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Spreadsheet Supplement for case 292085

Supplements the (A) case.

Supplements the (A) case. Designed as an in-class handout.

Provides details on the results of the campaign for British Airways (BA) in terms of expenditure by BA, press coverage, effect on bookings, and effect on overall market share.

This note describes ways in which managers can learn to empower their employees through the way they communicate with them. The note is intended as a thought piece before doing skill-development exercises on the various approaches outlined in the note, including listening, clarity, invitations, and descriptions. Language is our primary means of communication. It constrains our thinking, reflects our basic values, and is the most common medium for the exchange of our thoughts and beliefs. The language we speak allows us to convey certain thoughts and causes us to be confused about how to convey other thoughts. Indeed, language can prohibit us from grasping and understanding certain concepts and can make other concepts available to us. With its power as the central vehicle for communicating goals, thoughts, plans, instructions, requests, and so on, in business settings, language is perhaps the most important management tool we have.

Spreadsheet supplement for case 592-035.

Israel faces an imperative to grow in the 1990s. This year, Israel welcomed 200,000 Russian immigrants (a number that will double in the coming year). How can this small country cope with its surging population? Israel has one big advantage: brainpower. It boasts the world's highest literacy rate, math skills, and number of scientists and technicians per capita. With market exposure and foreign partners, Israel could do well in world markets. The most important first step, however, is for the government to pursue peace.

War stories about failed alliances make executives wary of forging new joint ventures. However, the strategic benefits of cross-border alliances are compelling. A study of 49 cross-border alliances found several patterns that have managerial implications. For example, alliances must be free to evolve as the environment changes and opportunities arise. Contrary to conventional wisdom, fifty-fifty ownership of joint ventures improves decision making, and most alliances end with one parent acquiring the venture.

Three experts on corporate governance lend their views to the Working Group on Corporate Governance's "New Compact for Owners and Directors." Clifton R. Wharton, Jr., chairman and CEO of TIAA-CREF, offers refinements to the Compact's proposals and describes how TIAA-CREF is trying to use its leverage to bring delinquent directors to task. Harvard Business School professor Jaw W. Lorsch explains why institutional investors neither can nor should function as owners and why the key to developing more effective corporate control is to strengthen the role of outside directors. Lord Hanson, chairman of Hanson PLC, reaffirms the importance of two traditional corporate governance principles: maintaining a unitary board of directors and maximizing shareholder value.

The developed countries need a productivity revolution in knowledge and service work. The country that first achieves such gains will dominate the economic landscape in the next century. The key to this new productivity revolution is closely examining work in five distinct steps: 1) defining the task; 2) concentrating on the task; 3) defining performance; 4) getting worker input on productivity improvement; and 5) building continuous learning into the organization.

The Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award is the most important catalyst for transforming U.S. business. But since its inception four years ago, the award has been the target of increasingly acrimonious criticism. Most of the criticism is based on misunderstanding. To get to the "truth," the best available source of information on the award was tapped: judges, examiners, and senior examiners. In-depth interviews with 20 of these insiders led to a clear definition of the award's real purpose and the value contained within its seven categories.

An analysis of the problems of interpersonal communication, as viewed from a human behavior standpoint. Real communication occurs when one listens to another person's viewpoint with empathic understanding. It is possible to facilitate achievement of this communication breakthrough by summarizing the speaker's thoughts and feelings to his or her satisfaction before presenting a rebuttal. This procedure leads to the reduction of defensiveness and gradual achievement of mutual communication. A second analysis deals with communication in an industrial context. An example illustrates how differently two supervisors interpret an employee's reaction to a suggestion. This article, first published in 1952, is reprinted to include a retrospective commentary by John J. Gabarro.

In this three-part case, the authors explore how an HIV-infected employee should be managed over time. Manager Greg van de Water must make a series of decisions regarding Joe Collins. Three AIDS-in-the-workplace experts recommend action to Greg at each decision point. They are: Lee Smith of Levi Strauss; Jim Nichols of American Security Bank (where he is on long-term disability leave as a result of HIV infection); and Jonathan Mann of the Harvard School of Public Health.

Spreadsheet Supplement for case 292017.

Describes a new entry into the $8 billion flower industry in the United States. Combining the use of overnight air freight (Federal Express), information technology, an 800 number, and a catalog, Calyx & Corolla was changing the way flowers had traditionally been distributed, bypassing three layers of distribution, and providing very fresh flowers directly from the growers to consumers. Frames the question of how this start-up venture should grow.

The president of a toy company is considering the adoption of level production in a business characterized by highly seasonal sales. The issues include balancing the cost savings and the inventory risk, estimating the seasonal financing need, and determining the appropriate approach to the bank. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

A senior loan officer is reviewing the recent performance of a company that has failed to repay its loan as scheduled. The failure results from a cyclical downturn in sales, coupled with a lag in cutting back production. Inventory risk is minimal. Teaching objective: Practice in financial analysis and in understanding the impact of business cycle on durable goods companies. Also an opportunity to evaluate the situation from a lender's perspective. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Introduces the reasons for and basics of cost accounting and cost management systems. Simple definitions of forms used in cost accounting are included. Cost behavior is discussed. Questions to which answers are needed when analyzing or designing a cost system are summarized.

The Butler Lumber Co. is faced with a need for increased bank financing due to its rapid sales growth and low profitability. Students must determine the reasons for the rising bank borrowing, estimate the amount of borrowing needed, and assess the attractiveness of the loan to the bank. A rewritten version of an earlier case. Allows students to practice ratio analysis, financial forecasting, and evaluating financing alternatives.

Examines the challenge facing the managers of a large aluminum manufacturing plant in its drive to improve workplace safety. The CEO of the company has made safety a top priority. The plant has made good progress in reducing the injury rate, but now confronts the need to accelerate its improvement. Doing so requires the safety director to consider progress to date and analyze the opportunities for improvement, many of which involve fundamental changes in behavior at all levels of the organization. Progress has not been uniform throughout the plant and past approaches may not be adequate in meeting the challenge. As the case comes to a close, these issues come to a head because a superintendent wants to fire a supervisor who has failed to adhere to safety procedures. Designed to introduce students to the issues of safety in its operating context. Students have information available that allows them to analyze underlying causes and identify major opportunities for improvement. However, the interactions between safety and other dimensions of manufacturing performance are evident in developing and implementing a plan for improvement.