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An internal guarantee is a commitment by one part of an organization to another to deliver its product or service to the complete satisfaction of the internal customer. If it fails to do so, it will incur a meaningful penalty, monetary or otherwise. Moreover, it is the employees involved--not management--who devise the commitment. The result? A spirit of partnership develops between different parts of the organization, and an environment of blameless error takes hold in which employees are rewarded, not punished, for identifying problems instead of sweeping them under the rug. In developing a guarantee, a department must first identify its mission in the organization. This leads to the second step: the ability to state exactly who its internal customers are. Third, the department should identify what its internal customers need. Fourth, drawing on their input, the department should design a guarantee that reflects those needs. Finally, those involved must decide on a penalty that is meaningful to the internal customer as well as to the supplier.

If the 1980s were the decade when the movement to empower U.S. factory and office workers took root, the 1990s are the decade when empowerment is sweeping corporate boardrooms. Empowerment means that outside directors have the capability and independence to monitor the performance of top management and the company; to influence management to change the strategic direction of the company if its performance does not meet the board's expectations; and, in the most extreme cases, to change corporate leadership. Because the chief executive is also the board chair in more than 80% of the country's publicly held corporations, most CEOs view board empowerment with trepidation. But, Jay Lorsch argues, if CEOs resist the trend, they and their companies will be the losers because the empowered board is here to stay. What is required is a new form of teamwork in which directors and senior managers understand one another's roles and collaborate effectively to achieve corporate success.

The nation-state has begun to crumble. What is emerging in its place is the region-state, which is defined by economic activity, not political borders. The factors behind the shift are threefold: First, people, capital, and information can move across borders so quickly that economic decisions are often based on the fear that needed resources will go elsewhere. Second, as consumers see how other people live, they pressure their governments to give them access to the best and cheapest products. And third, as governments defer to special interests and try to provide constituents with a civil minimum of services, they invest inefficiently and as a result destroy wealth. Although political leaders will resist acknowledging the demise of the nation-state, only those who can accept it and promote region-states within and across their borders will be able to provide the best quality of life for their constituents.

The use of derivatives--a broad term referring to such diverse instruments as futures, swaps, and options--has become increasingly popular in recent years as corporations look for new and better ways to manage risk. The high-profile losses of Procter & Gamble, Metallgesellschaft, and other companies are sending an important signal to senior managers: financial decisions that were previously designed and implemented by specialists need to be monitored more closely from the very top of organizations. In "Framework for Risk Management" (November-December 1994), Kenneth A. Froot, David S. Scharfstein, and Jeremy C. Stein present a guide for helping managers develop a coherent risk-management strategy. This issue's Perspectives section opens up the discussion on derivatives to a group of experts.

George Marlow, a manufacturing vice president at SportsGear, had been looking forward to this month's companywide meeting. Martin Griffin, SportsGear's CEO, was going to announce a new era of empowerment at the company. And as Martin gave his speech, he seemed to fill the entire auditorium with his enthusiasm. But Harry Lewis, a SportsGear veteran of more than 20 years, was not so sure. "What in the world does empowerment mean?" he asked. And indeed, Harry's concerns proved well founded. George led the team from manufacturing that was to be the test case for implementing empowerment at SportsGear. The team began the project in high spirits, eager to accomplish its goals. But when the time came to present their reports, the members were shocked: Martin was called away from the meeting, and the department heads formed a wall of resistance. It appeared that the team's efforts had been a waste of time. Can empowerment work at SportsGear? In 95111 and 95111Z, J. Richard Hackman, Elios Pascual, Mary V. Gelinas, Roger G. James, and W. Alan Randolph offer advice on this fictional case study.

George Marlow, a manufacturing vice president at SportsGear, had been looking forward to this month's companywide meeting. Martin Griffin, SportsGear's CEO, was going to announce a new era of empowerment at the company. And as Martin gave his speech, he seemed to fill the entire auditorium with his enthusiasm. But Harry Lewis, a SportsGear veteran of more than 20 years, was not so sure. "What in the world does empowerment mean?" he asked. And indeed, Harry's concerns proved well founded. George led the team from manufacturing that was to be the test case for implementing empowerment at SportsGear. The team began the project in high spirits, eager to accomplish its goals. But when the time came to present their reports, the members were shocked: Martin was called away from the meeting, and the department heads formed a wall of resistance. It appeared that the team's efforts had been a waste of time. Can empowerment work at SportsGear? In 95111 and 95111Z, J. Richard Hackman, Elios Pascual, Mary V. Gelinas, Roger G. James, and W. Alan Randolph offer advice on this fictional case study.

George Marlow, a manufacturing vice president at SportsGear, had been looking forward to this month's companywide meeting. Martin Griffin, SportsGear's CEO, was going to announce a new era of empowerment at the company. And as Martin gave his speech, he seemed to fill the entire auditorium with his enthusiasm. But Harry Lewis, a SportsGear veteran of more than 20 years, was not so sure. "What in the world does empowerment mean?" he asked. And indeed, Harry's concerns proved well founded. George led the team from manufacturing that was to be the test case for implementing empowerment at SportsGear. The team began the project in high spirits, eager to accomplish its goals. But when the time came to present their reports, the members were shocked: Martin was called away from the meeting, and the department heads formed a wall of resistance. It appeared that the team's efforts had been a waste of time. Can empowerment work at SportsGear? In 95111 and 95111Z, J. Richard Hackman, Elios Pascual, Mary V. Gelinas, Roger G. James, and W. Alan Randolph offer advice on this fictional case study.

Presents results from a study of how young managers define ethical issues, think about these issues, and resolve them. Several patterns emerge from this study. First, in many cases, young managers received explicit instructions from their middle-manager bosses or felt strong organizational pressures to do things that they believed were sleazy, unethical, or sometimes illegal. Second, corporate ethics programs--codes of conduct, mission statements, hot lines, and so forth--proved to be of little help to these young managers. Third, many of them believed that their companies' executives were out-of-touch on ethical issues, either because they were too busy or because they sought to avoid responsibility. Fourth, the young managers resolved the dilemmas they faced largely on the basis of personal reflection and individual values, not through reliance on corporate credos, company loyalty, the exhortations and examples of senior executives, or philosophical principles or religious reflection. Ironically, however, while the interviewees typically described their experiences as difficult or even traumatic, many believed they had learned important lessons about themselves and their work.

A business strategy must be congruent with the capabilities of a firm as well as both its market and nonmarket environments. The market environment includes those interactions between the firm and other parties that are intermediated by markets or private agreements. The nonmarket environment includes those interactions that are intermediated by public institutions. A business strategy must integrate both market and nonmarket components.

In 1994, both United Airlines and Continental Airlines launched low-cost airlines-within-an-airline to compete with Southwest Airlines. From 1991 to 1993, Southwest had increased its market share of the critical West Coast market from 26% to 45%. Considers how Southwest had developed a sustainable competitive advantage and emphasizes the role of human resources as a lever for the successful implementation of strategy. Asks whether competitors can successfully imitate the Southwest approach.

An abstract is not available for this product.

In 1993 the municipally owned utility serving Gainesville, Florida was threatening to build a 23-mile rail spur to connect its coal-fired power plant with the tracks of the Norfolk/Southern Railway. The railroad currently delivering the coal, CSXT, had announced a large rate increase to take effect at the end of its current five-year contract and had refused to allow Norfolk/Southern Railway, which was offering a lower rate, to use CSXT tracks to deliver coal to the plant. CSXT had responded to the utility's threat to build the spur by reducing its proposed rate increase and the utility now had to decide whether it should proceed with the spur or accept the new CSXT offer. This case may be used to discuss barriers to entry, market power, and appropriate public policy responses. HKS Case Number 1299.0

During his successful 1991 bid for the indianapolis mayoralty, Stephen Goldsmith is clear about his preference for privatizing city services. Once in office, however, Goldsmith decides on a different, more complex approach. The inefficiency of publicly-provided services, he reflects, may not be the result of their being public but rather a reflection of the lack of competition over who will provide them. In that light, Goldsmith undertakes a bold experiment: to force city departments to bid against private providers. This case focuses on the first stages of the Goldsmith experiment, a time in which city public works crews must, for the first time, compete against private firms for a pothole repair contract. The case raises core questions as to how to structure public-private competitions to ensure that valid comparison will be possible, as well as how to determine the exact nature of public costs. In addition, it allows for discussion of more theoretical questions as to whether some functions must always be public, while others should be private and still others privately-provided but publicly-financed. HKS Case Number 1270.1

During his successful 1991 bid for the indianapolis mayoralty, Stephen Goldsmith is clear about his preference for privatizing city services. Once in office, however, Goldsmith decides on a different, more complex approach. The inefficiency of publicly-provided services, he reflects, may not be the result of their being public but rather a reflection of the lack of competition over who will provide them. In that light, Goldsmith undertakes a bold experiment: to force city departments to bid against private providers. This case focuses on the first stages of the Goldsmith experiment, a time in which city public works crews must, for the first time, compete against private firms for a pothole repair contract. The case raises core questions as to how to structure public-private competitions to ensure that valid comparison will be possible, as well as how to determine the exact nature of public costs. In addition, it allows for discussion of more theoretical questions as to whether some functions must always be public, while others should be private and still others privately-provided but publicly-financed. HKS Case Number 1270.0

This case focuses on an organization established to fight for the housing rights of people living in "informal settlements" in apartheid-era South Africa. In the wake of democratization, the group finds itself under increasing pressure from residents of townships, which it had represented to begin to offer a range of social services for residents in addition to housing advocacy. Its president, Mandla Ndlovu, must now decide whether and how to change the range of services, which the organization offers. This case was developed by the Public and Development Management Program of the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa. HKS Case Number 1291.0

This case focuses on the hedging of a currency exposure, a long Deutschemark position, by a U.S.-based multinational chemical company. The case takes place during the August-September period in 1992 when the European Monetary System experienced a crisis as a result of a variety of world political and economic events, including the monetary policies pursued by the Bundesbank of Germany.

At first glance, Greater Boston Rehabilitation Services appeared to be in excellent financial shape in the spring of 1991, when Terry Ann Lunt was named its new executive director. A mix of government grants and work contracts with local businesses seemed to protect this 20-year-old organization, based in the hope that work could be a form of therapy for the mildly mentally ill, from the vagaries of public budget changes. Soon after her arrival, however, Lunt found that, unknown to the board that had hired her, three of the group's four sources of income were in jeopardy, that accounting records were, at best, haphazard, and employees were deeply confused as to the mission of the organization.

YRIX Communications Corp. is considering how to expand internationally in view of the maturation of the U.S. market. At issue is which countries to enter and how to enter each market.

Two-party intra-organizational discussion between a newly-promoted manager and her division vice-president over work performance, responsibility for a new computer game project, and office environment issues. Confidential Instructions for Allison.