As employees strive to do their jobs, they face threats to productivity from all quarters-disruptive technology, meddlesome superiors, senseless organizational practices, and abusive clients and customers. Sutton, of Stanford University, reminds us that the best bosses identify and slay those dragons, thereby protecting the time and the dignity of their people and enabling them to focus on real work. Self-awareness is the key to defending employees effectively. Good leaders resist their own tendency to exercise power: They keep meetings short, listen to their followers, and make it safe to disagree with the boss. They also work to reduce outside distractions by, for example, championing mornings free of e-mail or streamlining performance review processes. When their own bosses are the problem, they occasionally defy orders. Once in a while, they encourage their people to overtly comply with misguided demands from on high without actually buying in to them. Good bosses fight enemies. They take the heat for their teams. They have their employees' backs. Stepping on to this battlefield requires humility, intelligence, and bravery. In leading the charge to make the workplace safe and productive, however, you may risk martyrdom. Don't lose sight of the need to retain your own political power as you defend against the institutional forces that threaten your employees. And remember that preserving your own well-being will ensure that you have the energy to fight the good fight.
In 2004, Rick Hendrick, owner of the NASCAR racing operation Hendrick Motorsports, lost most of his management team in a plane crash. Among those killed was his brother and his only son, Ricky, whom Hendrick had been grooming to take over the business. Yet this devastating accident would inspire everyone in the company to fight harder, and would transform Hendrick into a wiser leader.
Bob Antice is well-loved and famously connected in the music industry. For decades he was a star-the most successful salesman in the company's history, friend and mentor to generations of performers, and a sought-after speaker at industry events. Bob's work from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s put Powerful on top: The company outsold all its competitors for eight straight years in the 1980s. And when he wasn't finding new ways to sell records, Bob was discovering new performers the label's talent-and-repertoire staff had somehow missed. But now his sales are flagging, and the label's CEO wants him out. Bob's current manager isn't sure that what he offers as a mentor and a public face for Powerful is relevant in the age of iPads, Shazam, and Live Nation. Still, Bob has an important personal relationship with the label's most important performer. Should he stay or should he go? Two commentaries are attached to the case, one from Peter Cappelli and Bill Novelli, the authors of Managing the Older Worker, and the other from Tamara J. Erickson, the author of "Retire Retirement" and "What's Next, Gen X?"
One of the world's most famous newspaper editors talks about leading the Washington Post through Watergate and beyond-and reflects on the future of print journalism.
Bob Antice is well-loved and famously connected in the music industry. For decades he was a star-the most successful salesman in the company's history, friend and mentor to generations of performers, and a sought-after speaker at industry events. Bob's work from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s put Powerful on top: The company outsold all its competitors for eight straight years in the 1980s. And when he wasn't finding new ways to sell records, Bob was discovering new performers the label's talent-and-repertoire staff had somehow missed. But now his sales are flagging, and the label's CEO wants him out. Bob's current manager isn't sure that what he offers as a mentor and a public face for Powerful is relevant in the age of iPads, Shazam, and Live Nation. Still, Bob has an important personal relationship with the label's most important performer. Should he stay or should he go? Two commentaries are attached to the case in R1009M and included in R1009Z, one from Peter Cappelli and Bill Novelli, the authors of Managing the Older Worker, and the other from Tamara J. Erickson, the author of "Retire Retirement" and "What's Next, Gen X?"
Bob Antice is well-loved and famously connected in the music industry. For decades he was a star-the most successful salesman in the company's history, friend and mentor to generations of performers, and a sought-after speaker at industry events. Bob's work from the mid-1970s to the early 1990s put Powerful on top: The company outsold all its competitors for eight straight years in the 1980s. And when he wasn't finding new ways to sell records, Bob was discovering new performers the label's talent-and-repertoire staff had somehow missed. But now his sales are flagging, and the label's CEO wants him out. Bob's current manager isn't sure that what he offers as a mentor and a public face for Powerful is relevant in the age of iPads, Shazam, and Live Nation. Still, Bob has an important personal relationship with the label's most important performer. Should he stay or should he go? Two commentaries are attached to the case in R1009M and included in R1009Z, one from Peter Cappelli and Bill Novelli, the authors of Managing the Older Worker, and the other from Tamara J. Erickson, the author of "Retire Retirement" and "What's Next, Gen X?"
At a time when ever-rising smartphone sales are driven as much by demand for devices that run must-have third-party apps as by the quality of traditional voice and data services, there is a myriad of challenges facing the software developer who is looking to choose which mobile development software platform to invest in. Written from the perspective of an established consumer bank that is about to commence development on its first downloadable application for mobile devices, the case surveys the state of the smartphone market in 2010 and considers the challenges of a platform landscape that includes significantly varying installed device base sizes, growth rates, application distribution models, and hardware device profiles. Focusing on Apple's market-leading iOS platform and App Store, for iPhones and other devices and on Google's developing Android OS and associated Android Market, the case considers potential benefits and pitfalls of each and touches on the reasons that other longer-standing platforms, such as RIM's BlackBerry platform, are less appealing to modern-day application developers.
The scientific consensus on climate change's origins in human activities has begun to influence international law and corporate policies. Suitable for MBA and undergraduate students, this technical note is a compilation that replaces a three-part series of the same name (UVA-ENT-0036, -0037, and -0038)International concern over global climate change began in the late 20th century, when scientists saw a correlation among increasing atmospheric concentrations of certain gases, human activities emitting those gases, and an unusual increase in global ambient temperature readings. The scientific community was joined by international policy makers who had grown concerned about reports of climate change impacts ranging from melting polar icecaps to regional flooding, drought, and extreme-weather events. While a small number of scientists disagree, most researchers suggest that prudence requires action to reduce human contributions to atmospheric pollutants that cause the greenhouse effect.
One day during the summer of 2008, Paul Maeder, co-founder and general partner of Highland Capital Partners (HCP), was walking with his wife around Reykjavik, Iceland, marveling at how clean the city felt and at the widespread use of naturally occurring geothermal energy to power everything from trams to buildings. "They don't treat their air and water like an open sewer," Maeder thought. "This is the way people need to live and this is the way people are going to have to start living in 10 or 20 years." To his wife, Maeder said aloud: "I think Highland should revisit the idea of investing in cleantech."
This primer outlines a process for preparing and executing personal development and growth. Our foundational idea is that a leader's effectiveness depends to a great degree on how others see him or her. Thus, improving as a leader often requires that a person tune in to how others perceive (and misperceive) him or her. We describe methods for gathering and analyzing others' views, culling a sense of personal strengths and development needs that reflect both others' perceptions and one's own personal goals and ambitions. We detail an approach to articulating a concrete and practical action plan and give suggestions for implementing and sustaining change.
The global economy entered a crippling recession in the fourth quarter of 2008 and Dow lost its primary source of funding for its planned acquisition of Rohm and Haas.
Dow's board and management team worked on arranging appropriate financing to complete the acquisition of Rohm and Haas. Meanwhile, the board of Rohm and Haas filed suit against Dow after it delayed the completion of the acquisition.
Drugs to cure the disease exist, however they don't reach the demand where it occurs and stock-outs of drugs to treat malaria cost lives. Jim Barrington, former chief information officer (CIO) at Novartis and current director of the SMS for Life project, had been trying to solve the problem since 2006, when he first heard about the "last mile" problem from Silvio Gabriel, executive vice president (EVP), Novartis Malaria Initiatives. The case talks about how he approached the supply-chain problem and established a public-private partnership to develop a simple solution suitable for the rugged African environment. The essential idea was to create an in-county forecasting system based on the use of SMS messaging between the health posts that dispense the drugs and the district and regional warehouses that distribute the drug. A data management system with a reporting interface using charts provided stock level information from all facilities to facilitate stock movement and supply, as well as improving stock forecasting and planning. The case describes the process of developing and implementing the solution through a pilot in three districts in Tanzania. The pilot was successful and the case ends with the question how to approach a country-wide and even a pan-African roll-out. Learning objectives: There are three learning objectives, and ways to teach the case: 1) To discuss a new, collaborative way, involving private and public companies (and contrast it other available approaches), to solve world-wide problems, which demand solutions beyond the capabilities and responsibilities of single players. 2) How simple technology, e.g. based on available mobile phone networks, can solve supply chain problems in most difficult environments. 3) How external collaborations can bring innovation into well established multinational players, and have a potential impact on their business model.
Supply chain network design choices and the challenges in implementing and understanding how alternatives influence firm performance are key management skills that can be applied to the case of a global company, Kulicke & Soffa Industries, Inc. (K&S), and its expansion strategy. Suitable for the MBA, EMBA, GMBA, and executive education programs, the case explores the decision to expand the company's tool bonding capacity in order to manage its growth. The question becomes whether to grow current operations in Yokneam Israel or seek alternative sites. And if it was decided to seek a location outside of Israel, where exactly should the company go?
While much of the work on outsourcing to China focuses on the low cost and its tradeoffs, this case examines in depth the interaction between human capital and a firm's cost and capabilities. Suitable for the MBA, EMBA, GEMBA, and executive education programs, the case presents a manufacturer of semiconductor assembly equipment looking to achieve growth in its wire bonding tools segment-in particular, capillaries and dicing saw blades-through geographic expansion. At the time, it manufactured capillaries in Yokneam, Israel, and blades in Santa Clara, California. In the A case the team is charged with designing and opening a new facility in Suzhou, China. Expanding operations to China meant cost savings, and it was where K&S's market had expanded. But it wasn't clear whether it made sense to move the capillary process, the dicing blade manufacturing, or both. And if K&S did move to China, should it keep the Israeli- and American-based factories open as well? And once those decisions were made, what exactly would the knowledge transfer look like?
The green belt specialist at the Cintas Torlake facility near Toronto had four days before he was to present his recommendations to the executive steering committee (ESC) for correcting the capacity problem in the mat department, which was causing product shortages and negatively affecting customer satisfaction. The case provides data that students can use to analyze the processes used at the company for cleaning and replacing mats for its approximately 5,000 customers. The case provides students with the opportunity to develop their process and capacity analysis skills and to explore six sigma methodology.