Supplements Andersen Consulting - EMEAI: Reorganization for Revitalization. An alternative to video Organizational Change at Anderson Consulting - EMEAI, Video.
Focuses on how Microsoft built one of the world's greatest franchises and poses questions about what, if anything, can stop the company. Teaching purpose: To teach building competitive advantage, the advantages of bundling, and the sustainability of competitive advantages over time.
Microsoft is planning the introduction of Internet Explorer along with Windows 95. Issues include how aggressive the company should be in providing its browser with Windows 95 and restricting OEMs (original-equipment manufacturers) from putting other browsers on their computers. Should Microsoft go for initial share, concentrate on stealing over time, retain customers, or enlarge the total size of the browser market? Students use a Markov process with initial states and switching probabilities to gain insight into resolving these issues.
Custom Research is considering terminating service to many clients to eliminate unprofitable work and concentrate on the more profitable client projects.
Noli Tingzon, newly-appointed international division VP at Jollibee, the Philippines-based hamburger chain, is faced with the challenge of expanding fast food operations in Asia in the face of stiff competition. The case describes Jollibee's six-year international expansion history and the lessons the company has learned. Against this background, Noli must decide among expansion opportunities in New Guinea, Hong Kong, and California.
In the 1990s, many international brewers sought to enter the Chinese beer market, using a variety of strategies that differed in geographic and market segment choices, the use of alliances, importing versus local production, acquisitions versus greenfield site development, marketing mix, and more. This case describes the Chinese beer market and industry and the strategies adopted by several leading participants. Can be used to examine alternative strategies for entering emerging country, consumer goods markets. Can also be used to examine how standard "five-forces" industry and competitor analysis must be adapted to deal with emerging economies with ill-functioning markets, poor infrastructure, highly changeable government policies, and weak legal systems.
Offered at the beginning of a twenty-five session course on general management, this note presents a structure and an outline intended to serve as a reference and provide orientation to the students as the course progresses.
When teachers at a Madison, Wisconsin elementary school announce plans to mount a photo exhibit featuring families with gay or lesbian parents, school system superintendent Cheryl Wilhoyte faces a vexing decision. She knows well that the exhibit will be controversial and will likely offend members of the community, especially a group of conservative Christian parents. She knows, too, that liberal teachers will view the issue as one involving academic freedom, keyed to the school's system's "anti-bias" curriculum. In this leadership case, the superintendent must decide, in effect, whether and/or how to decide. Should this be a school-level decision? Or does it demand her own intervention? She must even decide on what grounds she should base her decide about whether to become involved. The case is useful for discussions of leadership in a decentralized environment, as well as issues of how authorities must deal with cultural conflict in a public sector context. HKS Case Number 1440.0
When teachers at a Madison, Wisconsin elementary school announce plans to mount a photo exhibit featuring families with gay or lesbian parents, school system superintendent Cheryl Wilhoyte faces a vexing decision. She knows well that the exhibit will be controversial and will likely offend members of the community, especially a group of conservative Christian parents. She knows, too, that liberal teachers will view the issue as one involving academic freedom, keyed to the school's system's "anti-bias" curriculum. In this leadership case, the superintendent must decide, in effect, whether and/or how to decide. Should this be a school-level decision? Or does it demand her own intervention? She must even decide on what grounds she should base her decide about whether to become involved. The case is useful for discussions of leadership in a decentralized environment, as well as issues of how authorities must deal with cultural conflict in a public sector context. HKS Case Number 1442.0
Drawing on a rich set of company examples, Thomas H. Davenport, a professor at the University of Texas's Graduate School of Business, provides a fresh, high-level perspective on enterprise systems that will help senior executives think rationally about their large-scale investments in this technology. Enterprise systems present a new model of corporate computing. They allow companies to replace their existing information systems, which are often incompatible with one another, with a single, integrated system. By streamlining data flows throughout an organization, these commercial software packages, offered by vendors like SAP, promise dramatic gains in a company's efficiency and bottom line. It's no wonder that businesses are rushing to jump on the ES bandwagon. But while these systems offer tremendous rewards, the risks they carry are equally great. Not only are the systems expensive and difficult to implement, they can also tie the hands of managers. Unlike computer systems of the past, which were typically developed in-house with a company's specific requirements in mind, enterprise systems are off-the-shelf solutions. They impose their own logic on a company's strategy, culture, and organization, often forcing companies to change the way they do business. Managers would do well to heed the horror stories of failed implementations. FoxMeyer Drug, for example, claims that its system helped drive it into bankruptcy. Using examples of both successful and unsuccessful ES projects, the author discusses the pros and cons of implementing an enterprise system, showing how a system can produce unintended and highly disruptive consequences. Because of an ES's profound business implications, he cautions against shifting responsibility for its adoption to technologists. Only a general manager will be able to mediate between the imperatives of the system and the imperatives of the business.
In this interview with Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill and HBR senior editor Suzy Wetlaufer, Franco Bernabe discusses the six-year period in which he transformed his organization from an unprofitable, politically-controlled collection of operating companies into a lean, competitive, global enterprise. Few CEOs will face crises as disruptive and dramatic as those encountered--and overcome--by Bernabe. In 1992, when Bernabe was appointed CEO of Eni, Italy's large, energy-focused industrial group, his announced goal was to transform the company from a political quagmire into a clean, market-driven business ready for its first public offering. The resistance to his plans was intense, but that wasn't the worst of it. Soon after he took power, an investigation known as Mani Pulite--Clean Hands--led to the arrest of much of Eni's senior management team, including the company's chairman. One of those senior managers even made the false claim--based on hearsay--that Bernabe himself had taken a huge bribe. Simply put, Bernabe's story is not just that of a CEO steering a massive strategic reinvention. It is a story of leadership, and an unlikely one at that. In this interview, it becomes clear how Bernabe survived his tumultuous first months as CEO and then led the company's transformation. To begin with, he was unique in having both an encyclopedic knowledge of Eni's operations and a view of the company's future from 30,000 feet. But perhaps more than anything, Bernabe's power to lead has come from within. He follows, he says, an inner compass pointed toward humanity and justice. In difficult times, Bernabe seeks consultation from others. But ultimately, he makes all important decisions alone so as not to be buffeted by the needs, emotions, or agendas of others. Such solitude, he believes, is one of the burdens--and necessities--of leadership.
While it is true that there is great promise in integrated cost systems, there is also great peril, according to Harvard Business School Professor Robert Kaplan and Claremont Graduate School Professor Robin Cooper. The authors explain that unless managers approach integration very thoughtfully--with extremely careful customization--they could end up with a system that performs neither function well and that drives decision making in the wrong direction altogether. Operational-control and ABC systems have fundamentally different purposes. Their requirements for accuracy, timeliness, and aggregation are so different that no single, fully integrated approach can be adequate for both purposes. If an integrated system used real-time cost data instead of standard rates in its ABC subsystem, for example, the result would be dangerously distorted messages about individual product profitability--and that's precisely the problem ABC systems were originally designed to address. Proper linkage and feedback between the two systems is possible, however. Through activity-based budgeting, the ABC system is linked directly to operations control: managers can determine the supply and practical capacity of resources in forthcoming periods. Linking operational control to ABC is also possible. The activity-based portion of an operational control system collects information that, while it mustn't be fed directly into the activity-based strategic cost system, can be extremely useful once it's been properly analyzed. Finally, ABC and operational control can be linked to financial reporting to generate cost of goods sold and inventory valuations--but again, with precautions.
In this article, Timothy A. Luehrman presents a framework that can bridge the gap between the practicalities of real-world capital projects and the higher mathematics associated with formal option-pricing theory. His step-by-step approach maps out the exact relationship between a project's characteristics and the five variables that determine the value of a simple call option on a share of stock. By going through these steps, executives not regularly steeped in finance can discover value hidden in their projects that their standard discounted cash flow analysis would overlook. The analogy between financial options and corporate investments that create future opportunities is both intuitively appealing and increasingly well accepted. Executives readily see that today's investment in R&D, or in a new marketing program, or even in a multiphased capital expenditure can generate the possibility of new products or markets tomorrow. But for many, the leap from the puts and calls of financial options to actual investment decisions has been difficult and deeply frustrating. The calculations required to value real options have been dauntingly complex, and practical how-to advice on the subject has been scarce and mostly aimed at specialists, preferably with Ph.D.s in finance. Luehrman's methodology is designed to be used by general managers, not technical specialists. It deliberately sacrifices absolute precision in order to generate a number "good enough" to provide executives with valuable insight into their most important and complex investment decisions.
In this fictitious case study, HBR editor Regina F. Maruca explores the challenges of managing employees in the alternative workplace. Allison Scher is threatening to quit. Penny Ryan wants to run the team. The manager of these off-site workers, Craig Bedell, feels blindsided by their conflict. And the whole mess has Maggie Pinto, the head of HR, wondering if she should cancel the companywide rollout of the telecommuting program. How did this situation get to the boiling point so quickly? Craig doesn't really know. From his vantage point--inside the office--his department is doing the best work it has ever done before. And the flexible work arrangements, designed on a case-by-case basis, have increased productivity and boosted morale at the same time. Or so Craig believed--until a few days ago, when the E-mail messages started to come. There was trouble between Penny and Allison. How serious was the situation? It was hard to tell. Craig responded with E-mail and voice-mail messages of his own. Couldn't it all be put on hold until Monday, when the team would come together for its biweekly meeting? Then he got the final E-mail from Allison--the one in which she threatened "to seek alternative employment." Is the breakdown in communication irrevocable? Can Craig, who learned how to manage during a time when people showed up at the office every day, adjust to the conditions of telecommuting? Four commentators offer their advice on how the company can patch up the short-term problem and lay the foundation for a successful future. In 98405 and 98405Z, Robert M. Egan, Wendy Miles, John R. Birstler, and Margaret Klayton-Mi offer their advice on how the company can patch up the short-term problem and lay the foundation for a successful future.
In this fictitious case study, HBR editor Regina F. Maruca explores the challenges of managing employees in the alternative workplace. Allison Scher is threatening to quit. Penny Ryan wants to run the team. The manager of these off-site workers, Craig Bedell, feels blindsided by their conflict. And the whole mess has Maggie Pinto, the head of HR, wondering if she should cancel the companywide rollout of the telecommuting program. How did this situation get to the boiling point so quickly? Craig doesn't really know. From his vantage point--inside the office--his department is doing the best work it has ever done before. And the flexible work arrangements, designed on a case-by-case basis, have increased productivity and boosted morale at the same time. Or so Craig believed--until a few days ago, when the E-mail messages started to come. There was trouble between Penny and Allison. How serious was the situation? It was hard to tell. Craig responded with E-mail and voice-mail messages of his own. Couldn't it all be put on hold until Monday, when the team would come together for its biweekly meeting? Then he got the final E-mail from Allison--the one in which she threatened "to seek alternative employment." Is the breakdown in communication irrevocable? Can Craig, who learned how to manage during a time when people showed up at the office every day, adjust to the conditions of telecommuting? In 98405 and 98405Z, Robert M. Egan, Wendy Miles, John R. Birstler, and Margaret Klayton-Mi offer their advice on how the company can patch up the short-term problem and lay the foundation for a successful future.
In this fictitious case study, HBR editor Regina F. Maruca explores the challenges of managing employees in the alternative workplace. Allison Scher is threatening to quit. Penny Ryan wants to run the team. The manager of these off-site workers, Craig Bedell, feels blindsided by their conflict. And the whole mess has Maggie Pinto, the head of HR, wondering if she should cancel the companywide rollout of the telecommuting program. How did this situation get to the boiling point so quickly? Craig doesn't really know. From his vantage point--inside the office--his department is doing the best work it has ever done before. And the flexible work arrangements, designed on a case-by-case basis, have increased productivity and boosted morale at the same time. Or so Craig believed--until a few days ago, when the E-mail messages started to come. There was trouble between Penny and Allison. How serious was the situation? It was hard to tell. Craig responded with E-mail and voice-mail messages of his own. Couldn't it all be put on hold until Monday, when the team would come together for its biweekly meeting? Then he got the final E-mail from Allison--the one in which she threatened "to seek alternative employment." Is the breakdown in communication irrevocable? Can Craig, who learned how to manage during a time when people showed up at the office every day, adjust to the conditions of telecommuting? In 98405 and 98405Z, Robert M. Egan, Wendy Miles, John R. Birstler, and Margaret Klayton-Mi offer their advice on how the company can patch up the short-term problem and lay the foundation for a successful future.