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Alphabetically : M
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 (OP 9/2006 per HBS) Medtronic, Inc. (B)
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| 12 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Lorsch, Jay W.; Pick, Katharina
Publication Date: 10/04/1999
Product Type: Case (Field)
HBS Number: 9-400-042
Geographic Setting: Minneapolis, MN Industry Setting: Medical equipment & device industry Number of Employees: 19,334 Gross Revenues: $4 billion revenues
Event Year Start: 1995 Event Year End: 1999
Subjects: Corporate culture; Corporate governance; Corporate responsibility; Succession planning
Academic Discipline: Human resources management
Product Description: The board of directors of Medtronic, Inc., a company known for its commitment to effective corporate governance, must prepare for the departure of Chairman and CEO Bill George and the retirement of four long-time directors. The company had experienced rapid growth in the early 1990’s as well as significant change in the composition of its board. Now the Medtronic directors must evaluate how the board has changed, how it will continue to change, and how it should prepare for the future. May be used with: (9-494-096) Medtronic, Inc. (A).
Source: Harvard
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| A Matter of Ethics
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| 6 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Cohen, Allan
Publication Date: 01/01/2000 Revision Date: 04/29/2004
Product Type: Case (Field)
Publisher: Babson College
Product Description: A four-part, sequential prediction case dealing with intergroup conflict. Teaching Purpose: To improve students’ observational, analytical, and predictive skills. Also, to provide opportunities to explore the sources of intergroup conflict, causes of escalation, and ways of diffusing and resolving conflict.
HBS Number: BAB084
Subjects: Conflict; Ethics; Group dynamics; Interpersonal behavior; Interpersonal relations; Organizational behavior
Academic Discipline: Organizational behavior & leadership
Supplementary Materials: Teaching Note, (BAB584), 8p, by Allan Cohen
Source: Harvard
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| M&A Needn’t Be a Loser‘s Game
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| 12 pp.
| Article
Author(s): Selden, Larry; Colvin, Geoffrey
Publication Date: 06/01/2003
Product Type: Harvard Business Review Article
Product Description: Three out of four acquisitions fail; they destroy wealth for the buyer’s shareholders, who end up worse off than they would have been had the deal not been done. But it doesn‘t have to be that way, argue the authors. In evaluating acquisitions, companies must look beyond the lure of profits the income statement promises and examine the balance sheet, where the company keeps track of capital. It's ignoring the balance sheet that causes so many acquisitions to destroy shareholders' wealth. Unfortunately, most executives focus only on sales and profits going up, never realizing that they've put in motion a plan to destroy their company's true profitability — its return on invested capital. M&A, like other aspects of running a company, works best when seen as a way to create shareholder value through customers. Most deals are about customers and should start with an analysis of customer profitability. Some customers are profitable; others are money losers. The better an acquirer understands the profitability of its own customers, the better positioned it will be to perform such analyses on other companies. In this article, the authors show that customer profitability varies far more dramatically than most managers suspect. They also describe how to measure the profitability of customers. By understanding the economics of customer profitability, companies can avoid making deals that hurt their shareholders, identify surprising deals that create wealth, and salvage deals that would otherwise be losers.
HBS Number: R0306D
Subjects: Balance sheets; Capital; Mergers & acquisitions; Profitability analysis; Return on investment; Shareholder relations
Academic Discipline: Competitive strategy
Source: Harvard
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| M-TRONICS (A)
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| 17 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Bower, Joseph L.; Applegate, Lynda M.
Publication Date: 04/23/2007 Revision Date: 11/16/2007
Product Type: Case (Field)
Publisher: Harvard Business School
HBS Number: 807156
Subjects: Entrepreneurship; Business models; New economy; Growth strategy
Academic Discipline: Entrepreneurship
Supplementary Materials: Case Teaching Note, (398171), 9p, by Joseph L. Bower; Supplement, (807157), 2p, by Joseph L. Bower, Lynda M. Applegate
Product Description: The new CEO of a small manufacturing firm pursues growth through the launch of Entrepreneurial Subsidiaries. While the firm grows revenues from $600 million to over $2 billion in 10 years, problems surface as the subsidiaries are integrated into the established business
Source: Harvard
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| 17 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Bower, Joseph L.; Applegate, Lynda M.
Publication Date: 04/23/2007 Revision Date: 11/16/2007
Product Type: Case (Field)
HBS Number: 9-807-156
Subjects: Business models; Entrepreneurship; General management; Growth strategy; New economy; Organizational behavior & leadership
Academic Discipline: Entrepreneurship
Supplementary Materials: Supplement (Field), (9-807-157), 2p, by Joseph L. Bower, Lynda M. Applegate; Teaching Note, (5-398-171), 9p, by Joseph L. Bower
Product Description: The new CEO of a small manufacturing firm pursues growth through the launch of Entrepreneurial Subsidiaries. While the firm grows revenues from $600 million to over $2 billion in 10 years, problems surface as the subsidiaries are integrated into the established business
Source: Harvard
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| 17 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Bower, Joseph L.; Applegate, Lynda M.
Publication Date: 04/23/2007 Revision Date: 11/16/2007
Product Type: Case (Field)
HBS Number: 9-807-156
Subjects: Business models; Entrepreneurship; General management; Growth strategy; New economy; Organizational behavior & leadership
Academic Discipline: Entrepreneurship
Supplementary Materials: Supplement (Field), (9-807-157), 2p, by Joseph L. Bower, Lynda M. Applegate; Teaching Note, (5-398-171), 9p, by Joseph L. Bower
Product Description: The new CEO of a small manufacturing firm pursues growth through the launch of Entrepreneurial Subsidiaries. While the firm grows revenues from $600 million to over $2 billion in 10 years, problems surface as the subsidiaries are integrated into the established business
Source: Harvard
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| Ma Jun and the IPE: Using Information to Improve China’s Environment
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| 29 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Lee, Hau ; Plambeck, Erica ; Shao, Maria
Publication Date: 07/30/2009
Product Type: Case
Publisher: Stanford University
HBS Number: SI115
Geographic Setting: China
Subjects: Globalization; Nonprofit organizations; Factories; Manufacturing; Sourcing; Outsourcing
Academic Discipline: Social enterprise & ethics
Supplementary Materials: Case Teaching Note, (SI115T), 22p, by Hau Lee, Erica Plambeck, Maria Shao
Product Description: The Institute of Public & Environmental Affairs, founded and led by prominent Chinese environmentalist Ma Jun, was a small non-profit organization with an outsized mission. The Beijing-based group aimed to be a catalyst in “greening” China’s manufacturing facilities. The IPE operated public, online databases of air and water violations by factories throughout China, creating a groundbreaking “blacklist” of polluters. By mid-2009, IPE had compiled databases with more than 47,000 air and water violations. To get off the list, 22 multinational corporations took corrective actions and accepted IPE-supervised environmental audits of their Chinese factories. Ma was a champion of increasing access to environmental information, which he believed could bring public pressure on companies to operate more responsibly. Ma also was a well-respected voice on China‘s environment and a leading advocate of public participation in managing China's environment. But the environmental entrepreneur was searching for ways his organization could make a bigger impact. The case presents the contributions that a non-governmental organization can make in bringing about environmental change. It focuses on the role that information transparency and supply chain improvements can play in reducing pollution.
Source: Harvard
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| MABATI ROLLING MILLS LTD: THE CONTINUOUS GALVANIZING LINE PROJECT
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| 19 pp.
| Case
K’Aol, G O — United States International University, Kenya
Gatumo, F — United States International University, Kenya
Low, M — Columbia University
Distributor: ecch (www.ecch.com) Reference: 306-339-1 Language: English
Category: Strategy and General Management Data source: Field research
Product Year: 2006
Geo location: Kenya Industry: Steel manufacturing Timing: 1999
Topics: Technology and innovation; New product development strategy; Technology choice; Financing decisions; Kenya; Entrepreneurship; Financing, accounting and control; Technological innovations; Marketing; Production and operations management
Abstract: It was in early 1999 when Kaushik Shah, the Chief Executive Officer of Mabati Rolling Mills (MRM), and his team submitted a proposal to the board of directors requesting an approval to borrow 2.3 billion Kenyan shillings (US$30 million). The funds were required to enable the company to set-up a state of the art manufacturing facility at the Mariakani factory, in Mombasa, the 2nd largest town in Kenya. The board had rejected a similar proposal on the grounds that the management and the board had a differing time horizon for the implementation of the project. The board wanted the project to be time-phased while the management wanted a spot implementation of the project. The board had pegged the project cost ceiling at US$24 million while the management had a projected cost pegged at US$30 million. In the proposal, four potential sources of funds had been specified. These were commercial papers, long-term loans, loans from international banks and the floating of shares to the public. The key problem was how to source the funds bearing in mind the cost of capital.
Source: ecch
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| MABUCHI MOTOR CO., LTD.
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| 14 pp.
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Beamish PW; Goerzen A
A year had elapsed since Mabuchi Motor Co., Ltd. of Japan, the world’s most successful producer of small electric motors, had implemented a new management training program at one of its foreign operations in China. The program had two objectives.First, it was intended to enable the corporation to maintain its strategy of cost minimization by making it possible to reduce Japanese expatriate levels by improving the management skills of local managers in foreign subsidiaries. Second, byovercoming the shortage of qualified Japanese managers, the program would also allow the continued aggressive expansion of production that had become a cornerstone of corporate strategy. The teaching purpose is to illustrate the difficulties associated with transferring a management style and corporate culture into a different national culture.
Ivey Number: 9A98M034
Publication Date: 30/10/1998 Revision Date: 11/2/2000
Geographic Setting: China/Japan Industry Setting: Electric & Electronic Equipment Supplies
Company Size: Large organization
Event Year Start: 1995
Subjects: Subsidiaries, Corporate Culture, Management Training, Organizational Change
Functional Area: General Management
Source: Ivey
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| MAC Development Corp.
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| 24 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Hamermesh, Richard G.; McCaffrey, Colleen
Publication Date: 03/01/2002 Revision Date: 06/17/2003
Product Type: Color Case
HBS Number: 802140
Geographic Setting: Chicago, IL Industry Setting: Real estate
Event Year Start: 2001 Event Year End: 2001
Subjects: Bank loans; Entrepreneurship; IPO; Loans; Real estate; Risk management
Academic Discipline: Entrepreneurship
Supplementary Materials: Case Video, DVD, (806703), 6 min, by Richard G. Hamermesh; Case Video, (806706), 6 min, by Richard G. Hamermesh; Teaching Note, (803024), 6p, by Richard G. Hamermesh
Product Description: Deals with MAC Development’s efforts to develop a 41-acre site near Chicago. Reviews two years of efforts and highlights the remaining issues of: 1) gaining town approval for development and tax reductions, 2) meeting the bank‘s debt covenants, including finding a buyer for the first lot, and 3) agreeing on a final purchase price with the seller. Includes color exhibits.
Source: Harvard
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| 24 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Hamermesh, Richard G.; McCaffrey, Colleen
Publication Date: 03/01/2002 Revision Date: 06/17/2003
Product Type: Color Case
Product Description: Deals with MAC Development’s efforts to develop a 41-acre site near Chicago. Reviews two years of efforts and highlights the remaining issues of: 1) gaining town approval for development and tax reductions, 2) meeting the bank‘s debt covenants, including finding a buyer for the first lot, and 3) agreeing on a final purchase price with the seller. Includes color exhibits.
HBS Number: 9-802-140
Geographic Setting: Chicago, IL Industry Setting: Real estate
Event Year Start: 2001 Event Year End: 2001
Subjects: Bank loans; Entrepreneurship; IPO; Loans; Real estate; Risk management
Academic Discipline: Entrepreneurship
Supplementary Materials: Case Video, DVD, (9-806-703), 6 min, by Richard G. Hamermesh; Case Video, (9-806-706), 6 min, by Richard G. Hamermesh; Teaching Note, (5-803-024), 6p, by Richard G. Hamermesh
Source: Harvard
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| MACGREGOR GOLF COMPANY (B2): AMER
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| 11 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Bourgeois, L. J. III; Yungmeyer, Ann
Darden ID: UVA-BP-0294
Published: 3/3/1991
Revised: 1/23/1997
Copyright Year: 1988
Subject Area: Operations Management
Keywords: acquisitions, business planning, corporate culture, mergers, planning, product portfolio, diversity case, international, diverse protagonist, nationality
Teaching Note: UVA-BP-0291TN
Abstract: This companion case to UVA-BP-0291 and UVA-BP-0293 describes Amer’s valuation (low) and its market research on the golf industry. See also UVA-BP-0290.
Source: Darden
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| 11 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Bourgeois, L. J. III; Yungmeyer, Ann
Darden ID: UVA-BP-0294
Published: 3/3/1991
Revised: 1/23/1997
Copyright Year: 1988
Subject Area: Operations Management
Keywords: acquisitions, business planning, corporate culture, mergers, planning, product portfolio, diversity case, international, diverse protagonist, nationality
Teaching Note: UVA-BP-0291TN
Abstract: This companion case to UVA-BP-0291 and UVA-BP-0293 describes Amer’s valuation (low) and its market research on the golf industry. See also UVA-BP-0290.
Source: Darden
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| MacMillan Bloedel Versus Greenpeace
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| 22 pp.
| Case
Robert Letovsky; Jan Johnson
In 1997, a coalition of environemental groups, led by Greenpeace, began a public pressure campaign against the British Columbia forestry industry, led by MacMillan Bloedel, Inc., over clear-cutting logging in the old-growth rainforests of the province. The campaign started with acts of civil disobedience aimed at disrupting logging operations and protests at various locations throughout Europe. The second element of the environmentalists’ campaign was an international boycott of all B.C. forest products produced with logs harvested through clear-cutting. As this dispute was unfolding, MacMillan Bloedel faced several other economic and regulatory challeneges. In an attempt to arrive at an accomodation with the environmental groups, MB CEO Tom Stephens announced major changes in the company‘s forestry practices in June 1998. However, as 1998 drew to a close, MB found itself in an almost impossible situation: Environmental groups continued to press for a boycott of old-growth forest products by consumers and corporate buyers in North America and Europe. Meanwhile, due to factors beyond its control, MB was unable to obtain certification by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), one of the key demands that environementalists held out as a condition for ending the boycott.
Source: North American Case Research Association, Case Research Journal, Volume 22, Issue 1
Subjects: Business and Society; Sustainable Development; Nongovernmental Organizations; Environmental Issues
Source: NACRA
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| Madam C.J. Walker: Entrepreneur, Leader, and Philanthropist
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| 50 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Koehn, Nancy F.; Dwojeski, Anne E.; Grundy, William; Helms, Erica; Miller, Katherine
Publication Date: 03/26/2007 Revision Date: 05/29/2007
Product Type: Case (Library)
HBS Number: 9-807-145
Geographic Setting: United States Industry Setting: Cosmetic; Hair care product industry
Event Year Start: 1867 Event Year End: 1919
Subjects: African Americans; Consumer goods; Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Philanthropy; Social enterprise; Women in business
Academic Discipline: Entrepreneurship
Product Description: Madam C. J. Walker, who has been credited as the first self-made African-American woman millionaire, created a hair-care empire after years spent as a laundress in St. Louis, Missouri. Decades before the Civil Rights movement, her company gave employment to thousands of African-American women and marketed its products around the world. Madam Walker was active in the social and political causes of her day, and used her position as a successful entrepreneur to promote philanthropy and self-advancement in the African-American community.
Source: Harvard
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| Madcap Craftbrew & Bottleworks, Inc.: Zebra Beer-Its Not All Black and White
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| 20 pp.
| Case
David W. Rosenthal; Robert W. Twells
In May 1997, the three owner-executives of Madcap Craftbrew & Bottleworks, Inc., were attempting to define the position of their product, Zebra Beer, in the brewing industry. Zebra Beer was offered in three varieties: Zebra Peach, Zebra Raspberyy, and Zebra Lager. The recipes for the beer had been handed down from the great-great-great-grandmother of the owneres, and establishment of the brewing company had been a family dream for generation. The beers had won a number of prestigious awards for their flavor and quality. Industry conditions, however, made it difficult to be successful as a craft brewery. Distribution was difficult to obtain, both at the distributor and the retail level. Numerous other microbrews and craftbrews were available, and competition was stiff. Industry analysts were forecasting an industry “shake out”. Sales had not lived upto the expectations of the owners, and they were faced with a decision to continue to position their beers as expensive craftbrews that generated little volume, or to re-position them as more mainstream ‘’super premium’‘ beers that generated more volume but required significant investment in promotion at the cost of gross margin.
Source: North American Case Research Association, Case Research Journal, Volume 19, Issue 3
Subjects: Marketing Strategy, Entrepreneurship, Business Policy/Strategy, Small Business Management
Source: NACRA
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| Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (A)
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| 23 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Spear, Steven J.; Dann, Jeremy B.
Publication Date: 07/19/2000 Revision Date: 09/06/2005
Product Type: Case (Field)
HBS Number: 9-601-020
Geographic Setting: Seattle, WA Industry Setting: Internet & online services industries; Advertising agencies Company Size: start-up Number of Employees: 225 Gross Revenues: $30 million revenues
Event Year Start: 1999 Event Year End: 1999
Subjects: Advertising; Growth management; Internet; New economy; Operations management; Service management
Academic Discipline: Operations management
Supplementary Materials: Teaching Note, (5-604-088), 17p, by Steven J. Spear
Product Description: Introduces a “new-economy” company, Madison Avenue, facing challenges of mega-success. In the two years since its founding, the company’s revenues have grown from zero to nearly $30 million, head count has swollen from the start-up handful to more than 200, and the client base has gone from one to dozens. In the company‘s short life, Madison Avenue's managers have already tried four organizational forms to more efficiently and reliably meet the needs of its customers. Despite the intense, ongoing efforts to find an appropriate organizational form, employees struggle to keep pace with ever-increasing demands. Ted Samson, an implementation engineer at Madison Avenue and a reservist in the Marine Corps, expresses a collective frustration in an e-mail to his boss. The case contains a history of Madison Avenue, starting with its serendipitous creation as an outgrowth of a family business's efforts to advertise on the Web and the collateral development of an expertise in Web advertising and the evolution of the company's business model. Gives a detailed explanation of the internal processes by which Madison Avenue creates, implements, and optimizes online advertising campaigns for its clients. The case
Source: Harvard
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| Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (B)
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| 19 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Spear, Steven J.; Karshis, Anne D.
Publication Date: 06/22/2001 Revision Date: 09/06/2005
Product Type: Case (Field)
Product Description: In late 1999, Madison Avenue was experiencing phenomenal growth in sales, clients, employees, and services provided. The stress and strain on the firm’s employees was considerable and threatened to jeopardize the high-quality, active-ad management for which the firm was developing a positive reputation. From late 1999 through July 2000, the firm embarked on a number of initiatives to improve its internal processes so that it could scale successfully, meet the needs of its customers, maintain the quality of the services it provided, and improve efficiency enough to generate operating profits. The case describes the many efforts made within Madison Avenue to improve its processes. May be used with: (9-601-020) Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (A); (9-601-077) Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (C).
HBS Number: 9-601-021
Geographic Setting: San Francisco, CA Industry Setting: Internet & online services industries; Advertising agencies Number of Employees: 200 Gross Revenues: $43 million revenues
Event Year Start: 1999 Event Year End: 2000
Subjects: Advertising; Growth management; Internet; New economy; Operations management; Service management
Academic Discipline: Operations management
Source: Harvard
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| Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (C)
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| 13 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Spear, Steven J.; Karshis, Anne D.
Publication Date: 06/22/2001 Revision Date: 09/06/2005
Product Type: Case (Field)
HBS Number: 9-601-077
Geographic Setting: San Francisco, CA Industry Setting: Internet & online services industries; Advertising agencies Number of Employees: 200 Gross Revenues: $43 million revenues
Event Year Start: 1999 Event Year End: 2000
Subjects: Advertising; Growth management; Internet; New economy; Operations management; Service management
Academic Discipline: Operations management
Product Description: By July 2000, Madison Avenue had experienced extraordinary growth in sales, employees, clients, and service offerings. From late 1999 to July 2000, the company had taken several initiatives to redesign its internal processes so that the firm could continue to grow, while maintaining the quality of its service offering and increasing efficiency enough to show profitability. Matt Garvin, the company’s chief strategy officer, was considering a host of new service offerings to complement its core service — active management of online advertising. The question to Garvin was twofold: What opportunities made strategic sense for the company? What strategic opportunities matched well with the company‘s operational capabilities? How reliable, robust, and responsive are they? Can they handle the growth, scale, and scope that Garvin is contemplating. Can be taught alone as a strategy case or in conjunction with the (B) case to emphasize the product-process matching problem. If taught together, one case can be assigned to half the students, the other case to the other half to simulate more fully the organizational challenge of communicating across functional specialties — i.e., the service equivalent of product development, production, marketing, and sales. May be used with: (9-601-020) Madison Avenue: Di
Source: Harvard
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| Magee Enterprises, Inc.
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| 24 pp.
| Case
Patricia P. McDougall, Karen D. Loch With no investment capital, computer hacker and university student, Marshall Magee, entered the computer software industry utilizing the shareware channel of distribution. Magee Enterprises, Inc. has grown rapidly, reaching sales of $2 million in only six years. Although a small company, the firm expects a rapid pace of growth, as well as moving into new products and business ventures. To implement this, the firm must become a professionally managed company while maintaining its entrepreneurial tradition.
Source: Submitted by author and selected for use by Pinnacle Editorial Board. Copyright 1990.
Courses: Entrepreneurship; Management; Small Business
Topics:
Source: Pinnacle
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| MAHESH EDIBLE OIL INDUSTRIES LIMITED
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| 33 pp.
| Case
Caprihan, V — ISB Campus Bookstore
Distributor: ecch (www.ecch.com) Reference: 807-011-1 Language: English
Category: Entrepreneurship Data source: Field research
Product Year: 2007
Geo location: Agra (India) Industry: Edible oils, FMCG (fast moving consumer goods) Size: Medium Timing: 1977-2005
Topics: Channel member; Distribution; Edible oil marketing; Entrepreneurial skills; Entrepreneurial marketing; Entrepreneurship; Incentives; Intermediaries; Market segmentation; Marketing; Marketing organisation; Marketing strategy; Procurement; Trading; Value addition
Abstract: 1 January 2005, a message greeted the employees. ’Congratulations. Your company has just crossed the 100 crore mark!‘ Greetings of Happy New Year and congratulations made the office of MEOL (Mahesh Edible Oil Industries Limited) have an air of celebration around it. Shiv, Brij, Dinesh and Mahesh, the four Rathour brothers shared sweets with their employees and then moved to the conference room, agreeing on a mission for 2010, and pondering on how to make their dream a reality. An energetic 11-year-old Shiv had joined his father in the business of trading mustard seeds in 1977. In 1979, he started an independent trading firm under the name of Mahesh Trading Company. He gained knowledge about procurement of seeds, and after warehousing and value addition, sold it through brokers to oil mills. He began to ask himself why should someone else add value to the seeds procured by him?. Could they not do it themselves? In March 1991 the small plant of Mahesh Edible Oil Industries Limited commenced production, with an average output of 6,800 litres per day. Today the factory has a total output of 100,000 litres per day. They have now jointly agreed that their vision was to see MEOL reach the Rs1,000 crore mark by 2010. Each of the brothers was pondering what his next course of action should be if th
Source: ecch
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| Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. — Farm Equipment Sector: Acquisition of Jiangling Tractor Company
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| 18 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Schaan, Jean-Louis; Chandrasekhar, Ramasastry
Publication Date: 03/15/2007
Product Type: Case (Field)
Publisher: Richard Ivey School of Business/UWO
HBS Number: 907M35
Geographic Setting: China Industry Setting: Machinery industry
Subjects: Foreign markets; Joint ventures; Restructuring
Academic Discipline: General management
Product Description: Farm Equipment Services (FES), the tractor manufacturing division of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (M&M), is considering entering the Chinese tractor industry through a joint venture with Jiangling Tractor Company (JTC), a state-owned automotive enterprise. M&M had seeded the Chinese tractor market with exports and had concluded that the most efficient and prudent way to serve the Chinese tractor market was through a joint venture with a local partner. JTC had good brand recognition and strong position in the small tractor market. However, due to the lack of interest from the parent company, Jiangling Motor Company Group, JTC faced severe operational challenges, was over-staffed, had high overhead, owed significant amounts to suppliers, and dealers were fleeing the company. M&M saw an opportunity to work with a management team they were comfortable with and to leverage JTC’s potential to grow in China and to export tractors as well as components. The challenge was to determine how management should proceed to restructure and integrate the joint venture assets.
Source: Harvard
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| Mainland China’s Travel Liberalisation and Hong Kong‘s SMEs in Late 2003
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| 15 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Enright, Michael J.; Mak, Vincent
Publication Date: 06/29/2003
Product Type: Case (Field)
Publisher: University of Hong Kong
Product Description: From March to May 2003, Hong Kong’s tourism industry underwent a serious downturn during the outbreak of SARS in the territory, which caused 1,755 cases in Hong Kong before July. There was practically no inbound tourism between April 2 and May 23, during which the World Health Organization advised the public to consider postponing all but essential travel to Hong Kong. Then, in a dramatic twist, the industry received a significant boost in late July, when residents of four nearby mainland Chinese cities were allowed to apply to visit Hong Kong on an individual basis as part of the mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement. Formerly, mainland Chinese tourists could visit Hong Kong only with tour groups. By September, tourists from the major cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen could also visit Hong Kong on an individual basis. Mainland tourists literally began to flood in as a result, bringing up total visitor arrival figures to a level that even surpassed pre-SARS statistics. Greater easing of travel restrictions was expected in the first half of 2004. How could Hong Kong‘s SMEs, much battered by the economic woes in recent years that were capped by the SARS attack, capitalize on the new opportunities offered by the liberalization of mainland travel?
HBS Number: HKU307
Geographic Setting: China Industry Setting: Tourism industry
Subjects: Business marketing; Business policy; Health; Tourism; Travel
Academic Discipline: Business & government
Supplementary Materials: Teaching Note, (HKU308), 3p, by Michael J. Enright, Vincent Mak
Source: Harvard
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| Mainstreaming Corporate Social Responsibility: Developing Markets for Virtue
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| 28 pp.
| Article
Author(s): Berger, Ida E.; Cunningham, Peggy H.; Drumwright, Minette E.
Publication Date: 08/01/2007
Product Type: CMR Article
Publisher: California Management Review
HBS Number: CMR375
Subjects: Corporate responsibility; Corporate strategy; Marketing strategy; Social issues; Values
Academic Discipline: Social enterprise & ethics
Product Description: Investigates what it means for corporate social responsibility (CSR) to be “mainstreamed” in a company. Rather than a single ’best practice,‘ narratives provided by managers revealed that mainstreaming can be understood in terms of three distinct CSR orientations: the business-case model, the syncretic stewardship model, and the social values-led model. These different orientations and approaches to mainstreaming CSR are the result of three interrelated factors: an “external market for virtue,” an “internal market for virtue,” and the established culture of the company. For business case and social values-led firms, incentives can be developed that encourage them to gravitate toward the syncretic stewardship orientation, which may well represent the most sustainable dimension of CSR.
Source: Harvard
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| MAINSTREET EQUITY CORP. (A)
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| 20 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Deutscher TH
Description: As a major player in Western Canada’s real estate market, Mainstreet Equity Corp. has a unique strategy for success: instead of simply buying and selling properties, Mainstreet also upgrades and manages them, thereby enhancing their value. Inparticular, Mainstreet concentrates its efforts on the multifamily sector, acquiring apartment buildings and townhouses to rented or sold at a profit under the Mainstreet brand.The company president and chief executive officer is at a professional crossroads where the future of Mainstreet is concerned. He wants to ride the wave of rapid growth that his young company is experiencing, yet at the same time, he wants topreserve the values of a small entrepreneurial firm. Control over issues such as quality, service, buying and staffing is important to him and easy to facilitate under current conditions. But the opportunity to expand is also tempting and at hand. Mainstreet‘s board of directors must work towards a decision regarding whether or not to expand the business, and if so, how rapidly and where? Or if not, the board must decide on an alternative course of action that would prepare the company forexpansion in the future.
Ivey Number: 9B01A014
Publication Date: 7/23/2002 Revision Date: 4/21/2004
Geographic Setting: Canada
Industry Setting: Real Estate
Company Size: Medium organization
Event Year Start: 2001
Subjects: Branding; Entrepreneurship; Entrepreneurial Marketing; Market Strategy
Level of Difficulty: Undergraduate/MBA
Functional Area: Marketing
Source: Ivey
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| Maitri AIDS Hospice
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| 24 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Dees, J. Gregory; Anderson, Beth
Publication Date: 12/14/2000 Revision Date: 08/08/2001
Product Type: Case (Field)
Publisher: Stanford University
HBS Number: SI10
Geographic Setting: California Number of Employees: 13 Gross Revenue: $3.8 million revenues
Event Year Start: 2000 Event Year End: 2000
Subjects: Nonprofit organizations; Volunteers; Fraud; Nonprofit marketing; Marketing strategy
Academic Discipline: Social enterprise & ethics
Supplementary Materials: Case Teaching Note, (SI10T), 7p, by J. Gregory Dees, Beth Anderson
Product Description: It’s August 2000, and Maitri AIDS Hospice in San Francisco is reevaluating its approach to fundraising. In recent years, Maitri has been relying increasingly on government, corporate, and foundation grants. Yet Don Spradlin, Maitri‘s associate director for individual gifts who was hired in early 1999 to focus on individual donations and special events, has made some progress in increasing the number of individual donors over the past year and a half. He inaugurated two new earned income strategies, both of which have attracted new donors and positive publicity for Maitri. Nonetheless, individual donations still account for only 8% of annual operating expenses, and Spradlin is struggling with defining his purpose and that of individual donors within the traditionally grass-roots organization.
Source: Harvard
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| 24 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Dees, J. Gregory; Anderson, Beth
Publication Date: 12/14/2000 Revision Date: 08/08/2001
Product Type: Case (Field)
Publisher: Stanford University
HBS Number: SI10
Geographic Setting: California Number of Employees: 13 Gross Revenue: $3.8 million revenues
Event Year Start: 2000 Event Year End: 2000
Subjects: Nonprofit organizations; Volunteers; Fraud; Nonprofit marketing; Marketing strategy
Academic Discipline: Social enterprise & ethics
Supplementary Materials: Case Teaching Note, (SI10T), 7p, by J. Gregory Dees, Beth Anderson
Product Description: It’s August 2000, and Maitri AIDS Hospice in San Francisco is reevaluating its approach to fundraising. In recent years, Maitri has been relying increasingly on government, corporate, and foundation grants. Yet Don Spradlin, Maitri‘s associate director for individual gifts who was hired in early 1999 to focus on individual donations and special events, has made some progress in increasing the number of individual donors over the past year and a half. He inaugurated two new earned income strategies, both of which have attracted new donors and positive publicity for Maitri. Nonetheless, individual donations still account for only 8% of annual operating expenses, and Spradlin is struggling with defining his purpose and that of individual donors within the traditionally grass-roots organization.
Source: Harvard
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| MAJESTICA HOTEL IN SHANGHAI?
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| 17 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Beamish PW; Lu J
Publication Date: 4/11/2005 Revision Date: 2/12/2005
Product Type: Case
Ivey ID: 9B05M035
Geographic Setting: China Industry Setting: Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps Size: Large organization
Year of Event: 2005 Level of Difficulty: Undergraduate/MBA
Subjects: Negotiation; Corporate Culture; Market Entry; Control Systems
Functional Area: General Management
Product Description: Majestica Hotels Inc., a leading European operator of luxury hotels, was trying to reach an agreement with Commercial Properties of Shanghai regarding the management contract for a new hotel in Shanghai. A series of issues require resolution for thedeal to proceed, including length of contract term, name, staffing and many other control issues. Majestica was reluctant to make further concessions for fear that doing so might jeopardize its service culture, arguably the key success factor inthis industry. At issue was whether Majestica should adopt a contingency approach and relax its operating philosophy, or stick to its principles, even if it meant not entering a lucrative market.
Source: Ivey
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| Major Home Appliance Industry in 1984 (Revised)
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| 20 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Wells, John R.; Dossabhoy, Nasswan
Publication Date: 11/19/1985 Revision Date: 12/02/1994
Product Type: Note
Product Description: Analyzes the major home appliance industry in the U.S. in 1984 and gives a profile of the key competitors. May be used with Major Home Appliance Industry in 1988 and Maytag in 1984.
HBS Number: 9-386-115
Subjects: Appliances; Corporate strategy; Industry structure
Academic Discipline: Competitive strategy
Supplementary Materials: Supplement (Library), (9-389-056), 3p, by David J. Collis, Nancy Donohue; Teaching Note, (5-387-158), 9p, by Pankaj Ghemawat; Teaching Note, (5-391-272), 24p, by David J. Collis
Source: Harvard
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| Major Sales: Who Really Does the Buying? (HBR Classic)
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| 20 pp.
| Article
Author(s): Bonoma, Thomas V.
Publication Date: 07/01/2006
Product Type: Harvard Business Review Article
HBS Number: R0607P
Industry Setting: Computer industry; Telecommunications industry
Subjects: Analysis; Behavior; Buyers; Decision making; Emotions; HBR Classics; Influence; Major accounts; Motivation; Perception; Power; Psychology; Purchasing; Sales forces; Sales management; Sales strategy
Academic Discipline: Marketing
Product Description: When is a buyer not really a buyer? How can the best product at the lowest price turn off buyers? Are there anonymous leaders who make the actual buying decisions? As these questions suggest, the reality of buying and selling is often not what it seems. What’s more, salespeople often overlook the psychological and emotional factors that figure strongly in buying and selling. By failing to observe these less tangible aspects of selling, a vendor can lose sales without understanding why. In this article, first published in 1982, Thomas V. Bonoma sets up a procedure for analyzing buying decisions and tells sellers how to apply the resulting framework to specific situations. Steps in the procedure include the following. First, identify the actual decision makers. Though it may come as a surprise, power does not correlate perfectly with organizational rank. The author outlines five bases of power and offers six behavioral clues for identifying the real decision makers. Second, determine how buyers view their self-interest. All buyers act selfishly, but they sometimes miscalculate. As a result, diagnosing motivation is one of the most difficult management tasks to do accurately. The author suggests several techniques to determine how buyers choose their own self-interest. Third, gather and apply psychological intelligence. There is no formula for placing sound psychological analyses magically in the sales staff‘s hands. However, the author offers three gu
Source: Harvard
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| Make Better Decisions
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| 12 pp.
| Article
Author(s): Davenport, Thomas H.
Publication Date: 11/01/2009
Product Type: Harvard Business Review Article
Publisher: Harvard Business School Publishing
HBS Number: R0911L
Subjects: Decision analysis
Academic Discipline: Organizational Behavior & leadership
Product Description: Traditionally, decision making in organizations has rarely been the focus of systematic analysis. That may account for the astounding number of recent poor calls, such as decisions to invest in and securitize subprime mortgage loans or to hedge risk with credit default swaps. Business books are rich with insights about the decision process, but organizations have been slow to adopt their recommendations. It’s time to focus on decision making, Davenport says, and he proposes four steps: (1) List and prioritize the decisions that must be made; (2) assess the factors that go into each, such as who plays what role, how often the decision must be made, and what information is available to support it; (3) design the roles, processes, systems, and behaviors your organization needs; and (4) institutionalize decision tools and assistance. The Educational Testing Service and The Stanley Works, among others, have succeeded in improving their decisions. ETS established a centralized deliberative body to make evidence-based decisions about new-product offerings, and Stanley has a Pricing Center of Excellence with internal consultants dedicated to its various business units. Leaders should bring multiple perspectives to their decision making, beware of analytical models that managers don‘t understand, be clear about their assumptions, practice “model management,” and - because only people can revise decision criteria over time - cultivate human backups.
Source: Harvard
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| Make Green Delicious: Sustainability at Jamie Kennedy Kitchens
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| 19 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Oana Branzei; Melissa Leithwood
Publication Date: 1/4/2008
Product Type: Case (Field)
Teaching Note: 8B07M73
Ivey ID: 9B07M073
Geographic Setting: Canada Industry Setting: Eating and Drinking Places Size: Small Year of Event: 2007 Level of Difficulty: 4 - Undergraduate/MBA
Subjects: Entrepreneurial Business Growth; Brand Positioning; Value-based Management; Sustainable Development
Major Disciplines: Entrepreneurship; General Management
Product Description: The case illustrates the challenges of growing sustainably by tracking the 30-year journey of a quintessentially Canadian chef, environmental champion, and strong advocate of slow food, seasonality, local sourcing and artisan food production. Set in mid May 2007, the case decision has Toronto-based Jamie Kennedy pondering several expansion options for Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, a corporation with three main ventures. Jamie Kennedy Kitchens’ annual revenues were more than $7 million and earnings before taxes of 6.7 per cent in an industry typically averaging 3.2 per cent were testimony of the growing appeal of organic food and wine pairings. With influential cook-books, global accolades, rave reviews by acclaimed food critics, and a fast growing base of satisfied customers, Jamie Kennedy was well positioned for growth. Yet Jamie Kennedy grappled with the implications of growth for the core pillars of his business. The case explores the trade-offs between financially profitable growth and Jamie Kennedy‘s determination to stay true to local sourcing and cooking with seasonal ingredients and his environmental values. The case asks students to anticipate growth alternatives and articulate their points of leverage or disconnect with Jamie Kennedy Kitchens current business model, as well as Jamie Kennedy's cuisine and personal values.
Source: Ivey
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| 19 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Oana Branzei; Melissa Leithwood
Publication Date: 1/4/2008
Product Type: Case (Field)
Teaching Note: 8B07M73
Ivey ID: 9B07M073
Geographic Setting: Canada Industry Setting: Eating and Drinking Places Size: Small Year of Event: 2007 Level of Difficulty: 4 - Undergraduate/MBA
Subjects: Entrepreneurial Business Growth; Brand Positioning; Value-based Management; Sustainable Development
Major Disciplines: Entrepreneurship; General Management
Product Description: The case illustrates the challenges of growing sustainably by tracking the 30-year journey of a quintessentially Canadian chef, environmental champion, and strong advocate of slow food, seasonality, local sourcing and artisan food production. Set in mid May 2007, the case decision has Toronto-based Jamie Kennedy pondering several expansion options for Jamie Kennedy Kitchens, a corporation with three main ventures. Jamie Kennedy Kitchens’ annual revenues were more than $7 million and earnings before taxes of 6.7 per cent in an industry typically averaging 3.2 per cent were testimony of the growing appeal of organic food and wine pairings. With influential cook-books, global accolades, rave reviews by acclaimed food critics, and a fast growing base of satisfied customers, Jamie Kennedy was well positioned for growth. Yet Jamie Kennedy grappled with the implications of growth for the core pillars of his business. The case explores the trade-offs between financially profitable growth and Jamie Kennedy‘s determination to stay true to local sourcing and cooking with seasonal ingredients and his environmental values. The case asks students to anticipate growth alternatives and articulate their points of leverage or disconnect with Jamie Kennedy Kitchens current business model, as well as Jamie Kennedy's cuisine and personal values.
Source: Ivey
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| Make the Sales Task Clear
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| 5 pp.
| Article
Shapiro, Benson P.; Doyle, Stephen X.
A sales task is clear if sales result from a salesperson’s efforts to sell, if performance feedback is timely, and if that feedback is accurate. Management has four areas in which it must try to be clear—deployment, account management, information systems, and field sales management. The more specific the account coverage, the better. Hence, limiting the number of accounts for each salesperson is recommended. Field sales managers can use management by objectives, performance appraisal, and monthly reviews to encourage their salespeople to do their work effectively.
HBS Number: 83615 Type: Harvard Business Review Article
Publication Date: 11/1/83
Subjects: Management by objectives; Motivation; Sales management
Source: Harvard
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| Make Your Company a Talent Factory
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| 16 pp.
| Article
Author(s): Ready, Douglas A.; Conger, Jay
Publication Date: 06/01/2007
Product Type: Harvard Business Review Article
HBS Number: R0706D
Subjects: Employee retention; Hiring; Management development; Skills
Academic Discipline: Human resources management
Product Description: Despite the great sums of money companies dedicate to talent management systems, many still struggle to fill key positions — limiting their potential for growth in the process. Virtually all the human resource executives in the authors’ 2005 survey of 40 companies around the world said that their pipeline of high-potential employees was insufficient to fill strategic management roles. The survey revealed two primary reasons for this. First, the formal procedures for identifying and developing next-generation leaders have fallen out of sync with what companies need to grow or expand into new markets. To save money, for example, some firms have eliminated positions that would expose high-potential employees to a broad range of problems, thus sacrificing future development opportunities that would far outweigh any initial savings from the job cuts. Second, HR executives often have trouble keeping top leaders‘ attention on talent issues, despite those leaders' vigorous assertions that obtaining and keeping the best people is a major priority. If passion for that objective doesn't start at the top and infuse the culture, say the authors, talent management can easily deteriorate into the management of bureaucratic routines. Yet there are companies that can face the future with confidence. These firms don't just manage talent, they build talent factories. The authors describe the experiences of two such corporations — consumer products icon Procter & Gamble and financial services giant HSBC Group — that figured out how to develop and retain key employees and fill positions quickly to meet evolving business needs. Though ea
Source: Harvard
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| Make Your Values Mean Something
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| 5 pp.
| Article
Lencioni; Patrick M.
Take a look at this list of corporate values: Communication. Respect. Integrity. Excellence. They sound pretty good, don’t they? Maybe they even resemble your own company‘s values. If so, you should be nervous. These are the corporate values of Enron, as claimed in its 2000 annual report. And they're absolutely meaningless. Indeed, most values statements, says the author, are bland, toothless, or just plain dishonest. And far from being harmless, as some executives assume, they're often highly destructive. Empty values statements create cynical and dispirited employees and undermine managerial credibility. But coming up with strong values—and sticking to them--isn't easy. Organizations that want their values statements really to mean something should follow four imperatives. First, understand the different types of values: core, aspirational, permission-to-play, and accidental. Second, be aggressively authentic. Third, own the process. Finally, weave core values into everything. Living by stated corporate values is difficult. But the benefits of doing so can be profound; so can the damage from adopting a hollow set of corporate values.
HBS Number: R0207J Type: Article
Publication Date: 7/1/02
Subjects: Corporate culture; Ethics; Layoffs; Organization; Organizational behavior; Organizational behavior & leadership; Organizational change; Organizational development; Organizational learning; Organizational problems; Personnel selection; Recruitment; Termination
Source: Harvard
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| Make Yourself Heard: Ericsson’s Global Brand Campaign
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| 20 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Kashani, Kamran
Publication Date: 01/01/1998 Revision Date: 01/06/2003
Product Type: Case (Field)
Publisher: IMD - International Institute for Management Development
Product Description: Ericsson, the Swedish telecommunications products and systems company, is embarking on a first-ever global advertising campaign for its brand of mobile phones. The idea for consumer brand building, new to an otherwise technology-oriented, industrial company, has come about as a result of developments in the worldwide market for cellular phones: fast growth, entry of new consumer segments, declining product differentiation, and the growing pressure on prices and margins. The expensive campaign, aiming to cement a relationship with consumers, is notable for a total absence of product-related communication. Under the slogan “Make yourself heard,” the ads feature a gallery of faces and a range of situations demonstrating the spirit of communication between people around the world. Some of the issues the case raises are: How do you build a strong brand for a product that is increasingly difficult to differentiate? Can pure brand values stand on their own merits without any references to products? What criteria should you use to evaluate advertising execution? A 2001 ECCH award winner.
HBS Number: IMD040
Geographic Setting: Europe, global Industry Setting: mobile phones Company Size: large
Event Year Start: 1998 Event Year End: 1998
Subjects: Advertising campaigns; Brands; Communication; Corporate branding; Europe; Globalization; Scandinavia; Telecommunications
Academic Discipline: Marketing
Supplementary Materials: Teaching Note, (IMD041), 7p, by Kamran Kashani, Janet Shaner
Source: Harvard
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| MAKHTESHIM-AGAN INDUSTRIES (MAIN): THE NATURE OF GROWTH
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| 33 pp.
| Case
Aharoni, U — Tel Aviv University Faculty of Management
Dattner, G — Tel Aviv University Faculty of Management
Distributor: ecch (www.ecch.com) Reference: 306-619-1 Language: English
Category: Strategy and General Management Data source: Field research
Product Year: 2006
Geo location: Israel, Global Industry: Agrochemicals Size: US$1,540 million Timing: December 2004
Topics: Global expansion; Growth; Mergers and acquisitions; Business models; Strategic fit; Industry analysis; Strategic position; Generic agrochemicals industry
Abstract: MAIN (Makhteshim-Agan Industries) is the largest manufacturer and distributor of generic agrochemicals in the world. It produces a full range of agrochemicals, and is characterised by technological expertise, a broad distribution network, extensive registration capabilities, and speed of reaction to market conditions. Over the last few years, the majority of MAIN’s growth has come from small to medium acquisitions and organic growth. The significant growth in the size of the company as a result of this process will, in the future, limit the relative growth effect from traditional sources of expansion. The question therefore remains, what will be the source of future growth that can achieve company‘s objectives? The case is designed as an overview of all aspects of strategic planning for global expansion in the agrochemical industry for a generic company. It illustrates the opportunities of growing through different paths, and with different business models. Areas of emphasis are industry analysis, positioning, merger and acquisition (M&A) strategies and the challenges of developing these activities in accordance with the company's vision and goals. The case is aimed towards MBA students in strategy and international management courses.
Source: ecch
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| Making a Doctor
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| 11 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Spear, Steven
Publication Date: 07/20/2001 Revision Date: 05/29/2002
Product Type: Case (Field)
Product Description: To understand how people are trained to be physicians, three doctors were interviewed to learn their particular experiences. One was a family practice senior resident, one was a critical care pediatric chief resident, and one was an orthopedic staff surgeon one and a half years out of residency. All three were interviewed one-on-one in an unstructured fashion and were asked the same questions: "What type of doctor are you, and how did you become that type of doctor?" The subjects, in recounting their experiences, established the content, sequence, chronology, and emphasis of their responses. When the subjects were done telling their stories, the interviewer posed follow-up questions, such as "What did you mean by ’X‘ that you mentioned?" or "Would you give me an example of 'Y' that you described?" All interviews ended with the same questions: "Are you a good doctor?" "What made you so?" All three interview sessions lasted approximately 90 minutes. Teaching Purpose: Shared "observations" of the processes by which these specific doctors were "produced and delivered." Not a judgment on medical education or the practice of medicine, rather a basis for an exercise in applying the Toyota Production System (TPS) Rules-in-Use framework to a process for which TPS has not been applied previously.
HBS Number: 9-602-027
Geographic Setting: Unspecified
Event Year Start: 1955Event Year End: 2000
Subjects: Careers & career planning; Education; Health care
Academic Discipline: Operations management
Source: Harvard
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| Making Better Investments at the Base of the Pyramid
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| 16 pp.
| Article
Author(s): London, Ted
Publication Date: 05/01/2009
Product Type: Harvard Business Review Article
HBS Number: R0905J
Geographic Setting: Africa; Asia; Latin America
Subjects: Metrics; Poverty; Stakeholders
Academic Discipline: Competitive strategy
Product Description: Though they have feel-good stories and data on milestones, most ventures that serve the world’s poor don‘t have a systematic way to gauge how well they're achieving their goals. To address that need, London, the director of the University of Michigan's Base of the Pyramid Initiative, has devised a new tool. London's Base of the Pyramid Impact Assessment Framework explores how ventures influence the well-being of local buyers, sellers, and communities. It guides managers through a detailed look at an organization's effects on those constituencies in three areas: economics, capabilities, and relationships. The framework examines negative as well as positive effects — for instance, whether activities that increase the income of the poor also prompt them to mistreat arable land. It helps managers focus success measures on the most likely high-magnitude outcomes. VisionSpring, which trains rural women to provide affordable eye care in India, knew it had improved the economic fortunes of its microentrepreneurs. After applying the framework, however, the venture had an appreciation of its impact on some of its buyers: artisans whose eyesight had deteriorated with age. The nonprofit's glasses boosted the artisans' productivity, income, and dignity. VisionSpring also uncovered negative effects — strife and jealousy in families that weren't used to women's working outside the home. The organization helped ease those tensions by encouraging the women's spouses to become involved in product distribution, thus improving their relationships and reducing the risk that sellers might quit. The more holistic, fact-based view
Source: Harvard
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| MAKING BOARDS MORE EFFECTIVE: THE ISSUE OF INDEPENDENCE
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| 9 pp.
| Technical note
Ajogwu, F — Lagos Business School
Ike, O — Lagos Business School
Distributor: ecch (www.ecch.com) Reference: 308-264-6 Language: English
Category: Strategy and General Management Data source: Published sources
Product Year: 2008
Geo location: Nigeria Industry: Cross sectors Timing: 2001-2008
Topics: Board effectiveness; Chairman and CEO; Corporate governance; Nigeria; Board diversity; Mix of executive and non-executive directors
Abstract: One of the critical issues in ensuring the effectiveness of the corporate board is independence, of the board and of the directors that constitute it. This article looks at this issue, drawing on best practice guidelines from different parts of the world and contrasting with the situation in Nigeria, as drawn from a survey of Nigerian companies and a review of data from several publicly quoted companies. The authors argue that the independence of the board will be put in jeopardy if the board is made up mainly of executive directors, and if the non-executive directors, where they exist, have significant relationships with parties connected to the firm. According to the article, other sources of threat to the independence of the board are the combination of the positions of the chairman and the chief executive, and a system of appointing directors in which the management plays a predominant role. The article recommends the development of corporate governance guidelines for Nigeria, with clear criteria for evaluating independence.
Source: ecch
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| Making China Beautiful: Shiseido and the China Market
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| 28 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Jones, Geoffrey G.; Kanno, Akiko; Egawa, Masako
Publication Date: 10/14/2004 Revision Date: 07/03/2008
Product Type: Case (Field)
Publisher: Harvard Business School
HBS Number: 805003
Geographic Setting: China; Japan
Event Year Start: 2004 Event Year End: 2004
Subjects: Business history; Globalization; International business; Entrepreneurship; Resource management; Competition
Academic Discipline: Competitive strategy
Supplementary Materials: Case Teaching Note, (806027), 17p, by Gareth Jones, Geoffrey G. Jones, Geoffrey G. Jones
Product Description: Describes the multinational growth of Shiseido, the world’s fourth-largest cosmetics company, with a focus on its strategy in China since 1981. Explores the challenges facing firms in the globalization of a culturally specific industry such as cosmetics. The Japanese company displayed an early interest in international expansion, but its early investments were lost during World War II. Thereafter, it sought to build businesses in Europe and North America, but was challenged by market conditions quite different from those in Japan. Even within its home market, deregulation and the entry of foreign firms during the 1990s led to a significant loss in market share. Shiseido entered China in 1981 and built Aupres, a large cosmetics brand specifically aimed at Chinese women. Further growth followed, and in 2003, plans were announced to build a large network of voluntary chain stores. Highlights managerial challenges of growing the China business further in the face of increasing competition and provides a framework for discussing the challenges of prioritizing the allocation of resources in a global business.
Source: Harvard
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| 28 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Jones, Geoffrey G.; Kanno, Akiko; Egawa, Masako
Publication Date: 10/14/2004 Revision Date: 07/03/2008
Product Type: Case (Field)
Publisher: Harvard Business School
HBS Number: 805003
Geographic Setting: China; Japan
Event Year Start: 2004 Event Year End: 2004
Subjects: Business history; Globalization; International business; Entrepreneurship; Resource management; Competition
Academic Discipline: Competitive strategy
Supplementary Materials: Case Teaching Note, (806027), 17p, by Gareth Jones, Geoffrey G. Jones, Geoffrey G. Jones
Product Description: Describes the multinational growth of Shiseido, the world’s fourth-largest cosmetics company, with a focus on its strategy in China since 1981. Explores the challenges facing firms in the globalization of a culturally specific industry such as cosmetics. The Japanese company displayed an early interest in international expansion, but its early investments were lost during World War II. Thereafter, it sought to build businesses in Europe and North America, but was challenged by market conditions quite different from those in Japan. Even within its home market, deregulation and the entry of foreign firms during the 1990s led to a significant loss in market share. Shiseido entered China in 1981 and built Aupres, a large cosmetics brand specifically aimed at Chinese women. Further growth followed, and in 2003, plans were announced to build a large network of voluntary chain stores. Highlights managerial challenges of growing the China business further in the face of increasing competition and provides a framework for discussing the challenges of prioritizing the allocation of resources in a global business.
Source: Harvard
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| 28 pp.
| Case
Author(s): Jones, Geoffrey G.; Kanno, Akiko; Egawa, Masako
Publication Date: 10/14/2004 Revision Date: 08/07/2007
Product Type: Case (Field)
HBS Number: 9-805-003
Geographic Setting: Japan; China Industry Setting: Cosmetic; Personal care products
Event Year Start: 2004 Event Year End: 2004
Subjects: Business history; Competition; Entrepreneurship; Globalization; International business; Resource allocation
Academic Discipline: Competitive strategy
Supplementary Materials: Teaching Note, (5-806-027), 17p, by Geoffrey G. Jones
Product Description: Describes the multinational growth of Shiseido, the world’s fourth-largest cosmetics company, with a focus on its strategy in China since 1981. Explores the challenges facing firms in the globalization of a culturally specific industry such as cosmetics. The Japanese company displayed an early interest in international expansion, but its early investments were lost during World War II. Thereafter, it sought to build businesses in Europe and North America, but was challenged by market conditions quite different from those in Japan. Even within its home market, deregulation and the entry of foreign firms during the 1990s led to a significant loss in market share. Shiseido entered China in 1981 and built Aupres, a large cosmetics brand specifically aimed at Chinese women. Further growth followed, and in 2003, plans were announced to build a large network of voluntary chain stores. Highlights managerial challenges of growing the China business further in the face of increasing competition and provides a framework for discussing the challenges of prioritizing the allocation of resources in a global business.
Source: Harvard
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| Making Invisible Work Visible: Using Social Network Analysis
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| 23 pp.
| Article
Author(s): Cross, Rob; Borgatti, Stephen P.; Parker,
Publication Date: 01/01/2002
Product Type: CMR Article
Publisher: California Management Review
Product Description: With efforts to de-layer organizations and reduce functional boundaries, coordination increasingly occurs through networks of informal relations rather than channels tightly prescribed by formal reporting structures or detailed work processes. However, although organizations are moving to network forms through joint ventures, alliances, and other collaborative relationships, executives generally pay little attention to assessing and supporting informal networks within their own organizations. Social network analysis is a valuable means of facilitating collaboration in strategically important groups such as top leadership networks, strategic business units, new product development teams, communities of practice, joint ventures, and mergers. By making informal networks visible, social network analysis helps managers systematically assess and support strategically important collaboration.
HBS Number: CMR220
Subjects: Interpersonal relations; Job analysis; Networking; Networks
Academic Discipline: Organizational behavior & leadership
Source: Harvard
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| Making It Overseas
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| 8 pp.
| Article
Author(s): Javidan, Mansour ; Teagarden, Mary ; Bowen, David
Publication Date: 04/01/2010
Product Type: Harvard Business Review Article
Publisher: Harvard Business School Publishing
HBS Number: R1004L
Subjects: Global business; Cross cultural relations; Leadership development; Country managers
Academic Discipline: Organizational Behavior & leadership
Product Description: The conventional wisdom holds that the best way to develop global leaders is to circulate talent through positions overseas. Expose promising managers to new cultures, the thinking goes, and they’ll grow and thrive. Unfortunately, that approach isn‘t enough. Plenty of smart, talented executives fail spectacularly in expatriate assignments. So what does prepare people to thrive in leadership roles abroad? Years of research by the Thunderbird School of Global Management, involving more than 5,000 managers around the world, reveals that success abroad hinges on something called a global mind-set. This mind-set allows executives to cope with the challenges of working in unfamiliar cultures and helps them influence stakeholders who are unlike them. It has three main components: intellectual capital (global savvy, cognitive complexity, and a cosmopolitan outlook); psychological capital (passion for diversity, thirst for adventure, self-assurance); and social capital (intercultural empathy, interpersonal impact, and diplomacy.) It can be measured-with a diagnostic developed at Thunderbird. And it can also be measurably improved-through a development plan that focuses on building each kind of capital.
Source: Harvard
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| Making Judgment Calls
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| 16 pp.
| Article
Author(s): Tichy, Noel M.; Bennis, Warren G.
Publication Date: 10/01/2007
Product Type: Harvard Business Review Article
HBS Number: R0710E
Subjects: Leadership & managing people; Management performance; Managers
Academic Discipline: Organizational behavior & leadership
Product Description: According to the traditional view, judgment is an event: You make a decision and then move on. Yet Tichy, of the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, and Bennis, of the University of Southern California‘s Marshall School of Business, found that good leadership judgment occurs not in a single moment but throughout a process. From their research into the complex phenomenon of leadership judgment, the authors also found that most important judgment calls reside in one of three domains: people, strategy, and crisis. Understanding the essence of leadership judgment is crucial. A leader's calls determine an organization's success or failure and deliver the verdict on his or her career. The first phase of the judgment process is preparation — identifying and framing the issue that demands a decision and aligning and mobilizing key stakeholders. Second is the call itself. And third is acting on the call, learning and adjusting along the way. Good leaders use a “story line” — an articulation of a company's identity, direction, and values — to inform their actions throughout the judgment process. Boeing CEO Jim McNerney, for instance, focused on a story line of Boeing as a world-class competitor and ethical leader to make a judgment call that launched the company's recovery from a string of ethical crises. Good leaders also take advantage of “redo loops” throughout the process, reconsidering the parameters of the decision, relabeling the problem, and redefining the goal in a way that more and more people can accept. Procter & Gamble's A.G. Lafley and Best Buy's Brad An
Source: Harvard
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| Making Mobility Matter
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| 16 pp.
| Article
Author(s): Nalbantian, Haig R.; Guzzo, Richard A.
Publication Date: 03/01/2009
Product Type: Harvard Business Review Article
HBS Number: R0903F
Subjects: Leadership development;
Academic Discipline: Human resources management
Product Description: Rotate up-and-comers through various functions, business units, and locations, conventional wisdom suggests, and you’ll give them a chance to round out their skills and prepare for general management. However, mobility as a leadership development strategy can go wrong in many ways. It can disrupt operations and undermine accountability, demoralize managers who don‘t get to change roles, and cost a lot to implement. Perhaps worst of all, it can become an end in itself, causing other strategic and operational aims to get lost in the shuffle. Mobility can be an excellent development tool when companies use it wisely — as Marriott International, Corning, and UnitedHealth Group have done. The authors cite these successes and several failures, and offer a framework for solving the mobility equation in a way that's right for your organization. Developing an appropriate mobility strategy entails answering three questions: What kind of mobility? Mobility for whom? And how much mobility? Your answers will depend on your company's circumstances and overarching objectives. For instance, to figure out what kind, you'll need to consider that changing a manager's function within a unit may help that person acquire the knowledge and skills to run that unit one day, whereas switching someone to a different unit may help develop broader leadership capabilities. To decide for whom, you can try “sponsored mobility,” which means directing investments toward a chosen few individuals; “contest mobility,” which means opening up opportunities to many; or a combination of the two. The approach you choose will depend partly on how robust a system you alr
Source: Harvard
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| Making of an Expert
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| 12 pp.
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Author(s): Ericsson, K. Anders; Prietula, Michael J.; Cokely, Edward T.
Publication Date: 07/01/2007
Product Type: Harvard Business Review Article
HBS Number: R0707J
Subjects: Employee development; Job evaluation; Performance appraisals; Performance management; Skills; Styles
Academic Discipline: Organizational behavior & leadership
Product Description: Popular lore tells us that genius is born, not made. Scientific research, on the other hand, reveals that true expertise is mainly the product of years of intense practice and dedicated coaching. Ordinary practice is not enough: To reach elite levels of performance, you need to constantly push yourself beyond your abilities and comfort level. Such discipline is the key to becoming an expert in all domains, including management and leadership. Those are the conclusions reached by Anders Ericsson, a professor of psychology at Florida State University; Michael Prietula, a professor at the Goizueta Business School; and Edward Cokely, a research fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Human Development, who together studied data on the behavior of experts gathered by more than 100 scientists. What consistently distinguished elite surgeons, chess players, writers, athletes, pianists, and other experts was the habit of engaging in “deliberate” practice — a sustained focus on tasks that they couldn’t do before. Experts continually analyzed what they did wrong, adjusted their techniques, and worked arduously to correct their errors. Even such traits as charisma can be developed using this technique. Working with a drama school, the authors created a set of acting exercises for managers that remarkably enhanced executives‘ powers of charm and persuasion. Through deliberate practice, leaders can improve their ability to win over their employees, their peers, or their board of directors. The journey to elite performance is not for the impatient
Source: Harvard
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