個案總覽

When customers lack the expertise to judge a company's offerings, they naturally turn detective, scrutinizing people, facilities, and processes for evidence of quality. The Mayo Clinic understands this and carefully manages that evidence to convey a simple, consistent message: The needs of the patient come first. From the way it hires and trains employees to the way it designs its facilities and approaches its care, the Mayo Clinic provides patients and their families concrete evidence of its strengths and values--an approach that has allowed it to build what is arguably the most powerful brand in health care. Marketing professors Leonard Berry and Neeli Bendapudi conducted a five-month study of evidence management at the Mayo Clinic. Their experiences led them to identify best practices applicable to just about any company, in particular those that sell intangible or technically complex products. Essentially, the authors say, companies need to determine what story they want to tell, then ensure that their employees and facilities consistently show customers evidence of that story. At Mayo, the evidence falls into three categories: people, collaboration, and tangibles. The way in which Mayo manages evidence to communicate its message is an example to be followed.

Budgeting, as most corporations practice it, should be abolished. Most other building blocks are in place, but companies continue to restrict themselves by relying on inflexible budget processes and the command-and-control culture that budgeting entails. A number of companies have rejected the foregone conclusions embedded in budgets, and they've given up the self-interested wrangling over what the data indicate. In the absence of budgets, alternative goals and measures--some financial, such as cost-to-income ratios, and some nonfinancial, such as time to market--move to the foreground. Companies that have rejected budgets require employees to measure themselves against the performance of competitors and against internal peer groups. Because employees don't know whether they've succeeded until they can look back on the results of a given period, they must use every ounce of energy to ensure that they beat the competition. A key feature of many companies that have rejected budgets is the use of rolling forecasts, which are created every few months and typically cover five to eight quarters. Because the forecasts are regularly revised, they allow companies to adapt continuously to market conditions. The forecasting practices of two such companies, both based in Sweden, are examined in detail: the bank Svenska Handelsbanken and the wholesaler Ahlsell.

For ten years, Jeff Patterson's firm, Flynn Fuller Consulting, has worked on projects for financial services giant GloBank. Now Jeff's contact, Bill Holland, says another project is imminent--good news for the recession-battered consultancy--but there's just one problem: GloBank has an enigmatic new CEO, H. Frank Maloney III. Brought in to restore profitability, Maloney has been examining GloBank's bottom line, looking for places to cut. The new CEO wants to slash GloBank's extensive use of consultants, which means that division presidents like Bill must justify major consulting projects. Worse, firms like Flynn Fuller must sell themselves again to GloBank. Jeff will have just one hour to try to sway Maloney, or his client will disappear. How can Jeff persuade Maloney that outside consultants are worth the cost? Jeff's presentation isn't a progress report or a pitch to a new client; rather, it's a defense of Flynn Fuller's continuing added value. Jeff pulls together a team to make the case, but he hears as many approaches as there are people in the room. In R0302A and R0302X, commentators P. William Bane, a recently retired vice-president and director at Mercer Management Consulting; Tom Van Berkel, the president and CEO of insurance firm Main Street America Group; Peter Klein, the senior vice-president of strategy and business development for Gillette; and Tricia Stone, a founding partner of Stone Communications, offer advice on this fictional case study.

For ten years, Jeff Patterson's firm, Flynn Fuller Consulting, has worked on projects for financial services giant GloBank. Now Jeff's contact, Bill Holland, says another project is imminent--good news for the recession-battered consultancy--but there's just one problem: GloBank has an enigmatic new CEO, H. Frank Maloney III. Brought in to restore profitability, Maloney has been examining GloBank's bottom line, looking for places to cut. The new CEO wants to slash GloBank's extensive use of consultants, which means that division presidents like Bill must justify major consulting projects. Worse, firms like Flynn Fuller must sell themselves again to GloBank. Jeff will have just one hour to try to sway Maloney, or his client will disappear. How can Jeff persuade Maloney that outside consultants are worth the cost? Jeff's presentation isn't a progress report or a pitch to a new client; rather, it's a defense of Flynn Fuller's continuing added value. Jeff pulls together a team to make the case, but he hears as many approaches as there are people in the room. In R0303A and R0303Z, commentators P. William Bane, a recently retired vice-president and director at Mercer Management Consulting; Tom Van Berkel, the president and CEO of insurance firm Main Street America Group; Peter Klein, the senior vice-president of strategy and business development for Gillette; and Tricia Stone, a founding partner of Stone Communications, offer advice on this fictional case study.

No one's surprised when executives of a newly acquired company leave in droves. But, new research shows, executive turnover rates are twice as high after a merger as before one--even nine years after the acquisition. Those initial departures have a lot to do with it.

How does the structure of social networks affect the way fads catch on and companies solve problems? Columbia University network scientist Duncan Watts says that this young field is on the path to answers.

If you spring for optional pollution-control devices at your overseas plant, have you violated your duty to maximize shareholder value? Here's a framework that can help clarify this and other ethical dilemmas.

A decade of research on how and why teams learn--and what happens when they do--suggests that more isn't always better.

The case describes Microsoft's first significant acquisition in Europe and its first in the telecom equipment (software) market. SendIt is a publicly listed Swedish start-up, which offers the only Windows based solutions to the IP-based mobile phone services market. The acquisition starts in high tone, loses momentum and is finally integrated with some degree of success.

The case describes Microsoft's first significant acquisition in Europe and its first in the telecom equipment (software) market. SendIt is a publicly listed Swedish start-up, which offers the only Windows based solutions to the IP-based mobile phone services market. The acquisition starts in high tone, loses momentum and is finally integrated with some degree of success.

The case describes Microsoft's first significant acquisition in Europe and its first in the telecom equipment (software) market. SendIt is a publicly listed Swedish start-up, which offers the only Windows based solutions to the IP-based mobile phone services market. The acquisition starts in high tone, loses momentum and is finally integrated with some degree of success.

The case describes Microsoft's first significant acquisition in Europe and its first in the telecom equipment (software) market. SendIt is a publicly listed Swedish start-up, which offers the only Windows based solutions to the IP-based mobile phone services market. The acquisition starts in high tone, loses momentum and is finally integrated with some degree of success.

This case describes Banyan Tree Resorts & Hotel's rapid growth starting from a single resort converted from a disused tin mine in Phuket, Thailand, to become an international resort operator and one of Asia's top 20 brands. It explores the realisation of an innovative lifestyle concept, the subsequent challenges involved in replicating its original success in different parts of the world, the company's marketing strategy, and the development of service operations capabilities to back the brand, as well as the challenges faced in extending the brand into new businesses including branded goods and a travel portal.

Examines DoubleClick's capital structure from IPO. Discusses additional offering of common stock, stock splits, dividends, sale of convertible debt, repurchase of convertible debt, and repurchase of common stock.

The coach of the varsity Army crew team at West Point assembled his top eight rowers into the first crew team and the second tier of rowers into the second team using objective data on individual performance. As the second boat continually beat the first boat in races, the coach attempted to discern the team dynamics causing these aberrant results. By using very clean, objective performance data, the case makes clear that a team can be more (or less) than the sum of its individual parts, but allows students to analyze the factors that make this true.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 103016.

This case tracks the evolution from October 2000 to July 2001 of public debate, regulatory decisions, and firm perspectives on the subject of consulting by accounting firms.

On November 17, 1997, Jon T. Elsasser, then vice-president of The Timken Co. bearings business for Europe, Africa, and West Asia, reviewed the company's proposal to the Romanian government for the acquisition of Rulmenti Grei, S.A., an industrial bearings plant being privatized through the Romanian State Ownership Fund. Elsasser reflected on the significance of the acquisition and its potential impact on Timken's global bearings business. Although Rulmenti Grei offered needed production capacity and an improved cost structure, Timken remained wary of Romania's political instability and the numerous operational challenges of integrating the plant into Timken's global organization. Importantly, the investment also represented a marked shift in corporate culture and objectives. Rulmenti Grei produced a variety of bearings types, whereas Timken remained focused on tapered roller bearings, driven by corporate history and pride as a specialist manufacturer. European customer demand required that Timken consider expanding its product offering. Rulmenti Grei had the potential to drive change in a century-old corporate culture.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 303097.

Can you really change your behavior at work? What if you believe your approach has served you well in the past and helped you succeed to where you are today? This series of cases features Nicholas Gray, a Norfolk Southern Railroad (NS) executive and his experiences in implementing change from a middle manager position. The A case (UVA-OB-0773) begins with Gray identifying a change effort to build a better relationship with colleagues in other departments at NS. As the story unfolds, Gray's management style and some challenges he faces take shape. In the B case, Gray works through his action plan and the implementation of his change initiative. These cases provide an insight into the challenges of being a change agent at both personal and organizational levels.