The Power of Pull, written by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison, all of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, is a seven-chapter book published by Basic Books/Perseus Books Group. The subtitle is: How Smart Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion. Roughly the first half of the book discusses the concept of pull: the ability to harness the power of networks, drawing out people and resources as needed to address opportunities, and participating actively in a flow of knowledge rather than simply possessing knowledge. Pull helps access people and resources when required, attract people and resources that are relevant and valuable, and achieve personal potential more effectively by pulling from within the qualities of performance that success demands. The second part of the book explores how pull can be put into practice at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. Chapter 6 discusses how institutions can implement the power of pull. Institutions must redefine the trajectory for change, leverage passionate individuals from both inside and outside of the institution, and accelerate the pace of change by removing institutional barriers -- by embracing, for example, the power that social networking websites can have on the job.
The Power of Pull, written by John Hagel III, John Seely Brown, and Lang Davison, all of the Deloitte Center for the Edge, is a seven-chapter book published by Basic Books/Perseus Books Group. The subtitle is: How Smart Moves, Smartly Made, Can Set Big Things in Motion. Roughly the first half of the book discusses the concept of pull: the ability to harness the power of networks, drawing out people and resources as needed to address opportunities, and participating actively in a flow of knowledge rather than simply possessing knowledge. Pull helps access people and resources when required, attract people and resources that are relevant and valuable, and achieve personal potential more effectively by pulling from within the qualities of performance that success demands. The second part of the book explores how pull can be put into practice at the individual, institutional, and societal levels. In the seventh and final chapter, the authors discuss the implementation of pull in the broadest economic and social environments. The authors focus especially on the concept of "shaping strategies" - galvanizing statements about the future of a market, an industry, or a broad social arena, that say how tomorrow will be different from today and how everybody will be better off thereby - and on increasing the flow of participation by people and resources toward a common goal.
This merger case puts face to face a team of negotiators representing InBev and another representing Anheuser Busch (AB). These teams have to negotiate on a potential acquisition of AB. Therefore, this case is much broader than just an exercise in valuation or finance. Learning objectives: This case will challenge participants on negotiation techniques, strategic analysis, working with a team, working "against" a team, present a deal in public and many other things.
The case describes how AXA, a global insurance company headquartered in Paris, France, defined and implemented its new brand in May 2008. This is exactly 3 years after CEO Henri de Castries launched the initiative "Ambition 2012" aimed at doubling revenues and tripling underlying earnings between 2004 and 2012 and turning AXA into "the preferred company" in financial protection. In order to become "preferred" among consumers; AXA needed to differentiate itself from its competitors. But, the brand attributes - including the signature "Be Life Confident" - didn't seem to be totally up to it. In 2007-2008, Claude Brunet, AXA's Chief Operating Officer, led a project to investigate and reinforce the brand. He strengthened marketing through the creation of a Group marketing department reporting to him which was responsible for strategic marketing and customer insight, offer and innovation, customer programs and quality of service, distribution, and brand and advertising. The voices of executives, customers and employees were then thoroughly analyzed. This fed the AXA Brand Spirit, a multidisciplinary task force made responsible for proposing action to the management board. The research concluded that the three main core attributes for AXA were "available", "attentive", and "reliable". The AXA Brand Spirit decided AXA ought to "continuously work to prove it is worth trusting". This meant exiting the "land of promise" and settling into a "land of proof". This would be the spirit of the new signature "redefining / standards". The new AXA brand was launched internally on May 27, 2008 with a worldwide online forum in which 55,000 employees participated. Learning objectives: Brand management is more than designing a new logo and creating a new value proposition. The case shows the importance of building emotional momentum within a service organization and using brand management as a catalyst for a deeper cultural change.
The president of Unimicron must evaluate the degree to which the company's information systems support its business strategy. The case provides an extensive review of the company's history, its strategy and its key competitive and organizational moves. The case reviews the way in which information systems are used in the company, and challenges students to assess the degree of fit between strategy, organization and technology.
Topics include distribution channels, pricing, and new product marketing. Jen Moritz, the marketing manager for Soren Chemical Co. is struggling with the poor sales performance of Coracle, a new clarifier for residential swimming pools. The performance is puzzling because Coracle is chemically similar to another Soren product that has sold well for treatment of larger pools. Soren distributes the other product B2B through "chemical formulators" serving the commercial pools market -- but Soren uses wholesale distributors to sell Coracle. Given the slow start in establishing Coracle as a consumer brand, Moritz suspects that the go-to-market strategy may be flawed, but she is unsure where the problem lies; she examines channel strategy, distribution partners, the Coracle pricing scheme, the threat of competitors' offerings, and other potential problem sources.
This note is an excerpt from Professor Bob Pozen's book "The Mutual Fund Business" and is an introduction to mutual funds, contrasted with commercial banks.
This case examines the causes and consequences of the credit crisis of 2008 from a national and global perspective and explores the actions taken and proposed by the U.S. and European governments.
This note explains the basic structure of the trading floor in a typical financial institution and how the front, middle and back offices interact to ensure a functioning trading system.
In the face of major disruption in the industry television networks have sought new revenue sources, implemented cost-cutting measures and strategized on ways to monetize online access to content. Programming changes, new advertising strategies, and deals via online distribution platforms are presented as means to capture the value of online video consumption.
The case captures the challenges Komatsu, the second largest manufacturer of the earth moving equipment faced during the past five decades as it sought to globalize its operations. By 2007, it had become the second largest manufacturer of the earth moving equipment with more than 80% of its sales coming from outside of Japan. It has built a network of plants, distributors and service centers around the world. Senior management is convinced that a major reason for its success is its culture, recently articulated as the Komatsu Way. The central issue in the case is how to transmit and embed it to its far flung operations throughout the world.
The chief executive officer (CEO) of Taiwan Taxi must assess the adoption of iCall by the firm's taxi drivers. When originally conceived, iCall was supposed to be the basis for substantial growth in the number of taxi drivers signing up with Taiwan Taxi. But even after many years, adoption still lags behind the plan. The CEO must assess the reasons for the slower adoption of iCall and make recommendations on whether to revise the goal or improve adoption in order to meet it. The case demonstrates the many complexities involved in realizing business value from the adoption of information technology.
This extensive note synthesizes current psychological and neuroscientific research on how people make decisions with moral implications. Research summaries and scenarios illustrate critical issues.
Revenue recognition is a critical issue for companies. Proper revenue accounting can be complex, particularly when vendors provide a mix of products and services, making it difficult to determine the appropriate timing and amount of revenue to be recognized. Financial reporting standards require disentangling multiple revenue streams to ensure that revenue is not recognized before it is earned. Compliance with recognition standards can affect access to capital, firm valuation, and employee bonuses. Errors can have severe consequences, including earning restatements. The case discusses key issues in revenue recognition, with particular focus on transactions with multiple deliverables. It uses Fluidigm Corporation to illustrate revenue recognition principles. This company sells a range of products, including analytical instruments, disposables, software, and services. The case also illustrates the evolving nature of revenue recognition standards, and the consequences of guidance changes on financial reporting and company procedures.
On March 30, 2010, Prime Minister Najib Razak presented his new economic model (NEM) for Malaysia. With the goal of raising per capita income to over $15,000 by 2020 from the current level of $6,634, the plan included measures to improve human capital, reduce migration and privatize inefficient government linked corporations (GLCs). However, the most controversial part of the NEM was the dismantling of the new economic policy (NEP), an affirmative action program for native Malays that had alleviated racial tensions and reduced inter-racial income inequality over the previous 40 years though, some argued, at the cost of fostering corruption.
In 2010, the bicentennial anniversary of Mexico's revolution against Spain, Mexican President Felipe Calderon hoped he could orchestrate several crucial reforms that Mexico needed. Mexico had not grown much over the course of the last decade, losing competitiveness to China and other Asian countries. Several of its institutions, including labor, education, healthcare, energy, and antitrust, seemed uncompetitive. But with a weaker peso and greater governmental attention to infrastructure, Calderon hoped that Mexico's higher-tech exports could recapture U.S. market share and make headway in Europe and Latin America.
This Case describes a controversial 2010 decision by the International Criminal Court (ICC) and alludes to some of the broader challenges of building international institutions. The case briefly highlights certain milestones in international relations preceding the ICC's formation; provides an overview of the ICC and its activities as of March 2010; and outlines Kenya's post-election crisis in 2007-2008 and the ICC's decision to intervene. The ICC's involvement was a divisive issue: some argued it would destabilize Kenya, while others claimed it was an important step towards lasting peace. The Kenya scenario presents many aspects for consideration, including the wisdom of the ICC's involvement (given the complex historical, economic, and cultural issues underlying the 2007-2008 crisis), as well as the likelihood that Kenyan officials will cooperate with the ICC. Students can also weigh the broader implications for the ICC as it seeks to establish itself as a legitimate, fair, and just institution.
Petro Refinery LLC, a crude oil refinery, faces an issue common in many production and service industries: finding the optimal product mix or input mix. A central difficulty is that each product consumes different amounts of the firm's shared resources, but contributes different revenues toward the firm's fixed costs. Managers do not necessarily want to sacrifice the production of one product for another just because one has a higher contribution. Even so, the best utilization of the firm's resources toward a good product mix should drive the firm's marketing strategy-what mix of products will result in the most profit? Petro Refinery is a simple but realistic exercise to illustrate product mix decisions.