This case explores the conflict between Shell Oil and Greenpeace over Shell's plans to sink the aging Brent Spar oil platform in the North Atlantic. It details the tactics Greenpeace employed and examines Shell's responses.
This case provides a career retrospective as of 2003 on Goldman Sachs strategist Abby Joseph Cohen. It reviews Cohen's career path and progress through key decision points.
Public professional service organizations (PPSOs) are professional service organizations that serve the public. This case describes the unique challenges facing PPSO leaders.
Companies are more security conscious than ever, but they've neglected their greatest vulnerability: ordinary employees. Former hacker Kevin Mitnick tells companies that every employee is part of the problem--and had better be part of the solution.
Computer games aren't just for kids anymore, as Chrysler, Coca-Cola, and the U.S. Army are finding out. Whether selling cars or recruiting soldiers, games are attracting a new kind of player.
Former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt talks with HBR's Ben Gerson about investors' eroded confidence and what the SEC, Wall Street, and corporate boards must do about it.
Accounting scandals have opened the door to international influence on U.S. financial reporting. Most important for U.S. companies, under emerging global standards, income statements will become a lot more revealing.
In August, 2002, Melody Johnson, the deputy superintendent of the Providence, Rhode Island, School District, was hastily appointed acting superintendent, in the wake of the resignation of her predecessor and close colleague Diana Lam. Lam and Johnson together had been embarked, over the previous three years, on an ambitious reform plan to upgrade the low-performing system. Despite some indicators of improvement, however, Johnson knew that there remained significant resistance to the changes-as evidenced, in part, by a bitter contract dispute recently settled with the system's teachers. This case describes the challenge facing Melody Johnson as she sought to gain rank-and-file support for reform, in the immediate months after her appointment as superintendent in her own right. It focuses on specific steps that she considered to gain that support, without compromising reforms including, radically, a day in which classes would be cancelled so that she and others could address the teaching force as a whole. This public leadership case is designed to highlight the choices and techniques of "adaptive leadership", as described in the work of Kennedy School professor Ronald Heifetz, "Leadership Without Easy Answers" (Belknap Press, September 1994). See also case # 1690.0. HKS Case Number 1689.0
In August, 2002, Melody Johnson, the deputy superintendent of the Providence, Rhode Island, School District, was hastily appointed acting superintendent, in the wake of the resignation of her predecessor and close colleague Diana Lam. Lam and Johnson together had been embarked, over the previous three years, on an ambitious reform plan to upgrade the low-performing system. Despite some indicators of improvement, however, Johnson knew that there remained significant resistance to the changes-as evidenced, in part, by a bitter contract dispute recently settled with the system's teachers. This case describes the challenge facing Melody Johnson as she sought to gain rank-and-file support for reform, in the immediate months after her appointment as superintendent in her own right. It focuses on specific steps that she considered to gain that support, without compromising reforms including, radically, a day in which classes would be cancelled so that she and others could address the teaching force as a whole. HKS Case Number 1690.0
Aung San Suu Kyi, who would win the Nobel Peace Prize and galvanize world attention on the brutal military rulers of Burma, was, until 1988, an expatriate for much of her life, with largely historical and intellectual connections to the country of her birth. She was the daughter of Aung San, Burma's "father of independence", assassinated in 1947, and herself the author of a history of the southeast Asian country. This case tells the dramatic story of her transformation from her role as a writer and mother, living in Oxford, England, to that of a political leader who electrified throngs in Rangoon (Burma's capital) and sacrificed much of what she held dear as she became a symbol of resistance to the Burmese military and was forced to live under house arrest. This case is intended to provide a vehicle for discussion of the elements which allow a leader to emerge and to gain deep, emotional support from the public. Aung San Suu Kyi's personal, historical status--being her father's daughter--combined with a series of events that thrust her into the public eye (starting with her return to Burma simply to be at the bedside of her dying mother) and set the stage for her dramatic role. At the same time, the case raises the question of what factors, specifically--from personal characteristics to tactical decisions--made her effective. It raises, too, the ethical question of whether, or how, she should have reached some entente with the military rulers of Burma, as she sought to convert symbolic impact to real political change. See also Part B (1686.0).
Aung San Suu Kyi, who would win the Nobel Peace Prize and galvanize world attention on the brutal military rulers of Burma, was, until 1988, an expatriate for much of her life, with largely historical and intellectual connections to the country of her birth. She was the daughter of Aung San, Burma's "father of independence," assassinated in 1947, and herself the author of a history of the southeast Asian country. This case tells the dramatic story of her transformation from her role as a writer and mother, living in Oxford, England, to that of a political leader who electrified throngs in Rangoon (Burma's capital) and sacrificed much of what she held dear as she became a symbol of resistance to the Burmese military and was forced to live under house arrest. This case is intended to provide a vehicle for discussion of the elements which allow a leader to emerge and to gain deep, emotional support from the public. Aung San Suu Kyi's personal, historical status--being her father's daughter--combined with a series of events that thrust her into the public eye (starting with her return to Burma simply to be at the bedside of her dying mother) and set the stage for her dramatic role. At the same time, the case raises the question of what factors, specifically--from personal characteristics to tactical decisions--made her effective. It raises, too, the ethical question of whether, or how, she should have reached some entente with the military rulers of Burma, as she sought to convert symbolic impact to real political change. See also Part A (1685.0).
In industries characterized by network externalities, the self-reinforcing effects of installed base and the availability of complementary goods can lead to a single (or few) firm(s) controlling nearly all of the market share in a product category. A new entrant may attempt to displace the incumbent standard by introducing a radically improved technology-- "leapfrogging" the current generation. However, a technological advantage alone is often not enough. To lure customers away from the existing standard, the new technology must somehow yield more value than the combination of value yielded by the incumbent technology's functionality, installed base, and complementary goods. This article develops a multidimensional framework of technology value components and applies it to data from case studies of three generations of competition in the U.S. video game industry. Presents strategies a potential entrant can use to leapfrog an incumbent successfully and strategies an incumbent can use to defend its position.
Examines knowledge sharing in business environments and cultures that are hostile to knowledge sharing, focusing on knowledge sharing as it relates to individual behavior. Looks at knowledge hoarding, apprehension about failures, and the Not-Invented-Here syndrome, drawing on the examples of six Russian companies, including three with western ownership. In knowledge-sharing hostile environments, it is inadequate to apply traditional means for managing knowledge-sharing processes. Instead of encouraging, stimulating, and aligning incentives, managers need initially to force knowledge sharing to transform their organizations into knowledge-embracing cultures. Outlines concrete guidelines for overcoming the barriers to knowledge sharing.
Recent decades have witnessed the proliferation of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the emergence of activism across a wide variety of issue areas. On topics ranging from human rights to labor conditions, NGOs and activists represent an increasingly important constituency in a firm's nonmarket environment. Explores the different ways in which firms manage NGO pressure, noting instances of preemption, capitulation, and resistance. Considers three case studies--Unocal, Nike, and Novartis--and evaluates a series of hypotheses about the economic and noneconomic factors that drive the varying firm responses to NGO activism.
Requiring manufacturers to manage their products when they become waste is an innovative form of regulation, one that countries in Asia, Europe, and North America have adopted on a variety of products, ranging from vehicles to appliances to batteries. However, even in many unregulated industries, some manufacturers are voluntarily assuming more responsibility for their end-of-life products, driven by customer demand and cost efficiencies. Explores various forms of take-back regulation and highlights some of the key features of the institutions that emerge in response. Also presents seven strategic product recovery alternatives and discusses some factors managers should consider in developing a take-back strategy.
Firms put enormous intellectual and financial resources into creating differentiated products or services for their consumers. However, in many situations, differentiation may not be a profitable strategy. Spells out the conditions under which it is profitable to differentiate and those when it is not. Consumers learn about alternatives from advertising, and many consumers do not see advertising for all relevant alternatives. As a result, a significant fraction of consumers make decisions with limited information about the available alternatives. The value of creating differentiated products is ambiguous when awareness of products and their characteristics is the key determinant of consumer behavior.
The profitability of many firms hinges on their ability to extract the maximum amount of revenue from a fixed quantity of perishable goods and/or services. Yet, most firms in this situation have not invested in yield management systems. Explains why minimal use of yield management techniques may have been appropriate in the pre-Internet era. Discusses the major changes to the marketing landscape fostered by the Internet that enable the effective practice of yield management. Many yield management approaches have the potential to increase profitability significantly. Highlights the most important factors for managers to consider when reassessing the viability of yield management systems at their firms.