Case | HBS Case Collection | 2011 (Revised from original 2007 version)

Control Data Corporation and the Urban Crisis

by Tom Nicholas and Laura Gaie Singleton

Abstract

Control Data Corporation is considering its response to the assassination of renowned civil rights activist Martin Luther King. Four months prior, William Norris, president of the Minneapolis-based computer firm had already committed to building a plant in a low-income area of Minneapolis, but with pressure rising on businesses to respond to inner-city needs and increase minority hiring, Norris urges the company to consider building yet another inner-city plant, this time in Washington, D.C.

Keywords: Urban Development; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Urban Scope; Computer Industry; District of Columbia; Minneapolis;

Citation:

Nicholas, Tom, and Laura Gaie Singleton. "Control Data Corporation and the Urban Crisis." Harvard Business School Case 808-096, September 2011. (Revised from original November 2007 version.)