Publications

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August 1998 (Revised June 2013)
Case

Business Plan for Room For Dessert: Adding Unique Ingredients to Life's Balancing Act

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Michael J. Roberts

Summarizes the business plan for a concept restaurant focused on late evening dessert service as well as its subsequent rollout plan. View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Planning; Business Plan; Outcome or Result; Service Operations; Experience and Expertise; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

Are Free Trade and Free Markets Quaint Ideas From the Past?

AvigatorPhotographer Are Free Trade Notions Repeatedly Victim to Short-Term Thinking? Free trade and free markets are concepts to which many of us, given our training in economics, aspire. But they inevitably fall victim to the varied and... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Article

Whites See Racism as a Zero-Sum Game That They Are Now Losing

By: Michael I. Norton and Samuel R. Sommers

Although some have heralded recent political and cultural developments as signaling the arrival of a post-racial era in America, several legal and social controversies regarding "reverse racism" highlight Whites' increasing concern about anti-White bias. We show that... View Details

Keywords: Racism; Zero-sum Game; Bias; Affirmative Action; Prejudice and Bias; Race; Social Issues; United States

Michael Porter is an economist, researcher, author, advisor, speaker and teacher. Throughout his career at Harvard Business School, he has brought economic theory and strategy concepts to bear on many of the most challenging problems facing corporations, economies... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; e-commerce industry; health care; information; information technology industry; internet; nonprofit industry; service industry; state government

March 1995 (Revised July 1995)
Background Note

Financial Reporting Fundamentals

By: David F. Hawkins

Deals with the basic accounting conventions (or concepts). The five operative statements of financial concepts issued by the FASB are also discussed. View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Accounting

April 2000 (Revised August 2005)
Background Note

Charitable Lead & Remainder Trusts

By: Henry B. Reiling and Catherine M. Conneely

Discusses the concept of charitable lead and charitable remainder trusts, some of their mechanics, and typical circumstances in which they are used. View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Taxation; Business or Company Management

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

natural gas that were burdened with highly inefficient delivery systems. In time, the company supported his basic concept with EnronOnline, a Web-based trading platform that instantly became the world's largest e-commerce system in 1999.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

May 2006
Exercise

Building a Shed

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Kerry Herman

Provides terminology and concepts for the process of building a wooden garden shed. View Details

Keywords: Product; Production

February 2003 (Revised February 2006)
Exercise

Revenue Recognition Exercises

The difference between the Financial Accounting Standards Board's Concept Statements #5 and #6 is explored as it pertains to revenue recognition and expense recognition. View Details

Keywords: Revenue Recognition

February 1991 (Revised April 1994)
Background Note

Value of Information

By: David E. Bell

Gives some simple examples to illustrate the concept of the value of information in decision making. Both perfect and imperfect information are considered. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge; Value; Decision Making

May 2005 (Revised May 2006)
Background Note

Accounting for Asset-Backed Securitization

Introduces the basic concept of asset securitization and the accounting for these transactions. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Investment

April 2017
Article

BATNAs in Negotiation: Common Errors and Three Kinds of 'No'

By: James K. Sebenius

The Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement (“BATNA”) concept in negotiation has proven to be immensely useful. In tandem with its value in practice, BATNA has become a wildly successful acronym (with more than 14 million Google results). But the initial... View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Negotiation Tactics

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Read Now

August 1998 (Revised October 1998)
Background Note

Note on Lead User Research

By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes the Lead User concept and method (step-by-step) with brief examples from industrial practice. View Details

Keywords: Customers; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth

01 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Encouraging Dissent in Decision-Making

What lessons could the humid shores of the Caribbean, the freezing heights of the Himalayas, or the farthest reaches of Earth's atmosphere hold for your company or organization? Although those places couldn't be more different, all were the scenes of disastrous... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons

15 Jan 2020
Video

How to Find and Create Your Own Edge

January 2009 (Revised November 2009)
Background Note

Adult Life Stages

By: John A. Davis

This note describes basic concepts of adult life stage theory and summarizes Daniel Levinson's research findings on the adult development of men and women. View Details

Keywords: Transition; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Culture; Gender

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April 2002
Background Note

Note on Minority Interest

This case provides a brief introduction to the concept of minority interest and the issues that it gives rise to in valuation of firms. View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Investment; Business and Shareholder Relations