Focuses on whether world-renowned product design firm IDEO's new customer service fits with the firm's strategic position and organization capabilities. Over the course of IDEO's 13-year history, an increasing share of revenues are a result of "Phase 0" projects--preliminary strategic explorations of future product possibilities for various client firms. Describes a specific Phase 0 project in order to explore the challenge of managing these strategic, intangible services in the context of IDEO's successful history of generating award-winning tangible product designs. A team at IDEO's Boston office worked with mattress manufacturer Simmons to discover unmet customer needs and identify new product line opportunities. Describes the challenges and questions facing the Simmons project team as well as critical and operational questions facing IDEO. Examines these issues through the eyes of the head of the Boston office, who wonders how to evaluate Phase 0 projects.
Describes the 16-day final mission of the space shuttle Columbia in January 2003 in which seven astronauts died. Includes background on NASA and the creation of the human space flight program, including the 1970 Apollo 13 crisis and 1986 Challenger disaster. Examines NASA's organizational culture, leadership, and the influences on the investigation of and response to foam shedding from the external fuel tank during shuttle launch.
Duke University Health System has for the past five years operated a specialized clinic for the management of congestive heart failure, a very common and costly condition in the surrounding community. Nurse practitioners, whose work is guided by highly specified protocols and overseen by cardiologists, staff the multidisciplinary clinic. The chancellor of the health system views the program as a huge financial burden and an undesirable use of academic cardiologists' time. The case examines models of disease management; Duke's heart failure program operations, finances, and outcomes of disease management; and the relationship between its nurse practitioners and cardiologists.
The Foundation for Informed Medical Decision-Making has created an interactive videodisc system that provides patients with customized support regarding medical treatment or screening decisions when they face a choice between two equally effective courses of action. The videodiscs, known as shared decision-making programs (SDPs), were the result of considering grant-funded research into treatment outcomes and patients' preferences concerning varying medical treatments. Over a six-year period, the foundation has partnered with a variety of commercial firms to manufacture and market the SDPs. Despite robust evidence supporting the effectiveness of the SDPs and the enthusiastic response of early purchasers, the foundation has been unable to widely disseminate the product and faces major debt.
This short fictional case forms the basis of a team decision-making exercise. The case, inspired by a real decision facing a major telecommunications company, describes a cross-functional management team convened by the CEO for the purpose of developing a recommendation about whether to conduct a full-scale launch of a new high-speed Internet access service. In the class session, groups of six participants are asked to conduct team meetings to arrive at a consensus about the launch decision--drawing from the information contained in the shared case and from privately held information contained in individual role sheets provided separately to each member. Although different team members hold very different perspectives about the launch, teams can arrive at thoughtful recommendations by working together to share their knowledge.
The night before the launch of the Challenger shuttle, officials from Morton Thiokol (Solid Rocket Booster manufacturer) and NASA participated in a teleconference to discuss whether to postpone the shuttle launch due to predicted low temperatures at Kennedy Space Center. This case provides background on the history of NASA's shuttle program, engineering firm Thiokol and Thiokol SRB, and O-ring expert Roger Boisjoly, who was adamant that the shuttle not be launched.
Intermountain Health Care (IHC), an integrated delivery system based in Utah, has adopted a new strategy for managing health care delivery. The approach focuses management attention not only on the facilities where care takes place but also on physician decision making and the care process itself, with the aim of boosting physician productivity and improving care quality, while saving money. This case explores the challenges facing Brent James, executive director of the Institute for Health Care Delivery Research at IHC, as he implements new structures and systems (including a data warehouse for care outcomes, electronic patient records, computer workstations, clinical data support systems, and protocols for care) designed to support clinical process management across a geographically diverse group of physicians with varying levels of interest and dedication to IHC. Also highlights an innovative strategy for creating and disseminating knowledge at the individual and organizational levels to maintain high standards in care delivery.
Scientific knowledge surrounding diabetes mellitus has grown over the last century to include its cause, treatment, and prevention strategies. However, the type and level of care that patients receive is suboptional. This case examines the forces in industry, knowledge, education, public policy, and reimbursement that drive the management of this disease and the potential for innovation in the management of other chronic diseases.