Publications

October 2001 (Revised November 2001)
Background Note

Running and Growing the Small Company: Course Overview

Addresses challenges facing managers, presidents, and owners in generating and sustaining superior performance, especially as a company broadens its mix of goods and services, increases the volume of its sales, and enlarges the size of its workforce. The critical... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Talent and Talent Management

Find at Harvard

18 Apr 2000
Research & Ideas

Learning in Action

organizational boundaries, and attend to customer and competitive needs. In 1988, the Timken Company, America's leading manufacturer of tapered roller bearings, embarked on a bold project to revolutionize the production process for... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Garvin

01 Jan 2011
News

Karen Gordon Mills, MBA 1977

of Mexico shrimp fisherman who stayed in business with low-interest economic injury loans after the BP oil spill, to a Pennsylvania drill bit manufacturer whose SBA-financed technology was instrumental in rescuing the trapped Chilean... View Details

April 1988 (Revised April 1991)
Case

Boeing 767: From Concept to Production (A)

By: David A. Garvin

Describes the evolution of the Boeing 767 from the conception of the project to the start of manufacturing. Shows how the company manages an enormously complex and risky project and introduces students to a variety of estimating and management tools. The decision issue... View Details

Keywords: Production; Product Design; Product Development; Decisions; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

17 Aug 2021
Op-Ed

Dispensing Justice: The Case for Legalizing Cannabis Nationally

unable to adequately protect their brands, recipes, and manufacturing processes from infringements, underinvest in research and development, innovation, product differentiation, and quality control. Thus, federal prohibition imposes... View Details

Keywords: by Ashish Nanda and Tabatha Robinson

06 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Technology Re-Emergence: Creating New Value for Old Innovations

introduced low cost production methods to manufacture highly accurate quartz watches. Swiss business historians refer to this as the "Quartz Crisis." Companies like Seiko and Casio seized the quartz market. By 1983, two-thirds... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Apparel & Accessories; Technology; Consumer Products

January 2017
Case

The Six CEOs of Tyco International Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In September 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tyco International PLC, a $9.9 billion business with operating profits of $884 million. The purchase consideration was $14.4 billion. Although the deal was billed as a merger, Ireland-based Tyco... View Details

August 1977 (Revised April 1987)
Case

Crown Cork & Seal Co., Inc.

By: Richard G. Hamermesh, Karen Gordon Mills and John P. Reed

Describes the technical, economic, and competitive trends in the metal container industry. The strategy of Crown Cork and Seal is then described in relation to these trends. Focuses on two immediate threats to Crown's strategy: the future of aerosol cans, given the... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Industry Structures; Environmental Sustainability; Trends; Manufacturing Industry

October 1991 (Revised December 1993)
Case

Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream, Inc.: Keeping the Mission(s) Alive

Ben & Jerry's is an anti-establishment, values-driven company that has become a successful venture. The dominant founder, Ben Cohen, is not an effective manager, but he brings creative marketing and product skills that have been important to the company's success. He... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Entrepreneurship; Compensation and Benefits; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry

Web

Industry Information - Alumni

industry. Reuters: Markets News Coverage of the international financial markets from Reuters, including news on fund managers , and screening tools for investment funds (from Lipper) and stocks . + – Manufacturing IndustryWeek As a part... View Details

Angela Q. Crispi

Angela is the Executive Dean for Administration at Harvard Business School, leading an organization of nearly 2,000 staff with an operating budget of $1 billion. She oversees the execution of the School’s strategy ranging from academic programs to research, and the... View Details

04 Jun 2001
What Do You Think?

What’s the Future of the Subscription Model?

Summing Up The Subscription Model: Down but Not Out Just as manufacturing organizations are once again adopting a subscription model as a means of pricing product-service packages marketed as solutions, it appears that Internet-based... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

August 2012
Case

Danshui Plant No. 2

By: William Bruns, Julie H. Hertenstein and Kelvin Liu

Danshui Plant No. 2 in southern China has a one-year contract with Apple Inc. to assemble 2.4 million iPhones. In the first three months of the contract, the plant is unable to assemble as many phones as expected and is operating at a loss. The plant manager must... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Production; Budgets and Budgeting; Manufacturing Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China