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Describes the mission, vision, and strategy of a team of entrepreneurs headed by a charismatic heart surgeon who founded a heart hospital in Bangalore, India. The purpose of the hospital was to offer health care for the masses. This tertiary care hospital performed over 4,000 surgeries a year (approximately half on pediatric patients), which is more than that performed by The Cleveland Clinic and the Mayo Clinic (ranked #1 and #2 in the United States) combined. The interesting aspect of its business formula was its ability to offer such complex surgeries as CABG (popularly known as bypass surgery) for about $2,000, which was substantially less than other similarly equipped hospitals in India. Its founder has already entered into other complementary activities, such as a statewide insurance scheme for rural farmers--Yeshaswini. The founder has ambitious plans for a comprehensive "Walmartization" of health care in India.

Coming out of the 2001 high-tech industry recession, this venture capital start-up has to come up with a marketing plan to break even and grow. Its innovative e-commerce software provides unique customer relationship management solutions, but it has to convince customers to adopt its solution. Includes color exhibits.

With the collapse of the dot-com market and related shrinkage in the high-tech industry, Cisco took a dip in its sales and profits in 2001. Coming back from the recession, Cisco had to manage and evolve its go-to-market strategy and design in keeping with its new business strategy. Describes those changes and poses new channel management challenges in light of Cisco's entry into new markets and technologies.

With liberalization of India's economy and the opening up of markets to foreign multinationals such as Procter & Gamble, the Indian subsidiary of Unilever--Hindustan Lever Ltd. (HLL)--was under pressure to grow revenues and profits. HLL had a long and stellar record of market leadership in India (with market shares of nearly 60%) in categories such as soap, detergent, and shampoos. Documents HLL's innovative approach to penetrate rural markets (with populations less than 1,000), where two-thirds of India's population lives, with a scheme named "Shakti" (meaning empowerment). The central question is: How should the company scale Shakti and make it profitable?

Spreadsheet supplement for case 505-056.

Cause marketing involves a "cause-linked" promotion of a commercial product, with some part of that product's revenues being donated to the nonprofit engaged in that cause. Traditionally, the needs of the for-profit firm have for the most part initiated and driven cause marketing, with less attention directed to the needs of the nonprofit organization or its role in creating value for the partnership. Offers a framework that considers the benefits and costs from both partners' perspectives, including monetary (first-order) as well as nonmonetary (second-order) considerations. Using this framework, the article proposes a decision process aimed at enhancing the value for both partners in the relationship.

It's fashionable to talk of being "customer oriented." But regardless of how companies attempt to flatten their organizations or empower frontline workers, the simple truth is that every customer's experience is determined by the order management cycle (OMC): the 10 steps, from planning to postsales service, that define a company's business system. Every time the order is handled, the customer is handled. And every time the order sits unattended, the customer sits unattended. To find the gaps in an OMC--those places where a customer's order is dropped or shunted to the wrong department--managers should try what authors Benson Shapiro, V. Kasturi Rangan, and John Sviokla did in their research. They "stapled" themselves to an order in the 18 companies they studied, literally following it through every stage of the OMC. Based on this practical approach, the authors point out potential gaps throughout the OMC. For example, marketing and production battles can erupt even during order planning, and some of the fiercest fighting can break out during scheduling, when the sales force may want quick turnarounds that are unrealistic for manufacturing. Most companies don't see the OMC as a whole system, especially because each phase may require a bewildering overlap of functional responsibilities. However, when managers take the time to track each step of the OMC, they'll come into contact with customer service representatives, production schedulers, shipping clerks, and other critically important people. In this article, first published in 1992, the authors contend that managers who "staple themselves to an order" will not only move horizontally across their own organizations, charting gaps and building information bridges; they'll also see the company from the customer's perspective.

Most nonprofits make program decisions based on a mission rather than a strategy. They rally under the banner of a particular cause. And because their causes are so worthwhile, they support any programs that are related to their core missions. It's hard to fault people for trying to improve the state of the world, but that approach to making decisions is misguided. Acting without a clear, long-term strategy can stretch an agency's core capabilities and push it in unintended directions. The fundamental problem is that many nonprofits don't have a strategy; instead, they have a mission and a portfolio of programs. But they hardly make deliberate decisions about which programs to run, which to drop, and which to turn down for funding. What most nonprofits call "strategy" is really just an intensive exercise in resource allocation and program management. This article outlines for nonprofits a four-step process for developing strategy. The first step is to create a broad, inspiring mission statement. The second step is to translate that core mission into a smaller, quantifiable operational mission. The third step is to create a strategy platform; that is, the nonprofit decides how it will achieve its operational mission. Decisions about funding and client, program, and organizational development are all made here. And step four is making reasoned, strategic decisions about which programs to run and how to run them.

Chronicles the development of Freeport's nearly 30 years of mining operations in Indonesia. Building on a mining concession awarded by the country's government, headed by General Suharto, in 1973, Freeport steadily built its mining output to nearly 200,000 cubic feet/day of ore, rich in copper. In spite of the company's attempts to address environmental issues and the stakes of indigenous people, critics were unimpressed by the company's efforts to improve. With the toppling of the Suharto regime in 1998, the company has to survive under a new government.

Two academics challenge U.S. multinational companies to match their increasing international sales with commensurate philanthropic giving outside the United States.

ApproTEC markets a range of technologies to improve the income of subsistence farmers and other small-scale entrepreneurs in East Africa. Having achieved considerable success in its first eight years, the two founders/entrepreneurs are seeking ways to scale the impact of its operations across Eastern and Southern Africa. The question is, what should they do to accomplish this? Includes color exhibits.

Founded in 1984, Dell Corp. has achieved phenomenal growth, and by 2000 had topped $25 billion in sales and over $2 billion in net income. In the 4th quarter of 2000, however, the PC industry's average 30-year growth rate crashed to a negative 10%. Dell must make difficult decisions on how to sustain its profitability in light of its broad product portfolio--PCs, workstations, and servers on storage products for a broad cross section of customers in the United States and worldwide. Should it stay the course or fundamentally change strategy?

H-E-B is a $9 billion grocery chain located in Southwest Texas. This case focuses on H-E-B's private label strategy, a product category that accounts for 19% of H-E-B's sales and one that earns gross margins 50% higher than national brands. A leader in its markets, H-E-B is faced with increasing competition, especially from Wal-Mart, which has aggressively entered the Texas markets with a series of "supercenters." Although the case specifically focuses on H-E-B's Own Brands (private label), it more broadly raises important strategic questions regarding H-E-B's ability to compete effectively in this new market environment. Includes color exhibits.

Supplements the (A) case.

Merrill Lynch, a full-service brokerage firm with $1.5 trillion in client assets, is under attack from both discount and electronic brokerage firms. It responds with Integrated Choice, a suite of products designed to capture clients from the do-it-yourself investor who doesn't want to use a broker to clients who want to rely completely on a broker. The strategy is high risk and requires a sea change from the company.

Outlines the transformation of RadioShack stores from a parts and accessories business to a provider of high bandwidth Internet access.

This case traces why the $1 billion women's clothing retailer decided to attract younger customers, what went wrong, and the actions taken to recover. By the end of 1999, the company has reestablished itself and faces several growth opportunities and must decide on the best course of action.

Describes the evolution of Zucamor and its business strategy, particularly after the opening of the Argentine economy in 1992 and 1993. Traces the action that led to its association with U.S. paper giant Union Camp. Poses some of the critical challenges faced by the company's new management.

Despite revenues in excess of $93 million in 1998, world-renowned Dana-Farber Cancer Institute constantly faces an operating shortfall and looks to its highly successful development office to help cover the deficit. The development office raises money annually (with a $42 million goal for 1999) through its two major fund-raising arms: the Development Fund and the Jimmy Fund. In addition, it conducts a major capital campaign about every five years. A new chief development officer, Susan Paresky, needs to establish the development strategy going forward. The case reviews the major fund-raising programs in the development office and presents additional growth options. Students examine the existing programs, assess the value of the new options, and devise a development strategy consistent with the mission and philosophy of the institute.

Book-In-Time, developed at Xerox, can dramatically reduce the cost of printing "one" book. Combined with the possibilities of digital content storage and transmittal, the new technology has vast opportunities. Xerox needs a commercial plan. The case describes the state of the book publishing industry and the potential for a new technology.