Duke behavioral economist Ariely and Harvard Business School professor Norton explore how our consumption of concepts influences physical consumption, both positively and negatively.
If your firm has downsized recently, you're now managing a bunch of survivors - the lucky ones who didn't get laid off. But good fortune doesn't make for good performance, at least not in this situation. Chances are, you're presiding over a heightened level of employee dysfunction, even if you don't see it yet. Here's what you can do to limit the damage.
Having studied the dynamics of cascades in complex systems, this Columbia sociologist and network scientist argues that the most damaging ones are impossible to anticipate. The solution, therefore, may be to make systems less complex to start with, in order to reduce the chance that any one part can trigger a catastrophic chain of events. In the financial system, this means preventing companies from growing too big to fail in the first place.
Krugman - a professor at Princeton University, the most recent winner of the Nobel Prize in economics, and a columnist for the New York Times - talks about the global financial meltdown: what surprises him, what scares him, and what he'd do to ensure a recovery if he were calling all the shots.
Poor leadership in good times can be hidden, but poor leadership in bad times is a recipe for disaster. Looking at 360-degree feedback data for more than 11,000 executives, the authors identified 10 leadership shortcomings, among them not walking the talk, failing to learn from mistakes, and lacking clear vision and direction.
Global industry restructuring is driving a dramatic increase in cross-border acquisitions, and some countries - notably the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada - are selling a lot more than buying. To remain competitive, they should take action on three levels.
This is the first of a two-case series. Cirque du Soleil very successfully entered a structurally unattractive circus industry. It was able to reinvent the industry and created a new market space by challenging the conventional assumptions about how to compete. It value innovated by shifting the buyer group from children (end-users of the traditional circus) to adults (purchasers of the traditional circus), drawing upon the distinctive strengths of other alternative industries, such as the theatre, Broadway shows and the opera, to offer a totally new set of utilities to more mature and higher spending customers. **ecch European Case Awards Category Winner 2006 and ecch European Case Awards Overall Winner 2009.
The Essilor Korea case series focuses on the efforts of Stephen Shawler as he attempts to build a world-class joint venture between French-based Essilor and its Korean partner, Samyung Trading. Facing huge cultural barriers and partner relationship issues, Shawler must determine the targets and tactics of several change initiatives. Each of the (A), (B) and (C) cases deals with a different set of decisions for Shawler; the (D) case provides a summary of final observations.
The Essilor Korea case series focuses on the efforts of Stephen Shawler as he attempts to build a world-class joint venture between French-based Essilor and its Korean partner, Samyung Trading. Facing huge cultural barriers and partner relationship issues, Shawler must determine the targets and tactics of several change initiatives. Each of the (A), (B) and (C) cases deals with a different set of decisions for Shawler; the (D) case provides a summary of final observations.
The Essilor Korea case series focuses on the efforts of Stephen Shawler as he attempts to build a world-class joint venture between French-based Essilor and its Korean partner, Samyung Trading. Facing huge cultural barriers and partner relationship issues, Shawler must determine the targets and tactics of several change initiatives. Each of the (A), (B) and (C) cases deals with a different set of decisions for Shawler; the (D) case provides a summary of final observations.
The Essilor Korea case series focuses on the efforts of Stephen Shawler as he attempts to build a world-class joint venture between French-based Essilor and its Korean partner, Samyung Trading. Facing huge cultural barriers and partner relationship issues, Shawler must determine the targets and tactics of several change initiatives. Each of the (A), (B) and (C) cases deals with a different set of decisions for Shawler; the (D) case provides a summary of final observations.
Alain Deronde, the CEO of a French personal care company, has to choose a successor to head global product development from a diverse set of candidates with different backgrounds, strengths, and weaknesses. The candidates include Elise Bernier, Vice President of Marketing for Skin Care Products, Antoine Lambert, General Manager of Coeur Tendre (an ex-entrepreneur whose company Deronde had bought), Yang Jianguo, Country Manager of Deronde International's Chinese subsidiary, and Yves Saurac, Vice President of Product Development for Developed Markets.
A biotech company receives umbilical cells for processing. A number of operational improvements are being considered in order to maintain the company's position and reputation in the market. Information on expected delivery dates is known. However, there is a great uncertainty around these dates. The company needs to take account of this variability when arranging for staffing. A supporting data set is available, product 7B09E010 for the (A) case, as well as the supplemental B case, product 9B09E011.
A biotech company receives umbilical cells for processing. A number of operational improvements are being considered in order to maintain the company's position and reputation in the market. Information on expected delivery dates is known. However, there is a great uncertainty around these dates. The company needs to take account of this variability when arranging for staffing.
A biotech company receives umbilical cells for processing. A number of operational improvements are being considered in order to maintain the company's position and reputation in the market. Information on expected delivery dates is known. However, there is a great uncertainty around these dates. The company needs to take account of this variability when arranging for staffing. A supporting data set is available, product 709E10 for the (A) case, as well as the supplemental B case, product 909E11.
In December 2008, Erica Mills and her husband, Craig, were making plans. They had recently decided to start a family within the next 12 months and were now making decisions about how to manage their careers as they were about to take this momentous step. Erica had started Warm Fuzz Cards, a Toronto-based greeting card company, just over two years ago in 2006. The business was growing slowly but profitably. Craig was employed as a human resources executive at a large company. He was very supportive of Erica's business. In fact, he believed that the business could grow much more quickly. Erica, on the other hand, liked her slow growth strategy. However, she was not sure that she could manage the business as it was currently structured and raise a family at the same time. They were going to have to decide what to do soon. They would need time to decide how fast to grow, develop a plan, raise money, and possibly hire staff, all before they started their family. This case provides students with an example of an entrepreneurial start-up and an understanding of: 1) the decision of how fast to grow 2) the decision of how much and where to invest in a growing business 3) how management skills, knowledge and preferences can impact decision-making in entrepreneurial/family business ventures 4) how important cash management is in the early stage of growth 5) how various stages in the development of a new venture will dictate the need for the detailed financial tracking and management of a business. This case is appropriate for a 75-minute introductory entrepreneurship class.
A consultant with CARE Enterprise Partners (CEP) is tasked to provide consulting for three social enterprises in different stages of development, each benefiting from CEP funding and support. CONASE - an oatmeal manufacturer selling to the government's vaso de leche free breakfast program - asked for advice on strategic analysis and creative approaches to customer relations. Seviagro - a market linkage social enterprise aggregating produce from smallholder artichoke farmers for resale to a large processing and export company - requested support with cost analysis and accounting. Corporacion Solar - initially established as a buyer and reseller of spinach produced by Andean farmers but currently transitioning from a market linkage model to a hybrid model - was looking for assistance in reshaping its growth strategy to target major buyers in Lima with a more diversified product offering. The three for-profit social enterprises profiled in this case sample a new breed of locally-reliant, market-driven models, which could further Peru's rural development in mountainous regions like the Ancash province. Their success could be tremendously influential in charting a new approach to development in the Andes. Success here could also endorse CEP's pioneering approach to development around the world. But despite careful start-up planning and very promising triple-bottom line projections, each enterprise confronted unexpected challenges in customer relations, cost management, sourcing and distribution. As these social ventures were getting off the ground, their founders' ability to simultaneously meet their social goals and remain economically viable was in jeopardy. The case asks students to put themselves in the consultant role and reposition these social ventures for sustainable growth.
The case describes the Indian business environment and the enormous opportunities and challenges presented by rural markets as they expand rapidly. It focuses on the innovative business model deployed by ITC to engage the rural population in multiple ways and create a platform for procuring commodities and providing a range of goods and services to the bottom of the pyramid in rural India. It gives students the opportunity to evaluate the future of ITC's rural business.
Dr. Bill Lemont is the new chief medical officer of a large academic medical center. During his first week on the job he has become aware of the abusive behavior and temper outbursts of a prominent orthopedic surgeon. How Dr. Lemont handles the situation will be scrutinized inside and perhaps outside the hospital.