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Information Technology and the Board of Directors
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleEver since the Y2K scare, boards have grown increasingly nervous about corporate dependence on information technology. Since then, computer crashes, denial... -
What SpaceX Can Teach Us About Cost Innovation
Innovation Digital ArticleSaving money can be a creative act. -
Stop Making Plans; Start Making Decisions
Analytics and data science Magazine ArticleIn most companies, strategic planning isn’t about making decisions. It’s about documenting choices that have already been made, often haphazardly. Leading firms are rethinking their approach to strategy development so they can make more, better, and faster decisions. -
Procurement as Strategy
Innovation Magazine ArticleIn 2004, just days after Greece unexpectedly won the European Soccer Championship, Adidas delivered more than 145,000 Greece team jerseys across markets in Europe. Smart marketing, right? Without a doubt. But perhaps even more impressive were Adidas’s global procurement efforts: Thanks to a centralized supply chain coordinated with its country-based sales subsidiaries, the company created […] -
When One Business Model Isn’t Enough
Business models Magazine ArticleLAN Airlines flourishes by running three distinctly different operations at the same time. -
Blue Oceans in Outer Space
Emerging markets Magazine ArticleTaking stock of the economic opportunities to be found beyond our planet -
Where Does the Airline Industry Go from Here?
Global Business Digital ArticleEighteen months into the pandemic, a panel of experts discuss what's changed, whether the bailouts were misspent, and if business travel is ever coming... -
Inside Boeing’s Big Move
Operations strategy Magazine ArticleThe aerospace giant shifted its headquarters from Seattle to Chicago in record time. The leader of the effort tells how. -
Every Employee an Owner. Really.
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleSurveys indicate that when new rules on expensing stock options take effect, many companies are likely to limit the number of employees who can receive... -
A Platform Approach to Space Exploration
Project management Digital ArticlePrivate companies like SpaceX treat rocket systems as platforms rather than bespoke one-off projects. -
Selection Bias and the Perils of Benchmarking
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleTo find the secrets of business success, what could be more natural than studying successful businesses? In fact, nothing could be more dangerous, warns... -
Business and Battles: Lessons from Defeat
Competitive strategy Magazine ArticleMilitary Misfortunes: The Anatomy of Failure in War, by Eliot A. Cohen and John Gooch (New York: Free Press, 1990), 296 pages, $22.95. In 1950, Chinese forces staged a surprise attack on U.S. forces stationed along the Yalu River in Korea. Everyone knows what happened next: suicidal waves of fanatic Chinese troops drove the American […] -
Shrinking Fast and Smart in the Defense Industry
Government Magazine ArticleAuthor’s note: Alistair Hanna, Michael Reopel, and Stuart Flack, all of McKinsey & Company, contributed to this article. The U.S. defense industry is struggling to reorganize itself for growth, if not for survival. The disappearance of the communist threat and the desperate need to revive the U.S. economy have taken the defense industry for a […] -
Is India an Innovation Giant... or Pygmy?
Innovation & Leadership Digital ArticleThe sky is no longer the limit for what the innovative Indian mind can achieve. Or so I thought on April 28, as I witnessed with awe and pride India's... -
What Space Exploration and Health Care Can Teach You About Navigating Uncertainty
Crisis management Digital ArticleTried and tested strategies from professionals accustomed to crisis. -
Curveball: Strategies to Fool the Competition
Strategic planning Magazine ArticleA couple of years ago, I coauthored with Rob Lachenauer an article called “Hardball: Five Killer Strategies for Trouncing the Competition.” The piece, along with a subsequent book, was misunderstood by many people. Critics said that hardball meant playing dirty or mean, neither of which is true. What is true is that hardball—let’s face it, […] -
Singapore Airlines' Balancing Act
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleSingapore Airlines is widely regarded as an exemplar of excellence in an industry whose service standards are tumbling. What's not so well known is that... -
The Perfect Message at the Perfect Moment
Marketing Magazine ArticleThe latest advance in relationship marketing creates a continuous dialogue with customers, allowing them to hear just what they need to know, just when they need to know it. -
How to Structure Customer Service Calls to Boost Satisfaction and Sales
Customer service Digital ArticleResearchers found that service agents yield better results when they use warm language to start and end conversations, focusing on problem-solving in the middle. -
Blue Ocean Strategy
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleDespite a long-term decline in the circus industry, Cirque du Soleil profitably increased revenue 22-fold over the last 10 years by reinventing the circus....
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Boeing 777
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details In October 1990, the Boeing Company announced that it was launching a new aircraft model, the 777. The fanfare praised the technological superiority of... -
Boeing 787: Manufacturing a Dream
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Case traces the design and development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Emphasis is on executive leadership and firm strategy in coordinating across a global... -
Singapore Airlines: Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details In August 2021, Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) was at a critical juncture in its history. Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had forced commercial... -
The Battle for Logan Airport: American Airlines versus JetBlue (C)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details The entrance of JetBlue into the Boston area low-cost carrier market in 2004 is viewed as a direct attack on Major airlines and prompts American Airlines... -
United Airlines 173
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details The cases are used to introduce the concept of collective responsibility and leadership in team situations by applying the concept of Crew Resource Management... -
General Electric--Thermocouple Manufacturing (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details GE is considering introducing a "just-in-time" production system to reduce inventory in its thermocouple manufacturing area. The case presents students... -
Southwest Airlines
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details After more than 45 years of service, the company was facing some major challenges. Legacy carriers in the United States had become more efficient, and... -
HUL's Acquisition of GSK Consumer Healthcare: A Hefty Rise in Intangible Assets
Management Case Study11.95View Details In January 2019, the Competition Commission of India approved a significant merger in India's fast-moving consumer goods industry. The merger between... -
Ready to Take Off (B): China's Re-Entry into Global Aerospace
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details This case illustrates China's attempts at building its own regional jets and large civil aircraft. The case can be used to teach courses in international... -
Sturdivant Electric Corp.
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details A unit manager on a field computer installation job is faced with recurring conflict between a programmer and his immediate supervisor. -
Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 (A)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details After the company's first aviation fatality, Southwest Airlines's CEO is faced with new and difficult decisions. The alacrity and compassion that characterized... -
Alaska Airlines and Flight 261 (A)
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Weeks after the crash of Alaska Airlines Flight 261, 64 mechanics claim that they have been "pressured, threatened, and intimidated" into taking shortcuts.... -
XCOR: New Space, New Place?
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details The leadership of a space tourism startup considers relocating their business to escape California's notorious regulatory complexity and to take advantage... -
Martin Marietta: Managing Corporate Ethics (B)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details The president of one of Martin Marietta's four main operating companies has learned of procurement irregularities in the company he manages. The problems... -
On the Use of Capital Efficiency Metrics
Finance & Accounting Case Study8.95View Details This note describes capital efficiency metrics including RONA, ROIC, and EVA. This note is intended to be used with the case "Boeing 737 Industrial Footprint:... -
The End of Low-Cost Fundamentalism - The COVID Interruption
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details We review pre-COVID-19 trends, discuss the pandemic's main impact on existing models, and provide the likely new post-COVID-19 trends in the airline sector.... -
Performance Development at GE: Shaping a Fit-For-Purpose Performance Management System (C)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details In 2013, GE implemented the FastWorks program, an initiative that utilized tools and methods adapted from start-up methodologies to make the company more... -
WestJet: Building a High-Engagement Culture
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details WestJet Airlines had achieved a lot. The airline had taken to the skies only 13 years earlier, with three airplanes flying to five destinations. Now,... -
FBO, Inc.
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details FBO, Inc. is a fixed-base operator at a large metropolitan airport. The general manager must decide if the current pooling format is the appropriate way... -
Bombardier Aerospace: The CSeries Dilemma
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details In July 2004, Bombardier Aerospace announced its intention to develop a new family of aircraft called CSeries. In May 2007, three years after the initial...
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The Race for Space, and the Invasion of the Electric Scooters
Competitive strategy AudioDoes Space represent a real economic opportunity or are expensive endeavors like SpaceX a form of billionaire hubris? Youngme, Felix and Mihir discuss the Race for Space, before debating the viability of the electric scooter market in cities around the world. -
Boeing 777
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details In October 1990, the Boeing Company announced that it was launching a new aircraft model, the 777. The fanfare praised the technological superiority of... -
Boeing 787: Manufacturing a Dream
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Case traces the design and development of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Emphasis is on executive leadership and firm strategy in coordinating across a global... -
Singapore Airlines: Surviving the COVID-19 Pandemic
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details In August 2021, Singapore Airlines Group (SIA) was at a critical juncture in its history. Since early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic had forced commercial... -
Information Technology and the Board of Directors
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleEver since the Y2K scare, boards have grown increasingly nervous about corporate dependence on information technology. Since then, computer crashes, denial... -
The Battle for Logan Airport: American Airlines versus JetBlue (C)
Strategy & Execution Case Study5.00View Details The entrance of JetBlue into the Boston area low-cost carrier market in 2004 is viewed as a direct attack on Major airlines and prompts American Airlines... -
United Airlines 173
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details The cases are used to introduce the concept of collective responsibility and leadership in team situations by applying the concept of Crew Resource Management... -
General Electric--Thermocouple Manufacturing (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details GE is considering introducing a "just-in-time" production system to reduce inventory in its thermocouple manufacturing area. The case presents students... -
Southwest Airlines
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details After more than 45 years of service, the company was facing some major challenges. Legacy carriers in the United States had become more efficient, and... -
HUL's Acquisition of GSK Consumer Healthcare: A Hefty Rise in Intangible Assets
Management Case Study11.95View Details In January 2019, the Competition Commission of India approved a significant merger in India's fast-moving consumer goods industry. The merger between...