In the summer of 2000, Bob Embry, the President of the Abell Foundation, asked two consultants to evaluate the performance Career Caravan, a job-to-work transportation program that his foundation was helping to fund. Career Caravan took low-income residents of West Baltimore to jobs in suburban Howard County, Maryland. The idea was that good jobs were more plentiful in the suburbs than in the central city, but that Baltimore's public transit system did not serve dispersed suburban employment centers well and many inner city residents did not have driver's licenses or own cars. But Embry was concerned that "reverse commute" programs like Career Caravan were expensive and did not do away with the need for costly job training to make the clients, many of whom had never been employed before, "job ready." HKS Case Number 1695.0
In the hours and days following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks which destroyed New York's World Trade Center towers, New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani distinguished himself, in the view of many, for his style of leadership. A combination of resolve, reassurance, courage, and compassion appeared to rally the city and the United States. Although not long before he had been under fire for aspects of his mayoralty, the post 9/11 Giuliani won national and international acclaim as a leader. This case recounts the details of Giuliani's response such that students of effective public leadership can analyze both Giuliani's decisions and style as examples. The case combines a written account of Giuliani's career, his often-controversial pre-9/11 tenure in office, and a detailed description of his, and New York City government's response to the terrorist blows. The written case is complemented by a video exhibit that combine real-time footage of Giuliani during the immediate aftermath of the Trade Center attacks, as well as reflections by key New Yorkers on his leadership approach and its qualities. The case provides fodder for discussion of those personal and institutional characteristics which came into play during an extreme crisis management situation. These include Giuliani's personal and political behavior, his heroes and role models, as well as New York City's emergency management system and how it was deployed. There is a teaching note available for this case (1681.2). HKS Case Number 1681.0
Three decades of research, capped off by two new studies, suggest that managers often hold grossly distorted perceptions of their businesses and markets. The authors conclude that accurate perceptions may be less important to a company's success than managers' willingness to seek feedback and learn from it.
The brutal, puzzle-based job interview has spread from the computer industry to the Fortune 500 and beyond. But grilling candidates in this way can backfire.
For the sixth year in a row, sporting-gear cooperative REI made Fortune's list of the 100 best companies for which to work. CEO Dennis Madsen shares his thoughts about the things the retailer seems to be doing right--among them, aligning corporate culture with employees' values and not getting too far ahead of customers.
In the early 1990s, grocery suppliers and retailers joined forces to streamline operations--an initiative called "efficient consumer response." Today, suppliers feel like they're not getting their fair share of the profits from ECR. But they stand to lose more if they give up on it, the authors say.
The leading company in express airfreight shipments is seeking to maintain its superiority in an increasingly competitive global market place. The case describes how FedEx has used information technology to enhance the reliability of its service and add extra features for customers. It also describes the company's efforts to improve service quality in the U.S.A., including new measurement techniques, training, and "internal marketing". With the company facing a profit crunch following its merger with Flying Tigers, the senior vice president customer service seeks to maintain investment in the ongoing quality improvement program.
The case discusses the international expansion efforts of the global coffee retailer, Starbucks. Starbucks had proliferated in several regions of the world, many of which had historical ties to a coffee heritage such as Western Europe. It had also challenged traditionally tea drinking countries such as Japan and China. In implementing its globalization strategy, the company relies on a set of sound principles that call for astute partner selection, real estate management, and managing the brands. While the company had witnessed critical success in most of its major markets overseas, it appeared to be facing significant challenges in every region. For example, in Japan, revenues had declined and so too profitability. New copycat competitors had emerged and many had started questioning the validity of Starbucks' market saturation strategies. In emerging countries, such as Mexico, China and India the company saw very good potential but this rosy picture was somewhat dampened by the ability of the consumer to pay close to $3 for a cup of coffee when local versions retailed at $0.50. The case with several questions related to the future of Starbucks in the global arena: whether it should alter its new store growth strategy, whether it should rethink its uniform pricing policy in emerging markets where affordability was of paramount importance, and where the next major thrust ought to be.
Discusses the impact of the Internet on the music industry from 1990 through 2003. Discusses the technology, new business models, and record companies' moves. Provides the necessary background to discuss such matters as well as to assess the strategies of the five major record companies--Sony, BMG, Warner, EMI, and Universal. Ends with the question of whether the music industry will survive and with arguments from both camps.
Describes the history of Energis, one of the United Kingdom's major alternative telecommunications network service providers (altnets). Tracks the company from its birth as a diversification move by the National Grid, the U.K.'s leading electricity distributor, through its dramatic growth, buoyed partly by the Internet boom, to its ultimate collapse. Illustrates the impact of major exogenous regulatory, technological, and demand shocks on an organization and highlights how these can be exaggerated by endogenous factors such as strategy, organizational structure, and systems.
Articulates a simple supply-demand framework to understand why people immigrate and focuses attention on the specialized cross-border intermediaries that facilitate such movement. Analyzes a series of important effects, primarily economic, of the diaspora communities that result from immigration over time and, again, focuses attention on the cross-border intermediaries that facilitate the realization of these economic effects.
Describes the complex operations of the cruise industry. Positioned between luxury cruise lines and mass market lines, Celebrity struggles to find ways to create customer loyalty and increase profitability.
In 1997, Lyle Hubbard, CEO of Gardenburger, a producer and marketer of veggie burgers and meat alternative products, had called together his executive team to discuss Gardenburger's advertising strategy, which until then had consisted mainly of print ads in food service trade publications, trade shows, off-invoice promotions with distributors, in-store sampling, and radio advertising. When Hubbard arrived at Gardenburger, he had wanted to create a rapidly growing, highly profitable company by taking veggie burgers from a small health food niche to the consumer mainstream. He believed that key to achieving this strategy was establishing national distribution in the largest channel, the grocery channel (which Gardenburger had only penetrated 30% by the beginning of 1996); innovating with flavor variety (but generally focusing on the veggie patty vs. expanding into other meat alternatives); and creating broad consumer awareness and trial.
In 1997, Lyle Hubbard, CEO of Gardenburger, a producer and marketer of veggie burgers and meat alternative products, had called together his executive team to discuss Gardenburger's advertising strategy, which until then had consisted mainly of print ads in food service trade publications, trade shows, off-invoice promotions with distributors, in-store sampling, and radio advertising. When Hubbard arrived at Gardenburger, he had wanted to create a rapidly growing, highly profitable company by taking veggie burgers from a small health food niche to the consumer mainstream. He believed that key to achieving this strategy was establishing national distribution in the largest channel, the grocery channel (which Gardenburger had only penetrated 30% by the beginning of 1996); innovating with flavor variety (but generally focusing on the veggie patty vs. expanding into other meat alternatives); and creating broad consumer awareness and trial.
Develops a framework linking structural diagnosis and strategy design in complicated (complex and ambiguous) negotiations. To develop good strategies, negotiators must rigorously diagnose the structure of their negotiating situations. Equivalently, strategy follows structure. At the same time, they must work to shape the structure in favorable ways, both before and while they are playing it. So strategy shapes structure too. Superior negotiation strategies, therefore, consist of a mix of moves to bargain within the existing structure of the game and moves to shape that structure in favorable ways.
Provides a framework for influencing key outside players--businesses, governments, and NGOs--in support of business strategy. This could mean negotiating contracts with major customers and suppliers, concluding acquisitions and alliances, and securing financing from investors and banks. It could also mean building coalitions to influence government rule-makers, working with institutional shareholders, and influencing key opinion-makers in the media and analyst communities. Illustrates how effective corporate diplomats skillfully employ the tools of diplomacy--negotiation, coalition building, and public relations--to shape the business environment favorably.
The case writers began taking notes on Thomas (Tom) Tierney's life experiences and the lessons that he has derived from them based on his presentations at several Harvard Business School MBA and executive education seminars during 2000 through 2002. This was followed by a series of interviews with Tierney. This case presents a compilation of Tom Tierney's reflections.
Pending developments in wireless networking and in embedded computing present a long-range strategic challenge to Nokia, Inc. This case outlines the ways technology is likely to develop in the next 20 years, briefly describes Nokia's history and strategic positioning, and challenges the reader to develop a coherent strategy for Nokia going forward.
Explores the causes and consequences of transforming Germany's bank-oriented financial system into one more oriented to capital markets. The economics of globalization, international accords such as Basel II, EU financial policies, and Germany's own regulatory reforms struck to the heart of its traditional, relationship-banking model. The outcry against these reforms grew so great that the German chancellor, Gerhard Schroder, announced that Basel II was not acceptable for Germany, especially because it affected the financing of Mittelstand (small and medium-size firms), the backbone of the German economy. With the economy stagnating, unemployment rising, job creation stalling, bankruptcies reaching record rates, the budget deficit rising, and German banks increasingly suffering from a simultaneous structural and earnings crisis, German banks and businesses wondered what the future had in store for them.