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This case discusses why society grants professional associations the rights of certification and self-regulation. In exercising these rights, professional associations serve client interests but also the interest of member practitioners. The case discusses how associations that place practitioner interest over client interest risk the separation of their profession. It concludes with a discussion of the relationship between professional associations and professional service firms.

Many occupations lay claim to professional status. Business executives, social workers, musicians, sportsmen, and academics describe their occupations as "professions". Office assistants call themselves "administrative professionals". Obviously, not all occupations that claim to be professions are so recognized by society. Society attaches the professional label only to certain occupations. Doctors and lawyers are professionals; auto mechanics and restaurant wait staff are not. Yet, gray areas exist. Are nurses professionals? Teachers? Real estate brokers? This case identifies the distinguishing characteristics of professional work. Professionals are a subcategory of service providers. An understanding of what distinguishes professionals from other service providers must be grounded in an understanding of 1.) what constitutes service provisions and 2.) how the various categories of service provision differ.

This note provides a brief overview of some important perspectives on how advertising messages "work" to persuade consumers. The note reviews the traditional hierarchy of effects, cognitive dissonance, lower involvement, and elaboration by aspects models of consumer behavior.

Discusses the concept of a fiduciary, as developed in the Anglo-American common law tradition, and outlines the principal differences between the legal standard applied to fiduciaries compared to ordinary arms'-length contractors.

In June 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court announced its decision in Grutter v. Bollinger, upholding the principle of affirmative action in university admissions, which had been challenged as a violation of the U.S. Constitution's Fourteenth Amendment. This case includes excerpts from the amicus curiae briefs filed by General Motors and by the United States.

Gives prominence to Mr. Justice Holmes' Prediction Theory of the law as a practical--and by analogy to forecasting in finance and other functional areas of business--comfortable, and familiar way for businesspeople to think about the law. Law is defined as a forecast of what the relevant facts proving the presence or absence of those concepts or principles will turn out to be. The basis for the forecast of concepts is a hierarchy of sources beginning with statutes, followed in sequence by an assessment of case precedent and considerations of social advantage.

Looks at the consumer psychology of new product adoption. Identifies a key reason why consumers do not adopt innovations as quickly as developers think they should--an irrational resistance to behavioral change. Identifies strategies for firms to manage and overcome this resistance.

In mid-2003, China was the fastest-growing telecom market. Telecom subscribers are estimated at 472 million. With the size and growth of telecom, China is a hot spot for new telecom and IT technologies. Furthermore, China's sheer market power provides a strong position for establishing telecom policies and standards that have important global and economic implications. This case provides the underlying background to discuss the key issues and decisions facing China's policymakers.

The note describes various methodologies and philosophies of advertising copy test. Additional material this might be used with: Managing Spending Balance in Advertising Campaigns: The GRODD Model Revisited.

In today's organizations, leaders need to be able to influence employees to be motivated and committed to high performance; no longer can managers simply get by dealing with employees only through a power relationship or by telling employees what to do. Leaders need to look beyond behavior (level one) to their employees' thinking (level two) and their VABEs (values, assumptions, beliefs, and expectations--level three) about their lives, the world, their work, and so on. This note explains the differences between these three levels of human activity.

This note is in introduction on what leadership is. The definition proposed is that real leadership is accomplished by the kind of person who is able to 1) see what needs to be done; 2) understand the underlying forces at play in a situation; 3) initiate action to change things. A person who wants to become a leader in his organization needs to learn and observe as much as possible about the organization and to think about where it should be going. He or she should go beyond his immediate situation to think about this, to have a proactive point of view of the business as a whole.

Describes the Magic Matrix, which is both a chart and a process that enables executives to manage their product/service lines, and market segments and accounts simultaneously. The Magic Matrix has proven to be a powerful planning and analysis tool for such processes as sales forecasting, profitability analysis, and resource allocation. Explains, in detail, various forms of the Magic Matrix and how they can be used in a wide variety of management processes.

The market leader has the strongest ability among its competitors to shape an oligopolistic, segmented market in its favor. Market leadership is the result of the marketing leadership process including four steps: strategic visioning, integrated planning, managing performance, and marketing controllership. To some extent, market leadership is naturally sustainable. But, there are also natural processes that undermine the market leader's ability to maintain its position. Discusses this related set of topics.

We encounter moral or ethical challenges in our professional lives, in our close relationships, and as members of the broader communities that we are part of. This methodology demonstrates how moral reasoning works and how it can be integrated into a problem-solving format. It is meant to supplement problem-solving skills that you already have with a systematic approach to use with moral or ethical problems. The methodology provides a structure for addressing issues and lays out some criteria to augment others you would ordinarily rely on for decision making, action planning, and implementation.

This note provides an introduction to process analysis, covering key concepts such as bottlenecks, capacity, capacity utilization and throughput time. Concepts are illustrated in a context that is simple and familiar to most students: neighborhood drycleaner. The note is suitable as a technical reading on process analysis in a required MBA or undergraduate course in operations management.

The influx of diversity in the workplace has brought a challenging set of managerial problems. Managers who handle these situations must be skillful in dealing with feedback, conflict, and talent assessment, but they must also be skilled in dealing with difference. This technical note explores leveraging difference and the path one can take to develop skills essential to leveraging difference.This note works well with "Leaders Who Make a Difference: Critical Skills for Leading a Diverse Workforce".

This note is a discussion of the major considerations for a marketer faced with implementing a marketing plan. A five-part framework is offered to integrate concepts ranging from capacity of the marketing team to managing commitment to change.

This note provides background information on alternative approaches to evaluation in the workplace. Presented is a discussion of 360-degree feedback; the arguments for and against its use; and some of the requirements for effective application. Also presented is a discussion of the balanced scorecard; its benefits and main sources of failure; some potential measures; and the relationship to strategy maps, the links it can create within the organization, and the need to link it to rewards. This note is intended to be used in conjunction with sessions on performance evaluation and rewards.

This note provides background information on alternative approaches to evaluation in the workplace. Presented is a discussion of 360-degree feedback; the arguments for and against its use; and some of the requirements for effective application. Also presented is a discussion of the balanced scorecard; its benefits and main sources of failure; some potential measures; and the relationship to strategy maps, the links it can create within the organization, and the need to link it to rewards. This note is intended to be used in conjunction with sessions on performance evaluation and rewards.

This note provides an overview of conjoint analysis. It shows how to interpret standard conjoint-analysis output and the uses of that output. It provides several examples of how output can be converted to managerially useful information.