The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, created by Congress in 1970 to curtail what was viewed as a still-alarming level of industrial accidents, had, 20 years later, become a lightning rod for controversy. Its advocates viewed it as a bulwark of the defense of sale working conditions but opponents portrayed it as abusively intrusive, creating bureaucratic nightmares for employers. With that backdrop -- and with dwindling manpower and other resources -- OSHA officials in Maine, in 1991, try a radically different approach to their task, targeting 200 businesses which data has told them are the state's most important to bring into compliance. OSHA hopes both to avoid diluting the inspection capacity it has -- and to find ways to persuade, rather than to coerce through the law, business to make improvements. The apparent success of the Maine 200 program comes at a time when the new Clinton Administration is eager to find such government "reinvention" programs it can widely replicate. HKS Case Number 1373.0

The end of the apartheid government in South Africa signals myriad changes in that society -- including a basic examination of how government should regulate philanthropic and nonprofit, Nongovernmental organizations. Such groups fell into two major categories -- traditional charities, most of which were formally organized, and community-based organizations, some of them informal, which had been part of the vanguard of apartheid opposition. When the post-apartheid government drafts legislation to oversee NGOs, controversy erupts. What proponents view as necessary financial safeguards, some NGO leaders view as potential government interference. HKS Case Number 1374.0

In the early 1980s, The Ford Foundation, among other funders, help create a new type of organization designed to finance the renewal of older, inner city neighborhoods, both through housing renovation and other investments. The Local Initiatives Support Corporation will not undertake projects itself but, instead, will serve as a sort of bank, choosing among proposals submitted by nonprofit development entities. But LISC was by no means making no-strings-attached grants. Instead, it wanted to assure itself -- and those providing its capital -- that it was getting a return on its investment. When a team of consultants is called in to measure LISC's return on investment, it must first consider how such a return might even be defined. Should LISC consider only financial data as regards the repayment of the loans it makes? Or should it consider the catalyzing effects of the organizations it supports on their surrounding neighborhoods? How or should such effects be measured? HKS Case Number 1370.0

This case recounts the work of a special Argentina-Uruguay bi-national commission convened to examine the economics of a proposed bridge that would link the two countries. The bridge being considered by commission officials in the spring of 1996 was to extend 41 kilometers across the River Plata estuary, from Buenos Aires to the Uruguay city of Colonias. It would be by far the longest in the world. The case recreates the problem as faced by the commission, which had to consider whether it would make financial sense for a private concessionaire to build and operate the bridge. Specifically, bridge commission staff had to critique the work and recommendations of a private consulting firm whose market projects led it to conclude that the US$1 billion bridge could successfully be financed by tolls of US$60 per car. HKS Case Number 1400.0

The rise of highly-rated nonfiction television programs has sparked concern about the techniques which television producers use to gather images and information. This press ethics case focuses on a particularly controversial technique: the decision of the American Broadcasting Company (ABC) to use hidden cameras and undercover producers to gather footage said to show that the Food Lion supermarket chain was re-labeling meat so as to sell what might be spoiled meat as fresh. It also explores the motivations and sources of journalists, as well as the novel approach Food Lion used to strike back at ABC, seeking damages not for libel but for fraud, trespass, and breach of duty of (employee) loyalty, on the part of undercover reporters who actually obtained employment at Food Lion. HKS Case Number 1397.0

Faced with the need to dispose of an offshore oil storage installation, the Royal Dutch Shell Corporation develops what it believes is a straightforward and sensible plan: to dump the oil platform deep in the ocean, 150 miles off the northwest coast of Scotland. Doing so avoids a number of problems, including potential environmental threats involved with transporting it and otherwise disposing of it. The British government agrees but the unprecedented plan sparks outrage among environmental groups. HKS Case Number 1369.1

In the early 1980s, The Ford Foundation, among other funders, help create a new type of organization designed to finance the renewal of older, inner city neighborhoods, both through housing renovation and other investments. The Local Initiatives Support Corporation will not undertake projects itself but, instead, will serve as a sort of bank, choosing among proposals submitted by nonprofit development entities. But LISC was by no means making no-strings-attached grants. Instead, it wanted to assure itself -- and those providing its capital -- that it was getting a return on its investment. When a team of consultants is called in to measure LISC's return on investment, it must first consider how such a return might even be defined. Should LISC consider only financial data as regards the repayment of the loans it makes? Or should it consider the catalyzing effects of the organizations it supports on their surrounding neighborhoods? How or should such effects be measured? HKS Case Number 1370.0

In 1996, Sri Lanka had a mixed public and private bus system, with about one-third of passengers carried by public companies and two-thirds by private. The private buses were not earning enough from passenger fees to replace their buses and as a result there were many complaints of overcrowding and safety problems. The public buses were making do largely because they received free buses from the government. Improving bus service was critical for the country since approximately 80 percent of motorized passenger trips are carried by buses. The government was considering a variety of reforms including fare increases and consolidation of small public and private operators. This case can be used to discuss the politics and rationale for regulation and privatization. And the case describes a 90 year history of privatizing, nationalizing, and re-privatizing the bus industry. HKS Case Number 1378.0.

In July 1991, South African president F.W. de Klerk announced the appointment of Hermanus Kriel to the cabinet post of minister of law and order. As the official responsible for oversight of the controversial national police force, the South African Police (SAP), Kriel would perhaps have the hardest job in a rapidly changing South Africa: a job made all the more daunting by recent revelations of a police role in fanning the flames of factional strife among blacks. The growing scandal had reinforced the SAP's reputation among black South Africans as one of the most hated symbols of white rule. For over four decades, the South African Police had been entrusted with enforcing the country's notorious and iniquitous system of apartheid--a task it had performed with what many regarded as excessive zeal and brutality. All this had been done by the SAP in the name of the apartheid system, which it was sworn to uphold. Yet as the 1980s drew to a close, the underpinnings of that system began to change dramatically and SAP's mission was no longer in force. This case details the changes that took place within SAP during the post-apartheid period. It should be paired with HKS829 (Part A). HKS Case Number 1095.1.

In many mass markets, companies are facing a predicament: customers are demanding not only ever faster order fulfillment but also highly customized products and services. The authors show how the Hewlett-Packard Co. and others have proved that one indeed can deliver customized products quickly and at a low cost. The key to mass-customizing effectively is postponing the task of differentiating a product for a specific customer until the latest possible point in the supply network. Instead of taking a piecemeal approach, companies must rethink and integrate the designs of their products, the processes used to make and deliver those products, and the configuration of their entire supply network. By adopting such a comprehensive approach, they can operate at maximum efficiency and quickly meet customers' orders with minimum amount of inventory.

Virtually all executives today recognize the need to provide outstanding service to customers. Focusing on the customer, however, is both an imperative and a potential curse. Companies around the world have embraced mass customization in an attempt to avoid pitfalls. But many managers have discovered that mass customization itself can produce unnecessary cost and complexity. They are realizing that they did not examine thoroughly enough what kind of customization their customers would value before they plunged ahead. In this article, the authors provide a framework to help managers determine the type of customization they should pursue.

Companies collect information about customers to target valuable prospects more effectively, tailor their offerings to individual needs, improve customer satisfaction, and identify opportunities for new products or services. But managers' efforts to capture such information may soon be thwarted. The authors believe that consumers are going to take ownership of information about themselves and start demanding value in exchange for it. As a result, negotiating with customers for information will become costly and complex. Consumers will be unlikely to bargain with vendors on their own, however. The authors anticipate that companies they call infomediaries will broker information to businesses on consumers' behalf. In essence, infomediaries will be the catalyst for people to start demanding value in exchange for information about themselves. And most other companies will need to rethink how they obtain information and what they do with it if they want to find new customers and serve them better.

Three decades into the environmental revolution, many companies in the industrialized nations have recognized that they can reduce pollution and increase profits at the same time. But beyond corporate "greening" lies the enormous challenge--and opportunity--to develop a sustainable global economy, one that the planet is capable of supporting indefinitely. Stuart Hart, director of the Corporate Environmental Management Program at the University of Michigan School of Business, explains the imperative of sustainable development and provides a framework for identifying the business opportunities behind sustainability. Hart identifies three stages of environmental strategy: pollution prevention, product stewardship, and the development of clean technology. But companies will not benefit from such efforts unless they draw a road map that can show them how new products and services must evolve and what new competencies they will need.

Costs, market fragmentation, and new media channels that let customers bypass advertisements seem to be in league against the old ways of marketing. Relying on mass media campaigns to build strong brands may be a thing of the past. Several companies in Europe, making a virtue of necessity, have come up with alternative brand-building approaches and are blazing a trail in the post-mass-media age. In England, Nestle's Buitoni brand grew through programs that taught the English how to cook Italian food. The Body Shop garnered loyalty with its support of environmental and social causes. Cadbury funded a theme park tied to its history in the chocolate business. Haagen-Dazs opened posh ice-cream parlors and got itself featured by name on the menus of fine restaurants. Hugo Boss and Swatch backed athletic or cultural events that became associated with their brands.

If you're in the business of service delivery, investment in the training and development of your staff is one of the keys to your company's success. But what's the best way to design and implement your investment? In 1994, Fidelity Institutional Services Co. (FIRSCo) needed to ensure that its rapidly expanding staff maintained the company's high levels of customer satisfaction. The solution, according to Ellyn McColgan, formerly an executive vice president of FIRSCo and now the president of Fidelity Investments Tax-Exempt Services Co., was to reach out to its service associates with a powerful new model for training and development called Service Delivery University. McColgan explains how FIRSCo overcame resistance to this sweeping change in employee education. (Time was one obstacle: each associate receives 80 hours of training per year.) In addition, the author discusses the fine art of measuring the success of a program like SDU. She finds that the company's investment has paid dividends to the staff, to the organization as a whole, and to FIRSCo's customers.

How do we face the prospect that creating a profitable, growing company might require intolerable abuse of the natural world? Monsanto--with its history in the chemicals industry--is an unlikely candidate to be creating cutting-edge environmental solutions, but that is precisely what it is doing. The need for sustainability is transforming the company's thinking about growth. Changes in global environmental conditions will soon create an unprecedented economic discontinuity. To invent new businesses around the concept of environmental sustainability, Robert Shapiro begins with a simple law of physics: A closed system like the earth's cannot support an unlimited increase of material things. It can, however, withstand exponential growth in information. So Monsanto is exploring ways to substitute information for "stuff" and services for products. For example, the company is genetically coding plants to repel or destroy harmful insects. Putting the right information in the plant makes pesticides unnecessary. Information replaces stuff; productivity increases and waste is reduced.

The news that one of the company's senior managers is leaving comes as a complete surprise to Paul Simmonds, CEO of Kinsington Textiles, Inc. (KTI). Ned Carpenter, KTI's vice president of operations for three years, writes in his resignation letter that he is leaving for a better opportunity. Simmonds soon learns that Carpenter's new job is at Daltex, one of KTI's main rivals in the intensely competitive carpet industry. In this fictitious case study, Simmonds, along with the company's counsel and vice president of human resources, must figure out how much and what sort of damage control they need. Five experts offer advice about communicating with KTI's employees, the media, and Carpenter himself, and about protecting the company's confidential information. In 97111 and 97111Z, Kenneth L. Coleman, Stephen A. Greyser, Hal Burlingame, Rob Galford, and Gregory S. Rubin offer advice about communicating with KTI's employees, the media, and Carpenter himself, and about protecting the company's confidential information.

The news that one of the company's senior managers is leaving comes as a complete surprise to Paul Simmonds, CEO of Kinsington Textiles, Inc. (KTI). Ned Carpenter, KTI's vice president of operations for three years, writes in his resignation letter that he is leaving for a better opportunity. Simmonds soon learns that Carpenter's new job is at Daltex, one of KTI's main rivals in the intensely competitive carpet industry. In this fictitious case study, Simmonds, along with the company's counsel and vice president of human resources, must figure out how much and what sort of damage control they need. In 97111 and 97111Z, Kenneth L. Coleman, Stephen A. Greyser, Hal Burlingame, Rob Galford, and Gregory S. Rubin offer advice about communicating with KTI's employees, the media, and Carpenter himself, and about protecting the company's confidential information.

The news that one of the company's senior managers is leaving comes as a complete surprise to Paul Simmonds, CEO of Kinsington Textiles, Inc. (KTI). Ned Carpenter, KTI's vice president of operations for three years, writes in his resignation letter that he is leaving for a better opportunity. Simmonds soon learns that Carpenter's new job is at Daltex, one of KTI's main rivals in the intensely competitive carpet industry. In this fictitious case study, Simmonds, along with the company's counsel and vice president of human resources, must figure out how much and what sort of damage control they need. In 97111 and 97111Z, Kenneth L. Coleman, Stephen A. Greyser, Hal Burlingame, Rob Galford, and Gregory S. Rubin offer advice about communicating with KTI's employees, the media, and Carpenter himself, and about protecting the company's confidential information.

The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration, created by Congress in 1970 to curtail what was viewed as a still-alarming level of industrial accidents, had, 20 years later, become a lightning rod for controversy. Its advocates viewed it as a bulwark of the defense of sale working conditions but opponents portrayed it as abusively intrusive, creating bureaucratic nightmares for employers. With that backdrop -- and with dwindling manpower and other resources -- OSHA officials in Maine, in 1991, try a radically different approach to their task, targeting 200 businesses which data has told them are the state's most important to bring into compliance. OSHA hopes both to avoid diluting the inspection capacity it has -- and to find ways to persuade, rather than to coerce through the law, business to make improvements. The apparent success of the Maine 200 program comes at a time when the new Clinton Administration is eager to find such government "reinvention" programs it can widely replicate. This case allows, first, for analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the Maine 200 effort as an example of gaining compliance through a new form of enforcement, and, second, for discussion of the complications, and advisability, of taking a small program "to scale." HKS Case Number 1371.0