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Engineering Your Way Out of the Global Chip Shortage
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleIf you design for resilience, you'll be better able to navigate disruptions. -
The Risky Business of Diversification
Innovation Magazine ArticleOn the basis of a sample from the top 200 of the Fortune “500” and data from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategies) project, this author gives some guidelines for established companies on what to expect from new ventures. He points out that it takes an average of 10 to 12 years before the […] -
The Biosphere Rules
Operations strategy Magazine ArticleNature employs production processes that are surprisingly efficient, environmentally sound—and widely imitable. -
Look to Consumers to Increase Productivity
Personal productivity Magazine ArticleWhen productivity is a problem in manufacturing, managers turn to the R&D department or operations for help. In services, however, especially ones where there is a lot of contact with the customer, such in-house groups cannot by themselves improve productivity. Because services involve the customer in production, are labor intensive, and are time-bound, consumer behavior […] -
A Dedicated Team of Problem Solvers Can Help Big Companies Act Like Lean Startups
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleHow Experian does it. -
Is Apple Losing Its Monopoly on Gadget Envy?
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleSo Google's got a new phone now. Internet coverage is predictably hyperbolic, though Scott Anthony smartly puts the phone's potential to make waves into... -
The Biases That Keep Good R&D Projects from Getting Funded
Innovation & Leadership ResearchAnd how to overcome them, according to a new study. -
Design Thinking Can Help Improve Care for the Elderly
Innovation Digital ArticleStarting with products to manage prescriptions. -
Research: Legal Marijuana and Gay Marriage Have Been Good for U.S. Innovation
Global Business Digital ArticleSocially liberal policies resulted in more and better patents. -
Why Innovation Labs Fail, and How to Ensure Yours Doesn’t
Incubators Digital ArticleSetting up a research hub is easy. Setting it up to succeed is harder. -
Innovating a Classic at Airstream
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleAirstream's ability to innovate and grow depends on balancing longtime owners' expectations with new buyers' desires. In this conversation, president... -
The Power of Product Integrity
Product development Magazine ArticleSome companies consistently develop products that succeed with customers. Other companies often fall short. What differentiates them is integrity. Every product reflects the organization and the development process that created it. Companies that consistently develop successful products—products with integrity—are themselves coherent and integrated. Moreover, this coherence is distinguishable not just at the level of structure […] -
It’s Time to Stop Treating R&D as a Discretionary Expenditure
Innovation Digital ArticleFor digital companies, it’s an essential part of operations. -
Marketing Performance—What Do You Expect?
Project management Magazine ArticleA good plot, good friends, and full of expectation; an excellent plot, very good friends. Shakespeare, King Henry IV, Part I Special Report When trying to assess performance, there is no business function top executives worry about more than marketing. Most of them look at the marketers in their companies as something between vacuum-cleaner salespeople […] -
Getting Unusual Suspects to Solve R&D Puzzles
Technology & Operations Magazine ArticleYour problem solvers could not only be out in the wider world, but also in the wide reaches of your own organization. -
American Idol, Open Source, and the Million-Dollar Idea Inside You
Managing yourself Digital ArticleMaybe it’s the ongoing popularity of American Idol. Or perhaps it’s the tale of Paul Potts, who went from mobile-phone salesman to global celebrity with his victory on Britain’s Got Talent. Whatever the reason, more and more people believe that they too possess some “hidden genius” — a flair for design, a knack for writing, […] -
Design Secrets of the iPhone and BlackBerry
Product development Digital ArticleWhy is it that we can get into a rental car and know what 43 out of the 45 buttons do, but we can’t figure out how to use call forwarding on the 12-button phone that has been sitting on our desk for 10 years? This wonderful question was raised many years ago by Donald […] -
Can Building Great Products Help You Build Great Teams?
Innovation Digital ArticleSeven guidelines for people management from the product design world. -
Commercializing Technology: What the Best Companies Do
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleThe ability to commercialize technology is linked to competitive leadership in a variety of markets, such as copiers, computers, automobiles, and pharmaceuticals.... -
Half-Truth of First-Mover Advantage
Strategy & Execution Magazine ArticleMany executives take for granted that the first company in a new product category gets an unbeatable head start and reaps long-lasting benefits. But that...
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We've Got Rhythm! Medtronic Corp.'s Cardiac Pacemaker Business
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Illustrates how a new management team at Medtronic's Cardiac Pacemaker business reversed a steep decline in market share by adopting certain management... -
Sitting Pretty: Managing Customer-Driven Innovation at Faurecia Car Seating
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Faurecia is a world-class player in the automotive components sector, active in four main areas: automotive seating, vehicle interiors, exhaust systems... -
Avatar: Product Development in Creative Industries
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details In 2007, Twentieth Century Fox faced a number of issues in the production of Avatar-a movie that was widely anticipated but had raised concerns in the... -
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... -
Ford vs. GM: The Evolution of Mass Production (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View 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... -
EverTrue: Mobile Technology Development (A)
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Brent Grinna is evaluating different options for the technology development of his start-up's iPhone app, including hiring local programmers, finding... -
Armscor: Life After Apartheid?
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details After taking office, South Africa's new president, Nelson Mandela, must decide whether to dismantle or support Armscor, South Africa's state-owned arms... -
Hewlett-Packard: Singapore (A)
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details In the over 20 years since Hewlett-Packard (HP) set up a manufacturing site in Singapore to produce calculators, HP has invested managerial talent and... -
Chadwick, Inc.: The Balanced Scorecard
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details The pharmaceutical division of a diversified company has been asked to develop a Balanced Scorecard. Research and development projects take about ten... -
Design-Driven Innovation: Changing the Rules of Competition by Radically Innovating What Things Mean
38.00View Details Until now, the literature on innovation has focused either on radical innovation pushed by technology or incremental innovation pulled by the market.... -
Teradyne: The Aurora Project
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details Three cases deal with the introduction of a new product to Teradyne's line of semiconductor test equipment. Teradyne: Managing Strategic Change provides... -
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals: Spurring Scientific Creativity with Metrics
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Describes the reorganization of the drug discovery organization at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and focuses on the decisions to: (1) centralize decision-making... -
SAP AG: Orchestrating the Ecosystem
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Business ecosystems require careful orchestration and strategic choices regarding make/buy/partner decisions and membership access. This case examines... -
BP's Office of the Chief Technology Officer (B): Driving Open Innovation through an Advocate Team
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details Supplement case for KEL366. -
3M Optical Systems: Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details A middle-level division manager must decide whether he should support an investment request for a third attempt at launching a new product developed by... -
Redesigning Nissan (A): Carlos Ghosn Takes Charge
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details This is the first of a two-case series. When Renault sent Carlos Ghosn to turnaround its alliance partner Nissan, observers were skeptical of his chances.... -
The Pharmaceutical Industry in 2005
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details The entire pharmaceutical industry faced uncertain times in 2005. Many of the industry's most pressing issues-patent expirations, new drug pipeline development,... -
Disney's "The Lion King" (B): The Synergy Group
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details In the late 1980s, Disney CEO Michael Eisner introduced a synergy group to the company's organizational structure. The synergy group was responsible for... -
CSIRO: The Light Metals Flagship Decision
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details This case explores the challenge of investing in basic research as a public good. CSIRO was Australia's leading science and research agency, and it was... -
R&D Management at Universal Luxury Group - Perfumes and Cosmetics Division (A)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details This case describes the challenges faced by the cosmetics division of a large corporation when determining the set of products to develop in 2004. The...
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The Risky Business of Diversification
Innovation Magazine ArticleOn the basis of a sample from the top 200 of the Fortune “500” and data from the PIMS (Profit Impact of Market Strategies) project, this author gives some guidelines for established companies on what to expect from new ventures. He points out that it takes an average of 10 to 12 years before the […] -
Don't Cut Your Marketing Budget in a Recession
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleResearch shows that when firms reallocate it, they have more success. -
Crestor
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details AstraZeneca is preparing for the launch of Crestor, the company's first entrant in the enormous and fast-growing statin category. The team responsible... -
Brannigan Foods: Strategic Marketing Planning
Sales & Marketing Case Study8.95View Details The soup division at Brannigan Foods contributes over 40% of the firm's revenue. The general manager is concerned that the soup industry is declining... -
Bosch: Scaling Large Company Innovation for Strategic Advantage
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details This case focuses on the Innovation Performance Management (IPM) methodology as a new approach whereby established and global companies, like Bosch, can... -
Look to Consumers to Increase Productivity
Personal productivity Magazine ArticleWhen productivity is a problem in manufacturing, managers turn to the R&D department or operations for help. In services, however, especially ones where there is a lot of contact with the customer, such in-house groups cannot by themselves improve productivity. Because services involve the customer in production, are labor intensive, and are time-bound, consumer behavior […] -
Whaling Ventures
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Whaling was a prominent global industry in the nineteenth century and the United States was dominant. By 1850 there were about 900 whaling ships in the... -
Reinventing the Automobile: General Motors' AUTOnomy Project
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Describes the history of General Motor's attempts to develop a hydrogen fuel-cell powered car. As of 2003, GM developed several prototypes of such a vehicle... -
The Fight Against Zika Can't Wait for a Vaccine
Global Business Digital ArticleWe need a pandemic czar to fast-track new diagnostics. -
Designing the Future: Strategy, Design, and the 4th Industrial Revolution--An Introduction to the Special Issue
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleThis is an introduction to the special issue of California Management Review on Design Thinking (DT). This special issue joins the growing body of work...