VMD Medical Imaging Center

Susanna  Gallani; Eva  Labro

Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | August 2016 (Revised June 2018)

VMD Medical Imaging Center

Abstract

VMD Medical Imaging Center addresses a number of issues related to the role of costing systems in organizations and the challenges impacting their design and maintenance as the organization grows and develops over time. This teaching note begins by offering detailed suggestions for effective class discussions centered on the main issue addressed by the case (i.e. the need to revisit the costing system in light of a change in the demand mix for the services offered by the organization). In the second part of the teaching note, the authors provide suggestions for several additional avenues along which instructors can develop further discussion about the integration points between costing systems and other important activities, such as strategy definition and execution, transfer pricing, and cross-functional coordination.

Keywords: Strategy; Cost Management; Management Systems;

Language: English

Format: Print

21 pages

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Citation:

Gallani, Susanna, and Eva Labro. "VMD Medical Imaging Center." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 117-003, August 2016. (Revised June 2018.)

Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2019

Bark Gift Shop Ltd.

Susanna Gallani, Jan Bouwens and Peter Kroos

This case describes a setting in which the CFO of Bark Gift Shop Ltd., a gift items retailer, discovers an undesired pattern in the performance data suggesting that her shop managers that perform well during the first part of the year, purposely reduce their effort in the later part of the year. This pattern drives the CFO to reflect on the process by which she sets annual targets for shop managers and how those targets relate to various aspects of their compensation contract. Challenging targets, however, appear to be motivating for a sizeable amount of shop managers. In fact, many shop managers that repeatedly fail to meet the target appear not to be giving up and keep trying to achieve their challenging targets. Therefore, the CFO needs to strike the right balance between providing motivating targets and curbing the undesired behaviors that she just discovered. The case lends itself to a rich discussion of common performance management issues, such as target setting, performance metrics selection, and performance-based compensation design. In particular, the case exposes the students to the issue of target ratcheting. As the case includes a data base it provides ample opportunities for students to practice their analytical skills (producing and discussing descriptive statistics, regressions and interactions).

Keywords: Data Analytics; Employees; Behavior; Performance; Management; Goals and Objectives; Motivation and Incentives; Analysis;

Citation:

Gallani, Susanna, Jan Bouwens, and Peter Kroos. "Bark Gift Shop Ltd." Harvard Business School Case 120-008, August 2019. View Details

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