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Alliance Design Concepts provided audio system solutions, which involved installing high-quality sound systems in customer facilities (such as large churches). A major cost component (60–80 per cent) for these systems was the equipment (speakers, amplifiers, etc.), which was sourced from the United States and paid for in U.S. dollars (USD). Alliance quoted prices to customers in Canadian dollars (CAD) by converting equipment costs from USD to CAD based on the exchange rate on the day of the quotation. Since it was often months later that Alliance actually converted cash and paid the supplier in USD, it found that a change in the exchange rate during that time could directly reduce the margin on the sale. The operations manager had to devise a risk mitigation strategy and/or business process change.

Zomeworks, a small-sized designer-manufacturer of passive solar energy products, is considering launching a new freeze-tolerant passive thermosiphon solar water heater. The firm's target market analysis is based only on consumer economics. How can the firm design the product and select a target market in ways that implement a corporate strategy and a branding strategy? Should the product be targeted only at consumers living off the natural gas line in the United States, or should it also target green/"ethical" consumers, industrial users and emerging markets? Is Zomeworks the best firm to commercialize the product, or should it license out or spin off the product? The firm also has a successful battery enclosure product. Should it spin it off in order to mass produce it?

MediaTek was the third largest fabless semiconductor company in the world, and was the second largest supplier of the silicon microchips that powered mobile phones. Yet as the company's chairman reflected on his R&D strategy, he wondered why it hadn't moved faster on the transition to smartphones. He also thought about what was on his firm's menu of choices, and what was on the menus of his competitors.

The president and CEO of the American Red Cross talks about changing its organizational structure, making processes more collaborative, and learning the power of emotion.

An elaborately engraved Spanish stock certificate issued in 1758 could almost be a template for modern stock certificates. Here's the story that its iconography reveals about the royal trading company it came from.

Abstract: Fan Ye has opened a U.S. sales office for the company his father founded in China: Suns International, a manufacturer of electronic switches. While competition in China was based almost solely on cost, Fan knew this would not be enough to break into the U.S. market-particularly in Suns' industry, where the cost of failure was high. Consequently, he decided to obtain the certifications needed to ensure Suns' product would meet U.S. standards. This gamble paid off as Suns attracted OEM customers like Honeywell and Otis Elevator. A main issue and decision point in the case is triggered by Suns taking over the exclusive supply of foot switches to Grainger, a major electronics catalog. ProSwitch, a U.S.-based family business that lost the Grainger account to Suns, has asked to meet with Fan, presumably to talk about a possible cooperative relationship. Fan must now decide whether to compete or cooperate with ProSwitch and what approach to take in the meeting.

When Pinault stepped into the top job at Kering (formerly PPR), in 2003, he faced a key question: Should he leave things as they had been under his father, who had built a conglomerate of eclectic businesses, or take them in a new direction? He felt that the company should become more international, more growth oriented, and more profitable--and that it should build on its ownership of Gucci Group to create a strong position in the global luxury market. Kering began a series of acquisitions that included Alexander McQueen, Saint Laurent, and Bottega Veneta, and helped its brands develop their own retail store networks. It set out to pair creative directors--who retained a high degree of control--with strong and complementary CEOs. And it introduced operational synergies, coordinating sourcing and creating two product development centers. The transformation of the business has made the company much smaller but far more focused. Since 2003 its profits have risen by about 40%.

Senior executives have discovered through hard experience that prospering at their level is a matter of carefully combining work and home so as not to lose themselves, their loved ones, or their foothold on success. To learn how they reconcile their professional and personal lives, the authors drew on five years' worth of interviews with almost 4,000 executives worldwide, conducted by students at Harvard Business School, and a survey of 82 executives in an HBS leadership course. Their stories and advice reflect five main themes: defining success for yourself, managing technology, building support networks at work and at home, traveling or relocating selectively, and collaborating with your partner. Some intriguing gender differences emerged in the survey data. For example, men still think of their family responsibilities in terms of breadwinning, whereas women often see theirs as role modeling for their children. And male executives tend to praise their partners for making positive contributions to their careers, whereas women praise theirs for not interfering. Executives of both sexes consider the tension between work and family to be primarily a women's problem, and most of them believe that one can't compete in the global marketplace while leading a "balanced" life. "Earnestly trying to focus," the authors conclude, "is what will see them through."

For nearly four decades, Langer's research on mindfulness has influenced thinking across a range of fields, from behavioral economics to positive psychology. It demonstrates that by paying attention to what's going on around us, instead of operating on autopilot, we can reduce stress, unlock creativity, and boost performance. "Mindfulness is the essence of engagement," Langer says. "And it's energy-begetting, not energy- consuming." It enables people to recognize and take advantage of opportunities when they arise and to avert risk. Furthermore, Langer says, "You like people better, and people like you better, because you're less evaluative. You're more charismatic." In this interview, she discusses the link between mindfulness and innovation, why mindfulness makes one less judgmental about others, what managers can do to become more mindful, and more.

In an HBR article in January 2005, Cappelli and Hamori compared leaders in the top 10 roles at each of the Fortune 100 companies in 1980 with those in 2001. Among their findings were a sharp decline in the number of senior executives who had spent their entire careers with one company, and a corresponding uptick in rapidly advancing young executives who spent less time with any one employer. In this article they and Bonet extend that analysis to 2011. Perhaps the most noteworthy changes they've found are demographic. For example, the percentage of executive women has risen quite a bit. But the 2008 recession caused some interesting developments: Financial institutions are bringing in more senior executives from outside than they did a decade ago; leaders have been hesitant to leave their organizations for new opportunities; and companies have held on to even underperforming executives to maintain stability. Generously illustrated with graphics, this article profiles today's leaders in four areas--career trajectory, education, diversity, and hierarchy within the senior ranks.

The comic icon shares his thoughts on creativity, corporate humor, and how the team behind Monty Python made decisions.

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of the most successful sports leagues in the world. Under the leadership of David Stern, the NBA has undergone unprecedented globalization. An NBA game in 2007 between the Rockets and Bucks - featuring the meeting of two Chinese players - drew an estimated 250 million television viewers in China. In 2008, a local, independent company, NBA China, was created and majority-controlled by the NBA, taking the NBA's business in China to the next level. Up until now, China has been the NBA's number one market outside the United States by a large margin. However, nothing comes easily. Social networking services have developed quickly, redefining how fans watch games and interact with each other; the traditional merchandise strategy based on franchised stores is being challenged by booming online businesses; the annual NBA China Games are no longer able to satiate Chinese fans' growing appetite for games; relations with the government-affiliated Chinese Basketball Association are tense; and no Chinese have played in the NBA since Yao Ming's retirement. Facing all these challenges in a nation with an entirely foreign system and culture, what should the new CEO of NBA China do?

The National Basketball Association (NBA) is one of the most successful sports leagues in the world. Under the leadership of David Stern, the NBA has undergone unprecedented globalization. An NBA game in 2007 between the Rockets and Bucks — featuring the meeting of two Chinese players — drew an estimated 250 million television viewers in China. In 2008, a local, independent company, NBA China, was created and majority-controlled by the NBA, taking the NBA’s business in China to the next level. Up until now, China has been the NBA’s number one market outside the United States by a large margin. However, nothing comes easily. Social networking services have developed quickly, redefining how fans watch games and interact with each other; the traditional merchandise strategy based on franchised stores is being challenged by booming online businesses; the annual NBA China Games are no longer able to satiate Chinese fans’ growing appetite for games; relations with the government-affiliated Chinese Basketball Association are tense; and no Chinese have played in the NBA since Yao Ming’s retirement. Facing all these challenges in a nation with an entirely foreign system and culture, what should the new CEO of NBA China do?

In 2009, Caterpillar shipped its first D7E tractor, an "electric drive" machine in which electric motors moved the tracks and blade, using electricity from a generator powered by a diesel engine. In an industry where new products provided performance gains of just a few percent, the D7E moved 10 percent more material per hour, using 10-30 percent less fuel that its predecessor. It was also easier to operate, had 40 percent fewer moving parts, and a far lower lifetime operating cost. When the project was originally approved in 2003, the D7E was intended to prove out the electric drive concept for tractors. The D7E was chosen for this role in part because it was a relatively low-volume machine, and provided less risk for the new technology. If successful, electric drive was expected to be adopted by other products in Caterpillar's tractor product line. However, by the end of 2013, this had not yet happened, nor had the company announced plans to do so. This case describes the D7E project from its conception, including the organizational and technical challenges it faced, and how the project team overcame these challenges. It raises questions about why the technology had not been rapidly adapted to other Caterpillar tractors.

A firm's raw material sourcing knowledge can be a strategic resource. This article explores how firms can capture and use this knowledge. It examines the sourcing experiences of four firms in four different countries in the automotive industry and identifies the raw material sourcing knowledge-related parameters. Synthesizing the findings from these case studies, it proposes the concept of the sourcing hub, a collaborative center involving the firm, its suppliers, and raw material suppliers, which can effectively capture and deploy the raw material sourcing knowledge for managing value in upstream sourcing.

Retail inventory is a statistic that is closely watched by retailers as well as their investors, lenders, and suppliers. Retailers not only benefit from inventory, but also bear the cost of excess inventory. Investors, lenders, and suppliers interpret this statistic for signs of the retailer's health, future sales prospects, and impending costs. This article synthesizes the perspectives of investors, lenders, and suppliers on inventory. Moreover, the article shows that inventory turns, a commonly used metric to identify excess inventory, has important limitations that reduce its utility for all these stakeholders. It then presents a new metric, adjusted inventory turns, which can be effectively utilized by all stakeholders to assess whether a retailer is carrying too much or too little inventory.

Open innovation often requires wholesale changes to the nature of R&D. However, academic research and managerial practice have paid little attention to the challenges that individuals face in the daily pursuit of open innovation. As a result, there is little understanding of how individuals cope with open innovation, and which organizational practices can support them in this role. Drawing on the experiences of R&D professionals, this article identifies four specific challenges and coping strategies of individuals engaged in open innovation. It proposes a range of open innovation practices that organizations can implement to better equip their staff to undertake effective external engagement.

This case study describes the culture change process and positive outcomes at one of Genentech's largest divisions, Immunology and Opthamology (GIO). Senior Vice President Jennifer Cook worked with her team to develop a culture that would tie together four brands that previously were not in the same division. Despite various challenges along the way, Cook pursued a culture change approach with definitive and relatively rapid outcomes. This is a story of the role that leaders have in undertaking and inspiring major culture change.

This article critiques Porter and Kramer's concept of creating shared value. The strengths of the idea are highlighted in terms of its popularity among practitioner and academic audiences, its connecting of strategy and social goals, and its systematizing of some previously underdeveloped, disconnected areas of research and practice. However, the concept suffers from some serious shortcomings, namely: it is unoriginal; it ignores the tensions inherent to responsible business activity; it is naïve about business compliance; and it is based on a shallow conception of the corporation's role in society. [Michael Porter and Mark Kramer were invited to respond to this article. Their commentary follows along with a reply by Crane and his co-authors.]

This case shows 1) the strategic importance of talent management 2) the best practice of LVMH in this regard. It illustrates how LVMH extracts synergies across maisons ("houses").