John Browne believes that all companies battling it out in the global information age face a common challenge: using knowledge more effectively than their competitors do. And he is not talking only about the knowledge that resides in one's own company. "Any organization that thinks it does everything the best and that it need not learn from others is incredibly arrogant and foolish," he says. British Petroleum's chief executive, who engineered the revival of BP Exploration and Production and poised BP for spectacular growth, never accepts that something can't be done and is always asking if there is a better way and if someone might have a better idea. Under his leadership, BP is doing the same. And no matter where knowledge comes from, Browne says, the key to reaping a big return is to leverage that knowledge by replicating it throughout the organization so that each unit is not learning in isolation.
Two decades after affirmative action became law, progress on increasing diversity in the U.S. workplace--particularly beyond the entry level--is mixed. On one hand, people of color make up a larger percentage of senior managers than at any point in the past. On the other hand, many people of color still struggle with the closed doors of institutional racism. For its 75th anniversary issue, HBR asked a group seldom heard from in the media--executives of color--to address the central questions on race and work in the United States: How far has American business come? Is there reason for optimism? Which programs work and which fail? Who is primarily responsible for bringing about advances in diversity? And what does the future hold?
The world's current system of intellectual property rights has in recent years become unworkable and ineffective. Designed more than 100 years ago to meet the needs of an industrial era, it is inadequate to handle the ownership and distribution of intellectual property generated by the brainpower industries that have come to dominate the world's economy. The prevailing wisdom is that minor tweaking can remedy the problem. But MIT economist Lester Thurow challenges such thinking and calls instead for a new system--one redesigned from the ground up. In making his case for why the old system doesn't work anymore, Thurow lays out the challenges the new system must meet.
This fictitious case study explores the challenges facing CoolBurst, a Miami-based fruit-juice company. For over a decade, CoolBurst had ruled the market in the Southeast. Why, then, are its annual revenues stuck at $30 million, and why have profits been stagnant for four years straight? CoolBurst's new CEO, Luisa Reboredo, knows that the company's survival--and her own--depend on the answers. Reboredo has succeeded former utilitarian CEO Garth LeRoue. While LeRoue had undeniably made CoolBurst into the well-oiled machine it was, he'd also been stubborn in enforcing a culture of tradition, self-discipline, and respect for authority--a culture so staid and polite, it left little room for employees to be creative. LeRoue, for instance, had almost fired two of CoolBurst's most creative employees for inventing four new drinks without his permission. Sam Jenkins, one of those employees, had been so angered by the incident that he left the company to work for CoolBurst's largest competitor. How can Reboredo encourage her employees to start thinking creatively. And how can she nurture any creative individuals who may join the company in the future? In 97511 and 97511Z, commentators Paul Barker, Teresa M. Amabile, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Gareth Jones, and Elspeth McFadzean offer advice on this fictional case study.
This fictitious case study explores the challenges facing CoolBurst, a Miami-based fruit-juice company. For over a decade, CoolBurst had ruled the market in the Southeast. Why, then, are its annual revenues stuck at $30 million, and why have profits been stagnant for four years straight? CoolBurst's new CEO, Luisa Reboredo, knows that the company's survival--and her own--depend on the answers. Reboredo has succeeded former utilitarian CEO Garth LeRoue. While LeRoue had undeniably made CoolBurst into the well-oiled machine it was, he'd also been stubborn in enforcing a culture of tradition, self-discipline, and respect for authority--a culture so staid and polite, it left little room for employees to be creative. LeRoue, for instance, had almost fired two of CoolBurst's most creative employees for inventing four new drinks without his permission. Sam Jenkins, one of those employees, had been so angered by the incident that he left the company to work for CoolBurst's largest competitor. How can Reboredo encourage her employees to start thinking creatively. And how can she nurture any creative individuals who may join the company in the future? In 97511 and 97511Z, commentators Paul Barker, Teresa M. Amabile, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Gareth Jones, and Elspeth McFadzean offer advice on this fictional case study.
This fictitious case study explores the challenges facing CoolBurst, a Miami-based fruit-juice company. For over a decade, CoolBurst had ruled the market in the Southeast. Why, then, are its annual revenues stuck at $30 million, and why have profits been stagnant for four years straight? CoolBurst's new CEO, Luisa Reboredo, knows that the company's survival--and her own--depend on the answers. Reboredo has succeeded former utilitarian CEO Garth LeRoue. While LeRoue had undeniably made CoolBurst into the well-oiled machine it was, he'd also been stubborn in enforcing a culture of tradition, self-discipline, and respect for authority--a culture so staid and polite, it left little room for employees to be creative. LeRoue, for instance, had almost fired two of CoolBurst's most creative employees for inventing four new drinks without his permission. Sam Jenkins, one of those employees, had been so angered by the incident that he left the company to work for CoolBurst's largest competitor. How can Reboredo encourage her employees to start thinking creatively. And how can she nurture any creative individuals who may join the company in the future? In 97511 and 97511Z, commentators Paul Barker, Teresa M. Amabile, Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Gareth Jones, and Elspeth McFadzean offer advice on this fictional case study.
These days, a Western company's toughest competition in Asia is likely to come not from familiar rivals but from lesser-known Asian companies based in countries other than Japan. These companies often use unusual tactics and strategies, and those who wish to compete with them should learn eight new rules of Asia's competitive game. First, it is better to be always first than always right. Second, control the bottlenecks in the supply chain. Third, build walled cities; that is, create a dominant position in an industry. Fourth, bring market transactions in-house. Fifth, leverage your government's goals. Sixth, use a networked style of company organization. Seventh, make commercialization the equal of invention, and eighth, remember that what you don't know, you can learn. Western companies must learn the rules of the new competitive game and then decide whether to follow them or to break them.
Consists of eight separate parts. These parts can be used separately, a few at a time, or all eight at once. Link.Com: A Silicon Valley Legend is a short introduction that provides a brief overview of the company. Link.Com is a large, multinational computer company, with a spectacular growth and profitability record. Organizational charts show the structure of the firm and the positions of the eight top-ranking women in the company (seven of whom contributed to this series of cases). This material can be used to introduce any of the seven individual stories that follow: Natalie Kramer's Story, Ana Ibarra's Story, Denise Brousseau's Story, Patricia Sullivan's Story, Kathleen Casey's Story, Mariana Torcelli's Story, and Masako Hirada's Story.
After a turbulent year in the Canadian airline industry, Madelaine Mercier wants to reevaluate her investment in Air Canada and Canadian Airlines. She is wondering how she should reflect the extensive amount of leases used by the two companies in her analysis. She is unsure if she should make adjustments to the company's financial statements and is curious to know whether these adjustments would make a material difference in her analysis.
The primary decision maker operated an extensive shrimp farming business in Ecuador. The shrimp value chain consisted of many activities that culminated in the preparation of a wide variety of frozen appetizers and dinners. In order to increase profitability, the company faced the challenges of moving up the value chain. Meanwhile, global consumption of shrimp value-added products was increasing rapidly. Foreign food processors and retailers had an interest in guaranteeing supply by integrating backwards into the shrimp farming business. A joint venture might offer benefits to both the company and a foreign corporation. The case raises issues of concern from the perspective of both potential partners. Ecuador had just emerged from a political revolution; interest rates and foreign exchange rates were unstable; financial institutions in Ecuador were charging extremely high interest rates; labour unrest might result in various kinds of work stoppages. In such a rapidly changing environment of business, how should the company plan for its economic future?
International Decorative Glass (IDG) is a small manufacturer of glass panels which are inserted into exterior steel doors. While their primary market is in the U.S., most of IDG's manufacturing is done in China through a joint venture arrangement. In response to rapidly growing customer demand, the vice president of operations, is considering the expansion of either their Chinese or Canadian manufacturing operations. Alternatively, he has been approached by a supplier to form a new joint venture manufacturing operation in Vietnam. Financial, political and infrastructural considerations must be weighed, in addition to any signal that would be sent to their current Chinese partners.
VBF Tubing, a Dutch firm, is facing increased demand for its products, high inventory levels, and expensive setup costs. In light of these problems, the logistics manager must decide how to respond to a proposal that longer production runs be scheduled. The production, cost and market data supplied permit the students to explore the necessity and implications of changing production batch sizes on these competing priorities. In particular, the application of the traditional Economic Order Quantity can be assessed based on other facility-wide operating practices.
A major trust company attempts to implement a major software system while simultaneously reengineering business processes. Providian Trust, a previously non-IT intensive organization, must completely reposition its management of technology to deal with IT's new strategic role in the company. The case illustrates how the appropriate use of IT framework can illuminate risk and suggests appropriate courses of action.
In March 1995, YPF (the former Argentine state-owned oil and gas utility, privatized in late 1993) acquired the Dallas-based Maxus Energy Corp., one of the world's largest independent oil and gas exploration companies. YPF's first acquisition is nearly bankrupt, with close to $1 billion in long-term debt. Roberto Monti takes over as CEO in August 1995. The case describes the steps he took to stem losses at Maxus before being named CEO of YPF in April 1997.
In late 1993, Orbital Communications Corp. (OCC), a subsidiary of Orbital Sciences Corp., is developing a global two-way wireless data communications system, called "ORBCOMM," based on a 26-satellite constellation in low earth orbit. Service is scheduled to begin in the United States in late 1994, followed by a rollout to international markets in 1995. The case focuses on OCC's marketing strategy in the years prior to the product/service being available. Provides details on how the firm has defined its markets and estimated the demand for the United States and international markets. There is also a rich discussion of other parts of OCC's marketing strategy including product design and development, marketing to regulatory bodies, development of the sales organization to include channel partners to enter the domestic and international markets, pricing strategy, and the role of competition. A rewritten version of an earlier case.