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The forces around any endeavor result in its ultimate design. When attempting to solve 'wicked problems', creative thinkers must design systems that influence people's behavior on a mass scale. 'Systems at scale' comprise a series of methods for directing behavioral change on a large scale by inspiring people to embrace a system as a stakeholder. In a world increasingly plagued by wicked problems, this is one approach to tackling seemingly-unsolvable problems.

Design contains the skills to identify possible futures, build bridges to customers and crack 'wicked problems'. For businesses to bottle the kind of experiences that rivet minds and run away with hearts, they need to do more than hire designers: they need to be designers -- to think like designers and work like designers. The narrow-gauge mindset of the past is insufficient for today's wicked problems. We can no longer play the music as written. Instead, we have to invent a whole new scale.

Make no mistake, the end of oil is on the horizon, and with it come significant implications for business and opportunities for the redesign of industry. The forthcoming end of petroleum-derived oil will fundamentally change the course of business on the scale of the Internet, the credit crisis, and perhaps even climate change. Three sets of ideas, explored here, play an important role: finding substitutes for oil; collaborative innovation between industries and sectors; and facing the fundamental socio-political implications of moving away from petroleum.

The case discusses two important themes within the context of the oil and gas industry. First, it sheds light on the context of the oil and gas industry in India, the prospects and potential pitfalls, and paints a broad-brush picture of the key players currently operating in the market. Second, it discusses the theme of transformation of India's largest national oil company (NOC), the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC). While the industry structure discussion dwells on the business performance drivers in the exploration and production segment, as well as the refining and marketing segment, the transformation discussion focuses largely on the challenges facing leaders who are attempting to infuse state-owned companies with market discipline.

Examines Wal-Mart's development over three decades and provides financial and descriptive detail of its domestic operations. In 2003, Wal-Mart's Supercenter business has surpassed its domestic business as the largest generator of revenues. Its international operation seems poised to become the next growth driver for the company as it marches toward the trillion dollar sales mark. But problems are starting to surface even as the company is winning recognition as the number one company in the Fortune 500--unions keep pressuring Its minimum-wage employees and allegations of gender discrimination are alleged.

This case is meant to be used in conjunction with the extant "Cola Wars" case studies. It outlines the global positions of Pepsi and Coca-Cola as of 2008 in the soft drink market, and then provides an overview of their competitive situations in three markets: Mexico, China, and India. The case raises the issue of whether any or all of these markets are a) structurally attractive for soft drink firms, and b) if so, how can Pepsi best "catch-up" with Coca-Cola in a given market.     

This case examines Intel's response to imitative entry by Advanced Micro Devices into the 386 microprocessor product category in which Intel had been the sole producer. The case is set in 1991 when AMD first introduces its Intel-compatible 386 processor and before Intel's response is known. The case can be used to discuss competitive interactions in pricing and marketing strategy, as well as general issues regarding entry deterrence or accommodation.

A financial services firm's ability to recover from an industry downturn depends not only on how it reacts during the slowdown but also on its state of readiness when the crunch hits. Here's what to do both before and during the unwelcome event.

"What best practice challenges the conventional wisdom about what to do in a downturn?" We put that question to our team of management bloggers at harvardbusiness.org. This article provides an edited selection of their provocative responses.

The promise of clean-energy technologies makes this renowned venture capitalist optimistic about the world's economic future. He foresees many "cleantech" successes that will pave the way to better times.

Firms with ill-considered globalization strategies, say Alexander and Korine of London Business School, are poised to become targets for breakup or overhaul by activist shareowners. Yet many businesses (particularly in deregulated, service, and manufacturing industries) have made complacent assumptions about the need to go global and moved full steam ahead toward failure. If they had paused to answer three simple questions, they might well have avoided their missteps. Are there potential benefits for our company? Moves that make sense for some firms won't necessarily work for others. UK-based roof tile maker Redland learned that lesson when it tried leveraging its technical know-how beyond its home market - without realizing that building practices in certain countries provided very little demand for concrete roof tiles. The company was fully able to transfer the relevant technology, but there was no value in doing so in those markets. Do we have the necessary management skills? Even if potential benefits do exist for a company, it may not be in a position to realize them. Although industrial conglomerate BTR had developed a presence in many countries, each business unit was run more or less autonomously. As its customers globalized, they came to expect coordinated supply and support across borders. BTR was well positioned to deliver, but its ingrained culture blocked attempts at global integration. Will the costs outweigh the benefits? Global efforts can be rendered counterproductive through unanticipated collateral damage. TCL, a Chinese maker of electronics and home appliances, has expanded rapidly into the United States and Europe through a series of acquisitions and joint ventures. Along the way, the company's infrastructure has become unwieldy; the cost of managing it has outweighed the benefits of increased scale and resulted in large losses.

In the fall of 2008, E Ink had positioned itself as a leader in electronic ink technology thanks to the launch of several eBook devices such as Amazon's Kindle. Yet E Ink still faced the question of how to turn its technology into a profitable business amid competing technologies and financial challenges.

In late March 2007, CBS faces an important decision about its online video strategy. A just-announced joint online distribution venture between NBC Universal and News Corporation (Fox) is the impetus for this decision. Should CBS join forces with this new venture, come to terms with YouTube, the leading video-sharing site on the Internet, or maintain a nonexclusive strategy?

Samsung Electronics, a successful global company based in South Korea, aspires to "Tier One" status among its competitors through mastering the less tangible, more intuitive qualities of superior design. This case study takes students through Samsung's rise in little more than three decades from a small OEM producer of generic TV sets to a giant in numerous product categories, from components (such as LCD displays) to ubiquitous consumer devices (such as cell phones). During the past decade, this engineering-driven company has given way to an innovative, design-driven company, without any less emphasis on R&D. Nevertheless, despite worldwide design awards and engineering accolades, the "iconic" product (such as Apple's iPod) eludes them. After a detailed introduction to Samsung's design operation, students are asked to develop a strategic direction that will lead Samsung to the next level.

Epilogue to DMI021

Coca-Cola was the world's largest manufacturer and distributor of nonalcoholic beverage syrups and concentrates, selling over $24 billion of products in 2006 in more than 200 hundred countries. It became a high-growth company under Roberto Goizueta who was president and then chairman and CEO from 1980 until his death in 1997. Under Goizueta's leadership, Coca-Cola's market cap grew from $4.3 billion to $180 billion, but since his death in 1997, it has declined to under $115 billion, and for the first time in their long competition Pepsi-Cola has a larger market cap. Coca-Cola needs a blockbuster break-out growth idea to transform it and its culture. Coca-Cola needs to show Wall Street that it is not wedded to its legacy model and that it can be a growth company again.

Wireless technologies and mobile devices have played crucial roles in the evolution of the digital ecosystem. This note looks at cell phones, smartphones, mobile technologies and popular applications noting companies that are positioned to capture the value engendered by them.

A new study of private equity buyouts shows that, on average, U.S. acquisitions made in "red" (Republican) states deliver significantly higher returns than acquisitions made in "blue" (Democratic) ones.

A shortage of H-1B visas is preventing U.S. companies from hiring the foreign technical employees they need to fill their talent gap. Some firms are getting around the problem by seeking alternatives to basing employees stateside in the first place - and, in the process, are reaping other benefits.