Social science research shows that people are heavily influenced by a desire to conform with the group. Businesses and other organizations are beginning to understand the power of "social norms"--for example, the British government used this insight in letters to delinquent taxpayers, and its National Health Service has drawn on it to reduce missed clinic appointments. Five guidelines for companies looking to use this powerful tool.
New research refines a theory from the 1990s, demonstrating that equity pay can both encourage and discourage executive risk taking. It depends on the mix of a CEO's potential gains and losses, and boards can manage this mix to encourage the risk-taking behavior that's best for their company.
Media companies have traditionally delayed product availability in low-margin channels to maximize revenue in high-margin ones. New research on books, movies, TV, and music suggests that digital markets make this strategy much less effective. Three strategies companies can use to reduce piracy of their content.
New research on effective leaders shows that the most brilliant ones tend to be people without a great deal of experience. The only trouble is, the same is true of the very worst leaders.
The joint stock company, limited liability, and the principle of linking managers' rewards to those of shareholders were all good ideas that spurred economic growth. But they also have had some dangerous consequences.
Game designer Jane McGonigal on how engaging in some activities we assume are nonproductive--as tiny exercises--may actually be a smart way to spend time, especially at work.
The internet's size and impact on the global economy will only increase over the next few years, according to projections from the Boston Consulting Group. In the United States it already accounts for a larger slice of GDP than the federal government. In China it's among the top six industry sectors, and in South Korea it's among the top five.
Souk el Tayeb, Lebanon’s first weekly farmers’ market, and Tawlet, a farmers’ restaurant — the former adopting the legal structure of an NGO and the latter being an income-generating company — were joined by one vision to “celebrate food and traditions that unite communities and support small-scale farmers and producers and a culture of sustainable agriculture.” Souk el Tayeb’s founder, Kamal Mouzawak, first launched Souk el Tayeb in May 2004 in Beirut, Lebanon. The idea was to create a communal space for farmers across the country to sell their organic produce and products. The overarching vision was to create a platform that joined different people celebrating food, culture, and traditions and promoted and supported the agricultural sector in Lebanon. Mouzawak and his business partner were in the process of brainstorming ways to grow the impact of their business without compromising quality standards, all while meeting the ever-looming challenge of financial sustainability.
The management of Germany's Brainlab AG, a leading provider of software-driven oncology and surgery solutions, needs to evaluate strategic options for proceeding without an exclusive hardware partner in its most profitable business segment.
This case is used in Darden's required EMBA first-year Marketing course. It can also be used in course modules covering Pricing or Brand Management. In the case. a financial analyst considers a presentation by an investor in J. C. Penney and the implications of the company's turnaround strategy. This case provides an alternative approach to the market positioning discussion in the two-part case, "J. C. Penney: Reinventing Fair and Square Deals (A and B)" (UVA-M-0835 and UVA-M-0836). It includes the views of the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, who holds more than 18% of the company's stock and believes the company is poised for a major turnaround.
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 analyze the budget and prepare a summary of monthly operations to help identify the source of performance problems. The plant has had difficulty hiring enough workers despite raising wages over 30%. In addition, the assembly process for an iPhone is complicated, with 140 steps involving over 100 components. The plant manager considers whether a flexible budget would be more useful for uncovering problems than the static budget currently being used. Students must perform break-even and flexible budget analyses and calculate price and usage variances as they consider solutions for the plant's problems with the iPhone contract. This case, which explores the challenges of outsourcing manufacturing, can be used as an introduction to managerial accounting.
This is one exercise in a 4-part series entitled Job Offer Negotiation Exercises. This exercise gives participants the opportunity to act as the Maximum Motivation candidate in a job offer negotiation.<br><br>The purpose of this role-play case series is to give participants the opportunity to experience a job offer negotiation as both the job candidate and the employer. The exercise involves two distinct negotiation scenarios, allowing participants the opportunity to play both roles and to practice and apply concepts and skills learned in the first negotiation session. If desired, only one of the two scenarios can be negotiated if only one hour is available for the activity. One negotiation occurs for a job with a company called Maximum Motivation (A and B cases) and the other is for a job with a company called People Power (C and D cases). Participants work in pairs, with one playing the role of the job candidate and the other playing the role of the company representative. In both scenarios, the company considers the candidate to be the top applicant and would like to finalize the hire. Also in both scenarios, the job candidate has an acceptable alternative — another job offer from a rival company called PerformanceMax — and needs to accept or decline the PerformanceMax offer the next day. Thus, it is important that both sides reach an acceptable employment arrangement during this negotiation, or the candidate will not be hired. When both sides have negotiated an acceptable agreement, or when either partner decides to end the negotiation, the negotiation is over. After group discussion, participants find a different partner who last played the opposite role, switch roles, and complete the second negotiation scenario.
This is one exercise in a 4-part series entitled Job Offer Negotiation Exercises. This exercise gives participants the opportunity to act as the Maximum Motivation representative in a job offer negotiation.
This is one exercise in a 4-part series entitled Job Offer Negotiation Exercises. This exercise gives participants the opportunity to act as the candidate in a job offer negotiation with People Power.
This is one exercise in a 4-part series entitled Job Offer Negotiation Exercises. This exercise gives participants the opportunity to act as the People Power representative in a job offer negotiation.
This is one exercise in a 4-part series entitled Job Offer Negotiation Exercises. This exercise gives participants the opportunity to act as the Maximum Motivation candidate in a job offer negotiation. The purpose of this role-play case series is to give participants the opportunity to experience a job offer negotiation as both the job candidate and the employer. The exercise involves two distinct negotiation scenarios, allowing participants the opportunity to play both roles and to practice and apply concepts and skills learned in the first negotiation session. If desired, only one of the two scenarios can be negotiated if only one hour is available for the activity. One negotiation occurs for a job with a company called Maximum Motivation (A and B cases) and the other is for a job with a company called People Power (C and D cases). Participants work in pairs, with one playing the role of the job candidate and the other playing the role of the company representative. In both scenarios, the company considers the candidate to be the top applicant and would like to finalize the hire. Also in both scenarios, the job candidate has an acceptable alternative - another job offer from a rival company called PerformanceMax - and needs to accept or decline the PerformanceMax offer the next day. Thus, it is important that both sides reach an acceptable employment arrangement during this negotiation, or the candidate will not be hired. When both sides have negotiated an acceptable agreement, or when either partner decides to end the negotiation, the negotiation is over. After group discussion, participants find a different partner who last played the opposite role, switch roles, and complete the second negotiation scenario.
In late 2005 As Shawn Warren the head of biscuits at Kraft for Asia Pacific, surveys the China market for Oreos he knew he had to make changes, and fast. The company's flagship brand was falling far short of expectations in the world's most populous country. This meant that the turnaround had to be quick to avoid the complete disaster of pulling the product from the shelves altogether. Oreos were first launched in China in 1996, yet sales had been flat since then while the rest of China had been setting record growth in the biscuit industry. The Oreo case illustrates the dilemma faced by a successful multinational brand when entering an emerging market, namely China. It covers the complexity of dealing not only with differing consumer tastes, but also the challenges of local competition and distribution systems. The case provides a rich historical account of Oreo's entry into China and the problems facing Kraft and its management as it strives to reach its full potential in a large and fast-growing emerging market.