Robert S. Huckman
Albert J. Weatherhead III Professor of Business Administration
Robert Huckman is the Albert J. Weatherhead III Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School and the faculty co-chair of the HBS Healthcare Initiative. He teaches the first-year MBA course in Technology and Operations Management and has taught the second-year MBA course in Operations Strategy. Professor Huckman is on the faculty of Executive Education's Managing Health Care Delivery and Leadership and Strategy in Pharmaceuticals and Biotech. He is a Research Associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research and the chair of the management track of Harvard's doctoral program in health policy.
Professor Huckman's research focuses on the linkages between organizational characteristics and operating performance, with an emphasis on the health care industry. His articles have appeared in publications including the American Economic Journal, the American Economic Review, Harvard Business Review, Health Affairs, the Journal of Health Economics, Management Science, the New England Journal of Medicine, Organization Science, and the Strategic Management Journal. His worked has been cited in numerous media outlets, including a 2007 profile in The Financial Times. He is an associate editor of Management Science, a senior editor of Production and Operations Management, and a member of the editorial review board of Organization Science.
Professor Huckman received a Ph.D. in Business Economics from Harvard University and an A.B. in Public Policy, summa cum laude, from Princeton University, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.
Prior to his graduate studies, Professor Huckman was a Principal and Founding Equity Member of Stamos Associates, Inc., a strategy and operations consulting firm serving clients in the health care industry. In 1997, Stamos Associates was acquired by Perot Systems, Inc. Professor Huckman has also worked at Booz Allen & Hamilton, Inc.
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Article
| Organization Science
| Forthcoming
Learning from Customers: Individual and Organizational Effects in Outsourced Radiological Services
Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman and Bradley R. Staats
The ongoing fragmentation of work has resulted in a narrowing of tasks into smaller pieces that can be sent outside the organization and, in many instances, around the world. This trend is shifting the boundaries of organizations and leading to increased outsourcing. Though the consolidation of volume may lead to productivity improvement, little is known about how this shift toward outsourcing influences learning by providers of outsourced services. When producing output, the content of the knowledge gained can vary from one unit to the next. One dimension along which output can vary—a dimension with particular relevance in outsourcing—is the end customer for whom it is produced. The performance benefits of such customer experience remain largely unexamined. We explore this dimension of volume-based learning in a setting where doctors at an outsourcing firm complete radiological reads for hospital customers. We examine more than 2.7 million cases read by 97 radiologists for 1,431 customers and find evidence supporting the benefits of customer-specific experience accumulated by individual radiologists. Additionally, we find that variety in an individual's customer experience may increase the rate of individual learning from customer-specific experience for a focal task. Finally, we find that the level of experience with a customer for the entire outsourcing firm also yields learning and that the degree of customer depth moderates the impact of customer-specific experience at the individual level. We discuss the implications of our results for the study of learning as well as for providers and consumers of outsourced services.
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Article
| Management Science
|
Broadening Focus: Spillovers, Complementarities and Specialization in the Hospital Industry
Jonathan R. Clark and Robert S. Huckman
The long-standing argument that focused operations outperform others stands in contrast to claims about the benefits of broader operational scope. The performance benefits of focus are typically attributed to reduced complexity, lower uncertainty, and the development of specialized expertise, while the benefits of greater breadth are linked to the economies of scope achieved by sharing common resources, such as advertising or production capacity, across activities. Within the literature on corporate strategy, this tension between focus and breadth is reconciled by the concept of related diversification (i.e., a firm with multiple operating units, each specializing in distinct but related activities). We consider whether there are similar benefits to related diversification within an operating unit and examine the mechanism that generates these benefits. Using the empirical context of cardiovascular care within hospitals, we first examine the relationship between a hospital's level of specialization in cardiovascular care and the quality of its clinical performance on cardiovascular patients. We find that, on average, focus has a positive effect on quality performance. We then distinguish between positive spillovers and complementarities to examine the following: 1) the extent to which a hospital's specialization in areas related to cardiovascular care directly impacts performance on cardiovascular patients (positive spillovers) and 2) whether the marginal benefit of a hospital's focus in cardiovascular care depends on the degree to which the hospital "co-specializes" in related areas (complementarities). In our setting, we find evidence of such complementarities in specialization.
Keywords: Performance Capacity;
Operations;
Advertising;
Production;
Corporate Strategy;
Relationships;
Medical Specialties;
Complexity;
Risk and Uncertainty;
Experience and Expertise;
Diversification;
Quality;
Health Industry;
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Article
| Manufacturing & Service Operations Management
|
Fluid Tasks and Fluid Teams: The Impact of Diversity in Experience and Team Familiarity on Team Performance
Robert S. Huckman and Bradley R. Staats
In this paper, we consider how the structures of tasks and teams interact to affect team performance. We study the effects of diversity in experience on a team's ability to respond to task changes by separately examining interpersonal team diversity (i.e., differences in experience across the entire team) and intrapersonal team diversity (i.e., whether individuals on the team are more or less specialized). We also examine whether team familiarity-team members' prior experience working with one another-helps teams to better manage challenges created by task changes and greater interpersonal team diversity. Using detailed project- and individual-level data from an Indian software services firm, we find that the interaction of task change with intrapersonal diversity is related to improved project performance, while the interaction of task change with interpersonal diversity is related to diminished performance. Additionally, the interaction of team familiarity with interpersonal diversity is related to improved project performance in some cases. Our results highlight a need for more nuanced approaches to leveraging experience in team management.
Keywords: Experience and Expertise;
Groups and Teams;
Performance;
Diversity Characteristics;
Problems and Challenges;
Change;
Projects;
Management;
Information Technology Industry;
India;
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Journal Article
| American Economic Journal: Economic Policy
|
Input Constraints and the Efficiency of Entry: Lessons from Cardiac Surgery
David M. Cutler, Robert S. Huckman and Jonathan T. Kolstad
Prior studies suggest that, with elastically supplied inputs, free entry may lead to an inefficiently high number of firms in equilibrium. Under input scarcity, however, the welfare loss from free entry is reduced. Further, free entry may increase use of high-quality inputs, as oligopolistic firms underuse these inputs when entry is constrained. We assess these predictions by examining how the 1996 repeal of certificate-of-need (CON) legislation in Pennsylvania affected the market for cardiac surgery in the state. We show that entry led to a redistribution of surgeries to higher-quality surgeons and that this entry was approximately welfare neutral.
Keywords: Government Legislation;
Health Care and Treatment;
Medical Specialties;
Market Entry and Exit;
Welfare or Wellbeing;
Health Industry;
Pennsylvania;
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Article
| Harvard Business Review
|
Are You Having Trouble Keeping Your Operations Focused?
Robert S. Huckman
As a business broadens over time, it can lose the operational edge that led to its original success. Core strengths atrophy, efficiency or quality suffers, and sharper rivals close in to take advantage of the loss of focus. In his classic article "The Focused Factory" (HBR May-June 1974), Wickham Skinner proposed that manufacturers whose product lines had proliferated create specialized units, each dedicated to a distinct task. To make this economically feasible, he suggested the plant within a plant, or PWP, model, whereby an existing facility is physically and organizationally divided into autonomous operations. Many organizations—from airlines to hospitals to department stores—have since adopted the model, in the form of focused units that share people, equipment, and other assets to some extent. But they've found it difficult to implement. That's because, the author writes, they don't give every unit narrowly defined objectives; they underestimate the challenges related to sharing resources; they don't fully consider to what degree best practices, knowledge, and talent should be shared; and they don't anticipate the political tensions that can arise. Huckman provides guidelines for setting clear objectives, getting the boundaries between units right, establishing rules for sharing, and customizing performance criteria. And, he says, leaders must continually remind units of their individual and collective goals and purposes whenever decisions about resources, performance measurement, and compensation are made.
Keywords: Business Units;
Business Growth and Maturation;
Goals and Objectives;
Resource Allocation;
Operations;
Performance Efficiency;
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Article
| Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
|
A Detailed Analysis of the Reduction Mammaplasty Learning Curve: A Statistical Process Model for Approaching Surgical Performance Improvement
Matthew Carty MD, Rodney Chan, Robert S. Huckman, Daniel C. Snow and Dennis Orgill
Background: The increased focus on quality and efficiency improvement within academic surgery has met with variable success among plastic surgeons. Traditional surgical performance metrics, such as morbidity and mortality, are insufficient to improve the majority of today's plastic surgical procedures. In-process analyses that allow rapid feedback to the surgeon based on surrogate markers may provide a powerful method for quality improvement. Methods: The authors reviewed performance data from all bilateral reduction mammaplasties performed at their institution by eight surgeons between 1995 and 2007. Multiple linear regression analyses were conducted to determine the relative impact of key factors on operative time. Explanatory learning curve models were generated, and complication data were analyzed to elucidate clinical outcomes and trends. Results: A total of 1,068 procedures were analyzed. The mean operative time for bilateral reduction mammaplasty was 134 ± 34 minutes, with a mean operative experience of 11 ± 4.7 years and total resection volume of 1,680 ± 930 g. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that operative time (R = 0.57) was most closely related to surgeon experience and resection volume. The complication rate diminished in a logarithmic fashion with increasing surgeon experience and in a linear fashion with declining operative time. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest a three-phase learning curve in which complication rates, variance in operative time, and operative time all decrease with surgeon experience. In-process statistical analyses may represent the beginning of a new paradigm in academic surgical quality and efficiency improvement in low-risk surgical procedures.
Keywords: Experience and Expertise;
Health Care and Treatment;
Medical Specialties;
Outcome or Result;
Performance Efficiency;
Performance Improvement;
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Journal Article
| Management Science
|
Team Familiarity, Role Experience, and Performance: Evidence from Indian Software Services
Robert S. Huckman, Bradley R. Staats and David M. Upton
Much of the literature on team learning views experience as a unidimensional concept captured by the cumulative production volume of, or the number of projects completed by, a team. Implicit in this approach is the assumption that teams are stable in their membership and internal organization. In practice, however, such stability is rare, as the composition and structure of teams often changes over time or between projects. In this paper, we use detailed data from an Indian software services firm to examine how such changes may affect the accumulation of experience within, and the performance of, teams. We find that the level of team familiarity (i.e., the average number of times that each member has worked with every other member of the team) has a significant positive effect on performance, but we observe that conventional measures of the experience of individual team members (e.g., years at the firm) are not consistently related to performance. We do find, however, that the role experience of individuals in a team (i.e., years in a given role within a team) is associated with better team performance. Our results offer an approach for capturing the experience held by fluid teams and highlight the need to study context-specific measures of experience, including role experience. In addition, our findings provide insight into how the interactions of team members may contribute to the development of broader firm capabilities.
Keywords: Experience and Expertise;
Learning;
Performance Improvement;
Projects;
Groups and Teams;
Familiarity;
Information Technology Industry;
India;
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Article
| Strategic Management Journal
|
Does Focus Improve Operational Performance? Lessons from the Management of Clinical Trials
Robert S. Huckman and Darren Zinner
Keywords: Performance;
Operations;
Learning;
Management;
Health;
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Article
| Organization Science
|
Managing the Impact of Employee Turnover on Performance: The Role of Process Conformance
Zeynep Ton and Robert S. Huckman
We examine the impact of employee turnover on operating performance in settings that require high levels of knowledge exploitation. Using 48 months of turnover data from U.S. stores of a major retail chain, we find that, on average, employee turnover is associated with decreased performance, as measured by profit margin and customer service. The effect of turnover on performance, however, is mitigated by the nature of management at the store level. The particular aspect of management on which we focus is process conformance—the extent to which managers aim to reduce variation in store operations in accordance with a set of prescribed standards for task performance. At high-process-conformance stores, managers use discipline in implementing standardized policies and procedures, whereas at low-process-conformance stores, managers tolerate deviations from these standards. We find that increasing turnover does not have a negative effect on store performance at high-process-conformance stores; at low-process-conformance stores, the negative effect of turnover is pronounced. Our results suggest that, in settings where performance depends on the repetition of known tasks, managers can reduce turnover's effect by imposing process discipline through standard operating procedures.
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships;
Governance Compliance;
Retention;
Standards;
Service Operations;
Business Processes;
Retail Industry;
United States;
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Article
| Journal of Health Economics
|
The Effects of Cardiac Specialty Hospitals on the Cost and Quality of Medical Care
Jason R. Barro, Robert S. Huckman and Daniel P. Kessler
Keywords: Health;
Cost;
Quality;
Health Industry;
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Article
| Management Science
|
The Firm Specificity of Individual Performance: Evidence from Cardiac Surgery
Robert S. Huckman and Gary P. Pisano
Keywords: Performance;
Health Care and Treatment;
Information;
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Article
| Journal of Health Economics
|
Hospital Integration and Vertical Consolidation: An Analysis of Acquisitions in New York State
Robert S. Huckman
Keywords: Integration;
Health;
Consolidation;
Theory;
Mergers and Acquisitions;
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Article
| New England Journal of Medicine
|
Adopting New Technologies: Turf Battles in Coronary Revascularization
Robert S. Huckman and Gary P. Pisano
Keywords: Technology;
Health Care and Treatment;
Health Industry;
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Article
| Health Affairs
|
Generic Dispensing and Substitution in Mail and Retail Pharmacies
Marta Wosinska and Robert S. Huckman
Keywords: Health;
Sales;
Pharmaceutical Industry;
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Article
| American Economic Review
|
The Role of Information in Medical Markets: An Analysis of Publicly Reported Outcomes in Cardiac Surgery
David Cutler, Robert S. Huckman and Mary Beth Landrum
Keywords: Information;
Health;
Markets;
Theory;
Outcome or Result;
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Article
| Management Science
|
The Utilization of Competing Technologies within the Firm: Evidence from Cardiac Procedures
Robert S. Huckman
Keywords: Competition;
Technology;
Business Ventures;
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Article
| Journal of Health Economics
|
Technological Development and Medical Productivity: The Diffusion of Angioplasty in New York State
David M. Cutler and Robert S. Huckman
A puzzling feature of many medical innovations is that they simultaneously appear to reduce unit costs and increase total costs. We consider this phenomenon by examining the diffusion of percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA)—a treatment for coronary artery disease—over the past two decades. We find that growth in the use of PTCA led to higher total costs despite its lower unit cost. Over the two decades following PTCA's introduction, however, we find that the magnitude of this increase was reduced by between 10 and 20% due to the substitution of PTCA for CABG. In addition, the increased use of PTCA appears to be a productivity improvement. PTCAs that substitute for CABG cost less and have the same or better outcomes, while PTCAs that replace medical management appear to improve health by enough to justify the cost.
Keywords: Innovation and Invention;
Cost;
Health Care and Treatment;
Health Disorders;
Performance Improvement;
Product;
New York (state, US);
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Article
| Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery: American Volume
|
Economic Evaluation in Orthopaedics
Kevin J Bozic, Aaron G. Rosenberg, Robert S. Huckman and James H. Herndon
Keywords: Economics;
Health;
Citation: Bozic, Kevin J., Aaron G. Rosenberg, Robert S. Huckman, and James H. Herndon. " Economic Evaluation in Orthopaedics." Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery: American Volume 85, no. 1 (January 2003): 129–42.
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Other Paper
| 2010
Comorbidities and the Focused Factory: The Plexus of Medical Conditions and the Scope of Hospital Services
Jonathan R. Clark, Robert S. Huckman and Ryan W. Thompson
Citation: Clark, Jonathan R., Robert S. Huckman, and Ryan W. Thompson. "Comorbidities and the Focused Factory: The Plexus of Medical Conditions and the Scope of Hospital Services."
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Other Paper
| 2010
Matching and Sub-Specialization by Technical Complexity in Cardiac Surgery
Kyna Fong and Robert S. Huckman
Citation: Fong, Kyna, and Robert S. Huckman. "Matching and Sub-Specialization by Technical Complexity in Cardiac Surgery."
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Mimeo
| 2010
Fight or Flight? The Threat of Specialty Competition and the Service Offerings of General Hospitals
Robert S. Huckman and Jonathan T. Kolstad
Citation: Huckman, Robert S., and Jonathan T. Kolstad. "Fight or Flight? The Threat of Specialty Competition and the Service Offerings of General Hospitals." 2010. Mimeo.
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Mimeo
| 2012
Electronic Health Record Use, Delegation, and Physician Productivity
Julia Adler-Milstein and Robert S. Huckman
Citation: Adler-Milstein, Julia, and Robert S. Huckman. "Electronic Health Record Use, Delegation, and Physician Productivity." 2012. Mimeo.
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
JetBlue Airways: Valentine's Day 2007 (Abridged)
Robert S. Huckman and Phillip Andrews
Citation: Huckman, Robert S., and Phillip Andrews. "JetBlue Airways: Valentine's Day 2007 (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 613-074, December 2012.
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (Abridged)
H. Kent Bowen, Robert S. Huckman, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Matthew Preble
Considers whether New Balance, one of the world's five largest manufacturers of athletic footwear, should respond to Adidas' planned acquisition of Reebok—a transaction that would join the second- and third-largest companies in the industry. Highlights the unique aspects of New Balance's strategy—focusing on fit and performance by offering long-lived shoes in a wide variety of widths and eschewing celebrity endorsement of its products—and discusses New Balance's operations decisions to support that strategy. These include significant use of domestic manufacturing at a time when nearly all other competitors sourced finished shoes from Asian suppliers and an emphasis on improving inventory management for its network of small and large retailers. Set just after the announcement of the Adidas-Reebok transaction in 2005, with New Balance having recently initiated a companywide effort to improve operational performance through the application of concepts from lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System. Asks students to consider whether New Balance should change aspects of its operations strategy in light of the consolidation among its competitors or whether the Adidas-Reebok transaction represents an opportunity for New Balance to emphasize the importance of moving forward with its current approach.
Keywords: Production;
Competitive Strategy;
Supply Chain;
Brands and Branding;
Apparel and Accessories Industry;
Sports Industry;
Retail Industry;
Asia;
United States;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
(Revised from original 2008 version)
Amazon Web Services
Robert S. Huckman, Gary P. Pisano and Liz Kind
Considers the development of Amazon Web Services (AWS), a division of Amazon.com, Inc., specializing in the provision of web-based storage and computing services to web developers. The case focuses on the issues facing Andy Jassy, the head of AWS, in 2008 as AWS faces increased competition from established technology giants, such as Google, Microsoft, and IBM. Students are asked to consider whether entry into web services by Amazon, which had established its brand in retail, represented a prudent move by the company. The case provides an opportunity to highlight the benefits of AWS's variable pricing for developers and to determine where overlaps exist between Amazon's core retailing business and AWS. Students are also provided with an opportunity to discuss operational diversification and its limits within the AWS context.
Keywords: Price;
Market Entry and Exit;
Service Operations;
Competition;
Diversification;
Retail Industry;
Web Services Industry;
Citation: Huckman, Robert S., Gary P. Pisano, and Liz Kind. " Amazon Web Services." Harvard Business School Case 609-048, February 2012. (Revised from original October 2008 version.)
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2012
(Revised from original 2011 version)
JetBlue Airways: Deicing at Logan Airport
Douglas Fearing and Robert S. Huckman
The case explores a deicing capacity expansion decision made by JetBlue at Boston Logan International Airport in the summer of 2010. The need for capacity expansion was driven by significant challenges faced during the previous winter combined with substantial scheduled growth for the upcoming winter.
Keywords: operational disruptions;
Cost vs Benefits;
Operations;
Logistics;
Service Operations;
Strategic Planning;
Air Transportation;
Air Transportation Industry;
Boston;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2011
(Revised from original 2008 version)
JetBlue Airways: Managing Growth
Robert S. Huckman and Gary P. Pisano
Considers the situation facing David Barger, President and CEO of JetBlue Airways, in May 2007 as he addresses the airline's need to slow its growth rate in the response to increasing fuel costs and the effects of major operational crisis for the airline in February 2007. In 2005, JetBlue-typically viewed as a low-cost carrier (LCC)-made a move that is often considered antithetical to the LCC model. Specifically, JetBlue moved from a single aircraft type (i.e., the Airbus 320, or A320) to a fleet with two types of aircraft by adding the smaller Embraer 190, or E190. Students are initially asked to consider the impact of this decision on JetBlue's operations strategy and business model. They are then asked to consider how the reductions in aircraft capacity growth should be spread across the two plane types. This discussion hinges not only on issues of aircraft efficiency but also on those of operational focus and the ultimate competitive priorities of the airline as a whole.
Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy;
Growth Management;
Operations;
Performance Capacity;
Performance Efficiency;
Competitive Strategy;
Air Transportation Industry;
Citation: Huckman, Robert S., and Gary P. Pisano. " JetBlue Airways: Managing Growth." Harvard Business School Case 609-046, June 2011. (Revised from original October 2008 version.)
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center: Spine Care
Robert S. Huckman, Michael E. Porter, Rachel Gordon and Natalie Kindred
Describes the Spine Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, a multidisciplinary unit that offers patients suffering from spinal problems "one-stop" access to a range of providers including orthopedic surgeons, neurosurgeons, neurologists, medical specialists in physical medicine and pain management, mental health providers, and occupational and physical therapists. The Center was created to address what its founder, James Weinstein, M.D., saw as the uncoordinated and inefficient delivery of spinal care in the United States. The Center emphasized using non-surgical treatments (e.g., physical therapy and exercise, behavioral modification, pain-relieving drugs) as either a complement to, or substitute for, surgical procedures, and patients were actively engaged in the process of determining what type of care to pursue. In addition, Weinstein and his staff collected data from the Center's clinical practice to conduct academic research on the outcomes and cost-effectiveness of various approaches to treatment. The case allows for a critical analysis of the Spine Center's unique approach to care delivery and provides an opportunity to examine the applicability of this model in other clinical areas.
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment;
Medical Specialties;
Service Delivery;
Service Operations;
Integration;
Value Creation;
Health Industry;
United States;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2010 version)
JetBlue Airways: Managing Growth (TN)
Robert S. Huckman
Teaching Note for [609046].
Keywords: Growth Management;
Air Transportation;
Air Transportation Industry;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2007 version)
JetBlue Airways: Valentine's Day 2007 (A)
Robert S. Huckman, Gary P. Pisano and Virginia Fuller
Describes an operational crisis for JetBlue Airways during an ice storm in the eastern United States in February 2007 and chronicles the airline's immediate response. Provides detail concerning the history of the airline from its founding in 1999 through the February 2007 crisis, which forced the airline to cancel more than 1,000 flights over the course of six days. In addition, discusses the initial response to the crisis by CEO David Neeleman and his management team. Students are provided with the opportunity to evaluate this response in terms of its impact on customer relations, growth prospects, and ongoing operations for JetBlue.
Keywords: Customer Relationship Management;
Crisis Management;
Growth Management;
Management Teams;
Service Delivery;
Air Transportation Industry;
Eastern United States;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. (TN)
Robert S. Huckman
Teaching Note for [606094].
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions;
Production;
Strategy;
Performance Improvement;
Brands and Branding;
Networks;
Management;
Consolidation;
Competition;
Opportunities;
Apparel and Accessories Industry;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2003 version)
Flextronics International, Ltd.
Robert S. Huckman and Gary P. Pisano
Describes Flextronics' evolution from providing outsourced manufacturing services for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in the electronics industry to developing entire unbranded products for purchase by OEMs. In 2001, Flextronics began a development program that yielded several unbranded cell phones that--even by the admission of several OEMs--delivered performance comparable to that of branded products at a significantly lower cost. Nonetheless, as of early 2003, no major OEM had yet agreed to purchase any of these phones from Flextronics. As chairman and CEO of Flextronics, Michael Marks must decide how aggressively to pursue full product development.
Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy;
Product Development;
Production;
Service Operations;
Performance Effectiveness;
Electronics Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
Citation: Huckman, Robert S., and Gary P. Pisano. " Flextronics International, Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 604-063, April 2010. (Revised from original November 2003 version.)
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2005 version)
Flextronics International, Ltd. (TN)
Robert S. Huckman
Teaching Note to (9-604-063).
Keywords: Electronics Industry;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals: Spurring Scientific Creativity with Metrics
Robert S. Huckman
Teaching Note for [607008].
Keywords: Restructuring;
Decisions;
Innovation and Invention;
Research and Development;
Health Industry;
Pharmaceutical Industry;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
BYD Company, Ltd. (TN)
Robert S. Huckman
Teaching Note for [606139].
Keywords: Initial Public Offering;
Competitive Advantage;
Labor;
Competition;
Problems and Challenges;
Cost vs Benefits;
Auto Industry;
Battery Industry;
China;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2005 version)
GlaxoSmithKline: Reorganizing Drug Discovery (A)
Robert S. Huckman and Eli Strick
Describes the reorganization of drug discovery at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) following the formation of GSK from the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. This reorganization placed nearly 2,000 research scientists into six centers of excellence in drug discovery (CEDD). Each CEDD focused on a small set of therapeutic areas and possessed decision rights over the progression of pharmaceutical compounds through the early stages of development. Describes the proposed structure for the CEDDs and their relationship to remaining centralized departments within GSK's R&D organization. Addresses issues about the benefits of focus vs. diversification in R&D, the role of decentralized vs. coordinated decision making, and the importance of alignment between the structural and infrastructural (e.g., performance incentives) aspects of an operating model. Using the empirical context of mergers in the pharmaceutical industry, the case allows students to build broader insights about the interaction between organizational form and operating performance.
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions;
Decision Choices and Conditions;
Operations;
Organizational Structure;
Performance Improvement;
Research and Development;
Pharmaceutical Industry;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2009 version)
GlaxoSmithKline: Reorganizing Drug Discovery (TN) (A) and (B)
Robert S. Huckman
Teaching Note for [605074] and [605075].
Keywords: Restructuring;
Health;
Pharmaceutical Industry;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2010 version)
Managing Orthopaedics at Rittenhouse Medical Center (TN)
Robert S. Huckman and Richard M.J. Bohmer
Teaching Note for [607152].
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment;
Management;
Health Industry;
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Module Note
|
2010
Balancing Specialization and Diversification in Operations
Robert S. Huckman
This note describes a module—taught as part of Operations Strategy, a second–year MBA elective at Harvard Business School—that helps students understand and manage the tradeoff between specialization and diversification in operations. The module introduces students to the benefits and limitations of focused operating models. It then examines the challenges created by operational diversification. It concludes by examining the multispecialty operation, a common organizational approach to managing the tradeoff between the benefits of focus and operational diversification. The module provides insight into addressing common challenges in the design and implementation of multispecialty models.
Keywords: Operations;
Diversification;
Organizational Design;
Curriculum and Courses;
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Case
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2007 version)
Wyeth Pharmaceuticals: Spurring Scientific Creativity with Metrics
Robert S. Huckman, Gary P. Pisano and Mark Rennella
Describes the reorganization of the drug discovery organization at Wyeth Pharmaceuticals and focuses on the decisions to: (1) centralize decision-making within drug discovery and (2) institute numerical metrics--jointly affecting all R&D scientists--for the progression of compounds through the Wyeth pipeline. Highlights issues concerning the degree to which scientific activity can be evaluated via numerical metrics, the extent to which R&D can be structured as a process, and the degree to which decision-making should be centralized in commercial R&D activities.
Keywords: Decision Making;
Measurement and Metrics;
Business Processes;
Organizational Structure;
Research and Development;
Science-Based Business;
Creativity;
Pharmaceutical Industry;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
(Revised from original 2009 version)
Brigham and Women's Hospital: Shapiro Cardiovascular Center (TN)
Robert S. Huckman and Michael E. Porter
Teaching Note for 608-175.
Keywords: Health;
Non-Governmental Organizations;
Health Industry;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
|
2010
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center: Spine Care (TN)
Robert S. Huckman and Michael E. Porter
Teaching Note for [609016].
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment;
Health Disorders;
Research;
Performance Effectiveness;
Outcome or Result;
Education Industry;
United States;
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Case
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2010
(Revised from original 2007 version)
Managing Orthopaedics at Rittenhouse Medical Center
Richard M.J. Bohmer, Robert S. Huckman, James Weber and Kevin J. Bozic
Considers the issues associated with running multiple business models–a private practice and an academic faculty practice--within the confines of the orthopaedics department of a single medical center. Students assume the role of Neela Wilson, Executive Director of Rittenhouse Medical Center, in managing the operational requirements of, and organizational tensions created by, these competing models. In analyzing the case, students have the opportunity to: (1) gain a better understanding of operational focus and the concept of a "focused factory" in health care, (2) consider the concept of a "factory within a factory" in the context of an academic medical center, and (3) build an appreciation of the managerial challenges associated with operating related, and often competing, business units within the same organization.
Keywords: Business Units;
Business Model;
Health Care and Treatment;
Service Operations;
Conflict Management;
Competition;
Health Industry;
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Case
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2009
(Revised from original 2006 version)
BYD Company, Ltd.
Robert S. Huckman and Alan D. MacCormack
Considers whether BYD Co., Ltd., the largest Chinese maker of rechargeable batteries, should enter the Chinese automobile industry by acquiring Qinchuan Auto, a state-owned car manufacturer. Set just after BYD's initial public offering on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in 2002, it describes the development of BYD's labor-intensive approach to battery manufacturing -- an approach decidedly different from its more capital-intensive Japanese competitors and one that took advantage of the abundant supply of low-cost labor in China. Highlights the unique benefits and challenges created by BYD's operations strategy and asks students to determine whether the capabilities developed by the company in battery manufacturing can productively be applied to the automobile sector. Asks students to consider which, if any, aspects of BYD's operations constitute sources of sustainable competitive advantage for the company.
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions;
Labor;
Production;
Competitive Advantage;
Diversification;
Auto Industry;
Battery Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
China;
Citation: Huckman, Robert S., and Alan D. MacCormack. " BYD Company, Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 606-139, September 2009. (Revised from original April 2006 version.)
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Case
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2008
(Revised from original 2006 version)
New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc.
H. Kent Bowen, Robert S. Huckman and Carin-Isabel Knoop
Considers whether New Balance, one of the world's five largest manufacturers of athletic footwear, should respond to Adidas' planned acquisition of Reebok--a transaction that would join the second- and third-largest companies in the industry. Highlights the unique aspects of New Balance's strategy--focusing on fit and performance by offering long-lived shoes in a wide variety of widths and eschewing celebrity endorsement of its products--and discusses New Balance's operations decisions to support that strategy. These include significant use of domestic manufacturing at a time when nearly all other competitors sourced finished shoes from Asian suppliers and an emphasis on improving inventory management for its network of small and large retailers. Set just after the announcement of the Adidas-Reebok transaction in 2005, with New Balance having recently initiated a companywide effort to improve operational performance through the application of concepts from lean manufacturing and the Toyota Production System. Asks students to consider whether New Balance should change aspects of its operations strategy in light of the consolidation among its competitors or whether the Adidas-Reebok transaction represents an opportunity for New Balance to emphasize the importance of moving forward with its current approach.
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions;
Production;
Supply Chain Management;
Performance Improvement;
Competition;
Consolidation;
Apparel and Accessories Industry;
Citation: Bowen, H. Kent, Robert S. Huckman, and Carin-Isabel Knoop. " New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 606-094, June 2008. (Revised from original April 2006 version.)
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Case
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2008
Brigham and Women's Hospital: Shapiro Cardiovascular Center
Michael E. Porter, Robert S. Huckman and Jeremy Lance Friese
Considers the situation facing Gary Gottlieb, president of Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), prior to the opening of BWH's integrated cardiovascular center. This case allows students to develop an appreciation of the strategic, financial, organizational, clinical, and physical aspects of integrating health care delivery around specific categories of disease. It provides an opportunity to evaluate BWH's approach to integration along all of these dimensions and to identify the nature of the tradeoffs that hospitals-specifically, academic medical centers-face as they attempt to create disease-specific models of integrated care. Finally, students have the opportunity to evaluate the degree to which integrated models of care can be developed within academic medical centers.
Keywords: Health Care and Treatment;
Health Disorders;
Service Delivery;
Organizational Design;
Integration;
Health Industry;
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Case
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2006
(Revised from original 2005 version)
Procter & Gamble: Electronic Data Capture and Clinical Trial Management
Robert S. Huckman and Mark J. Cotteleer
Considers whether the management of Procter & Gamble (P&G) Pharmaceuticals should adopt Web-based electronic data capture (EDC) as the default standard for the management of its clinical drug trials. Provides a detailed description of the existing paper-based process for clinical trial management at P&G and asks students to consider whether and to what extent the use of information technology--in the form of Web-based EDC--could improve that process. Highlights tensions surrounding the implementation of new technologies and considered potential barriers to implementation both within the firm and with other firms in the value chain. Finally, considers how a firm should structure relationships with external providers of new, process-related technologies.
Keywords: Health Testing and Trials;
Internet;
Information Technology;
Adoption;
Business Processes;
Industry Structures;
Technological Innovation;
Service Operations;
Pharmaceutical Industry;
United States;
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Supplement
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2005
GlaxoSmithKline: Reorganizing Drug Discovery (B)
Robert S. Huckman and Eli Strick
Supplements the (A) case.
Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions;
Decisions;
Operations;
Performance;
Research and Development;
Restructuring;
Organizations;
Pharmaceutical Industry;
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Teaching Note
| HBS Case Collection
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2005
(Revised from original 2004 version)
MedSource Technologies (TN)
Robert S. Huckman
Teaching Note to (9-603-081).
Keywords: Medical Devices and Supplies Industry;
Citation: Huckman, Robert S. " MedSource Technologies (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 605-014, April 2005. (Revised from original July 2004 version.)
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Case
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2003
(Revised from original 2002 version)
MedSource Technologies
Robert S. Huckman
Considers the issues facing Richard Effress, MedSource's chairman and CEO, as the firm approaches the Precision Cut project--the first test of MedSource's capabilities as an integrated, contract manufacturer in the medical device industry. MedSource Technologies was formed in 1999 by the simultaneous acquisitions of seven component manufacturing companies serving original equipment manufacturers in the medical device industry. The firm's model of integrated manufacturing aimed to leverage its expertise in manufacturing to become a single-source supplier of customized services in product design and development, rapid prototyping, component manufacturing, device assembly, and supply chain management.
Keywords: Product Development;
Production;
Mergers and Acquisitions;
Product Design;
Supply Chain Management;
Management Teams;
Medical Devices and Supplies Industry;
United States;
Citation: Huckman, Robert S. " MedSource Technologies." Harvard Business School Case 603-081, August 2003. (Revised from original November 2002 version.)
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Case
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2001
(Revised from original 2000 version)
Oxford Health Plans (B): Crisis Strikes
Robert S. Huckman and Jody H. Gittell
Supplements the (A) case. A rewritten version of an earlier supplement.
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