Publications

December 2003 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Circon (A) (Abridged)

By: Brian J. Hall, Christopher Rose and Guhan Subramanian

In 1996, U.S. Surgical launched a hostile takeover bid against Circon Corp. CEO Richard Auhll recruited an old HBS friend, George Cloutier, to the Circon board to help him defend the company. Circon's primary defenses include a "poison pill" and a staggered board and... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Trust; Relationships; Acquisition; Business and Shareholder Relations; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

December 2003 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Malden Mills (A)

By: Nitin Nohria, Thomas R. Piper and Bridget Gurtler

CEO Aaron Feuerstein of Malden Mills decided to pay idled workers after a massive fire at his mill in 1995. Focuses on the decisions made post-fire and the rebuilding process and eventual bankruptcy of the company. Also outlines creditors' struggle to decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Wages; Situation or Environment; Ethics; Financing and Loans; Resignation and Termination; Employees; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Manufacturing Industry; Massachusetts

December 2003 (Revised June 2012)
Case

Irving Tanning

By: Paul W. Marshall and Johanna Regine Naunton Blaxall

Irving Tanning, one of the few remaining U.S. leather tanneries, has successfully emerged from bankruptcy. The CEO is now looking at strategic options for the future of Irving. View Details

Keywords: Insolvency and Bankruptcy; United States

November 2003 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Flextronics International, Ltd.

By: Robert S. Huckman and Gary P. Pisano

Describes Flextronics' evolution from providing outsourced manufacturing services for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the electronics industry to developing entire unbranded products for purchase by OEMs. In 2001, Flextronics began a development program that... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Product Development; Production; Service Operations; Performance Effectiveness; Electronics Industry; Manufacturing Industry

13 Nov 2003
Keynote Speech

The CEO's Role in Fostering Corporate Responsibility." Presenter. "G100 CEO Academy

By: Lynn S. Paine

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Managerial Roles

November 2003 (Revised March 2004)
Supplement

GE's Talent Machine: The Making of a CEO

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

CEO Jeff Immelt, ex-CEO Jack Welch, and HR Chief Bill Conaty discuss how GE has made talent development a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Immelt describes GE's deeply embedded philosophy around its people and how it has allowed the company to add value... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Talent and Talent Management; Human Resources; Business or Company Management; Performance Capacity; Performance Effectiveness; Competitive Advantage; System; Value

October 2003 (Revised November 2006)
Case

GE's Talent Machine: The Making of a CEO

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Andrew N. McLean

GE believes its ability to develop management talent is a core competency that represents a source of sustainable competitive advantage. This case traces the development of GE's rich system of human resource policies and practices under five CEOs in the post-war era,... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Capital; Selection and Staffing; Leadership Development; Management Succession; Corporate Strategy

October 2003 (Revised January 2009)
Case

Transforming Matsui Securities

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Masako Egawa, Jamie Ladge and Haruki Umezawa

Michio Matsui, president and CEO of Matsui Securities, transformed a small regional securities company into a leading player in the online broking industry in Japan. Discusses how he transformed the business model and culture of the company and took advantage of the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Model; Organizational Culture; Financial Markets; Competitive Advantage; Japan

October 2003 (Revised November 2004)
Case

Joe Bachelder: Executive Pay Negotiator

By: Jason R. Barro, Brian J. Hall and Aaron Zimmerman

Joe Bachelder was the leading executive pay negotiator in the United States, securing generous contracts for CEOs and executives at Fortune 500 companies. The CEO of Victor Sports Co. resigned, and the board offered the job to Charles Suarez, a star executive from a... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Preparation; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Participants; Executive Compensation; Retail Industry; Sports Industry

October 2003 (Revised January 2016)
Exercise

The BCPC Internet Strategy Team: An Exercise

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Laura Feldman

This short fictional case forms the basis of a team decision-making exercise. The case, inspired by a real decision facing a major telecommunications company, describes a cross-functional management team convened by the CEO for the purpose of developing a... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Risk and Uncertainty; Information Management; Perspective; Product Launch; Internet and the Web; Knowledge Sharing; Telecommunications Industry

October 2003
Article

The Determinants of Board Structure at the Initial Public Offering

By: Malcolm Baker and Paul Gompers

This paper describes board size and composition and investigates the role of venture capital in a sample of 1,116 firms' initial public offerings. First, firms backed by venture capital have fewer insider and instrumental directors and more independent... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Venture Capital; Initial Public Offering; Managerial Roles; Power and Influence

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September 2003
Case

Driving Change at Seagate

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Douglas A Raymond and Lyn Baranowski

A new CEO, Steve Luczo, together with COO Bill Watkins, have led a turnaround of Seagate, raising productivity dramatically and increasing innovation through teamwork, cross-functional collaboration, and other transformations in the culture of this manufacturer of disk... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development; Transformation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Groups and Teams; Performance Productivity; Initial Public Offering; Going Public; Information Technology Industry

September 2003
Case

Upromise 2002

By: William A. Sahlman

Describes a set of decisions confronting the senior management of a company that has established a loyalty rewards program allocating cash to tax-advantaged college savings accounts for participants. The company has recruited a new CEO and needs to raise additional... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Management Teams; Capital; Internet and the Web; Decisions

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September 2003
Case

Executive Compensation at Reckitt Benckiser plc

By: V.G. Narayanan, Krishna G. Palepu and Lisa Brem

Investors felt betrayed by the increasingly lucrative pay packages awarded to CEOs and other top executives at multinational companies. Yet, board members charged with adequately rewarding executives were forced to compete with rising packages of salaries and stock... View Details

Keywords: Design; Stock Options; Investment Activism; Corporate Accountability; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations; Consumer Products Industry; Netherlands; United States

September 2003 (Revised May 2006)
Case

Eyeblaster: Enabling the Next Generation of Online Advertising

By: Elie Ofek

Eyeblaster management has to decide on the best course of action to sustain its momentum from enabling online rich media advertising. Pressure from competitors is forcing the company to re-evaluate its previous marketing strategy that focused primarily on getting... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Marketing Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Performance Evaluation; Digital Marketing; Growth and Development Strategy

September 2003 (Revised November 2005)
Case

Best Buy Co., Inc. (A): An Innovator's Journey

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

The CEO of Best Buy, a hugely successful retailing company, has hired consulting firm Strategos to imbue the company with an improved innovative capability. The six-month program of experimental learning yields new business ideas and also trains Best Buy employees as... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Management Teams; Creativity; Adoption; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Employees; Learning; Training; Programs; Retail Industry; United States

August 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

C&S Wholesale Grocers: Self-Managed Teams

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Tejal Mody and David Ager

Rick Cohen, president and CEO of C&S Wholesale Grocers, is trying to decide whether and how to implement the self-managed teams concept in his warehouse. Eight months earlier, C&S had begun to act as principal wholesaler to A&P throughout New England, a decision that... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Decision Making; Labor Unions; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution Channels; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams; New England

July 2003 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Model N Inc.

By: Marco Iansiti and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

The CEO of a Silicon Valley start-up needed to make organizational and product changes to deliver a new software solution to a Fortune 500 customer. He was wondering how he should structure the company to best meet the requirements for this particular customer, while... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Trends; Communication; Customer Focus and Relationships; Selection and Staffing; Time Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business Strategy; Software; Computer Industry

Article

Paradigm Lost: The Imperial CEO

By: D. Quinn Mills

Keywords: Management