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The Case of the Machinists’ Mutiny
Change management Magazine Article“You can’t be serious!” Mike Trail, the president and fourth-generation owner of Trail Manufacturing, stared at five older men standing uncomfortably in his small office. “I’m afraid we are, Mike.” Sandy Mulder, the most senior of the five, was polite but firm. “We won’t switch over to the new equipment. We want to continue to […] -
5 Ways U.S. Hospitals Can Handle Financial Losses from Medicare Patients
Operations strategy Digital ArticleHealth care leaders can prevent a bad situation from getting worse. -
The One Thing You Need to Know About Managing Functions
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleThere's a secret about strategy that no one tells you: Every function has one, whether or not it is written down and whether or not it is the product... -
4 Steps to Sustaining Improvement in Health Care
Operations strategy ResearchHow to get new standardized work processes to stick. -
Before You Sign That Lease...
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleAn office lease can create financial difficulty if a tenant ignores provisions that landlords can use to gain extra income. The author points out some... -
Talent Management for the Twenty-First Century
Decision making and problem solving Magazine ArticleEvery talent management process in use today was developed half a century ago. It’s time for a new model. -
Prepare Your Supply Chain for Coronavirus
Organizational Development Digital ArticleIt's late in the game, but there are still steps you can take. -
To Enlist Physicians in Reducing Costs, Show Them the Costs
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleUniversity of Utah Health developed a tool to do it. -
Marketing Is Everything
Sales & Marketing Magazine ArticleToday technology is creating greater customer choice, and choice is altering the marketplace. Six principles define the new marketing: marketing is a... -
Focus HR on Process Improvement
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleTo deliver more value, the human resources function needs to spend more time accelerating operational improvement and less time on its traditional administrative... -
Leading from the Factory Floor
Motivating people Magazine ArticleFor all the talk about lean manufacturing, it still seems to be the exception: Factory floors are cluttered, bottlenecks delay production, and the wrong products pile up in inventory while the right ones can’t be found. Fixing a dysfunctional factory isn’t easy, but consider this surprising case from Germany, where resistance to managerial innovations on […] -
Conformity and the Crowd
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleCompanies have developed "mass customization" tools that allow customers to design their own products; and social media lets people get input from friends... -
How to Help Process Owners Succeed
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticlePutting executives in charge of improving cross-functional processes in large organizations is akin to asking them to paddle a boat upstream. The natural... -
Are You Having Trouble Keeping Your Operations Focused?
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleAs a business broadens over time, it can lose the operational edge that led to its original success. Core strengths atrophy, efficiency or quality suffers,... -
Balanced Scorecard: Measures That Drive Performance (HBR OnPoint Enhanced Edition)
Finance & Accounting Magazine ArticleDuring a year-long research project, the authors developed a "balanced scorecard" performance measurement system that allows executives to view a company... -
Navigating Talent Hot Spots
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleInnovation clusters like San Francisco and Boston have long had an outsize impact on the global economy, and their influence keeps growing. In 2017, for... -
The Right CEO Personality for Process Improvement
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleI recently argued that in industries such as distribution and logistics (Amazon, FedEx, UPS), process manufacturing (Exxon), insurance (Aetna), restaurants... -
Learning Across Lines: The Secret to More Efficient Factories
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleIn the quest to reduce waste on production lines, managers often find that the harder they work at improving their manufacturing processes, the more elusive... -
Designing Services That Deliver
Operations strategy Magazine ArticleConsidering the extent to which the service industry contributes to our GNP, very little has been said or written about the application of rational management techniques to the development of new services. Many believe that good service results from the style of an individual entrepreneur or company and is therefore highly idiosyncratic. As a result […] -
Every Manager Is a Risk Manager
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleAn MBA student once asked me to give her a simple explanation of the "risk management function." After a few minutes of fumbling, I told her that risk...
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The Keystone Advantage: What the New Dynamics of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability
Strategy & Execution Book35.00View Details Leveraging the power of business networks for success. Whether it sells computers, clothing, or cars, your firm's fate is increasingly linked to that... -
Dubai Ports Authority (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details The Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) wishes to digitize many of the documents it shares with its external partners, including shipping lines and agents, merchants,... -
Webvan
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Examines Webvan's operations and the processes by which it delivers groceries that were ordered from the Internet to customers' homes. Recounts Webvan's... -
Airbus and Boeing: Superjumbo Decisions
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Set in 1999, this case allows students to put themselves in the positions of both Airbus and Boeing as Boeing considered how to respond to Airbus's decision... -
Quincy Apparel (B)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details The (B) case provides post-mortem analysis from Quincy's cofounders on why their startup failed and what they could have done differently. Explanations... -
The US-China Trade War: Deal or No Deal?
Global Business Case Study8.95View Details The US-China trade war in 2019 led to major shifts in global trade and supply chains, highlighting the recent trend in deglobalization. This case discusses... -
Qihoo
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Qihoo, one of the largest Internet companies in China today, was founded in 2005. The company started its business by offering a security software product,... -
Data-driven Manufacturing: The Kutesmart System
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details The data-driven manufacturing system at this Chinese bespoke mens' suit manufacturer illustrates the use of information technology to support mass customization... -
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals in 2009: Transformation at the Site Level
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Appropriate for general management courses emphasizing lean operations strategy implementation and large-scale change management across a network of global... -
Musictoday, LLC: Implementing a Periodic Review Inventory System
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details Musictoday is a unique company that provides on-line retailing services for such clients as the Dave Matthews Band and the Rolling Stones. But the lack... -
Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (B)
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details This case explores the very different paths taken by the Ford Motor Company and the General Motors Corporation in the first three decades of the twentieth... -
SaferTaxi: Connecting Taxis and Passengers in South America
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details SaferTaxi, a taxi booking service in South America must develop its mobilization strategy; that is, it must attract enough passengers and drivers to make... -
Supply Chain Outsourcing at DB Toys
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details The case is based on a real supply chain outsourcing management decision at a major manufacturing company. The company has been disguised for confidentiality... -
Home Depot and Interconnected Retail
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details In November 2011, just days before the holiday shopping rush, the senior leadership team of The Home Depot, Inc., (Home Depot), the world's largest home... -
Tektronix: Portable Instruments Division (B)
Finance & Accounting Case Study5.00View Details Describes the new material-burdening system they have implemented and the cycle-time-burdening system they are proposing. Asks students to analyze the... -
Purity Steel Corporation, 2012
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new... -
Gentle Electric Co.
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Designed to illustrate various levels of complexity in determining optimum order sizes for a single item inventory policy. Students are asked to evaluate... -
Dubai Ports Authority (B)
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
Workforce of One: Revolutionizing Talent Management Through Customization
35.00View Details Companies have excelled by treating customers as "markets of one"-offering them personalized buying experiences. But in managing talent, most firms still...
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The Keystone Advantage: What the New Dynamics of Business Ecosystems Mean for Strategy, Innovation, and Sustainability
Strategy & Execution Book35.00View Details Leveraging the power of business networks for success. Whether it sells computers, clothing, or cars, your firm's fate is increasingly linked to that... -
Dubai Ports Authority (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details The Dubai Ports Authority (DPA) wishes to digitize many of the documents it shares with its external partners, including shipping lines and agents, merchants,... -
Webvan
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Examines Webvan's operations and the processes by which it delivers groceries that were ordered from the Internet to customers' homes. Recounts Webvan's... -
Airbus and Boeing: Superjumbo Decisions
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Set in 1999, this case allows students to put themselves in the positions of both Airbus and Boeing as Boeing considered how to respond to Airbus's decision... -
The Case of the Machinists’ Mutiny
Change management Magazine Article“You can’t be serious!” Mike Trail, the president and fourth-generation owner of Trail Manufacturing, stared at five older men standing uncomfortably in his small office. “I’m afraid we are, Mike.” Sandy Mulder, the most senior of the five, was polite but firm. “We won’t switch over to the new equipment. We want to continue to […] -
Quincy Apparel (B)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study5.00View Details The (B) case provides post-mortem analysis from Quincy's cofounders on why their startup failed and what they could have done differently. Explanations... -
The US-China Trade War: Deal or No Deal?
Global Business Case Study8.95View Details The US-China trade war in 2019 led to major shifts in global trade and supply chains, highlighting the recent trend in deglobalization. This case discusses... -
5 Ways U.S. Hospitals Can Handle Financial Losses from Medicare Patients
Operations strategy Digital ArticleHealth care leaders can prevent a bad situation from getting worse. -
Qihoo
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Qihoo, one of the largest Internet companies in China today, was founded in 2005. The company started its business by offering a security software product,...