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(4,965)
- Faculty Publications (2,024)
- March 1999 (Revised January 2005)
- Case
Newell Company: Corporate Strategy
By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and Elizabeth Gordon
In 1998, Newell Co., a manufacturer of low-tech, high-volume consumer goods, acquired Calphalon Corp., a high-end cookware company, and Rubbermaid, a $2 billion manufacturer of consumer and commercial plastic products. The case focuses on Newell's strategy and its... View Details
- March 1999
- Case
MySoftware Company (A)
By: H. Kent Bowen and Nicole Tempest
In 1997, Gregory Slayton took the position as CEO of MySoftware, which had been experiencing revenue and operating losses for the past two years. Within 90 days, he stabilized the company through a combination of cost cutting, financial discipline, and accountability... View Details
- March 1999
- Case
Hans Fritz at Novartis Thailand (A): The First Month
By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Dr. Hans Fritz is 37 years old when he arrives in Bangkok on March 1, 1998 to assume his position as general manager of Novartis Thailand. Novartis is the world's largest pharmaceutical company. He had lobbied to transition from a staff position to this line management... View Details
- March 1999 (Revised August 2005)
- Case
Pandesic: The Challenges of a New Business Venture (A)
By: Joseph L. Bower and Clark Gilbert
Pandesic is a joint venture of SAP and Intel designed to develop turnkey information architectures for marketspace companies. The case explores the problems of developing the joint venture from the perspective of its general management. Describes the development of its... View Details
- February 1999
- Case
Lifeline Systems, Inc. (B)
By: H. Kent Bowen and Marilyn Matis
In 1997, Lifeline Systems continues to grow its service business to $32 million, 56% of the company's total revenues. More local hospital Lifeline programs turn over their monitoring service to Lifeline Central, expanding the company's subscriber base by 30%. The... View Details
- February 1999
- Case
Volant Skis
By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Matt Verlinden
Volant brought innovation to the ski equipment industry in 1989 by developing a stainless steel ski. He claimed the skis could turn more easily, could hold an edge in icy conditions, and were more stable than aluminum or fiberglass skis. The company's "soft-flex"... View Details
- January 1999 (Revised March 2001)
- Case
MindSpring
In a business environment where Internet Service Providers (ISP) has become increasingly commodity-like, Charles Brewer, founder and CEO of MindSpring, the nation's sixth largest ISP and the recognized leader in customer satisfaction, ponders a proposed merger with... View Details
- January 1999
- Case
Prague Post, The
By: Paul A. Gompers
Lisa Frankenberg, co-founder of the Prague Post, is faced with several business and professional decisions. The English-language paper she founded is under pressure from competition and a Czech Republic recession. She must decide how to return the paper to... View Details
- January 1999 (Revised June 2006)
- Case
Advanced Technologies, Inc.
By: Thomas R. Piper
The CEO of a semiconductor equipment manufacturer is assessing the financial forecasts and financing plan prepared by the chief financial officer. Continued rapid growth will create substantial financing pressures, especially if profitability fails to recover and/or if... View Details
- January 1999
- Case
State Street Corporation: Leading with Information Technology (B)
By: Stephen P. Bradley and Kelley Porter
With Multi-currency HORIZON, a real-time multi-currency accounting system that replaced the traditional batch-oriented single-currency accounting system, successfully launched, State Street Corp. (State Street) began to focus on growing the scope of its business... View Details
- December 1998 (Revised March 1999)
- Case
Guangdong Nowada Group, The
By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Anthony St. George
In late 1998, 38-year-old He Boquan, CEO of the Guangdong Nowada Group, a health beverage producer, needs to decide how to fund his company's growth and ambition to become China's number one domestic health beverage producer by 2002. A consultants study revealed that... View Details
- December 1998 (Revised May 2003)
- Case
Vivendi (A): Revitalizing a French Conglomerate
By: Cynthia A. Montgomery and John M. Turner
Examines corporate strategy for a diversified firm in the French business context. Issues include corporate governance, vision, and the management of unrelated diversification. After the company's first loss ever, the Vivendi board elected a new chairman who completed... View Details
- December 1998 (Revised February 1999)
- Case
City of Charlotte (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
The city manager's office in Charlotte, North Carolina, is attempting to align and focus the city's programs and operating departments. City managers, working collaboratively with the elected mayor and city council, have identified five strategic themes to make... View Details
- December 1998
- Case
Casto Travel
By: Thomas J. DeLong and Susan Harmeling
Maryles Casto had the vision to build the largest travel agency in Silicon Valley, mirroring the growth pattern of the entire area. In 1997 the travel business changed dramatically as airlines chose not to pay travel agencies the fees they once did. Simultaneously, the... View Details
- December 1998 (Revised June 1999)
- Case
STT Aerospace
By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Jeremy Dann
Experienced entrepreneur Charles Damon conducted a "roll-up" from 1987-1994 within the commercial airliner interior products industry. Damon's company, STT Aerospace, took advantage of an industry-wide recession in the early 1990s by buying when asset prices were low.... View Details
- December 1998
- Case
MD Foods Amba
By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Cate Reavis
In 1998, MD Foods, a Denmark-based dairy cooperative, was searching for growth opportunities that would enable it to become northern Europe's preferred retail dairy supplier. The options being considered included expanding in existing markets, entering into new... View Details
- December 1998 (Revised February 1999)
- Case
i2 Technologies, Inc.
By: Ananth Raman and Jasjit Singh
Describes the emergence and growth of i2 Technologies and the supply chain planning software industry. In December 1998, i2's market capitalization was in excess of $2 billion; the supply chain planning software industry had annual sales of approximately $1 billion and... View Details
- December 1998
- Background Note
Cash Management Practices in Small Companies
By: H. Kent Bowen, Andrew R. Jassy, Laurence E. Katz, Kevin E. Kelly and Baltej Kochar
Most small business managers claim that cash management is their leading concern. Often walking a tightrope between growth and illiquidity, small business managers face different cash management challenges than their counterparts in larger companies. Compared to larger... View Details
- November 1998 (Revised February 1999)
- Case
Microsoft Office: Finding the Suite Spot
By: Stefan H. Thomke and Steven Sinofsky
Describes a key decision-making process within Microsoft's Office products division. At a time when the PC software business has a great deal of uncertainty, Microsoft's management has to make a key decision regarding the future of software suites. A strengthening of... View Details
Keywords: Decisions; Applications and Software; Strategic Planning; Organizational Design; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Product Development; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Goals and Objectives; Digital Platforms; Innovation and Management; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry
- November 1998 (Revised August 1999)
- Case
Mickey Maurer: IBJ Corp. and MyStar Communications
By: Paul W. Marshall and Jeremy Dann
Mickey Maurer is a successful entrepreneur who retired in the late 1980s and then reentered the business world with the purchase of two media companies. In the radio industry he faces competition from large national players. In his publishing enterprise, Maurer... View Details