Supply Chain; Mathematical Methods; Cost vs Benefits; Production
Shapiro, Roy D. "National Cranberry Cooperative, 1996." Harvard Business School Case 688-122, May 1988. (Revised June 2023.)
- July 2001 (Revised August 2005)
- Case
Medicines Company, The
It is early 2001 and the Medicines Co. just received FDA approval to market Angiomax, a blood thinner to be used during angioplasties and heart procedures. It is intended to be a better alternative to Heparin, an 80-year-old drug that costs less then $10 per dose. The... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cost Management; Price; Product Marketing; Product Launch; Product Development; Risk and Uncertainty; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry
Gourville, John T. "Medicines Company, The." Harvard Business School Case 502-006, July 2001. (Revised August 2005.)
- August 2013 (Revised November 2013)
- Case
Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)
By: Willy Shih
This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Henry Ford's Model T was a car for the masses. After considerable experimentation, Ford Motor... View Details
Keywords: Innovation; Exploration; Dominant Design; Business Growth and Maturation; Business History; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Product Positioning; Product Design; Product Development; Business Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Vertical Integration; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Michigan
Shih, Willy. "Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)." Harvard Business School Case 614-010, August 2013. (Revised November 2013.)
- August 2009
- Supplement
The TSMC Way: Meeting Customer Needs at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (CW)
By: Willy C. Shih
When L.C. Tu receives an emergency order, he is confronted with a range of production scheduling choices, each of which has unique costs and trade-offs. The case was designed to help students understand job-shop style production and the impact of disruptions and... View Details
- 28 Jun 2004
- Research & Ideas
How to Avoid a Price Increase
When product companies see the cost of materials rise, the result for consumers is often a price increase (gasoline) or, less often, a smaller amount of product at the same price (potato chips). Which option is more likely to turn off... View Details
Keywords: by Manda Salls
- March 2016 (Revised March 2022)
- Teaching Note
Express Scripts: Promoting Prescription Drug Home Delivery (A) and (B)
By: John Beshears
The pharmacy benefit manager (PBM) sector processes prescription drug claims on behalf of companies that offer a prescription drug benefit to their employees. The case associated with this teaching note follows Bob Nease, chief scientist at Express Scripts, as he... View Details
Keywords: Pharmaceuticals; Prescription Drugs; Pharmacy Benefit Manager; PBM; Healthcare; Behavioral Economics; Choice Architecture; Active Choice; Service Delivery; Decision Choices and Conditions; Consumer Behavior; Distribution Channels; Health Care and Treatment; Service Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry
- 09 Jan 2006
- Research & Ideas
When Benchmarks Don’t Work
Benchmarking certainly has its virtues. Comparing production time or the cost of a standard process to that of peer companies can yield important insights about your own efficiencies—and ultimately,... View Details
- August 2009
- Case
The TSMC Way: Meeting Customer Needs at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
By: Willy C. Shih, Chen-Fu Chien, Chintay Shih and Jack Chang
When L.C. Tu receives an emergency order, he is confronted with a range of production scheduling choices, each of which has unique costs and trade-offs. The case was designed to help students understand job-shop style production and the impact of disruptions and... View Details
Keywords: Disruption; Customer Relationship Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cost; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Production; Semiconductor Industry; Taiwan
Shih, Willy C., Chen-Fu Chien, Chintay Shih, and Jack Chang. "The TSMC Way: Meeting Customer Needs at Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co." Harvard Business School Case 610-003, August 2009.