Thomas D. Casserly, Jr. Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus
Professor Christopher A. Bartlett received an economics degree from the University of Queensland, Australia (1964), and both the masters and doctorate degrees in business administration from Harvard University (1971 and 1979). As a practicing manager prior to joining the faculty of Harvard Business School, he worked as a marketing manager with Alcoa in Australia, as a management consultant in McKinsey's London office, and as the country general manager of Baxter Laboratories' subsidiary company in France.
Professor Christopher A. Bartlett received an economics degree from the University of Queensland, Australia (1964), and both the masters and doctorate degrees in business administration from Harvard University (1971 and 1979).
As a practicing manager prior to joining the faculty of Harvard Business School, he worked as a marketing manager with Alcoa in Australia, as a management consultant in McKinsey's London office, and as the country general manager of Baxter Laboratories' subsidiary company in France.
After joining the Harvard Business School faculty in 1979, his research interests focused on the strategic and organizational challenges confronting managers in large, complex corporations, and on the organizational and managerial impact of transformational change.
In addition to his teaching and research responsibilities at HBS, he assumed various leadership roles at the school. He headed the International Senior Management Program, chaired the School’s General Management Unit, led the Program for Global Leadership, and directed the Humanitarian Leadership Program.
He has published eight books, including (co-authored with the late Sumantra Ghoshal) Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution (named by the Financial Times as one of the 50 most influential business books of the century) and The Individualized Corporation (named one of the Best Business Books for the Millennium by Strategy + Business magazine). Both books have been translated into more than ten languages.
He has authored or co-authored more than 50 articles which have appeared in journals such as Harvard Business Review, Sloan Management Review, Strategic Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, and Journal of International Business Studies. His more than 100 case studies have sold more than 5 million copies worldwide, making him the best-selling case author in the history of Harvard Business School.
He has been elected as a Fellow of three professional organizations: the Academy of Management, the Academy of International Business, and the Strategic Management Society. In 2001, the Academy Management’s International Division honoured him with its first Distinguished Scholar Award.
In addition to his academic responsibilities, he maintains ongoing research interests in the organization and management of multinational enterprise, the impact of radical corporate transformational change, and the management of human and intellectual capital for competitive advantage. He has consulted and served on the board of many large international companies, and currently is actively contributing to several nonprofits in the US, Asia, and Australia.
Transnational Management focuses on the management challenges associated with developing strategies and managing the operations of companies whose activities stretch across national boundaries. The purpose of this book is to provide a conceptual framework showing the interplay between the multinational corporation, the countries in which it does business, and the competitive environment in which it operates. Through text narrative, cases, and readings, the authors skillfully examine the development of strategy, organizational capabilities, and management challenges for operating in the global economy.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Paul W. Beamish. Transnational Management: Text Cases and Readings in Cross Border Management. 6th ed. Burr Ridge, IL: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2011.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Sumantra Ghoshal. Managing Across Borders: The Transnational Solution. 2nd ed. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 1998. (Also published in translated editions in French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Japanese, Chinese, Arabic, and Korean. Paperback ed., HBS Press, 1991.)
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Ghoshal, Sumantra, and Christopher A. Bartlett. The Individualized Corporation. New York: HarperBusiness, 1997. (Winner of Igor Ansoff Award For management research in the study of strategic planning and management presented by Coopers & Lybrand. Also published in translated editions in French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, Dutch, Japanese, Chinese, and Korean. Paperback ed., Harper Business, 1999.)
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Buzzell, Robert D., John A. Quelch, and Christopher A. Bartlett. Global Marketing Management. 2nd ed. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1991.
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Bower, J. L., Christopher A. Bartlett, C. Roland Christensen, Andrall E. Pearson, and Kenneth R. Andrews. Business Policy: Text and Cases. 7th ed. Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1991.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and S. Ghoshal. "Managing Across Borders: New Organizational Responses."MIT Sloan Management Review 29, no. 1 (Fall 1987): 43–54. (Also in The History of Management Thought, edited by Peter J. Buckley, Ashgate Publishing, 2002; and in Smart Globalization: Designing Global Strategies, Creating Global Networks, edited by Anil K. Gupta and Eleanor Westney, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 2003.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and S. Ghoshal. "Managing Across Borders: New Strategic Requirements."MIT Sloan Management Review 28, no. 4 (summer 1987): 7–17. (Also in The History of Management Thought, edited by Peter J. Buckley, Ashgate Publishing, 2002.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "Foreword." Next Generation Business Handbook: New Strategies from Tomorrow's Business Leaders, edited by Subir Chowdhury. New York: John Wiley & Sons, 2004.
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Bartlett, Christopher, and Sumantra Ghoshal. "Transnational Management." Contribution to Strategy: Process, Content, Context. 3rd ed. Edited by Bob DeWit and Ron Meyer, 577–588. London: Thomson Learning, 2004.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Andrew N. McLean. "Genzyme's Gaucher Initiative: Global Risk and Responsibility." Chap. 22 in Problems and Cases in Health Care Marketing, edited by John T. Gourville, John A. Quelch, and V. Kasturi Rangan, 411–434. New York: McGraw-Hill/Irwin, 2004.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Sumantra Ghoshal. "What Is a Global Manager?" In Harvard Business Review on Leadership in a Changed World. Harvard Business School Publishing, 2003.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Sumantra Ghoshal. "Managing in a Transnational Network." Chap. 13 in Managing the Global Network Corporation, edited by Bruce McKern, 260–283. London: Routledge, 2003.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Sumantra Ghoshal. "Managing Across Borders: New Organizational Responses." Chap. 7 in Smart Globalization: Designing Global Strategies, Creating Global Networks, edited by Anil K. Gupta and Eleanor D. Westney. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003.
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "Helping Managers Assess the Value of Human Capital." In Business: The Ultimate Resource, edited by Daniel Goleman, 45–46. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing, 2002.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Sumantra Ghoshal. "The Transnational and Beyond: Reflections and Perspectives at the Millennium." Chap. 1 in Managing Transnational Firms: Resources, Market Entry and Strategic Alliances. Vol. 14, edited by Michael A. Hitt and Joseph L. C. Cheng, 3–35. Advances in International Management. Oxford, U.K.: Elsevier Science, 2002.
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "The Global Organization: An Interview with Christopher Bartlett." In Boundaryless HR: Human Capital Management in the Global Economy, edited by Karen Beaman, 3–10. Austin, TX: IHRIM Press, 2002.
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Ghoshal, Sumantra, Peter Moran, and Christopher A. Bartlett. "Employment Security, Employability and Sustainable Competitive Advantage." Chap. 4 in Strategy, Organization and the Changing Nature of Work, edited by Jordi Gual and Joan E. Ricart, 79–110. Cheltenham, U.K.: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2001.
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Ghoshal, Sumantra, Christopher A. Bartlett, and Peter Moran. "A New Manifesto for Management." Chap. 1 in Strategic Thinking for the Next Economy, edited by Michael A. Cusumano and Constantinos C. Markides, 9–32. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2001.
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Ghoshal, Sumantra, and Christopher Bartlett. "Rebuilding Behavioral Context: A Blueprint for Corporate Renewal." In Breaking the Code of Change, edited by Michael Beer and Nitin Nohria. Boston: Harvard Business School Press, 2000.
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Bartlett, C. A. "The Knowledge-Based Organization: A Managerial Revolution." In The Knowledge Advantage, edited by Dan Holtshouse and Rudy Ruggles. Dover, NH: Capstone US, 1999.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Sumantra Ghoshal. "Creating the Individualized Corporation: The Path to Self-Renewal at General Electric." In The Leader's Change Handbook, edited by Jay A. Conger, Edward E. Lawler III, and Gretchen M. Spreitzer. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1999.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Sumantra Ghoshal. "Changing the Role of Top Management: Beyond Strategy to Purpose." In Delivering Results: A New Mandate for Human Resource Professionals. Edited by David Ulrich, 125–142. Harvard Business Review Book Series. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
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Bartlett, C. A., and S. Ghoshal. "Beyond the Russian Doll Management Model: New Personal Competencies for New Management Roles." In Navigating Change: How CEOs, Top Teams, and Boards Steer Transformation, edited by Donald Hambrick, David Nadler, and Michael Tushman, 70–97. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1998.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Sumantra Ghoshal. "Managing Innovation in the Transnational Corporation." In Managing Strategic Innovation and Change, edited by P. Anderson and M. Tushman, 452–476. New York: Oxford University Press, 1997.
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Bartlett, Christopher, and Sumantra Ghoshal. "Evolution of the Transnational." In Current Issues in International Business, edited by Iyanatul Islam and William Shepherd, 113–136. Edward Elgar Publishing, 1997.
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Bartlett, C. A., and S. Ghoshal. "Beyond Strategy, Structure, and Systems to Purpose, Process, and People: Reflections on a Voyage of Discovery." In The Relevance of a Decade: Essays to Mark the First Ten Years of the Harvard Business School Press, edited by Paula B. Duffy. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 1994.
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Bartlett, C. A., and S. Ghoshal. "Organizing for Worldwide Effectiveness: The Transnational Solution." In Global Marketing Management. 4th ed. by J. A. Quelch and C. A. Bartlett. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, 1999.
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Bartlett, C. A. "Commentary: Strategic Flexibility, Firm Organization, and Managerial Work in Dynamic Models." In Advances in Strategic Management, Volume 15, edited by J.A.C. Baum. Greenwich, CT: JAI Press, 1998.
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Bartlett, C. A. "MNCs: Get Off the Reorganization Merry-go-round." In Organization. 3rd ed. Edited by P. F. Schlesinger. Homewood, IL: Irwin, 1992.
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Ghoshal, S., and C. A. Bartlett. "Innovation Processes in Multinational Corporations." In A Diagnostic Approach to Organizational Behavior. 3rd ed. Edited by Judith R. Gordon. Needham, MA: Allyn & Bacon, 1991.
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Bartlett, C. A., and H. Yoshihara. "New Challenges for Japanese Multinationals: Is Organizational Adaptation Their Achilles Heel?" In Global Organizational Theory Perspectives, edited by G. Eshghi and J. Sheth. Cincinnati: South-Western Publishing Company, 1990.
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Bartlett, C. A., Y. Doz, and G. Hedlund. "The Changing Agenda for Researchers and Practitioners." In Managing the Global Firm, edited by Christopher A. Bartlett, Y. Doz, and G. Hedlund. London: Routledge, 1990.
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Bartlett, C. A., and S. Ghoshal. "Managing Innovation in the Transnational Corporation." In Managing the Global Firm, edited by Christopher A. Bartlett, Y. Doz, and G. Hedlund. London: Routledge, 1990.
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Bartlett, C. A. "Multinational Structural Change: Evolution versus Reorganization." In The Management of Headquarters-Subsidiary Relationships in Multinational Corporations, edited by Lars Otterbeck. London: Gower, 1981. (Also in The Internationalization of the Firm, edited by P. Buckley and P.G. Meer, Oslo: Norwegian University Press, 1991; and in The History of Management Thought, edited by P. Buckley, Ashgate, 2002.)
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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.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and John J. Lafkas. "RoboTech: Storming into the U.S. Market (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 918-502, August 2017.
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This case describes the challenges facing the CEO of a small, Singapore-based industrial robotics company that decides to diversify away from its core industrial robot business by leveraging its expertise into the medical-devices industry. It launches an innovative product (a specialized surgical robot) in an unfamiliar market segment (spinal surgery) and decides to enter the unfamiliar, distant U.S. healthcare market, which is characterized by rapid technological change and intense competition with large, established competitors. RoboTech's initial struggles with maintaining product supply and customer support are also complicated by regulatory pressures and shifting reimbursement rates. The case illustrates the strategic and organizational pressures that result from facing numerous unanticipated pressures in a company that lacks the resources, capabilities, and management experience to deal with them. Although the case was developed for courses in international management/international business, it is also well suited to courses in strategy, technology management, and general management.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Paul S. Myers. "Yushan Bicycles: Learning to Ride Abroad (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 917-540, April 2017.
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Yushan Bicycles, one of Taiwan's leading bicycle manufacturers, is pursuing an international expansion strategy by increasing demand for its range of traditional and electric bicycles and shifting its product mix toward higher-margin models sold through specialty bicycle retail shops. However, the manager of its new Australian subsidiary has taken a different approach that focuses on selling lower-priced models through large sporting-goods retailers. The manager's strategy has yielded disappointing financial results so far, and he and company executives disagree on the cause and next steps. The Yushan case was specifically developed for international management and international business courses, but it can also be used in competitive strategy, corporate strategy, and general management programs. It is especially useful for analyzing situations in which issues of strategy, organization, and management converge.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 917-401, November 2016.
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This case contrasts the tradition-bound Old World wine industry with the market-oriented New World producers in the battle for the Chinese wine market in 2015. China’s wine consumption growth presented a large and fast-growing export target that was extremely attractive both to Old World producers burdened with oversupply and declining demand and to New World winemakers faced with rising costs and a deteriorating image. But changing Chinese market conditions and consumer preferences required both sets of players to devise new strategies to gain share in this fast-growing market. The case allows analysis of the way in which newcomers can change the rules of competitive engagement in a global industry. It also poses the question of how incumbents can respond, especially when constrained by regulation, tradition, and different capabilities than those demanded by changing consumer tastes and market structures.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Unilever's New Global Strategy: Competing through Sustainability." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 916-416, February 2016.
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In January 2009, when Paul Polman was appointed CEO of Unilever, he inherited a company in long-term decline at the beginning of a major global financial crisis. As the first outsider ever recruited to lead the company, Polman lost little time in challenging the existing strategy and organization. But the biggest change he made was to introduce the Unilever Sustainable Living Plan (USLP), a commitment that placed three “sustainability” goals at the core of the company’s strategy: to help 1 billion people improve their health, to halve the environmental footprint of making and using Unilever products, and to enhance the livelihood of those in its value chain.
The case describes how the new CEO then had to convince skeptical internal and external stakeholders why a struggling company in a tough competitive environment should embrace such bold nonfinancial goals. It then follows how he translated his radically different vision into strategies and priorities that could be implemented by a global company with 170,000 employees. In the process, the case explores how Unilever’s top team had to adapt and adjust its structures, systems, processes, people and culture in order to implement USLP.
The case concludes as Polman and and his top team face some key decisions in 2015. Should they double down on their original 2020 US LP objectives? Should they scale back in the face of some strong economic headwinds? Or should they pivot to a new transformational strategic agenda?
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan." Harvard Business School Supplement 916-801, July 2015. (Revised March 2017.)
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Unilever's new Global Brand VP must not only revitalize Lifebuoy soap's sagging market performance, but simultaneously impact the health of one billion people worldwide. The latter challenge comes from Unilever's new CEO who has introduced the Unilever Sustainable Living Program (USLP), a set of bold environmental and social objectives that he has integrated into the heart of the company's global strategy. In contrast to most corporate social responsibility programs, USLP's quantified objectives are clearly defined, tightly specified, and independently audited. And managers are held strictly accountable for their achievement.
After describing the background of the 100 year old Lifebuoy soap brand which is now sold primarily in developing country markets, the case outlines the steps taken by Samir Singh, Lifebuoy's newly appointed Global Brand VP as he tries to reverse its declining sales and profit performance. The case then focuses on Singh's relationship with Sudir Sitapiti, the category manager for Lifebuoy in India, the brand's largest market worldwide. Although Sitapiti has done a creditable job in turning around sales and profitability, he has fallen behind on his USLP challenge to bring handwashing behavior change to 450 million people in poor, remote Indian villages. The case concludes with some specific marketing investment decisions that Sitapati is considering and that Singh hopes to influence.
Genzyme, a global biotechnology company, launches a program to develop therapies for neglected diseases (e.g., malaria, TB), giving away the intellectual property. This case focuses on the decision of which diseases, which partnerships, and which markets should management decide to fund. But the bigger issue is how this program, developed under the umbrella role Genzyme's corporate social responsibility, fits into its global competitive strategy.
In July 2008, Luis Morales, president of Kent Chemical International, is proposing a third reorganization effort after two failed attempts to better align his business with its U.S.-based parent company. With a global expansion strategy placing increasing demands on his organization, a divide forming between Kent's core business and its growth markets, and a global recession looming, Morales knows this time his plan has no room for error.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Laura Winig. "Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 124-410, February 2012.
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Just weeks into her new job, Mia Foster, a first time CEO with no international management experience, is faced with a major challenge at Levendary Cafe, a $10 billion US-based fast food chain. Strategically, many of her corporate staff have become concerned that the company's major expansion into China is moving too far from Levendary's well-defined concepts of store design and menu. Organizationally, Foster has been frustrated by the apparent unwillingness of Louis Chen, president of Levendary China, to conform to the company's planning and reporting processes. Meanwhile, financial evidence shows that Chen's efforts have produced strong results and suggests that he knows China far better than U.S headquarters does. The entrepreneurial Chen has resisted attempts by Foster and others to discuss corporate plans for China. As Foster flies to China to meet with Chen she faces a decision that will determine the future of Levendary China and perhaps the entire globalization effort: can she manage Chen at all, and if so, how?
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Arar Han. "Levendary Cafe: The China Challenge (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 114-358, October 2011.
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The case, set within the European organization of a giant multinational breakfast foods company, describes a launch decision for a new cereal product. As the case evolves, the decision has major strategic and organizational implications for Lora Brill, European VP. The case focuses especially on two important decisions facing Brill: Should Healthy Berry Crunch become the company's first Eurobrand and be introduced in a coordinated manner Europewide? And, from an organizational perspective, should she create Eurobrand Teams to implement her proposed Eurobrand concept?
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Carole Carlson. "United Cereal: Lora Brill's Eurobrand Challenge (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 114-270, March 2011.
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Clayton Industries, a sixty-year-old U.S.-based firm in the HVAC industry (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning), with nearly $1 billion in revenues, has gradually built a presence in a number of countries, including several in Europe. Peter Arnell, previously Clayton's successful country manager for the U.K., has been asked to take over the Italian subsidiary, which has recently been struggling on several fronts. Arnell must juggle the strategic objectives of his manager (the head of Clayton Europe) and of the firm's Wisconsin-based CEO while overseeing the day-to-day activities of the business in this new setting. Many of Arnell's challenges derive from his dual responsibilities of handling manufacturing as well as sales of Clayton products in his new home country.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Benjamin H. Barlow. "Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 104-200, May 2010.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Benjamin H. Barlow. "Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy, Spreadsheet Supplement (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 104-201, May 2010.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Benjamin H. Barlow. "Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy, Spreadsheet for Instructors (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 104-202, May 2010.
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This video features interviews with case protagonists John Dineen, Brett Begole, and Pierre Compte expressing their views on the decision framed by the case. In a second part of the tape the protagonists describe what they decided to do. A third segment features John Dineen describing how he communicated his decision to key managers on different sides of the issue. And a final video segment describes the outcome of the decisions.
Applied Research Technologies, Inc. (ART) is a diversified technology company which has used its entrepreneurial culture and encouragement of innovation as an ongoing competitive advantage. The case concentrates on the challenges faced by Peter Vyas, the Filtration Unit manager, who must decide whether to request $2 million in project funding from the divisional vice president, Cynthia Jackson. Similar Filtration projects have failed twice before, damaging the credibility of the Filtration Unit and Vyas personally. Jackson has recently been challenged to turn around or shut down the unit. Students must determine a strategy from the perspectives of both a unit manager and a division VP. This two-tier focus provides the opportunity to analyze the management decision process at different levels of the organization. Topics include empowerment, project management, and managing innovation.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Heather Beckham. "Applied Research Technologies, Inc.: Global Innovation's Challenges (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 104-169, February 2010.
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "Silvio Napoli at Schindler India (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 303-121, May 2003. (Revised November 2012.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "Jollibee Foods Corporation (A) and (B) (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 399-146, June 1999. (Revised November 2012.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "BRL Hardy: Globalizing an Australian Wine Company (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 300-128, June 2000. (Revised January 2010.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "McKinsey & Company: Managing Knowledge and Learning (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 398-065, December 1997. (Revised October 2012.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "Acer, Inc.: Taiwan's Rampaging Dragon (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 399-147, May 1999. (Revised November 2012.)
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Traces changes in P&G's international strategy and structure, culminating in Organization 2005, a reorganization that places strategic emphasis on product innovation rather than geographic expansion and shifts power from local subsidiary to global business management. In the context of these changes introduced by Durk Jager, P&G's new CEO, Paolo de Cesare is transferred to Japan, where he takes over the recently turned-around beauty care business. Within the familiar Max Factor portfolio he inherits is SK-II, a fast-growing, highly profitable skin care product developed in Japan. Priced at over $100 a bottle, this is not a typical P&G product, but its successful introduction in Taiwan and Hong Kong has de Cesare thinking the brand has global potential. As the case closes, he is questioning whether he should take a proposal to the beauty care global business unit to expand into Mainland China and/or Europe.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "P&G Japan: The SK-II Globalization Project (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 304-023, March 2004. (Revised November 2012.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "Genzyme's CSR Dilemma: How to Play its HAND (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 910-414, January 2010. (Revised November 2012.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "World Vision International's AIDS Initiative: Challenging a Global Partnership (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 305-040, November 2004. (Revised January 2010.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "Global Wine War 2009: New World versus Old (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 910-412, December 2009. (Revised November 2012.)
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Describes the development of the global strategies and organizations of two major competitors in the consumer electronics industry. Over four decades, both companies adapt their strategic intent and organizational capability to match and counter the competitive advantage of the other. The case shows how each is faced to restructure as its competitive advantage erodes.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Philips versus Matsushita: The Competitive Battle Continues (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 910-411, December 2009. (Revised November 2012.)
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The case contrasts the tradition-bound Old World wine industry with the market-oriented New World producers, the battle for the US market, the most desirable export target in 2009 due to its large, fast-growing, high-priced market segments. The case allows analysis of the way in which newcomers can change the rules of competitive engagement in a global industry. It also poses the question of how incumbents can respond, especially when constrained by regulation, tradition, and different capabilities than those demanded by changing consumer tastes and market structures.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "GE's Imagination Breakthroughs: The Evo Project (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 908-413, March 2008. (Revised November 2012.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "Lincoln Electric: Venturing Abroad TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 398-124, April 1998. (Revised August 2008.)
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In September 2003, Jeff Immelt challenged the business leaders at GE to come up with "Imagination Breakthroughs," innovative new projects that would serve as the centerpiece of GE's organic growth initiative. Follows the company as these changes are driven through the business units, focusing on GE Transportation as it launches a series of groundbreaking, green products -from the Evolution Locomotive to the Hybrid Locomotive. The growth process transforms the culture within GE Transportation, leading to a redefinition of the marketing role, the implementation of a "growth leader" profile and new decision-making processes to encourage innovation and risk. Finally, presents a critical decision point, as Transportation executives must decide whether or not to support the high-risk Hybrid Locomotive project.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "GE's Growth Strategy: The Immelt Initiative (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 906-419, June 2006. (Revised August 2007.)
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GE believes its ability to develop management talent is a core competency that represents a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Traces the development of a 25-year-old MBA named Jeff Immelt, who 18 years later is named as CEO of GE, arguably the biggest and most complex corporate leadership job in the world, and how he frames and implements his priorities for GE. Describes the processes that guided Immelt's own developments and the strategic changes Immelt adopts in his first year as CEO, when he pulls hard on the sophisticated human resource levers his predecessors left him. Immelt questions whether the changes in place will foster the development of the next generation of GE growth leaders.
Traces the history of IKEA's response to a TV report that its Indian carpet suppliers were using child labor. Describes IKEA's growth, including the importance of a sourcing strategy based on its close relationships with suppliers in developing countries. Details the development of IKEA's strong culture and values that include a commitment "to create a better everyday life for many people." Describes how, in response to regulatory and public pressure, IKEA developed a set of environmental policies that grew to encompass a relationship with Greenpeace and WWF on forest management and conservation. Then, in 1994, Marianne Barner, a newly appointed IKEA product manager, is surprised by a Swedish television documentary on the use of child labor by Indian carpet suppliers, including some that supply IKEA's rugs. She immediately implements a strict policy that provides for contract cancellation if any IKEA supplier uses child labor. Then Barner is confronted by a German TV producer who advises her that he is about to broadcast an investigative program documenting the use of child labor in one of the company's major suppliers. How should she react to the crisis? How should the company deal with the ongoing issue of child labor in the supply chain?
Bartlett, Christopher A. "IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 907-407, November 2006. (Revised December 2012.)
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A young Italian MBA working for a Swiss multinational is sent to India to establish a subsidiary and implement the strategy he prepared at headquarters as a strategic planner. This case focuses on three core strategic decisions he must make as his plan is challenged by his local Indian management team and Schindler's European plants supplying him. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
GE believes its ability to develop management talent is a core competency that represents a source of sustainable competitive advantage. This case traces the development of GE's rich system of human resource policies and practices under five CEOs in the post-war era, showing how the development of talent is embedded into the company's ongoing management responsibilities. It describes the development of a 25-year-old MBA named Jeff Immelt, who 18 years later is named as CEO of GE, arguably the biggest and most complex corporate leadership job in the world and how he frames his priorities for GE and implements them, pulling hard on the sophisticated human resource levers his predecessors left him. Immelt questions whether he should adjust or even overhaul three elements of GE's finely tuned talent machine.
Follows the actions of GE CEO, Jeff Immelt, as he implements a growth strategy for the $150 billion company in a tough business environment. In four years, he reinvigorates GE's technology, expands its services, develops a commercial focus, pushes developing countries, and backs "unstoppable trends" to realign GE's business portfolio around growth platforms. At the same time, he reorganizes the company, promotes "growth leaders" into top roles, and reorients the culture around innovation and risk taking. Finally, in 2006, he sees signs of growth, but wonders whether it is sustainable.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Genzyme's Gaucher Initiative: Global Risk and Responsibility (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 303-066, December 2002. (Revised October 2006.)
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After 25 years of building a network of interdependent, national organizations delivering relief and development that are responsive to local needs, World Vision's International office is planning to implement a major global HIV/AIDS initiative that challenges the strategic direction, organizational capabilities, and even underlying values of its carefully constructed world partnership. Not only does the new AIDS initiative require much more central direction than is customary in this global partnership of World Vision organizations, each with its own independent board of directors, but it also is acknowledged to have little support among World Vision's donor base and even its internal organization. Involves a trigger decision about whether and how to proceed.
GE is faced with Jack Welch's impending retirement and whether anyone can sustain the blistering pace of change and growth characteristic of the Welch era. After briefly describing GE's heritage and Welch's transformation of the company's business portfolio of the 1980s, the case chronicles Welch's revitalization initiatives through the late 1980s and 1990s. It focuses on six of Welch's major change programs: The "Software" Initiatives, Globalization, Redefining Leadership, Stretch Objectives, Service Business Development, and Six Sigma Quality.
This case details the implementation of the e-business initiative--the last of Jack Welch's four company-wide strategic thrusts. First, it summarizes the 20-year change process that Welch led, detailing the initiatives he put in place. It then traces how Gerry Podesta, the e-business head in GE Plastics, implemented the new initiative. In doing so, highlights how the "social architecture" (culture and values) and "operating systems" (systems and processes) help the company drive through changes that have it named Internet Week's top e-business of 2000. Ends with questions about the effectiveness of successive pushes on "e-sell," "e-buy," and "e-make" and whether the e-business teams should be broken up and rolled back into the company.
Management discusses the organizational and governance challenges of operating a global network of partner organizations. Then key managers reflect on the decision World Vision must make on the AIDS Hope Initiative--a new strategic direction that challenges many of the partnership's historic strategic objectives, organizational capabilities, and even core values.
On the basis of its innovative medical device for treating sleep apnea, CEO Peter Farrell has made Australian-born ResMed a successful global company. But the company is struggling to implement a strategy to expand the device from its focused core market to a much broader market for sufferers of stroke and congestive heart failure-an approach that involves an entirely different business model to sell modified products through new channels. This challenge is exacerbated by an organization in which the key R&D and manufacturing resources are located in Australia while the major markets are in the United States and Europe. At the conclusion of the case, Farrell must decide what action to take on several fronts. Strategically, he must decide whether to continue pursuing this five-year-old market expansion initiative; organizationally, he must decide whether the locus of initiative should be moved from Australia to Germany, the most promising market for the stroke and CHF application; and managerially, he must decide how to deal with the management team that has struggled with this new initiative for so long.
Presents interviews with Gerry Podesta, VP of GE Plastics Component of General Electric Co., and Gary Reiner, senior VP and CIO of General Electric Co. A revised version of an earlier video.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "GE's Digital Revolution: Redefining the E in GE (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 304-022, April 2004.
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Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps International, built his organization by following the advice of Theodore Roosevelt: "Be smart enough to hire good people and have sense enough to get out of their way." For eight years, Keny-Guyer helped Mercy Corps grow in size and scope and by 2001, delivered $117 million in social programs to people in over 30 countries. Convinced that much of that success had come from empowering front-line managers to lead the agency by pursuing opportunities in the field, he wanted to continue the approach. But, recent experiences in Afghanistan had exposed some weaknesses in Mercy Corps' ability to maintain an entrepreneurial approach in an emergency situation. What had worked so well in an organization of 200 was encountering difficulties now that worldwide staff exceeded 2,000. At a global leadership conference in late October 2002, Keny-Guyer met with his senior leadership team. In addition to wrestling with the political complexities of working in Iraq, he wanted to get their input on how Mercy Corps should respond if they decided it was the right course of action.
Traces changes in P&G's international strategy and structure, culminating in Organization 2005, a reorganization that places strategic emphasis on product innovation rather than geographic expansion and shifts power from local subsidiary to global business management. In the context of these changes introduced by Durk Jager, P&G's new CEO, Paolo de Cesare is transferred to Japan, where he takes over the recently turned-around beauty care business. Within the familiar Max Factor portfolio he inherits is SK-II, a fast-growing, highly profitable skin care product developed in Japan. Priced at over $100 a bottle, this is not a typical P&G product, but its successful introduction in Taiwan and Hong Kong has de Cesare thinking the brand has global potential. As the case closes, he is questioning whether he should take a proposal to the beauty care global business unit to expand into Mainland China and/or Europe.
CEO Jeff Immelt, ex-CEO Jack Welch, and HR Chief Bill Conaty discuss how GE has made talent development a source of sustainable competitive advantage. Immelt describes GE's deeply embedded philosophy around its people and how it has allowed the company to add value managing as a conglomerate. He elaborates on how the HR process works and describes how he manages it. Welch and Immelt discuss the performance-based Vitality Curve, one of the most controversial elements of the GE system. In addition, Welch, Immelt, and Conaty reflect on the philosophy, management, and effectiveness of GE's total HR system and its future. A revised version of an earlier video.
Paolo de Cesare and A.G. Lafley review the strategic and organizational challenges they face in deciding whether to make the prestigious Japanese beauty product, SK-II, a global brand. In a three-part videotaped interview, they discuss the challenges, reveal the decision, and outline key lessons for Procter & Gamble.
Two new product launch decisions face Christopher Carson, managing director of BRL Hardy, Europe. Responsible for the European operations of a major Australian wine company, Carson has begun to globalize his strategy beyond selling the parent company's wines. After a difficult joint venture with a Chilean wine source, he is proposing to launch an Italian line of wines. His local team has also developed a new Australian brand that would compete directly with a parent company's global brand rollout.
In Egypt, Genzyme's humanitarian commitment to treat all sufferers of the rare Gaucher disease worldwide first confronts its commercial imperative to recoup the huge investment required to bring the drug Cerezyme to market. Here Tomye Tierney must decide how to balance the demands of the sales organization that faces saturating developed markets, but major growth opportunities in developing economies. They believe that as long as the Gaucher Initiative-Genzyme's partnership with Project Hope-is providing free Cerezyme, they will be unable to convince the Egyptian government to authorize reimbursement, which can run from $200,000 to $300,000 per patient annually. CEO Henri Termeer believes Genzyme can hold firm to both the humanitarian commitment and its strong patient-focused commercial objectives. But it is Tierney who is on the front line and negotiates the delicate agreement between Genzyme sales, Project Hope, and Egyptian authorities.
Describes interactions between Brazilian local, Latin American regional, and USA headquarters staff during the three years after establishing a manufacturing subsidiary in Sao Paulo. In a highly protected national environment, a market entry plan is developed to meet the company's global strategic objectives. The case traces the activities of local, regional, and corporate managers as they establish the operations and try to build a business. Tension emerges between headquarters and the Brazilian subsidiary as results fail to materialize, and the case trigger issue focuses on the changes necessary after the dismissal of the second country subsidiary manager in three years.
Presents an interview with Silvio Napoli on topics relating to his fit in the new job, his strategic plan for the new subsidiary, and the decision on sourcing and standardization.
Presents an interview with Silvio Napoli regarding cultural aspects of an Italian manager in a Swiss company opening an Indian subsidiary. Issues range from personal and family adjustment to management style, corporate culture, and differences in national characteristics.
After returning to the CEO/COO job, Phil Knight makes changes to Nike's strategy, organization, and management between 1983 and 1987 aimed at making Nike more responsive to the market place. He takes cost-cutting measures, and experiments with several management and organizational changes. After much strife within the company, Knight ends up with a hybrid matrix, a new group of managers, and a new strategy. Has Knight made the right choices? Has he squashed Nike's entrepreneurial culture? Is Nike poised for recovery?
Noli Tingzon, newly-appointed international division VP at Jollibee, the Philippines-based hamburger chain, is faced with the challenge of expanding fast food operations in Asia in the face of stiff competition. The case describes Jollibee's six-year international expansion history and the lessons the company has learned. Against this background, Noli must decide among expansion opportunities in New Guinea, Hong Kong, and California.
Describes the development of the first CT Scanner by EMI, a company new to the medical industry, and EMI's entry into the U.S. market. The company's early success is threatened by the entry of a dozen competitors (some very large and experienced), by government regulation, and by internal organizational problems.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "EnronOnline: Louise Kitchen, Intrapreneur (A) & (B) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 302-011, August 2001.
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Describes the evolution of Microsoft's human-resource philosophies, policies, and practices and how they used as a core of the company's competitive advantage. In particular, the focus is on how Microsoft tried to retain its ability to recruit, develop, motivate, and retain first-class talent as it grew from a start-up to a global behemoth. Triggered by high-profile, senior-level departures in 1999, the company must decide if it is time to change its "hard core" culture came to be.
Follows the development, national launch, and global rollout of the Aspire, Acer's first new product developed outside of Taiwan. Implementing a very promising new PC concept proves challenging to Mike Culver and his U.S. team, who are plagued by coordination problems with experts and resource managers in Taiwan. Leading the global rollout proves equally difficult, with local managers wanting to make local adaptations. After 2.5 years of missed forecasts and unexpected losses, CEO Stan Shih must decide whether to abandon the Aspire. More profoundly, what changes does this failure suggest for his radical "fast food" business concept and his "client server" organization model?
Consists of five segments. Segment 1 shows Culver and Pai discussing the tensions between Taiwan and the United States and the resulting performance problems with Aspire; Segment 2 features Culver and Shih describing the changes Acer made as a result of the problems and losses; Segment 3 is Culver's description of his subsequent actions and outcomes; Segment 4 has Shih describing his future plans for Acer's strategy and organization; and Segment 5 is an optional segment on Acer's Internet marketing strategy.
With a focus on Matt MacLellan and his careful development as a project manager under his boss and mentor, Jim Kaplan, the case describes the evolution of Microsoft's human-resource philosophies and policies and illustrates how they work in practice to provide the company with a major source of competitive advantage. It looks at employee development, motivation, and retention efforts in one of Microsoft's product groups. Dissatisfied with his project management role, MacLellan decides to become a developer despite the fact that he has never written code professionally. Kaplan is faced with the decision of whether to support his protege's radical career shift, and if so, how to do it not only to MacLellan's satisfaction but also in the organization's best interest.
Describes the strategic, organizational, and management changes that led Acer from its 1976 startup to become the world's second-largest computer manufacturer. Outlines the birth of the company, the painful "professionalization" of its management, the plunge into losses, and the transformation under founder Stan Shih's radical "fast food" business concept and his "client server" organization model, which are put to the test when a young product manager in Acer America develops a radically new multimedia home PC with global potential. Shih must decide whether to give an inexperienced manager in a loss-generating subsidiary the green light.
General Electric is faced with Welch's impending retirement, and the question on many minds is whether anyone can sustain the blistering pace of change and growth characteristic of the Welch era. After briefly describing GE's heritage and Welch's transformation of the company's business portfolio in the 1980s, the case chronicles Welch's revitalization initiatives through the late 1980s and 1990s. It focuses on six of Welch's major change programs: The "Software" Initiatives, Globalization, Redefining Leadership, Stretch Objectives, Service Business Development, and Six Sigma Quality.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "GE's Two-Decade Transformation: Jack Welch's Leadership TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 300-019, August 1999. (Revised June 2000.)
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Excerpts of videotaped presentations and interviews with Jack Welch in five different time periods from 1981 to 1999. Welch comments on progress on GE's strategic, organizational, and managerial transformation, and his own role in leading that change.
Interviews alternating the country subsidiary and corporate headquarters views of Christopher Carson, marketing director of BRL Hardy Europe and Steve Millar, marketing director and CEO of BRL Hardy Ltd. In four segments focusing on the source of headquarters/subsidiary tensions, background for the decision on d'Instinto launch, the Banrock Station versus Kelly's Revenge decision, and the company's actual actions/decision and the reasons for them.
An interview with Jack Welch on his views of the current status of GE's two-decade transformation and his changing role in leading it. Among topics discussed include his views of GE as a learning organization, the process of change that allowed GE's transformation to succeed, his own evolution as a CEO, the legacy he is leaving, and the challenges his successor faces.
In 1987, two European rivals--Asea AB of Sweden and BBC Brown Boveri Ltd. of Switzerland--merged to form Asea Brown Boveri. The new company employed 150,000 employees in 850 legal entities operating in 140 countries. The case describes the challenges facing Percy Barnevik--the organization's leader--and how he resolved those challenges through staffing, communicating priorities, new structural alignments, and information and reporting systems.
Simons, Robert L., and Christopher A. Bartlett. "Asea Brown Boveri." Harvard Business School Case 192-139, May 1992. (Revised January 2000.)
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Describes the development of McKinsey & Co. as a worldwide management consulting firm from 1926 to 1996. In particular, it focuses on the way in which McKinsey has developed structures, systems, processes, and practices to help it develop, transfer, and disseminate knowledge among its 3,800 consultants in 69 offices worldwide. Concludes by focusing on three young consultants operating in each dimension of the firm's organization--the local office, the industry practice, and the firm's competence center. Managing director, Rajat Gupta, wonders if the changes he has made are sufficient to maintain the firm's vital knowledge development process.
Presents interviews with CEO Tony Tan Caktiong and international division VP, Noli Tingzon, elaborating on issues and raising new issues on Jollibee's global strategy and organization.
A middle-level division manager must decide whether he should support an investment request for a third attempt at launching a new product developed by a struggling business unit. Describes the long, difficult process by which the unit has developed the product--a computer privacy screen--after years of problems and continuing losses, and its absolute faith in the project. Also presents the division manager's concerns about the need for discipline and control, setting up a tension that is focused on the launch decision.
Describes the development and management of the relays business area (BA) in ABB's global matrix organization. Focuses on three levels of management--corporate, BA, and operating company. Highlights the roles and responsibilities of individuals at each level as ABB creates a unique, highly successful organization structure and management process that enables it to integrate its disparate worldwide operations while maintaining a highly entrepreneurial front-line environment.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Corning Glass Works International (A), (B1), (B2), (C1), and (C2), Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 383-150, March 1983. (Revised January 1999.)
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Follows the impact of a change in global strategy on a diversified company's global organization structure. Reviews the company's subsequent performance internationally. Also presents reflections by top management on future possible change in the organization structure.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "3M Optical Systems: Managing Corporate Entrepreneurship TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 398-094, January 1998. (Revised October 1998.)
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Follows the impact of a change in global strategy on a diversified company's global organization structure. Traces two failed attempts at bringing a business perspective to a geographic organization, and poses the problem of what the international division president can do.
Lincoln Electric, a 100-year-old manufacturer of welding equipment and consumables based in Cleveland, Ohio, motivates its U.S. employees through a culture of cooperation between management and labor and an unusual compensation system based on piecework and a large bonus based on individual contribution to the company's performance. Despite opening a few international sales and production ventures in Canada, Australia, and France, Lincoln remained focused on manufacturing in the United States until 1988. At that time, the company's new CEO expanded manufacturing through acquisitions and greenfields in 11 new countries, attempting to transfer its unique management philosophy to each. However, Lincoln was unable to replicate its highly productive system abroad. Operational problems led to a major restructuring in the early 1990s, supervised by Anthony Massaro, a newcomer to the company. In 1996, Massaro was named CEO and set about expanding the company's manufacturing base through a new strategy. The case concludes in Asia, where Lincoln's regional president is trying to decide whether and how to establish a manufacturing presence in Indonesia, and in particular whether to try to transfer Lincoln's unique incentive-driven management system.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Skandia AFS: Developing Intellectual Capital Globally TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 398-111, April 1998.
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Focuses on the measurement and management of organizational knowledge as a strategic asset, and on the deployment of information technology, organizational structure, and processes in leveraging that asset.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Komatsu Ltd: Project G's Globalization and Komatsu and Project G (A-C) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 398-106, March 1998.
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Bartlett, Christopher A. "ABB's Relays Business: Building and Managing a Global Matrix TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 398-117, March 1998.
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This case describes the major strategic and organizational transformation at Komatsu aimed at changing it from a Japan-based producer of construction equipment to a truly global company with the ability to leverage its groupwide portfolio of resources and capabilities into a new, more diverse business base. Details efforts to build and acquire foreign operations, to specialize and integrate overseas units, to expand responsibilities of offshore operations, and to localize management.
After two years of stunning financial results, Knight again appoints a new COO, Dick Donahue. Are Knight and Nike ready for a new COO? How does Donahue differ from Woodell? Will his personality, style, and agenda fit with the new Nike Knight has created? Also describes how the matrix organization has changed over two years.
Explores Bob Woodell's tenure as Nike's first COO. Describes development of Woodell's management style, his attempts to develop the organization, and his responses to unforeseen business problems. Changing market forces, new competitors, a build-up of low-end inventory, and the absence of Phil Knight, the company's founder, in daily operations, make this a difficult time for Nike. Against the backdrop of disappointing financial results and an upcoming shareholders' meeting, students are asked to assess Woodell's performance, whether management is truly in control of the organization and the company's business, and what role Knight should be playing in the organization.
Traces the development of a Swedish furniture retailer under the leadership of an innovative and unconventional entrepreneur whose approaches redefine the nature and structure of the industry. Traces IKEA's growth from a tiny mail order business to the world's largest furniture dealership. Describes the innovative strategic and organizational changes Kamprad made to achieve success. In particular, focuses on his unique vision and values and the way they have become institutionalized as IKEA's binding corporate culture. The trigger issue revolves around whether this vital "corporate glue" can survive massive expansion into the United States and the Eastern Bloc and Kamprad's replacement as CEO by a "professional manager."
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Ashish Nanda. "Ingvar Kamprad and IKEA." Harvard Business School Case 390-132, May 1990. (Revised July 1996.)
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Starting as a classic entrepreneur,Steve Belkin, CEO of Trans National (TN), drives the company through two businesses--one in group travel and another in financial services--before deciding to step back and act as a general manager whose focus and attention is on institutionalizing entrepreneurship within his organization. At the end of the case, he is questioning whether to step back further and act more as a venture capitalist and how such a move would affect TN as an organization.
Highlights and explores how a general manager adds value to the firm at the operational level by managing through people. Discusses how assumptions about human motivation influence the employment contract that the general manager implicitly enters into with the workers and ends with speculation on how the employment contract is fundamentally changing.
Addresses the following issues at a conceptual level: 1) Who is a general manager? 2) To whom is the general manager responsible? and 3) How do general managers add value?
Describes the start-up and rapid growth of a company whose founder holds strong, non-traditional beliefs about the role of the corporation and its responsibility to society. After profiling Anita Roddick as a person, the case describes the anti-mainstream approach she took to building her highly successful business (no advertising, simple packaging, non-traditional R&D). After elaborating on the strong values she has imposed on the business, concludes by highlighting questions of the business' transferability to the United States and its survivability as Anita steps back.
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.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Ashish Nanda. "Richardson Sheffield." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 395-212, June 1995. (Revised September 2019.)
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Ashish Nanda. "Intel Corporation - Leveraging Capabilities for Strategic Renewal TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 395-227, June 1995.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Robert W. Lightfoot. "Komatsu Ltd. and Project G (C)." Harvard Business School Case 395-003, September 1994. (Revised January 1995.)
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Traces the birth and development of 3M Corp., focusing in particular on the origins of its entrepreneurially-based ability to innovate. In particular, it highlights the role of CEO William L. McKnight in creating a unique set of values, policies, and structures to nurture and develop continuous renewal. With the changing environment of the 1980s, however, a new generation of CEOs begin to adopt new policies and change the cultural norms that helped 3M grow. The trigger issue focuses on what other changes are required.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Robert W. Lightfoot. "Komatsu Ltd. and Project G (B)." Harvard Business School Case 395-002, September 1994. (Revised December 1994.)
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Describes Becton Dickinson's evolving attempt to develop products and strategies to meet worldwide competitive and market needs. Traces the evolution of a classic parent company-led product-market strategy to truly transnational product and strategy development. Explores the use of an integrative team as the organizational means of achieving global integration while preserving local flexibility.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Becton Dickinson: Worldwide Blood Collection Team TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 395-021, August 1994.
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Traces the history of Intel from its earliest days as a technology-driven memory company to its emergence as an increasingly market-focused microprocessor company with emerging systems capabilities. The focus is on the strategic, organizational, and management adaptation that was required to ensure the company's survival in a highly volatile industry. Under the leadership of Andy Grove and Gordon Moore, Intel is able to overlay its R&D base with manufacturing and marketing capabilities that allow it to continually adapt to changes and renew itself.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Ashish Nanda. "Corning Incorporated: A Network of Alliances TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 394-018, December 1993.
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Bartlett, Christopher A., and Robert W. Lightfoot. "Brown Boveri Profile." Harvard Business School Case 394-014, July 1993. (Revised October 1993.)
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Focuses in detail on implementing a corporate restructuring program in ABB's German subsidiary. Special attention is given to Germany's unique form of industrial governance. Two major problem areas--power plants and power transformers--are described in detail. ABB's new policies, in terms of strategy, organization, behavior, and financial targets, are portrayed. How should the head of ABB Germany proceed? Will the new ABB policies clash with Germany's national and BBC's corporate culture? Why are power plants and power transformers in deep trouble and what action can be taken? Does decentralization of the salesforce make sense? What are the challenges, opportunities, and risks facing ABB's Germany country head? Will the new international matrix be a help or a hindrance?
Responding to the crisis in chemicals in the early 1980's, Allied Chemical (U.S.) and ICI (U.K.) appoint new chairmen to revitalize each company's strategy, culture, and organization. Hennessy, an outsider with a background in managing conglomerates, has strong ideas about Allied's proper strategy. He buys and sells businesses at a terrific clip and shakes up Allied's management, culture, and organization. More of a consensus builder than Hennessy and with a less abrasive management style, Harvey-Jones instigates large organizational and strategic changes at ICI. Allows students to compare the effectiveness of different management styles and leadership and to consider the different roles of a general manager.
Describes Jan Carlzon's actions on assuming the CEO's responsibility at SAS in a time of financial and organizational difficulty. After tracing Carlzon's development as a manager, it focuses on the way in which he developed, then communicated a clear and motivating strategic mission to become "the world's best businessman's airline." After a spectacular turnaround, organizational problems re-emerge, and the case concludes with Carlzon wondering if his "second wave" can provide the same impetus that he gained on his first wave. Highlights the power of a clear and well-communicated strategic mission (strategic intent), but also explores problems and limits that can arise. Specifically, focuses on the common problem of motivating middle managers who often feel disenfranchised by front line empowerment.
Summarizes Carlzon's new focus externally on building alliances and acquiring travel service companies. Describes the financial problems resulting from the recession and the Gulf War crisis. Designed as an in-class handout to highlight the long-term management commitment required to realign and inspire an organization to a new strategic mission. Allows a more balanced appraisal of Carlzon's leadership abilities and limitations.
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.
Bartlett, Christopher A., and Ashish Nanda. "Richardson Sheffield." Harvard Business School Case 392-089, May 1992. (Revised September 2019.)
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By the mid 1980's Jack Welch had completely transformed General Electric with more than 300 divestitures and acquisitions since the beginning of the decade. Welch insisted that his business units be number one or number two in their markets, and have the strength of large companies and the leanness and agility of small ones. Yet, although Welch had succeeded restructuring GE the way he wanted, employee morale was low. The case focuses on Welch raising employee productivity by continuing to remove layers of management and by allowing employees to have a greater voice in their own affairs.
Describes the internationalization of the Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) fast food chain, focusing on KFC's entry into Japan. An entrepreneurial country general manager, Lou Weston, battles numerous problems to establish the business and is eventually highly successful. In doing so, Weston ignores or circumvents policies and control from KFC's headquarters and becomes very upset when more sophisticated planning, coordination, and control systems begin to constrain his freedom. The case presents both the headquarters and subsidiary perspectives and allows discussion of the conflicts between strategic planning and control and entrepreneurial independence in a multinational company.
Describes James Houghton's actions in assuming the role of CEO at Corning in the midst of a recession. Not only must he turn around operating performance, he must also revitalize a demoralized organization and set a new, clear strategic direction. In doing so, the case focuses on the changing role of alliances and partnerships in Corning operations. Increasingly, they are moving from a peripheral role in providing market access interchange for technology, to a more central role at the core of Corning's business. The strategic and organizational challenges this presents are highlighted through some specific decision issues facing Houghton.
In the annual report, Welch indicates a new priority for the company--developing a cadre of managers who can lead GE in implementing its strategy in a new organizational context. The question facing Welch is whether his bold new human resource vision is realistic and achievable.
When GE's retiring Reginald Jones turned the job of CEO over to Jack Welch on April 1, 1981, the Wall Street Journal reported that GE had "decided to replace a legend with a live wire." Some wondered if the young dynamo could fill the elder statesman's very large shoes. But Welch had a very powerful and well-articulated vision of where he wanted his company to go. By 1984, he had regrouped GE's sectors, redefined its core businesses, made massive investment and disinvestment decisions, changed the company's approach to planning, and drastically cut personnel. Despite a major recession in the world economy and flat sales, profits rose from $1.5 billion in 1980 to $2.3 billion in 1984. This case chronicles the evolution of GE through the 1970s and early 1980s, focusing particularly on the changes wrought by Reg Jones and the way in which Jack Welch took that heritage and reshaped it to fit the demands of a new decade.
For over half a century, Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT) had been a world leader in the manufacture of earthmoving and construction machinery. In 1982, just months after it recorded the highest sales and profits in its history, CAT experienced its greatest crisis. Demand fell away, its UAW workers went on strike, and Komatsu began challenging CAT's market position. The company lost almost $1 billion over the next three years. The case focuses on George Schaefer as a general manager and the series of actions he initiated on becoming CEO to restore CAT's position. Details a series of strategic and organizational initiatives that are transforming the company, but also raises some risks and questions Schaefer and the company must face. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Highlights the role played by Ryoichi Kawai in building a company that was able to challenge industry leader Caterpillar. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Dominion Engineering Works faces important strategic decisions about whether to continue its focused strategy of selling newsprint machines to the Canadian paper industry or whether recent changes in industry conditions and the emergence of three global competitors will force it to diversify its product line and/or its geographic markets. Allows analysis of global competitive strategy versus a national champion strategy in an evolving industry. Can be used with Note on the Paper Machine Industry.
Provides an update to the global competitive interaction between Caterpillar and Komatsu described in companion cases Caterpillar Tractor and Komatsu Ltd. Caterpillar's response to Komatsu's growing market share is outlined, then the impact of rapidly changing dollar/yen exchange rates provides Caterpillar with an interesting pricing decision.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Matsushita Electric Industrial (MEI) in 1987, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 391-029, February 1991.
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Describes the impact of a rising Yen on Komatsu's pricing strategy. Komatsu management seems to be signalling the need for price increases. Asks what Cat's new CEO, George Schaefer, should do in response.
Describes the development of Matsushita's international operations and the building of its dominant competitive position in the consumer electronics industry. Picks up the major challenges facing the company in 1987 as both its product focus and geographic posture are brought into question. The president is implementing two projects, Action 86 to shift the business focus from consumer to industrial electronics and Operation Localization to shift more of the value added offshore.
Describes P&G's expansion in Europe, including the development of a strong country subsidiary management, responsive to local market differences. The launch of a new product presents strategic and organizational challenges as P&G considers making this their first Eurobrand, and managing it in a coordinated Europewide fashion.
Describes the structure and evolution of the earth moving equipment industry worldwide in the post war era, particularly focusing on developments in the 1960s and 1970s. Describes Caterpillar's strategy in becoming the dominant worldwide competitor (industry market share exceeding 50%). Includes details on CAT's manufacturing, marketing research and development, and organizational policies. Concludes with a description of some environmental changes occurring in the early 1980s, and raises the question of how these might effect Caterpillar Tractor Co.'s record 1981 performance and require changes in its highly successful strategy.
Reviews and updates the structure and characteristics of the earth-moving equipment industry presented in the companion case, Caterpillar Tractor Co. After revealing that CAT has suffered major financial losses during the period from 1981 through 1984, the case describes how Komatsu grew from a $170 million local manufacturer in 1963 to become CAT's major challenge in the emerging global competitive battle. The case traces the strategy followed by Komatsu in developing its product technology, manufacturing capability, and marketing skills worldwide. The supplement, Caterpillar-Komatsu in 1986, provides an update to the global competitive interaction between Caterpillar and Komatsu. Caterpillar's response to Komatsu's growing market share is outlined, then the impact of rapidly changing dollar/yen exchange rates provides Caterpillar with an interesting pricing decision.
A newly appointed country subsidiary manager must decide on action for an operation losing $1 million per month. He is constrained by price controls on one hand and sensitive union relations on the other. Furthermore a major loss-contributing plant has recently been converted as a Europe-wide source.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "EMI and the CT Scanner (A) and (B), Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 384-030, August 1983. (Revised June 1985.)
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Describes the development of the first CT Scanner by EMI, a company new to the medical industry, and EMI's entry into the U.S. market. The company's early success is threatened by the entry of a dozen competitors (some very large and experienced), by government regulation, and by internal organizational problems.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Ideal Standard France: Pat Paterson, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 383-151, March 1983. (Revised February 1985.)
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The general manager of the recently-established French subsidiary of an Italian appliance company is in conflict with headquarters about unexpectedly poor financial performance. Headquarters management believes it should be able to exert more control over the subsidiary's strategic decision. The subsidiary general manager feels the Italians are already intervening too much. A change in organization structure is being debated.
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Questionable Payments Abroad: Gulf in Italy, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 384-028, August 1983.
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Describes the major structural changes taking place in the paper industry in the 1970s: major oil and pulp price increases, pollution legislation, a shift in industry development from OECD countries to LDCs and NICs and the technological revolution in paper making. These factors have led to important changes in the competitive environment, and specifically to the emergence of three companies pursuing "global strategies." Can be used with Dominion Engineering Works.
A two-part taped interview with Pat Paterson. Paterson describes the action he took in dealing with his company's profit problems, then talks about the outcome. His decision to dismiss 1,500 workers may have accelerated the company's bankruptcy.
Presents tapes of interviews with Forrest Behm (previously president of Corning International), Bill Hudson (ex-country manager, international business manager, world board chairman, and current product division manager), and Van Campbell (corporate treasurer). Reflections and lessons on the changes in Corning's international strategy and organization 1975-80.
Gulf Oil in Italy was confronted by the need to increase the authorized capacity at a refinery in the face of substantial opposition. Raises the issue of their use of "facilitating gratuities" to minor officials, payments to influence news reports, and the employment of a consultant to assist in government relations to gain passage of the permit.
