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• Case | HBS Case Collection | May 1992 (Revised September 2019)

  Richardson Sheffield

  Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

  The case traces Bryan Upton’s 20-plus years as managing director of a Sheffield-based cutlery company and describes the strategic and organizational actions he took to raise sales and earnings at more than 25% annually, even as the local industry was in steep decline.
  After outlining how the U.K. cutlery industry has evolved, the case describes the major changes introduced by Upton and his mentor Jerry Hahn in Richardson Sheffield to upgrade production technology, innovate the product line, and instill customer orientation. The case focuses on the impact of Upton’s controversial approach to human resource management in general and to management selection and development in particular on the organizational climate at the firm.
  The case closes by identifying some major changes that threaten Richardson Sheffield. In 1986, Hahn’s ownership position is sold to an Australian industrial company with a different operating style and different strategic objectives for Richardson Sheffield. Top management is also undergoing a transition, with Upton gradually moving aside and outsiders being introduced. Finally, the approaching 1992 EC market harmonization presents new competitive challenges and market opportunities.

  Keywords: human resource management; Human Resource Practices; general management; Human Resources; Management; Leadership; Strategy; United Kingdom;

  Citation:

  Bartlett, Christopher A., and Ashish Nanda. "Richardson Sheffield." Harvard Business School Case 392-089, May 1992. (Revised September 2019.)  View Details

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | June 1995 (Revised September 2019)

  Richardson Sheffield

  Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

  This note was prepared to aid instructors in the use of "Richardson Sheffield," HBS No. 392-089. The case traces Bryan Upton’s 20-plus years as managing director of a Sheffield-based cutlery company and describes the strategic and organizational actions he took to raise sales and earnings at more than 25% annually, even as the local industry was in steep decline. After outlining how the U.K. cutlery industry has evolved, the case describes the major changes introduced by Upton and his mentor Jerry Hahn in Richardson Sheffield to upgrade production technology, innovate the product line, and instill customer orientation. The case focuses on the impact of Upton’s controversial approach to human resource management in general and to management selection and development in particular on the organizational climate at the firm. The case closes by identifying some major changes that threaten Richardson Sheffield. In 1986, Hahn’s ownership position is sold to an Australian industrial company with a different operating style and different strategic objectives for Richardson Sheffield. Top management is also undergoing a transition, with Upton gradually moving aside and outsiders being introduced. Finally, the approaching 1992 EC market harmonization presents new competitive challenges and market opportunities.

  Keywords: Development; general management; Human Resources; Management; Leadership; Strategy; United Kingdom;

  Citation:

  Bartlett, Christopher A., and Ashish Nanda. "Richardson Sheffield." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 395-212, June 1995. (Revised September 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2019

  AIME High: A Social Entrepreneur's Moon Shot

  Christopher A. Bartlett

  Describes the entrepreneurial leadership of Jack Manning Bancroft (JMB), a young Indigenous Australian university student who created the Australian Indigenous Mentoring Experience (AIME), a nonprofit organization he formed to respond to the problem of Indigenous high school students completing high school at less than half the rate of non-Indigenous students. The case traces the strategic, organizational, and cultural challenges JMB faced in building an organization that eventually offered mentoring partnerships to 8,000 Indigenous students in 350 high schools throughout Australia. Furthermore, the AIME students were completing school and going on to university at the same rate as non-Indigenous students. The case concludes as JMB contemplates taking his successful, sophisticated model to the United States.

  Keywords: entrepreneurship; mission; organization culture; non-profit; NGO; Social Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Global Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Secondary Education; Organizational Culture; Education Industry; Service Industry; Australia; United States;

  Citation:

  Bartlett, Christopher A. "AIME High: A Social Entrepreneur's Moon Shot." Harvard Business School Case 919-411, January 2019.  View Details

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