Publications

September–October 1994
Article

Regaining the Lead in Manufacturing: How to Integrate Work and Deepen Expertise

By: D. Leonard-Barton, H. Kent Bowen, Kim B. Clark, Charles A. Holloway and Steven C. Wheelwright

Keywords: Leadership; Experience and Expertise

July 1994 (Revised July 1995)
Case

VeriFone: The Transaction Automation Company (A)

By: Richard L. Nolan, Donna B. Stoddard and Hossam Galal

Describes VeriFone's new organizational model and its role in catapulting VeriFone to a market leadership position. Examines the impact of information technology and information access on the ability to leverage global resources, market responsiveness, and... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Leadership Development; Market Transactions; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Organizational Structure; Information Management; Information Technology Industry

June 1994
Supplement

Rudi Gassner at BMG International, Video

By: Linda A. Hill

Shows excerpts from a class discussion with Gassner and an MBA class. He describes his leadership style and the challenges he faces as the senior executive of a global entertainment enterprise. View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Globalization; Leadership Style; Problems and Challenges; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

May 1994 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office

By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan

Motorola, a leader in semiconductors and telecommunications, embarked on an ambitious program of renewal beginning in the early 1980s, leading to dramatic improvements in the company's quality, cycle time, and growth. Much of this progress was attributed to a major... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Leading Change; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Telecommunications Industry

May 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Motorola-Elma

By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan

Motorola's old automative electronics plant in Arcade, outside Buffalo, New York, faced the prospect of closure in the mid-1980s, but leading customers persuaded Motorola to give the plant a second chance. The new plant manager, Dennis Fiehn, recognized that existing... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Business Exit or Shutdown; Customers; Leading Change; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; Telecommunications Industry; New York (state, US)

May 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Motorola-Penang

By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan

S.K. Ko managed Motorola's Penang, Malaysia factory, producing telecommunications components and equipment. As a female manager of a multi-ethnic and labor-intensive plant in Asia, Ko faced a number of challenges. She had already promoted quality circles and quality... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Transformation; Decision Making; Ethnicity; Gender; Training; Leading Change; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Problems and Challenges; Technology Industry; Malaysia

May 1994 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Motorola: Institutionalizing Corporate Initiatives

By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan

Motorola became a recognized quality leader in large part by becoming a leader in employee education and by encouraging "participative management." Through the Motorola Training and Education Center, later Motorola University, the company invested substantial resources... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Satisfaction; Training; Human Resources; Leadership; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Corporate Strategy; Education Industry

April 1994 (Revised August 1996)
Case

American Express (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch

In January 1993, the American Express board met to decide who would succeed James D. Robinson, III as chairman and CEO. The board needed to act in the spotlight of intense media and investor scrutiny, and after leaks had revealed that there was a conflict among the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Corporate Governance; Resignation and Termination; Leadership; Management Succession; Performance Evaluation

November 1993 (Revised April 1995)
Background Note

Orientation to the Subarctic Survival Situation

By: Linda A. Hill

An orientation to the "Subarctic Survival Situation" (designed by and available from Human Synergistics, Inc., Plymouth, MI, tel. 313-459-1030), an experiental exercise that gives students an opportunity to learn about their personal influence style and their... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Evaluation; Decisions; Power and Influence; Groups and Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions

November 1993 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Rudi Gassner and the Executive Committee of BMG International (A)

By: Linda Hill and Katherine Seger Weber

Explores the roles of CEO Rudi Gassner and the 9-person executive committee in leading BMG International. BMG International is the international music subsidiary of Bertlesmann, a German company that is the second-largest media conglomerate in the world. Describes a... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Management Teams; Decision Making; Business Plan; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Strategy; Leadership Style; Organizational Culture; Business Subsidiaries; Business Conglomerates; Cost Management; Change Management; Music Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Germany

November 1993 (Revised June 2007)
Case

Jack Thomas

By: John P. Kotter and Andrew P. Burtis

This redisguised version of an earlier case, Tom Levick, provides an updated setting but does not change the teaching objectives. Chronicles the first six weeks of experience on the job for a recent business school graduate. Emphasis is on managing... View Details

Keywords: Power and Influence; Behavior; Leadership Style; Strategy; Rank and Position; Publishing Industry

October 1993 (Revised April 1994)
Case

Jack Welch: General Electric's Revolutionary

By: Joseph L. Bower and Jay Dial

Describes the work of Jack Welch as CEO of General Electric from 1981 to 1992, focusing particularly on his transformation of the company's portfolio through extensive dispositions and acquisitions and the company's culture through a mandated process called "work out."... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Transformation; Investment Portfolio; Leadership Style; Management; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career

October 1993 (Revised September 1996)
Case

BANC ONE - 1993

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven and Myra M. Hart

From a small local bank, Banc One has grown to one of the largest and most profitable banks in the United States under the leadership of its CEO, John B. McCoy. It has an impressive track record of improving the performance of its acquisitions while retaining the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Acquisition; Organizational Culture; Policy; Adaptation; Business Growth and Maturation; Strategy; Performance Improvement; Industry Structures; Banking Industry; United States

August 1993
Background Note

Six Principles of Successful Persuasion

By: Nitin Nohria

Describes some of the key principles that managers must follow in order to successfully persuade their organization of their vision for change. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation

August 1993
Case

Ford: Petersen's Turnaround

By: Nitin Nohria and Sandy Green

Discusses the changes that Donald Petersen made to turnaround Ford during his tenure, first as president then as CEO. Describes his major initiatives, including the new emphasis on quality. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Style; Management Teams; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry

August 1993
Case

General Motors: Smith's Dilemma

By: Nitin Nohria and Sandy Green

Discusses Roger Smith's tenure as CEO of General Motors. Describes his vision for changing General Motors, and how he went about implementing that vision. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Teams; Leadership Style; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry

March 1993 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Crown Cork & Seal in 1989

By: Stephen P. Bradley

Describes the structure and recent trends of the metal container industry, Crown's successful strategy for competing in the industry, and John Connelly's leadership over more than 20 years. In 1989, William Avery succeeded Connelly as CEO and is forced to consider new... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Five Forces Framework; Management Succession; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy

February 1993 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Bidwell Training Center, Inc. and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild: Preparation in Pittsburgh

By: James L. Heskett and Roger H. Hallowell

Bill Strickland, executive director of both Bidwell Training Center and Manchester Craftsmen's Guild, has built a highly successful training organization to enable underprivileged minorities in Pittsburgh to escape the cycle of poverty. His success has led to questions... View Details

Keywords: Training; Non-Governmental Organizations; Leadership; Society; Competency and Skills; Pittsburgh