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A three party, multiple-issue negotiation exercise dealing with a potential merger between two leading department stores, called for by an activist investor hedge fund in a letter to both companies. Company management will now attempt to navigate next moves, which are complicated by weak takeover defenses of their corporate boards, hedge fund ownership stake within both companies, and potential anti-trust risk. Meanwhile, the third party, the activist hedge fund, is turning up the heat in planning their next move.

A three party, multiple-issue negotiation exercise dealing with a potential merger between two leading department stores, called for by an activist investor hedge fund in a letter to both companies. Company management will now attempt to navigate next moves, which are complicated by weak takeover defenses of their corporate boards, hedge fund ownership stake within both companies, and potential anti-trust risk. Meanwhile, the third party, the activist hedge fund, is turning up the heat in planning their next move.

A three party, multiple-issue negotiation exercise dealing with a potential merger between two leading department stores, called for by an activist investor hedge fund in a letter to both companies. Company management will now attempt to navigate next moves, which are complicated by weak takeover defenses of their corporate boards, hedge fund ownership stake within both companies, and potential anti-trust risk. Meanwhile, the third party, the activist hedge fund, is turning up the heat in planning their next move.

A three party, multiple-issue negotiation exercise dealing with a potential merger between two leading department stores, called for by an activist investor hedge fund in a letter to both companies. Company management will now attempt to navigate next moves, which are complicated by weak takeover defenses of their corporate boards, hedge fund ownership stake within both companies, and potential anti-trust risk. Meanwhile, the third party, the activist hedge fund, is turning up the heat in planning their next move.

For years "risk management" has been characterized chiefly by caution--preventing the business from doing things that would create exposure. Although this has undoubtedly saved dollars and headaches, it's also led to slower growth, lower margins, and less innovation. New research from CEB shows that the best companies are rethinking their approach. Instead of simply trying to eliminate or reduce risk, managers are implementing three best practices: striking a balance between risk and reward; focusing on decisions, not process; and making employees the first line of defense. This reprint contains three additional Idea Watch articles. "First, the Pain" shows that for many companies that refocus their structures on customer segments rather than products, gains materialize only after two or three years of turmoil and losses. "For Founders, Preparation Trumps Passion" describes a series of studies revealing that although entrepreneurs see their enthusiasm as key to success, results depend much more on how well they have developed their ideas. "Strong Brands, Weak Pay" discusses new research showing that companies with well-known brands pay their top executives significantly less, suggesting that HR departments could leverage brand strength as they do other benefits when recruiting employees and negotiating pay.

The ability to look things up on the internet is giving us a false impression about what we actually know.

Hand signals from a 16th-century mathematics textbook and exchange-rate "currents" from 18th-century Italian ports were just two of the innovations that lubricated the gears of preindustrial European commerce.

This case traces the growth of Amagi and the various challenges faced by it as it has grown to develop its own niche in the TV broadcasting industry in India, and is now slowly growing in markets outside India. Amagi, founded by three entrepreneurs, has come a long way from its initial days of trying to sell its standalone broadcast signal splitting technology to television (TV) broadcasting channels. From what was supposed to be a technology company, it has metamorphosed into a full-fledged media company managing advertising airtime for some of India's biggest broadcasting channels and advertisers. Outside of India, Amagi has positioned itself as a broadcast playout management company helping channels provide customized content to multiple countries using a single stream. Although, the underlying technology of Amagi has not changed radically over the years, the innovations in Amagi's offerings to the market have helped it become the success that it is today. The case outlines all the steps taken by Amagi to address each of the challenges that it has faced in its journey to success, clearly highlighting the various capabilities that it had to develop or acquire over the various time-periods. The case shows how while a firm may believe that it is providing a suitable value proposition, the customers may not see value in this value proposition. The case shows how the firm has to interject at various points of the value chain to establish its presence, and as a consequence of having established its presence and having developed various capabilities, what could be its growth strategy, and how its activities and capabilities will influence the same.

This case study explores the challenges of aligning middle management interests with company goals as a company navigates rapid growth in a dynamic industry. China Lodging Group, a Chinese hotel chain that opened about 2,000 hotels during its first decade in business, uses Balanced Scorecard (BSC) metrics to promote both consistency of service and an entrepreneurial attitude amongst hotel managers. The company needs to encourage its managers to operate according to company-level values and goals, without gaming the BSC metrics for short-term rewards or without focusing exclusively on local, narrow results. This case illustrates how executive teams can develop incentive systems that increase managers' sense of ownership and commitment to company values and goals.

Supplement to case 116004. This case study explores the challenges of aligning middle management interests with company goals as a company navigates rapid growth in a dynamic industry. China Lodging Group, a Chinese hotel chain that opened about 2,000 hotels during its first decade in business, uses Balanced Scorecard (BSC) metrics to promote both consistency of service and an entrepreneurial attitude amongst hotel managers. The company needs to encourage its managers to operate according to company-level values and goals, without gaming the BSC metrics for short term rewards or without focusing exclusively on local, narrow results. This case illustrates how executive teams can develop incentive systems that increase managers' sense of ownership and commitment to company values and goals.

The case focuses on the career of Horst Dassler, the son of the founder of the German-based sports shoe manufacturer Adidas. The origins of the firm were in the interwar years, and it rose to public prominence after it provided spikes for the famous African-American sprinter in the 1936 Berlin Olympics. From the 1950s Horst cultivated relationships with athletes and national associations to expand his sports apparel business and develop sports sponsorship, competing fiercely against competitors such as Puma and Nike. During the 1970s he played a key role in commercializing the international soccer federation FIFA, including creating a television market for soccer, and he subsequently became a key force behind arranging sponsorships and broadcasting rights for the Olympics. The case explores the drivers of success of this major consumer brand, and provdes the opportunity to discuss the positives and negatives of the globalization and commercialization of sport.

This case study describes the journey of "El Sistema", a classical music education programme in Venezuela that illustrates the transformative power of music to improve the lives of millions of youths in some of the poorest communities in the world. Using the experience and insights of founder José Antonio Abreu, together with an analysis of the programme's development, the case shows how vision and inspiration are translated into a vibrant and effective organization in the long term. It covers the strategic initiatives and organizational processes used to engage and mobilize a critical mass of people to achieve large-scale impact throughout Venzuela and beyond.

When the author became involved with Tommy Hilfiger, as a partner in the company that had the license to sell Hilfiger products in Europe, the brand was one of fashion's hottest. Overall sales had more than doubled from 1997 to 2000. But that came at a price, the author writes. The brand was too hot, too hyped, and grew too fast. Hilfiger products began to sell at a discount in the United States--and the company's designers started creating stuff that felt like discount clothing. Soon U.S. sales were falling every year. Meanwhile, the European division had chosen not to sell the lower-quality versions, had created its own design center and supply chain, and was increasing sales by roughly 50% a year. Gehring proposed a strategy for turning the company around--and the board countered that he should find a buyer. So he did. As the winning bidder, Apax Partners, a European private equity firm, allowed Gehring to do a dramatic restructuring and scale back the U.S. business in the short term, laying the groundwork for the brand's turnaround in less than four years.

To tame its soaring health care costs, Intel tried many popular approaches: "consumer-driven health care" offerings such as high-deductible/low-premium plans, on-site clinics, and employee wellness programs. But by 2009 Intel realized that those programs alone would not enable the company to solve the problem, because they didn't affect its root cause: the steadily rising cost of the care employees and their families were receiving. Intel projected that its health care expenditures would hit a whopping $1 billion by 2012. So the company decided to try a novel approach. As a large purchaser of health services and with expertise in quality improvement and supplier management, Intel was uniquely positioned to drive transformation in its local health care market. The company decided that it would manage the quality and cost of its health care suppliers with the same rigor it applied to its equipment suppliers, by monitoring quality and cost. It spearheaded a collaborative effort in Portland, Oregon, that included two health systems, a plan administrator, and a major government employer. So far the Portland collaborative has reduced treatment costs for certain medical conditions by 24% to 49%, improved patient satisfaction, and eliminated over 10,000 hours' worth of waste in the two health systems' business processes.

Complaints against HR, which are nothing new, have a cyclical quality. They're driven largely by the business context. When companies are struggling with labor issues, HR is seen as a valued leadership partner. When things are smoother all around, managers wonder what the function is doing for them. This is a moment of enormous opportunity for HR leaders to separate the valuable from the worthless and secure huge payoffs for their organizations. The author outlines some basic but powerful steps they can take: (1) Set the agenda. CEOs are rarely experts on workplace issues, so the HR team can show them what they should care about and why, such as layoffs, recruiting, flexible work arrangements, and performance management. (2) Focus on the here and now. This means continually identifying new challenges and designing tools to meet them. (3) Acquire business knowledge. HR needs first-rate analytic minds to help companies make sense of all their employee data. (4) Highlight financial benefits. HR departments don't usually calculate ROI for their programs, but quantifying costs and benefits turns talent decisions into business decisions. (5) Walk away from time wasters. Often programs lack impact unless top executives lead them, transforming the culture. Otherwise HR is just a booster for initiatives it can neither enforce nor measure.

Although people drive every organization's success, research shows that most CEOs undervalue their HR function and their chief human resources officer (CHRO). No wonder, then, that managing human capital is a top challenge for companies. To address it, say the authors, CEOs must redefine and elevate the CHRO role. They should spell out their expectations in a new written contract, focusing on three contributions that the CHRO, as an expert on talent (both in-house and at the competition), should be making: predicting the outcomes of strategically deploying human resources, diagnosing people-related problems that are hurting the company's performance, and prescribing actions on the people side that will create value. Administrative tasks, such as managing benefits, might be delegated to others. And the CHRO should be assessed by actions that deliver revenue, margin, brand recognition, or market share. With a new mandate from the CEO, and with appropriate business training, the CHRO can contribute to the organization just as powerfully as the CFO can. Indeed, the CEO should partner with the CHRO and the CFO in what the authors call a G3--a triumvirate to steer the company. Although reshaping the HR function could take three years or more, the authors' experience with companies such as GE and BlackRock suggests that it's well worth the effort.

This article relates how the HR team at Juniper Networks answered top management's call for a renewed focus on values and culture as a differentiator. Early on it launched a program of "trio tours" in which senior executives met with local talent at various company locations to discuss Juniper's culture. One young engineer in Bangalore pointed out that the company's forced performance rankings were demoralizing and clashed with Juniper's espoused values of authenticity and trust. Neuroscience research soon echoed that view, and in 2011 Juniper became one of the first global companies to abolish forced rankings. Developing a reputation as an innovative HR organization requires walking a fine line, the authors write. Big new ideas often arise from popular talks and articles; if you embrace too many of those, or apply them too superficially, you'll develop a reputation for fad surfing. Dig beneath the surface to the fundamental scientific research and insights, and you can set the stage for profound effect. Juniper's approach--getting the big picture, seizing on insights, applying them wisely, and ensuring their impact--has enabled this company to move from one-off programs and unconnected experiments to a system that is always evolving in exciting and consistently business-aligned ways.

Multinationals are starting to catch on to the logic of reverse innovation, in which products are designed first for consumers in low-income countries and then adapted into disruptive offerings for developed economies. But only a handful of companies have managed to do it successfully until now. In this article an MIT engineering professor and a Tuck professor of management explain why. After conducting a three-year study of reverse innovation projects, they've concluded that the main hurdle facing product developers is a mindset. Western designers, who usually create products by following time-tested methods, struggle to overcome the constraints and leverage the freedoms of emerging markets. They tend to fall into common mental traps that prevent the development of reverse innovations: matching segments to existing products, lowering price by removing features, failing to think through all the technical requirements, neglecting stakeholders, and refusing to believe products created for low-income markets could have global appeal. But companies can avoid these traps, the authors found, by adhering to five design principles. The success of several new products illustrates how. One is the Leveraged Freedom Chair, a low-cost wheelchair that can navigate rugged terrain in places with poor infrastructure; a modified version is taking Western markets by storm.

In many industries the balance of power has shifted from buyers to suppliers. Companies that have gotten into a weak position need to tackle the problem strategically, the authors argue. They should consider the following actions and implement the least risky one that is feasible for their organization: (1) Bring new value to the supplier. This is the easiest approach. Companies can provide new value in several ways--for example, by serving as a gateway to new markets or reducing the supplier's risks. (2) Change how they buy. Companies can consolidate their purchase orders, rethink purchase bundles, or decrease purchase volume. (3) Create a new supplier. This is a high-risk option, but it can transform a company's prospects. Firms have essentially two paths: They can bring in a supplier from an adjacent market or vertically integrate to become their own supplier. (4) Play hardball. As a last resort, companies can cancel current orders and future business or threaten litigation. Whatever option firms choose, they need to clearly understand the problem, work on it across functions, and think analytically and outside the box.

If you want to create a really successful business, you have to do more than win your share of customers or control costs--you have to break the rules and overturn the received wisdom about how things work in your industry. For example, high-priced landing fees are just a cost of business in the airline industry, aren't they? Ryanair didn't think so, and it turned Europe's unused World War II landing strips into very low-cost airports. To be a cell phone service provider, you need to invest in towers, networks, billing systems, and more, right? India's Airtel said no and leased virtually everything it needed from others. In sharply lowering its costs and improving its working capital model, Airtel was able to offer India's impoverished consumers cell phone service at a dramatically reduced price. How can companies figure out which rules to break in their industries? By focusing on big structural problems endemic to their industries--not just problems they alone face. There are five common types of industry bottlenecks: (1) an outdated purchase or usage experience, (2) a superfluous major expense category, (3) high financial risks for customers, (4) disengaged employees, and (5) detrimental side effects of the product or service. This article lays out strategies used by real companies for busting those bottlenecks. In doing so, companies stand to significantly reduce their costs--or even eliminate entire cost categories--boost demand levels, and sometimes both.