Professor McFarlan earned his AB from Harvard University in 1959, and his MBA and DBA from the Harvard Business School in 1961 and 1965 respectively. He has had a significant role in introducing materials on Management Information Systems to all major programs at the Harvard Business School since the first course on the subject was offered in 1962. He has been a long-time teacher in the Advanced Management Program: International Senior Managers Program, Delivering Information Services Program, and several of the Social Sector programs. He is currently teaching in several short Executive Education programs.
In 1973, shortly after his appointment to full professor he, along with four other faculty members, was sent to Switzerland to set up the School's International Senior Management Program. He returned from Switzerland in 1975 to become Chairman of the Advanced Management Program, a position he held until 1978; and Chairman of all Executive Education Programs from 1977-1980. He was Senior Associate Dean and Director of Research from 1991 to 1995, Senior Associate Dean and Director of External Relations from 1995-2000, and Senior Associate Dean and Director of Asia Pacific from 1999-2004.
Professor McFarlan’s newest book, Can China Lead? Reaching the Limits of Power and Growth, coauthored with Professors Regina M. Abrami and William C. Kirby, was released in February 2014. Joining a Non-Profit Board: What You Need to Know, coauthored with Professor Marc J. Epstein, appeared in March 2011, published by Jossey-Bass Division of John Wiley. Chinese General Management: Tsinghua-Harvard Text and Cases, coauthored with Professor Guoqing Chen, published by Tsinghua University Press, appeared in 2009. (Available in Mandarin only). Corporate Information Strategy and Management: Text and Cases (seventh edition), coauthored with Professors Lynda M. Applegate and Robert D. Austin appeared in 2006. Seizing Strategic IT Advantage in China, coauthored with Professor Richard Nolan, and Professor Guoqing Chen of Tsinghua University, appeared in 2003 (available only in Chinese). Professor McFarlan's book, Creating Business Advantage in the Information Age coauthored with Professors Lynda M. Applegate and Robert D. Austin appeared in 2002. "Working on Nonprofit Boards: Don't Assume the Shoe Fits" appeared in the November/December 1999 issue of the Harvard Business Review, and "Information Technology and the Board of Directors" with Richard Nolan appeared in October 2005. He is editor of Information Systems Research Challenge, published by the Harvard Business School Press, 1984. He served a three-year term as Senior Editor of the MIS Quarterly (1986-1988). He served for over ten years on hospital boards in Boston, including Chairman of the Mount Auburn Hospital.He is currently Guest Professor and Co-Director of Case Development at the School of Economics and Management, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China.
At the time of the American Revolution, China was the strongest, richest, and most powerful civilization in the world. The Great Qing Empire ruled China and dominated East Asia by a combination of power and cultural prestige. China's economy was the world's largest. China seemed without peer. Decline came fast. By 1900, China had been invaded, defeated, and degraded, first by Western nations, and then by Japan. An entire system of governance was blown away. In 1911, an imperial tradition of more than 2,000 years ended. After the subsequent disasters of world war and Maoist utopianism, China was an impoverished third world economy holding 20% of the world's population and barely 5% of its economic activity. Today China has again emerged as a great power. Beijing is once more the capital of a multi-ethnic empire that dominates East Asia. Foreign students flock to China to live, study, and work. New infrastructure of airports, highways, railways, electricity, and telecommunications dominate the landscape. It has a powerful government, appears respected in the world, and for the first extended time in modern history, it faces no real external threats to its security. China's resurgence has been driven by a combination of private entrepreneurship and top-down bureaucratic capitalism, by an unmatched and unchecked culture of engineering ambition, of rote learning and educational experimentation, of sophisticated tastes along with basic concerns with food safety. It is a country that is at once cosmopolitan and confused about what its new global roles should be. How will those conflicting strategies, shortcomings, and achievements play out in the future? How do we imagine this great and resurgent nation with its embedded conflicts and challenges will look in 2034? We examine successively the forces that have made China as we know it today, the history and role of the Party, its success in engineering and infrastructure construction, its challenges in planning and innovation, and the special things that a firm must do to compete successfully in the Chinese market. We conclude with China's approach to the global economy and our prognostication for 2034.
McFarlan, F. Warren, and Guoqing Chen. Chinese General Management: Tsinghua-Harvard Text and Cases. Tsinghua University Press, 2009, Other ed. (Available in Mandarin only.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren, Richard L. Nolan, and Guoqing Chen. Seizing Strategic IT Advantage in China. Beijing, China: Higher Education Press, 2003, Chinese Mandarin ed. (Available in Chinese Mandarin only.)
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Applegate, Lynda M., Robert D. Austin, and F. Warren McFarlan. Instructor's Manual to accompany Creating Business Advantage in the Information Age. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002.
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Applegate, Lynda M., F. W. McFarlan, and J. L. McKenney. Corporate Information Systems Management: Teaching Manual. Burr Ridge, IL: Irwin/McGraw-Hill, 1999.
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McFarlan, F. W., R. L. Nolan, and D. P. Norton. Curriculum Recommendations for Graduate Professional Programs in Information Systems. NY: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973.
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A look at how innovation is happening in China—from the top down, from the bottom up, through acquisition, and through education. Sheds light on the complexities of the issue, highlighting the promise and the problems China faces in its quest to become the world's innovation leader.
Abrami, Regina M., William C. Kirby, and F. Warren McFarlan. "Why China Can't Innovate."Harvard Business Review 92, no. 3 (March 2014): 107–111.
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The Chinese management software and IT services industry has grown dramatically over the past two decades and today is about the size of the Indian industry a decade ago. The objective of this article is to help CIOs in firms outside of China better understand the current and future potential of this industry. Based on recent in-depth case findings of two large and fast-growing suppliers-UFIDA and Kingdee-as well as other vendors and client firms in China, we share what we see as the challenges facing the firms in the Chinese management software and IT services industry as players seek to develop their capabilities for their growing domestic market. We describe the implications of our findings for CIOs in developed countries. Our main prediction is that the challenges of serving the domestic market will mean that Chinese management software and IT service firms will likely have an inward focus over the next five years and will, therefore, only slowly emerge onto the global market.
McFarlan, F. Warren, Ning Jia, and Justin Wong. "China's Growing IT Services and Software Industry: Challenges and Implications." MIS Quarterly Executive 11, no. 1 (March 2012).
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Governance, Development and the American Way." Fundraising & Philanthropy Australasia, no. 14 (February–April 2008).
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Governance in Global Information Economy." Xin xi xi tong xue bao [China Journal of Information Systems] 1, no. 1 (October 2007): 8–15.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Governance in the Global Information Economy." Chap. 11 in Managing Global Information Technology: Strategies and Challenges, edited by Prashant Palvia, Shailendra Palvia, and Albert L. Harris, 207–224. Marietta, GA: Ivy League Publishing, 2007. (ISBN: 0-9648382-4-9.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Information and Competition: Early 21st Century." In Information Technology Enabled Global Customer Service, edited by Tapio Reponen. Idea Group Publishing, 2002.
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McFarlan, F. W. "Information-enabled Organization Transformation and Outsourcing." In Wirtschafts-informatik '95. Frankfurt: Universität Frankfurt am Main, 1995.
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Nolan, Richard L., and F. Warren McFarlan. "Governance in the Information Economy." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 05-045, January 2005.
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Westerman, George, Marco Iansiti, and F. Warren McFarlan. "The Tortoise and the Hare: An Empirical Investigation of the Dynamics of Integration, Differentiation and Incumbent Adaptation." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 03-002, July 2002.
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Sole, Deborah L., F. Warren McFarlan, and Richard L. Nolan. "A Knowledge-based Model of IT Outsourcing for the Network Era." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 97-076, October 1997.
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Non-profit governance at its core is very different from for-profit governance. Certain aspects of non-profit governance are widely pervasive across all non-profits, while all others are idiosyncratic to specific sub-groups of non-profits. After identifying these commonalities, this paper focuses on specific factors which make non-profit governance particularly nuanced and complicated in specific situations.
Founded in 1983, China Nonferrous Metal Mining (Group) Co., Ltd. ("CNMC") is one of the earliest and largest global Chinese nonferrous metal industrial enterprises. It has investments and projects in 27 countries and trade networks in nearly 100 countries with a particular focus in Africa. CNMC has been exploiting mineral resources in Zambia since 1998, becoming one of the most important copper industry enterprises in the country. In 2013, CNMC was included in the Fortune Global 500 for the first time, ranking 482nd with operating revenues of 24 billion USD. In 2015, CNMC ranked 390th among the Fortune Global 500. CNMC has been actively committed to becoming a bellwether of "going global" among Chinese enterprises, making great contribution to Africa by promoting mutually beneficial cooperation. Confronted with intensifying competition in China and overseas, CNMC leaders look to the future and endeavor to further develop African businesses, to strengthen CNMC's overall competitiveness, and to fulfill sustainable development, on the basis of its international expansion strategy.
Since 2008, FOTILE has actively introduced philosophies of the traditional Chinese culture—such as benevolence, justice, courtesy, wisdom and faith—into its management, which it believes to compensate for deficiencies in Western management concepts and creates a new Chinese enterprise management model. FOTILE's attempts are controversial and evoke intense discussions and reflections. The core question for class discussion is whether its philosophy is sustainable and applicable to modern enterprises generally in China? How can one integrate the Western management philosophy with traditional Oriental culture? Is it really possible? This case can be used in MBA, EDP, EMBA Organizational Behavior and Corporate Culture courses. It supports a 60-90-minute class discussion. The case describes how FOTILE developed its Confucian culture-based management model in a world of market competition. It first introduces the company's background, including its startup and development processes. It next describes the transformation of FOTILE's management model from Western philosophy to one based on traditional Oriental concepts. It then shows how Confucianism is applied in FOTILE's management. In particular, it describes the applications of Confucianism in FOTILE's HR management and performance evaluation.
This case describes the post-M&A integration of Adisseo of France in 2006 by Bluestar Group, the largest subsidiary of ChemChina (a Fortune 500 company) until 2013. Adisseo was mainly engaged in production of methionine, a feed additive, while China had no methionine production and had relied on its import for a long time. After acquiring Adisseo, Bluestar started to integrate Adisseo, change its executives and sent executives and technical staff to study at Adisseo, expanded Adisseo's production capacity in France and Spain, supported Adisseo in its M&A of the upstream businesses in France, and so on. More importantly, Bluestar and Adisseo jointly started a new methionine project in Nanjing, China, in 2010. In the construction of the Nanjing project, Bluestar reached a successful integration with Adisseo through project team establishment, organization structure replication, management system and institution transplantation and improvement, communication with the trade union, and fusion of organizational cultures. Additionally, in the years of the post-M&A integration, Bluestar and its parent company ChemChina realized remarkable upgrading and development. While Chinese methionine market maintained growth momentum, Adisseo was facing overcapacity of the whole industry and needed to consider the road of future development.
This case describes the process of acquiring Adisseo of France in 2006 by Bluestar Group, the largest subsidiary of ChemChina (a Fortune 500 company). Adisseo was mainly engaged in production of methionine, a feed additive, while China had no methionine production and had relied on its import for a long time. Bluestar started to communicate with Adisseo to acquire the latter's technology in 2000, when Adisseo was not interested. The global burst of bird flu in 2004 provided Bluestar a historical opportunity to purchase Adisseo. Afterward, with the help of intermediate agencies in the fields of strategy, accounting, legal affairs, etc., Bluestar reached an agreement with CVC, Adisseo's parent company, on Oct. 20, 2005, to purchase the whole Adisseo with €400m. The transaction was completed on Jan. 17, 2006. Ren Jianxin, President of Bluestar, was very excited by the largest M&A of a French company by a Chinese company in history. Next, he needed to think about how to complete the integration of Adisseo and make it develop well.
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Mianyang - an emerging inland science and technology city in Sichuan Province, Changhong Electric Co., Ltd., started from the military industry. It then entered the color TV industry and subsequently expanded to a wide range of sectors including black electronics, white electronics, IT/communication, services and parts. It is now an integrated multinational corporation (combining R&D and manufacturing for the military industry, consumer electronics, electronic components, etc.) This case shows how a large TV manufacturer has transformed its internal controls to deal with both fiscal austerity and emerging global practice. It demonstrates the new financial control environment in China in 2014 for leading companies and the immense challenges involved in implementing new controls.
Since the establishment of the first Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant in Beijing in 1996, Wang Gang and his wife Liang Di have opened more than 100 chain restaurants in China and foreign countries, and set up the group headquarters, logistics center, R&D center and central kitchen. Meizhou Dongpo has grown into one of the most stable large catering enterprises in China. The enterprise entered the stage of rapid development in 2000. Meizhou Dongpo Group has annual operating revenue of over RMB 1.8 billion, accumulative consumers of over 20 million persons-times and more than 8,000 employees. Meizhou Dongpo has transformed its small-restaurant operation model at beginning into present operation model of large catering group chain. Wang Gang believed Meizhou Dongpo must take the path of standardization to become a large-scale Chinese cuisine chain enterprise. Standardized management has always been the most important development strategy at Meizhou Dongpo. Wang Gang accelerated the standardized management of Meizhou Dongpo after 2000, realizing production and processing standardization, management standardization and service standardization. The year 2013 was important to Meizhou Dongpo. On December 18, 2013, Meizhou Dongpo Beverly Restaurant in Los Angeles was opened, and "Wangjiadu" series products of Meizhou Dongpo were also sold at various supermarkets in the U.S., marking a step of internationalization taken by Meizhou Dongpo. Regular chain, standardization strategy and international development are priorities of this case.
Meizhou Dongpo is a large catering group in China. On June 6, 1996, the first Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant was opened in Beijing. The enterprise entered the stage of rapid development in 2000, and set up Beijing Meizhou Restaurant Management Co., Ltd. In June 2003 the business mainly covers restaurant management, catering services, food processing and sales, with its headquarters in Beijing including logistics center and central kitchen. By the end of 2013, Meizhou Dongpo Group covered six business types. Meizhou Dongpo Group has annual operating revenue of over RMB 1.8 billion, accumulative consumers of over 20 million persons-times and more than 8,000 employees. This case focuses on the starting-up process of Meizhou Dongpo Group by Wang Gang. Meizhou Dongpo has grown from a small restaurant into one of top 100 catering companies in China. This simple and arduous entrepreneurship story has been happening over the past decade in the highly competitive traditional catering industry. High technology, well-educated talent, employed manager, brand-new business model and financial support from bank or venture capital institutions cannot be found in the entrepreneurship history of Meizhou Dongpo. The case is a good attempt to analyze how did Wang Gang create and rule a catering empire by his unique leadership?
Microfinance is introduced into China in the 1990s. It had gone through 3 phases since the beginning, namely the pilot phase when all Microfinance practices are sponsored by charity funds based on projects, the promotion phase when the government subsidized some regular financial organizations and encouraged them to conduct Microfinance businesses, and the rapid development phase of commercial Microfinance companies when private capital is encouraged to enter the Microfinance industry by a series of policies released by the government. CFPA Microfinance is the largest charity Microfinance Company concentrated on providing Microfinance services in the rural areas in China. It grew with the Microfinance industry in China, and experienced transformation from a charity-fund-relied NGO to a company that maintains sustainable development. Up till the end of November 2014, it covers 16 provinces, 140 counties, with 230,000 clients, and the balance of loans is 1,800,000,000 RMB. Farmers' Self-reliance Branch of CFPA Microfinance in Shangyi County was started in 2008, with a local condition of bad climate, small market capacity, and single-product economy. Soon after its opening, it had found the "Grameen-modeled" group-loan product promoted by the headquarters did not suit the local condition; it actively transferred to the individual-loan product model, and meanwhile provided value-added services. Finally, it maintained a unique place in the fierce competition in the local area, and kept zero default rate and zero overdue rate since its opening. However, in recent years, as private capital is encouraged to enter the Micro-finance industry, Shangyi branch is facing new challenges, meanwhile, the branch manager had found difficulties in complying with the rigid loan process for risk control enforced by the headquarter and meeting the local clients' needs. He believes this problem would even threaten the branch's business in the long run, and he needs a solution.
The case describes how a leading Chinese management software provider Yonyou (formerly known as "UFIDA") disrupted its value chain-based business model to transform itself into a platform provider. The case describes Yonyou's past success, the market forces and internal reasons for the change, and what Yonyou did internally to make the transformation happen. In (2013) when the new strategy was launched, Yonyou faced typical problems as it transformed into an Internet-based platform company. These included: Capitalizing on its past strengths to support the new models; simultaneously both changing its business model and stabilizing its business in a stressed industry; attracting and retaining new staff without incurring serious cultural dilution.
Mobile Internet has imposed an increasing impact on traditional finance. Firstly, some financial business modules can be operated via mobile Internet, and the corresponding transaction cost is greatly reduced. For example, payment by traditional bank draft is replaced by Internet payment through Alipay (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd. Secondly, some financial businesses can be conducted through mobile Internet. For instance, Alibaba Group launched a microfinance program on the Internet. Thirdly, with the aid of mobile Internet, new financial products can be developed, and Yu'ebao in this case study is a kind of financial product based on mobile Internet.
The case describes how a leading Chinese management software provider Yonyou (formerly known as "UFIDA") disrupted its value chain-based business model to transform itself into a platform provider. The case describes Yonyou's past success, the market forces and internal reasons for the change, and what Yonyou did internally to make the transformation happen. In (2013) when the new strategy was launched, Yonyou faced typical problems as it transformed into an Internet-based platform company. These included: Capitalizing on its past strengths to support the new models; simultaneously both changing its business model and stabilizing its business in a stressed industry; attracting and retaining new staff without incurring serious cultural dilution.
Founded in 1958 and headquartered in Mianyang - an emerging inland science and technology city in Sichuan Province, Changhong Electric Co., Ltd., started from the military industry. It then entered the color TV industry and subsequently expanded to a wide range of sectors including black electronics, white electronics, IT/communication, services and parts. It is now an integrated multinational corporation (combining R&D and manufacturing for the military industry, consumer electronics, electronic components, etc.) This case shows how a large TV manufacturer has transformed its internal controls to deal with both fiscal austerity and emerging global practice. It demonstrates the new financial control environment in China in 2014 for leading companies and the immense challenges involved in implementing new controls.
This case describes the post-M&A integration of Adisseo of France in 2006 by Bluestar Group, the largest subsidiary of ChemChina (a Fortune 500 company) until 2013. Adisseo was mainly engaged in production of methionine, a feed additive, while China had no methionine production and had relied on its import for a long time. After acquiring Adisseo, Bluestar started to integrate Adisseo, changed its executives and sent executives and technical staff to study at Adisseo, expanded Adisseo's production capacity in France and Spain, supported Adisseo in its M&A of the upstream businesses in France, and so on. More importantly, Bluestar and Adisseo jointly started a new methionine project in Nanjing, China, in 2010. In the construction of the Nanjing project, Bluestar reached a successful integration with Adisseo through project team establishment, organization structure replication, management system and institution transplantation and improvement, communication with the trade union, and fusion of organizational cultures. Additionally, in the years of the post-M&A integration, Bluestar and its parent company ChemChina realized remarkable upgrading and development. While Chinese methionine market maintained growth momentum, Adisseo was facing overcapacity of the whole industry and needed to consider the road of future development.
This case describes the process of acquiring Adisseo of France in 2006 by Bluestar Group, the largest subsidiary of ChemChina (a Fortune 500 company). Adisseo was mainly engaged in the production of methionine, a feed additive, while China had no methionine production and had relied on its import for a long time. Bluestar started to communicate with Adisseo to acquire the latter's technology in 2000, when Adisseo was not interested. The global burst of bird flu in 2004 provided Bluestar a historical opportunity to purchase Adisseo. Afterward, with the help of intermediate agencies in the fields of strategy, accounting, legal affairs, etc., Bluestar reached an agreement with CVC, Adisseo's parent company, on Oct. 20, 2005, to purchase the whole Adisseo for €400m. The transaction was completed on Jan. 17, 2006. Ren Jianxin, President of Bluestar, was very excited by the largest M&A of a French company by a Chinese company in history. Next, he needed to think about how to complete the integration of Adisseo and make it develop well.
Meizhou Dongpo is a large catering group in China. On June 6, 1996, the first Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant was opened in Beijing. The enterprise entered the stage of rapid development in 2000, and set up Beijing Meizhou Restaurant Management Co., Ltd. In June 2003 the business mainly covers restaurant management, catering services, food processing and sales, with its headquarters in Beijing including logistics center and central kitchen. By the end of 2013, Meizhou Dongpo Group covered six business types. Meizhou Dongpo Group has annual operating revenue of over RMB 1.8 billion, accumulative consumers of over 20 million persons-times and more than 8,000 employees. This case focuses on the starting-up process of Meizhou Dongpo Group by Wang Gang. Meizhou Dongpo has grown from a small restaurant into one of top 100 catering companies in China. This simple and arduous entrepreneurship story has been happening over the past decade in the highly competitive traditional catering industry. High technology, well-educated talent, employed manager, brand-new business model and financial support from bank or venture capital institutions cannot be found in the entrepreneurship history of Meizhou Dongpo. The case is a good attempt to analyze how did Wang Gang create and rule a catering empire by his unique leadership?
Since the establishment of the first Meizhou Dongpo Restaurant in Beijing in 1996, Wang Gang and his wife Liang Di have opened more than 100 chain restaurants in China and foreign countries, and set up the group headquarters, logistics center, R&D center and central kitchen. Meizhou Dongpo has grown into one of the most stable large catering enterprises in China. The enterprise entered the stage of rapid development in 2000. Meizhou Dongpo Group has annual operating revenue of over RMB 1.8 billion, accumulative consumers of over 20 million persons-times and more than 8,000 employees. Meizhou Dongpo has transformed its small-restaurant operation model at beginning into present operation model of large catering group chain. Wang Gang believed Meizhou Dongpo must take the path of standardization to become a large-scale Chinese cuisine chain enterprise. Standardized management has always been the most important development strategy at Meizhou Dongpo. Wang Gang accelerated the standardized management of Meizhou Dongpo after 2000, realizing production and processing standardization, management standardization and service standardization. The year 2013 was important to Meizhou Dongpo. On December 18, 2013, Meizhou Dongpo Beverly Restaurant in Los Angeles was opened, and "Wangjiadu" series products of Meizhou Dongpo were also sold at various supermarkets in the U.S., marking a step of internationalization taken by Meizhou Dongpo. Regular chain, standardization strategy and international development are priorities of this case.
Mobile Internet has imposed an increasing impact on traditional finance. Firstly, some financial business modules can be operated via mobile Internet, and the corresponding transaction cost is greatly reduced. For example, payment by traditional bank draft is replaced by Internet payment through Alipay (China) Network Technology Co., Ltd. Secondly, some financial businesses can be conducted through mobile Internet. For instance, Alibaba Group launched a microfinance program on the Internet. Thirdly, with the aid of mobile Internet, new financial products can be developed, and Yu'ebao in this case study is a kind of financial product based on mobile Internet.
Microfinance is introduced into China in the 1990s. It had gone through 3 phases since the beginning, namely the pilot phase when all Microfinance practices are sponsored by charity funds based on projects, the promotion phase when the government subsidized some regular financial organizations and encouraged them to conduct Microfinance businesses, and the rapid development phase of commercial Microfinance companies when private capital is encouraged to enter the Microfinance industry by a series of policies released by the government.
CFPA Microfinance is the largest charity Microfinance Company concentrated on providing Microfinance services in the rural areas in China. It grew with the Microfinance industry in China, and experienced transformation from a charity-fund–relied NGO to a company that maintains sustainable development. Up till the end of November 2014, it covers 16 provinces, 140 counties, with 230,000 clients, and the balance of loans is 1,800,000,000 RMB.
Farmers' Self-reliance Branch of CFPA Microfinance in Shangyi County was started in 2008, with a local condition of bad climate, small market capacity, and single-product economy. Soon after its opening, it had found that the "Grameen-modeled" group-loan product promoted by the headquarters did not suit the local condition; it actively transferred to the individual-loan product model, and meanwhile provided value-added services. Finally, it maintained a unique place in the fierce competition in the local area, and kept zero default rate and zero overdue rate since its opening. However, in recent years, as private capital is encouraged to enter the Microfinance industry, the Shangyi branch is facing new challenges, meanwhile, the branch manager had found difficulties in complying with the rigid loan process for risk control enforced by the headquarters and meeting the local clients' needs. He believes this problem would even threaten the branch's business in the long run, and he needs a solution.
This case is a sequel to Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (A), (B) and (C) cases. It focuses on the causes of recent fund-raising success and the complex resource allocation problems the School faces as it tries to deliver on its mission. In conjunction with the (A), (B) & (C) cases, it is a rich story of how mission and finance can play out over a very long period.
COFCO was China's sole legitimate window for agricultural foreign trade before 1987. The reform of China's foreign trade system beginning in 1987 cost COFCO its monopoly position. Subsequently, the SOE giant capitalized on its foreign trade expertise to strategically move upstream in the food industrial chain. Additionally, COFCO made investments in unrelated areas. These unrelated diversification activities were stopped by the new Chairman Ning Gaoning, appointed in 2004. He cared greatly about the innate logic for future mergers and acquisitions. The company, under his leadership, focused on its weaknesses and strengths, to identify a focused overall strategy. He brought the "whole industry chain" concept to COFCO with three clear goals in mind: 1) to shape "farmland to table" food processing to assure customers of safe, high-quality food, 2) to unite COFCO's segmented business units, and enable them to gain competitive edge over local companies 3) to increase the company's strength to compete with global food companies. The case depicts COFCO's historical transformations, identifies its mergers and acquisitions since 2005 and shows its financing history. Information is provided about several domestic and overseas competitors to illustrate COFCO's role in a larger China environment. It is not only a market player but also a main force in China's pillar industry and the only domestic food company that can rival global food companies in China's domestic market.
Established in 1958, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (hereafter referred to as "Xinhua Hospital") is an integrated modern teaching and research hospital with a comprehensive set of disciplines and a specialization in paediatrics. Xinhua Hospital currently has 1,586 beds, 47 clinical departments and 66 specialties. It has three National Key Disciplines, one Shanghai Key Discipline, five Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Key Disciplines, one Ministry of Education Key Laboratory (MOE-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health), and two of Shanghai clinical centres, respectively. In 2005, Xinhua Hospital co-founded Shanghai Xinhua Hospital Group with Shanghai Children's Medical Centre Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.3 People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Chongmingbao Town People's Hospital, and Xinhua Hospital Chongming Branch. Under the arrangement, members remain as stand-alone legal entities, and are financially and operationally independent. Since 2007, Xinhua Hospital has been importing talent to lead its disciplinary development and enhancing its management through informatization development. In 2011, the hospital had 3,400 employees and its number of accident & emergency unit patients reached 3.3 million, the highest in Shanghai; it treated 69,000 inpatients and undertook 41,000 operations. Xinhua Hospital is a large Class 3A (the highest grade in China) public hospital. The focus of this case study is to understand how was it able to implement an EMR-centered (electronic medical records, also known as electronic patient records or electronic health records) information system within its complicated, traditional organizational structure.
China Machine Press (CMP), founded in 1952, is a leading multi-field, multi-discipline and multimedia publishing group in China with large scale, comprehensive and specialized business that integrates paper media, audiovisual media and online media, and combines research, publishing, training, printing, issuing and distribution. Currently, CMP publishes more than 3,700 new books and imports over 400 foreign books each year. In 2010, its sales volume of books and periodicals reached RMB one billion. CMP's core competitive advantage lies in its innovative business strategy and management concepts, rigorous publishing standards and high product quality. In 2007, CMP was ranked among the Top 500 Most Valuable Chinese Brands by the World Brand Lab with an estimated brand value of RMB 787 million. From 2008 to 2010, CMP had been on the list for three years in a row, and with brand value rising beyond RMB 1.66 billion in 2010. CMP started as a state-owned institution, and as part of China's publishing industry that is highly regulated by the government, it was also subject to strict government supervision. Therefore, the focus of this case study is to understand how Wang Wenbin, President of CMP, devises new business strategies to gain a competitive advantage in a regulated industry and leads the company to carry forward marketization reform.
Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited (Yanzhou Coal) is a listed company controlled by Yankuang Group Co., Ltd. (Yankuang Group) which is affiliated to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of Shandong Provincial Government, China. Yanzhou Coal have been listed in Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai respectively. It is mainly engaged in coal, coal chemical industry and power generation. In addition to the connotative development, Yanzhou Coal started to implement a strategy of denotative development after listing and seek coal projects in other cities outside Shandong Province or China. This case mainly introduces the process of Yanzhou Coal's acquisition of Austar Coal Mine, Felix Company, as well as Gloucester Coal Ltd. by exchanging shares, thus achieving listing in Australia.
Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited (Yanzhou Coal) is a listed company controlled by Yankuang Group Co., Ltd. (Yankuang Group) which is affiliated to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of Shandong Provincial Government, China. Yanzhou Coal have been listed in Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai respectively. It is mainly engaged in coal, coal chemical industry and power generation. In addition to the connotative development, Yanzhou Coal started to implement a strategy of denotative development after listing and seek coal projects in other cities outside Shandong Province or China. This case mainly introduces the process of Yanzhou Coal's acquisition of Austar Coal Mine, Felix Company, as well as Gloucester Coal Ltd. by exchanging shares, thus achieving listing in Australia.
Yanzhou Coal Mining Company Limited (Yanzhou Coal) is a listed company controlled by Yankuang Group Co., Ltd. (Yankuang Group) which is affiliated to the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of Shandong Provincial Government, China. Yanzhou Coal have been listed in Hong Kong, New York and Shanghai respectively. It is mainly engaged in coal, coal chemical industry and power generation. In addition to the connotative development, Yanzhou Coal started to implement a strategy of denotative development after listing and seek coal projects in other cities outside Shandong Province or China. This case mainly introduces the process of Yanzhou Coal's acquisition of Austar Coal Mine, Felix Company, as well as Gloucester Coal Ltd. by exchanging shares, thus achieving listing in Australia.
Since 2008, FOTILE has actively introduced philosophies of the traditional Chinese culture—such as benevolence, justice, courtesy, wisdom and faith—into its management, which it believes to compensate for deficiencies in Western management concepts and creates a new Chinese enterprise management model. FOTILE's attempts are controversial and evoke intense discussions and reflections. The core question for class discussion is whether its philosophy is sustainable and applicable to modern enterprises generally in China? How can one integrate the Western management philosophy with traditional Oriental culture? Is it really possible? This case can be used in MBA, EDP, EMBA Organizational Behavior and Corporate Culture courses. It supports a 60-90-minute class discussion. The case describes how FOTILE developed its Confucian culture-based management model in a world of market competition. It first introduces the company's background, including its startup and development processes. It next describes the transformation of FOTILE's management model from Western philosophy to one based on traditional Oriental concepts. It then shows how Confucianism is applied in FOTILE's management. In particular, it describes the applications of Confucianism in FOTILE's HR management and performance evaluation.
COFCO was China's sole legitimate window for agricultural foreign trade before 1987. The reform of China's foreign trade system beginning in 1987 cost COFCO its monopoly position. Subsequently, the SOE giant capitalized on its foreign trade expertise to strategically move upstream in the food industrial chain. Additionally, COFCO made investments in unrelated areas. These unrelated diversification activities were stopped by the new Chairman Ning Gaoning, appointed in 2004. He cared greatly about the innate logic for future mergers and acquisitions. The company, under his leadership, focused on its weaknesses and strengths, to identify a focused overall strategy. He brought the "whole industry chain" concept to COFCO with three clear goals in mind: 1) to shape "farmland to table" food processing to assure customers of safe, high-quality food, 2) to unite COFCO's segmented business units, and enable them to gain competitive edge over local companies 3) to increase the company's strength to compete with global food companies. The case depicts COFCO's historical transformations, identifies its mergers and acquisitions since 2005 and shows its financing history. Information is provided about several domestic and overseas competitors to illustrate COFCO's role in a larger China environment. It is not only a market player but also a main force in China's pillar industry and the only domestic food company that can rival global food companies in China's domestic market.
China Machine Press (CMP), founded in 1952, is a leading multi-field, multi-discipline and multimedia publishing group in China with large scale, comprehensive and specialized business that integrates paper media, audiovisual media and online media, and combines research, publishing, training, printing, issuing and distribution. Currently, CMP publishes more than 3,700 new books and imports over 400 foreign books each year. In 2010, its sales volume of books and periodicals reached RMB one billion. CMP's core competitive advantage lies in its innovative business strategy and management concepts, rigorous publishing standards and high product quality. In 2007, CMP was ranked among the Top 500 Most Valuable Chinese Brands by the World Brand Lab with an estimated brand value of RMB 787 million. From 2008 to 2010, CMP had been on the list for three years in a row, and with brand value rising beyond RMB 1.66 billion in 2010. CMP started as a state-owned institution, and as part of China's publishing industry that is highly regulated by the government, it was also subject to strict government supervision. Therefore, the focus of this case study is to understand how Wang Wenbin, President of CMP, devises new business strategies to gain a competitive advantage in a regulated industry and leads the company to carry forward marketization reform.
Established in 1958, Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine (hereafter referred to as "Xinhua Hospital") is an integrated modern teaching and research hospital with a comprehensive set of disciplines and a specialization in paediatrics. Xinhua Hospital currently has 1,586 beds, 47 clinical departments and 66 specialties. It has three National Key Disciplines, one Shanghai Key Discipline, five Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine Key Disciplines, one Ministry of Education Key Laboratory (MOE-Shanghai Key Laboratory of Children's Environmental Health), and two of Shanghai clinical centres, respectively. In 2005, Xinhua Hospital co-founded Shanghai Xinhua Hospital Group with Shanghai Children's Medical Centre Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, No.3 People's Hospital Affiliated to Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, Chongmingbao Town People's Hospital, and Xinhua Hospital Chongming Branch. Under the arrangement, members remain as stand-alone legal entities, and are financially and operationally independent. Since 2007, Xinhua Hospital has been importing talent to lead its disciplinary development and enhancing its management through informatization development. In 2011, the hospital had 3,400 employees and its number of accident & emergency unit patients reached 3.3 million, the highest in Shanghai; it treated 69,000 inpatients and undertook 41,000 operations. Xinhua Hospital is a large Class 3A (the highest grade in China) public hospital. The focus of this case study is to understand how was it able to implement an EMR-centered (electronic medical records, also known as electronic patient records or electronic health records) information system within its complicated, traditional organizational structure.
This case focuses on the growth of an innovative non-profit institution that motivates aboriginal children to attend school by harnessing their love of football.
ChemChina is China's largest basic chemical manufacturing firm. It was included in Fortune Global 500 in 2011 and 2012, ranked No. 475 and 402. Its sales revenue in 2011 was 179 billion yuan, and profit was 600 million yuan. The year-end total assets were 254.2 billion yuan. The major products of ChemChina are basic chemicals, new chemical materials, oil processing & refining products, agrochemicals, rubber products, and chemical equipment. The company has 106 subordinate enterprises. Its production and R&D bases are located in 140 countries and regions all over the world. Looking retrospectively, ChemChina has been a rapidly growing enterprise and is one of a small number of Chinese enterprises founded after the economic reform and rapidly growing to enter the Fortune Global 500 in 20 years. The development history of ChemChina from nothing to a world giant as well as its strategic measures taken during the process are both characterized by the unique features of itself and deeply stamped with those of the era, reflecting the constantly changing environment faced by the Chinese enterprises in the economic transition years and the strategic movements taken creatively by the Chinese local enterprises to adapt to the environment. Unquestionably, ChemChina is a representative of "big but less strong" companies, lagging far behind the world leading chemical giants in terms of technology and management. Nevertheless, its historical development to become a Fortune Global 500 giant and a leading chemical enterprise in China in less than 30 years is sufficient to motivate us to study its unique history, current reality and future. Today, ChemChina confronts the tasks of internal integration and dealing with financial stringency. New opportunities exist, particularly as Blackstone has became a strategic partner of BlueStar.
With the rapid growth of China's economy and China's increasing integration into the global economy in the past two decades, China's leisure clothing and garment enterprises achieved a rapid rise and became an important competitive force confronting the foreign brands in the Chinese market. Zhejiang Semir Garment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Semir Group") was founded in 1996 and currently owns two brands ("Semir", targeted at 16-25 year olds, providing affordable casual clothing featuring "fashion and vitality"; Balabala, providing children's clothing, targeted at 3-12 year-old children in better-off families). Both brands occupy a leading position in the Chinese market. However, with the intensified market competition and changes of cost elements and new sales channels, Semir Group faces new challenges.
Founded in 2004, TGOOD is now the largest specialized developer and producer of cubicle-type transformation and distribution equipment in China, with the main products of outdoor cubicle-type power equipment supplemented by indoor switchgear cabinets, offered mainly to the railways, coal-mining and power industries. In 2001, TGOOD president Yu Dexiang led a dozen of his young colleagues to resign from state-owned enterprises and dive into the market. By 2011, by riding on the huge wave of China's railway construction and struggling arduously, TGOOD has developed from an unknown business of 20 people and RMB 8 million assets into a growing enterprise with net assets of over RMB 1.1 billion, annual operating revenue of over RMB 600 million, and employment of around 1,000. In September 2009, TGOOD became the first company in China to trade on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange GEM. At the same time, Yu Dexiang has crafted in his special way a cohesive and complementary entrepreneurial team and core employee team. In 2011, due to the stepping-down of railway minister Liu Zhijun for corruption reasons and the severe HSR accident which happened in June 2011, China slowed down its railway construction, causing a great setback to TGOOD's development. This case was written at a time that TGOOD was starting to readjust its industrial structure and Yu Dexiang was pondering about the strategic directions of the company's "second starting-up" and the new task of team building.
As an extension of UFIDA (A-E), UFIDA (F), using early 2012 as the time node, looks at UFIDA's major steps taken during 2010-2011, accomplishments, and major future opportunities and challenges. The case focuses on the new market development of Cloud Computing and Management Software Industry. Cloud computing provides both strategic opportunities and poses tremendous challenges. It combined a technology revolution with necessary change in business models. In its movement to embrace cloud computing, the company had adopted a strategy of actively embracing transformation, and boosting core competiveness through efficiency-based high-growth. Today, UFIDA's core strategy has shifted from being the leading accounting software vendor in China to becoming the largest management software vendor in Asia and eventually a world-class cloud service provider.
The case "Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (A)" completed in early 2010 described the strategic path of Beyondsoft over its history of more than 10 years since its foundation in 1995, containing its major business lines and the relations with the major customers at that time, the market environment faced by the company, competitive power of major rivalry players and Beyondsoft's own resources and capabilities, as well as the future objectives set by President Ben Wang for the company. The focus was put on the development strategy Beyondsoft should choose in the next 3-5 years, given its actual external business environment and internal business conditions. This case is an extension of case (A), focusing on the strategic path of Beyondsoft during 2010-2011, the market environment at the new historical moment faced by the company in early 2012, when Beyondsoft did its IPO, including the situations of major competitors and Beyondsoft's own resources and capabilities, as well as its business adjustments and future objectives designed by Ben Wang and his top management team.
This case is the follow-up of Kingdee A(6-311-351). In 2011, Kingdee made strategic investments and business expansions, suffering net profit decline despite operating revenue growth and also changes to top managers.
Founded in 2004, TGOOD is now the largest specialized developer and producer of cubicle-type transformation and distribution equipment in China, with the main products of outdoor cubicle-type power equipment supplemented by indoor switchgear cabinets, offered mainly to the railways, coal-mining and power industries. In 2001, TGOOD president Yu Dexiang led a dozen of his young colleagues to resign from state-owned enterprises and dive into the market. By 2011, by riding on the huge wave of China's railway construction and struggling arduously, TGOOD has developed from an unknown business of 20 people and RMB 8 million assets into a growing enterprise with net assets of over RMB 1.1 billion, annual operating revenue of over RMB 600 million, and employment of around 1,000. In September 2009, TGOOD became the first company in China to trade on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange GEM. At the same time, Yu Dexiang has crafted in his special way a cohesive and complementary entrepreneurial team and core employee team. In 2011, due to the stepping-down of railway minister Liu Zhijun for corruption reasons and the severe HSR accident which happened in June 2011, China slowed down its railway construction, causing a great setback to TGOOD's development. This case was written at a time that TGOOD was starting to readjust its industrial structure and Yu Dexiang was pondering about the strategic directions of the company's "second starting-up" and the new task of team building.
The case "Beyondsoft Co., Ltd. (A)" completed in early 2010 described the strategic path of Beyondsoft over its history of more than 10 years since its foundation in 1995, containing its major business lines and the relations with the major customers at that time, the market environment faced by the company, competitive power of major rivalry players and Beyondsoft's own resources and capabilities, as well as the future objectives set by President Ben Wang for the company. The focus was put on the development strategy Beyondsoft should choose in the next 3-5 years, given its actual external business environment and internal business conditions. This case is an extension of case (A), focusing on the strategic path of Beyondsoft during 2010-2011, the market environment at the new historical moment faced by the company in early 2012, when Beyondsoft did its IPO, including the situations of major competitors and Beyondsoft's own resources and capabilities, as well as its business adjustments and future objectives designed by Ben Wang and his top management team.
With the rapid growth of China's economy and China's increasing integration into the global economy in the past two decades, China's leisure clothing and garment enterprises achieved a rapid rise and became an important competitive force confronting the foreign brands in the Chinese market. Zhejiang Semir Garment Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Semir Group") was founded in 1996 and currently owns two brands ("Semir", targeted at 16-25 year olds, providing affordable casual clothing featuring "fashion and vitality"; Balabala, providing children's clothing, targeted at 3-12 year-old children in better-off families). Both brands occupy a leading position in the Chinese market. However, with the intensified market competition and changes of cost elements and new sales channels, Semir Group faces new challenges.
As an extension of UFIDA (A-E), UFIDA (F) using early 2012 as the time node, looks at UFIDA's major steps taken during 2010-2011, accomplishments, and major future opportunities and challenges. The case focuses on the new market development of Cloud Computing and the Management Software Industry. Cloud computing provides both strategic opportunities and poses tremendous challenges. It combined a technology revolution with necessary change in business models. In its movement to embrace cloud computing, the company had adopted a strategy of actively embracing transformation, and boosting core competiveness through efficiency-based high-growth. Today, UFIDA's core strategy has shifted from being the leading accounting software vendor in China to becoming the largest management software vendor in Asia and eventually a world-class cloud service provider.
ChemChina is China's largest basic chemical manufacturing firm. It was included in Fortune Global 500 in 2011 and 2012, ranked No. 475 and 402. Its sales revenue in 2011 was 179 billion yuan, and profit was 600 million yuan. The year-end total assets were 254.2 billion yuan. The major products of ChemChina are basic chemicals, new chemical materials, oil processing & refining products, agrochemicals, rubber products, and chemical equipment. The company has 106 subordinate enterprises. Its production and R&D bases are located in 140 countries and regions all over the world. Looking retrospectively, ChemChina has been a rapidly growing enterprise and is one of a small number of Chinese enterprises founded after the economic reform and rapidly growing to enter the Fortune Global 500 in 20 years. The development history of ChemChina from nothing to a world giant as well as its strategic measures taken during the process are both characterized by the unique features of itself and deeply stamped with those of the era, reflecting the constantly changing environment faced by the Chinese enterprises in the economic transition years and the strategic movements taken creatively by the Chinese local enterprises to adapt to the environment. Unquestionably, ChemChina is a representative of "big but less strong" companies, lagging far behind the world leading chemical giants in terms of technology and management. Nevertheless, its historical development to become a Fortune Global 500 giant and a leading chemical enterprise in China in less than 30 years is sufficient to motivate us to study its unique history, current reality and future. Today, ChemChina confronts the tasks of internal integration and dealing with financial stringency. New opportunities exist, particularly as Blackstone has became a strategic partner of BlueStar.
Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co. is a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) that manufactures cast pipe products and steel products. The company had grown to become a dominant player in the ductile iron pipe industry, holding more than 40% domestic market share and nearly 20% global market share. Historically, Xinxing Pipes' management control system was based on standard costs. This system worked well until the global financial crisis in 2008 where market demand for steel declined rapidly, resulting in intense price fluctuations in both upstream and downstream. The existing management control system failed to respond in a rapid and efficient manner. As a result, Xinxing Pipes reformed its management control system. The reform was based upon two core ideas: (1) keep close watch on the market, increase communication among departments, take coordinated actions, and respond quickly to external market changes; (2) transform the production divisions' cost-centered model into a profit-centered model." These two guiding ideas gave birth to the "Production-Supply-Sales Rapid Linkage" and the "Simulated Legal Entities".
In 2001, CSCEC, the largest residential building constructor in China, greeted its new General Manager, Wenjie Sun, who was the President of China Overseas, a Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of CSCEC. In the following 9 years, Sun strived to advance the transformation and development of CSCEC, making it a highly competitive company from one of bureaucratic in nature, listed in Shanghai Exchange of Share A, and enter the echelon of Fortune 500. In 2010, Sun retired at the age of 64, and Jun Yi, Sun's close associate, took over the top position. Immediately after Yi's succession, he made all efforts to push the transformation and development of CSCEC in a new era. Yi embraced the hope that CSCEC would be further upgraded in the following 5 or 10 years in his tenure. He started to make adjustments in regard to the corporation's strategic goals and developing path, its business structure and mix, its business models, internal management controls, etc. CSCEC's own operation conditions had changed greatly compared to that 10 years ago, so did its external business environment. Faced with these circumstances, Yi was pondering over such questions: Were the series of strategic measures taken by CSCEC appropriate? What new measures should be taken in the next step?
Juner New Materials (Juner) is a private China-based company that develops, produces, and distributes modified plastic compounds. Founded in 1995 by female serial entrepreneur Xiaomin Chen, Juner has exhibited strong performance and growth potential in the past fifteen years. The company currently has a workforce of more than 300 employees and is an icon of high-technology ventures in Zhejiang province. As Juner strives to become the leader in China's modified plastics industry, the company presently faces scalability challenges primarily limited by financing constraints. Recently, with two major competitors having raised additional capital through their respective public offerings, Juner has reacted to these market changes. Since competition was aggressively dedicating new resources toward production and service capacity expansion, by June 2010 it was apparent that external funding was imperative for extending and sustaining Juner's competitive edge. Upon several discussions, Chen and the board of Juner concluded that it was opportune to take Juner public. The decision to go public has led to the discussion of several issues: (1) the choice of stock exchange, (2) the "justified" valuation based upon Juner's fundamentals and respective comparables, and (3) the methods Juner would adopt to maintain its growth rate and exceed investor expectations before and after the IPO.
In 2004, China's largest management software provider UFIDA began internationalization. In the subsequent 6 years, UFIDA entered Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Thailand, Vietnam and other overseas Asian markets. Nonetheless, UFIDA's overseas business footprint was still very limited, with overseas revenue only accounting for 0.43% of UFIDA's total sales in 2009. In the later part of 2009, UFIDA outlined their new Three-Year Plan for 2010-2012. In this Plan, internationalization was a focal point of the UFIDA strategy. In the coming 3 years, UFIDA would drastically increase the proportion of revenues from overseas sales, reaching 10% within 5 years, and 25% within 10 years. This case study highlights UFIDA's launch of their 2010–2012 internationalization strategy.
This case describes the financing decisions of a software company at difference stages of its development. Started from 1988 as an individual business, along with the "Reform and Open" policy of China, the firm has experienced tremendous growth, and has become a leading publicly listed software company with a more than 2.3 billion RMB revenue from principal business product sales as of 2009. The students are required to assess the capital requirement necessary to support the firm growth and the feasible financing tools available at each stage, and evaluate the firm financing decision. The students need to give an estimate of the stock price at the time the case is taught. Identifying a long term strategic investment plan becomes a key consideration in structuring the firm's next-round financing to achieve the goal of 10 billion RMB business revenue set by the CEO of the firm.
This case documents the evolution of UFIDA's management control system over a decade as it grew five-fold from a 325 million RMB to a 1.66 billion RMB company, while its staff grew by more than three-fold.
This case highlights the leadership, cultural and organizational structure dimensions of UFIDA. The case begins with Founder/Chairman Wang Wenjing's rags-to-riches story. Then UFIDA's senior and middle management of different backgrounds talk about their leader, Chairman Wang Wenjing. They voice their opinions on Wang Wenjing's leadership style, UFIDA's corporate culture and vision. This case complements the UFIDA (A) case which looks at the organization as a whole, while the (B) case focuses on the people and their values. From different angles, students can feel Chairman Wang Wenjing's management style and his personal impact on UFIDA. The company, over 20 years, has been a successful management software provider in China (its biggest domestic provider.) At the core, the key question is, "Can Chairman Wang Wenjing's leadership style, UFIDA's culture 2.0 and organizational structure, together sustain UFIDA's future growth and goal accomplishment?"
The five-case UFIDA series is about China's largest supplier of management/ERP software, its 20-year evolution, and current strategic challenges. The (A) case is the cornerstone of the series. It introduces the company's history, strategic turning points, current market position and competition. It is a standalone case that may be used in a strategy course. It may also be used to highlight the interaction between strategic competitors within an industry. In this situation, subsequent classes would be devoted to the Kingdee and Beyondsoft cases. It may be paired with the UFIDA (B) case to add a focus on people and their values. It may be used in an accounting and control course, paired with the UFIDA (C) case, to illustrate the evolution of planning and budgeting systems. It may be used in a finance course, accompanied by the UFIDA (D) case, which highlights the critical role of capital markets and finance in a growing company. Finally, it can be used in an international course with the UFIDA (E) case to focus on the special international expansion issues of a Chinese firm.
In the past two decades, along with China's rapidly growing economy and its integration into the world economic system, the Chinese software outsourcing industry has also risen from zero to being fairly significant in the world IT market. It is currently growing much faster than the world market. Beyondsoft Co. Ltd., established in 1995, is a leading company in China's software outsourcing industry. This case poses challenges for future development, post the world financial turmoil of 2008-2009.
Founder Group's Chairman of the Board, Wei Xin, made adjustments to the company portfolio in 2010. Established in the mid-1980s, Founder is the industry leader for Chinese laser typesetting systems and was once the second largest PC manufacturer in China. It is also the largest university-based enterprise in China. After twenty years of development, Founder has achieved annual revenue of 47.5 billion RMB, with business in IT hardware and software, pharmaceuticals, medical care, finance, real estate, steel, trade, education, mining, fine chemicals, storage, etc. It has undergone highly unrelated diversification. Chair of the Board, Wei Xin, wants to ensure Founder's sustained growth. To this end, he must consider Founder's portfolio structure for the future.
Founder Group's Chairman of the Board, Wei Xin, made adjustments to the company portfolio in 2010. Established in the mid-1980s, Founder is the industry leader for Chinese laser typesetting systems and was once the second largest PC manufacturer in China. It is also the largest university-based enterprise in China. After twenty years of development, Founder has achieved annual revenue of 47.5 billion RMB, with business in IT hardware and software, pharmaceuticals, medical care, finance, real estate, steel, trade, education, mining, fine chemicals, storage, etc. It has undergone highly unrelated diversification. Chair of the Board, Wei Xin, wants to ensure Founder's sustained growth. To this end, he must consider Founder's portfolio structure for the future.
Haidilao Hot Pot brings customers delightful dining experiences. Like most restaurants, its workforce is mostly composed of young employees born in underdeveloped suburban areas. Instilled with the founder's unique entrepreneurial values, they are enthused and motivated to deliver extraordinary service to customers creatively. This case depicts the founder's entrepreneurial experience, his values and reveals Haidilao's unique employee management style. The structural change initiated in 2010 and information on Haidilao's competitor—The Little Sheep Group—is also introduced to provoke student discussion and comparison.
Haidilao Hot Pot brings customers delightful dining experiences. Like most restaurants, its workforce is mostly composed of young employees born in underdeveloped suburban areas. Instilled with the founder's unique entrepreneurial values, they are enthused and motivated to deliver extraordinary service to customers creatively. This case depicts the founder's entrepreneurial experience, his values and reveals Haidilao's unique employee management style. The structural change initiated in 2010 and information on Haidilao's competitor—The Little Sheep Group—is also introduced to provoke student discussion and comparison.
This case depicts China Merchants Bank's second strategic transformation. In the 90's, China Merchants Bank creatively introduced an all-in-one-card and an all-in-one-net based on IT systems and network, enabling itself to expand nationwide. By successfully entering the emerging credit card industry, the bank confirmed its retail banking strategy in 2004, followed by its great success in occupying 1/3 credit card market share. The market share-driven strategy didn't last forever. Recognizing business environment changes, the company changed its strategy focus to profit-driven in 2009. It's the second time that information technology enables business success.
In 2001, CSCEC, the largest residential building constructor in China, greeted its new General Manager, Wenjie Sun, who was the President of China Overseas, a Hong Kong-listed subsidiary of CSCEC. In the following 9 years, Sun strived to advance the transformation and development of CSCEC, making it a highly competitive company from one of bureaucratic in nature, listed in Shanghai Exchange of Share A, and enter the echelon of Fortune 500. In 2010, Sun retired at the age of 64, and Jun Yi, Sun's close associate, took over the top position. Immediately after Yi's succession, he made all efforts to push the transformation and development of CSCEC in a new era. Yi embraced the hope that CSCEC would be further upgraded in the following 5 or 10 years in his tenure. He started to make adjustments in regard to the corporation's strategic goals and developing path, its business structure and mix, its business models, internal management controls, etc. CSCEC's own operation conditions had changed greatly compared to that 10 years ago, so did its external business environment. Faced with these circumstances, Yi was pondering over such questions: Were the series of strategic measures taken by CSCEC appropriate? What new measures should be taken in the next step?
This case depicts China Merchants Bank's second strategic transformation. In the 90's, China Merchants Bank creatively introduced an all-in-one-card and an all-in-one-net based on IT systems and network, enabling itself to expand nationwide. By successfully entering the emerging credit card industry, the bank confirmed its retail banking strategy in 2004, followed by its great success in occupying 1/3 credit card market share. The market share-driven strategy didn't last forever. Recognizing business environment changes, the company changed its strategy focus to profit-driven in 2009. It's the second time that information technology enables business success.
Xinxing Ductile Iron Pipes Co. is a Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) that manufactures cast pipe products and steel products. The company had grown to become a dominant player in the ductile iron pipe industry, holding more than 40% domestic market share and nearly 20% global market share. Historically, Xinxing Pipes' management control system was based on standard costs. This system worked well until the global financial crisis in 2008 where market demand for steel declined rapidly, resulting in intense price fluctuations in both upstream and downstream. The existing management control system failed to respond in a rapid and efficient manner. As a result, Xinxing Pipes reformed its management control system. The reform was based upon two core ideas: (1) keep close watch on the market, increase communication among departments, take coordinated actions, and respond quickly to external market changes; (2) transform the production divisions' cost-centered model into a profit-centered model. These two guiding ideas gave birth to the "Production-Supply-Sales Rapid Linkage" and the "Simulated Legal Entities".
The Telemonitoring at Visiting Nurse Health System case presents one home healthcare organization's efforts to use telemonitoring to improve the quality of care provided to at-risk patients who were discharged from hospitals and needed home care. After two years of using the Health Buddy system for telemonitoring at-risk patients, Mark Oshnock, President of Visiting Nurse Health System (VNHS) must decide whether to invest in buying more Health Buddy units. While Oshnock believed that there were real benefits associated with telemonitoring, he was having difficulty quantifying those benefits and he was concerned about VNHS' ability to continue investing resources in telemonitoring given the realities of the health care reimbursement environment in which they operated. While several studies had demonstrated the benefits of telemonitoring, Oshnock felt that the long-term benefits accruing to the health system as a whole were not immediately quantifiable or visible to the hospitals and insurance companies. Without external support for the telemonitoring initiative from insurance companies, it would be difficult for VNHS to keep up the momentum and ramp up telemonitoring through additional purchases of Health Buddy units. From a purely financial standpoint, such an investment would be very difficult for VNHS to justify. The irony was that with the new regulatory pressures and increased focus on preventative healthcare, telemonitoring pointed to an effective tool in managing and reducing acute care hospitalizations. However, balancing these benefits against limited financial support from other key players in the health care system would be challenging.
Richard G. Hamermesh, F. Warren McFarlan, Mark Keil, Andrew Katz, Michael Morgan and David LaBorde
The Computerized Provider Order Entry at Emory Healthcare case presents one hospital system's efforts to implement computerized provider order entry (CPOE) across all of its hospitals and the challenges they faced in doing so. Issues such as standardization of care, how to handle medication reconciliation, and unexpected challenges (e.g., changes to the post-op ordering process, lack of a human gatekeeper to monitor order flow, increase in lab orders). Dr. Bill Bornstein, Chief Quality and Medical Officer of Emory Healthcare in Atlanta is responsible for the smooth implementation of CPOE at Emory Healthcare, which is a vital part of their $50 million electronic medical record initiative. By June 2009, CPOE had gone "live" at Emory University Orthopaedics and Spine Hospital, Emory University Hospital, and Wesley Woods Hospital in a staged rollout. While Dr. Bornstein felt good about how the implementation had gone thus far, as he looked ahead next month to July 13, 2009, the fast approaching go-live date for Emory University Hospital Midtown (EUHM), he was concerned about the challenges and possible perils that lay ahead. He considered what additional actions he should take to prepare for go-live at Midtown, and if Midtown was ready for CPOE at all. One thing was certain; this hospital was different. The Computerized Provider Order Entry at Emory Healthcare case presents one hospital system's efforts to grapple with the challenges of implementing CPOE and the reactions that result. Issues such as how to deal with a workforce that has mixed views about the value of implementing such systems, the pros and cons associated with standardization of care, as well as how to deal with unexpected changes to work processes are brought out in the case. The case also allows for discussion of how to plan a phased implementation with adequate time for organizational learning to occur between the time that various sites "go live."
Kirby, William C., and F. Warren McFarlan. "China Mobile's Rural Communications Strategy (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 311-060, September 2010.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "HNA Group: Moving China's Air Transport Industry in a New Direction (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 311-059, September 2010.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "A Chinese Start-up's Midlife Crisis: 99Sushe.com (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 311-058, September 2010.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "The Challenges of Launching a Start-Up in China: Dorm99.com (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 311-057, September 2010.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Digital China Holdings Limited: Managing the Transition from a Product-oriented to a Service-oriented Company (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 311-053, September 2010.
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Abrami, Regina M., William C. Kirby, and F. Warren McFarlan. "China Netcom: Corporate Governance in China (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 311-018, July 2010.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Xi'an International University: The Growth of Private Universities in China (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 310-109, March 2010.
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Abrami, Regina M., William C. Kirby, and F. Warren McFarlan. "Sealed Air China (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 310-088, February 2010.
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Abrami, Regina M., William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, and Keith Chi-ho Wong. "Wanxiang Group: A Chinese Company's Global Strategy (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 310-089, February 2010.
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China Mobile was the world's leading mobile communications service provider with over 400 million customers. In some cities, its penetration rate was over 100%. With such huge successes, Chairman Wang Jianzhou was exploring ways to expand its customer base. Nearly saturated in the cities, China Mobile needed to broaden its base of subscribers. Wang believed that further investment in China's rural villages was a key strategy that would help the fuel growth for the future. Already deeply invested in the rural areas based on the company's participation in the government-mandated "Connect Every Village" project, China Mobile took advantage of this foundation and created new products and value-added services in order to make its mobile phone network more valuable to the lifestyles of China's rural population. However, the cost of connecting remote locations was high and was often not offset by subscriber fees or usage rates of these populations. Would this investment be relegated to a socially responsible project or would it pay off for China Mobile in the future?
McFarlan, F. Warren. "Inner Mongolia Yili Group: China's Pioneering Dairy Brand (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 310-051, October 2009.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Esquel Group: Integrating Business Strategy and Corporate Social Responsibility (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 310-050, October 2009.
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This case focuses on the growth of an innovative non-profit institution that motivates aboriginal children to attend school by harnessing their love of football.
Now into their third year at the helm of an Internet start-up in China, Ken Pao and Bill Li were managing a totally different company (with a new name) from the one they first founded in 2006. Having changed their business model from a social networking site to an online gaming business came with new challenges. They hired almost an entirely new staff, cultivated new partnerships, and most urgently sought new funding. However, with three years of experience, they were no longer a "start-up" and now faced the ramifications of mid-life. What would it take to remain a viable competitor in China in a new industry?
Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Tracy Yuen Manty
Setting up the goal to become one of the top 20 enterprises in the world dairy industry by 2010, the Inner Mongolia Yili Group had ambitious plans. As one of China's biggest national dairy companies, its main challenge was competing as a local company against joint-venture rivals who benefited from perks granted to "foreign" companies. To set itself apart, Yili focused on research and development and innovative ways to improve the industry. Proving that it could shift industry standards and lead a country not accustomed to dairy consumption, to a point where demand is outpacing supply, the Yili Group is making its mark to go global. As an Official Sponsor of the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and the Official dairy supplier of the games, it is betting that the brand can go further beyond China. Will the day that tykes from Topeka have a bottle of Yili milk in their hands be coming soon?
Regina Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Tracy Yuen Manty
With a 10-year history of doing business in China, Sealed Air was now betting on the country to help propel its growth as a global company. The company identified China as one of the initial investments in the company's Global Manufacturing Strategy that aimed to create efficiencies in its operations across the globe. As Sealed Air's new Shanghai plant starts production in 2008, will its almost $50 million investment pay off? Is 10 years of experience in China enough to know how China works?
Abrami, Regina, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, and Tracy Yuen Manty. "Sealed Air China." Harvard Business School Case 308-051, February 2008. (Revised December 2011.)
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This note introduces the current corporate governance system in China, identifies its key problems and assesses recent improvements and future challenges.
China is ranked the world's second largest consumer of energy. This note provides background on China's energy industry and provides details on China's leading state-owned energy companies, production and consumption statistics, and government policies in support of the industry domestically and internationally. In addition, we provide details on the leading sources of energy in China as well as information on the rise of alternative energy.
McFarlan, F. Warren, George Baroutas, and Tracy Manty. "China's Energy Industry." Harvard Business School Background Note 309-057, December 2008. (Revised April 2009.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren, Mark Keil, John Hupp, and Deborah Soule. "The AtekPC Project Management Office (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 809-077, November 2008.
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HNA Group, the parent company of Hainan Airlines, was positioning itself to go global and make a mark for itself as the largest private airline in China. Positioned squarely behind the "Big Three" state-owned carriers, Hainan Airlines sought to create a world-class business. Following modern management practices, keeping sharp attention to cost control and capital operations, making aggressive entries into international markets, and maintaining a special corporate culture, Chairman Chen Feng was confident these factors were the engine that would drive HNA's continued growth.
Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Keith Chi-ho Wong and Tracy Manty
With an almost forty-year history as a business in China, the Wanxiang Group has navigated through the significantly different political and economic changes in China to succeed as a global leader in the auto parts industry and to develop into a broad business conglomerate. Beginning in 1994, when it first began its operations in the United States, Wanxiang started to expand its role as a parts supplier into a discerning acquirer of distressed companies in the U.S. While it saw acquisition as an exciting means for growth, company strategy at its Hangzhou, China headquarters also included vertical integration with a goal of developing a full-on electric car. Were these two goals divergent or complementary: mutually supportive or exclusive?
Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan and Tracy Yuen Manty
Supplements the A case [308027]. With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market and New York stock Exchange, state-owned enterprise, China Netcom was mandated to meet the listing requirements of these exchanges. From this initial step, China Netcom's Chairman, Zhang Chunjiang, began a program that sought to further develop the company's corporate governance practices to meet international corporate governance standards. The company hoped that its commitment in developing a globally-accepted governance structure would help the capital markets and potential investors understand that the company was true, modern corporation, even with the state as a majority owner.
This case provides an overview of the entrepreneurial leadership taken by the government of India's Andhra Pradesh state in promoting the IT sector and using it to improve the status of the state's economic position in the early years of the third millennium.
Focuses on the experience of China's largest shirt manufacturer in managing various aspects of government relations in China. Identifies a wide variety of social initiatives it has undertaken.
After graduating from Harvard Business School in June 2006, Ken Pao and Bill Li were ready to fully commit to the Internet start-up they had been working on since they first stepped foot on the business school campus. They moved to Beijing, rounded out their management team, received venture capital investment, developed joint-venture partnerships, and set key milestones to create a full-impact product launch for their social networking Web site catering to the college market. On the day of their launch, they faced a setback from China's Ministry of Education and were forced back to square one. Discusses the pluses and minuses of partnering with China's government ministries, the highs and lows of entrepreneurship, and the numerous opportunities available to entrepreneurship in China today.
Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Ning Xiangdong and Tracy Manty
With its dual listings on the Hong Kong stock market and New York Stock Exchange, state-owned enterprise, China Netcom was mandated to meet the listing requirements of these exchanges. From this initial step, China Netcom's Chairman, Zhang Chunjiang, began a program that sought to further develop the company's corporate governance practices to meet international corporate governance standards. The company hoped that its commitment in developing a globally-accepted governance structure would help the capital markets and potential investors understand that the company was a true, modern corporation, even with the state as a majority owner.
Examines the type of security that is appropriate for an Internet company to have on its site. Focuses on a 20-person electronic e-commerce company trying to decide what parts of the information security product line they should acquire from the largest security service company in Japan, Secom. The services include everything from server hosting, advanced housing, firewall intrusion detection, etc. Introduces the wide range of products that can be used to ensure secure operations.
Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Luc R. Wathieu, Gao Wang, Fei Li and Tracy Manty
Fiyta had long been on of China's foremost watch brands. However, as China's economy began to improve and the livelihood of many Chinese rose with it, their tastes began to change. Exposed to more luxurious foreign brands, many Chinese strived to purchase a Swiss or Japanese watch. How could Fiyta build up its brand image to a more sophisticated Chinese consumer? What marketing activities should it undertake to reinvigorate its brand? Is it meeting the needs of all segments of Chinese consumers? Should it?
Abrami, Regina M., William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Luc R. Wathieu, Gao Wang, Fei Li, and Tracy Manty. "Fiyta - The Case of a Chinese Watch Company." Harvard Business School Case 308-025, August 2007. (Revised March 2008.)
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Regina M. Abrami, William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Gao Wang, Fei Li, Tracy Manty and Waishun Lo
After 20 years of expansion, Gome Electronics has become China's largest consumer electronics retailer. It has opened stores in almost every province in China, acquired some of its competitors, and went public in Hong Kong. However, it has begun to experience a slowdown in growth as sales per-square-meter have declined. The company is now being challenged to develop new ideas for growth, including experimenting with its product mix, renegotiating its relationships with suppliers, and developing new business models to maximize profitability.
Abrami, Regina M., William C. Kirby, F. Warren McFarlan, Gao Wang, Fei Li, Tracy Manty, and Waishun Lo. "Gome Electronics: Evolving the Business Model." Harvard Business School Case 308-026, August 2007. (Revised February 2008.)
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Digital China is the largest Chinese independent systems integrator (IBM and HP are larger). Describes their history and their current strategy and invites the student to advise them as to how they should continue to grow in the future. This is the closest China currently has to Infosys and their 7,700-person company is a very interesting, and today, a largely unknown organization outside of China.
Describes the history of clinical computing at Boston's Beth Israel Hospital and the development, since the 1996 merger to form the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, of an information system designed to support the delivery of patient care. The hospitals' CIO, John Halamka, MD, has overseen the development of an information system that places physicians at its center. Describes the design and function of five major components of the system: the On-Line Medical Record, ePrescribing, Physician Order Entry, the Emergency Department "dashboard," and the Performance Manager. Provides students with an opportunity to identify key design principles for health care information systems, and to discuss the unique implementation challenges that the health care delivery setting raises for CIOs and CEOs.
Presents one company's efforts to implement a project management organization, or PMO, and the challenges they faced in doing so. Issues brought out in the case include defining the PMO's purpose and mission, the structure and governance of the PMO, and how to successfully implement it in what appears to be a resistant culture. John Strider, AtekPC's chief information officer (CIO), had strong convictions that the PMO-light model was the way to go. He had held back on hiring fill time employees for the PMO and was moving very slowly and cautiously so as not to violate AtekPC's culture. He was also concerned about the many issues that the PMO implementation had already raised. Were small steps building on small successes going to get the job done fast enough? With the ever increasing challenge of successfully managing information technology (IT), organizations are recognizing the need for greater discipline in managing IT projects. For many organizations, this has meant ratcheting up project management skills, processes, and governance structures within the organization by implementing a project management office (PMO). Unfortunately, there is little shared understanding of the challenges of implementing a PMO. Therefore, managers and their organizations have inadequate guidance to help them identify and overcome the obstacles they are likely to encounter.
Describes the opportunities and strategy facing one of the most innovative global supply-chain companies, and the strategy it has chosen to deal with the expanding demand for its services. Li & Fung links thousands of factories in India, China, and elsewhere to nearly a thousand large retailers, primarily in the U.S. and Europe. It basically does the supply-chain job faster and more accurately with the aid of a sophisticated information system than anyone else.
McFarlan, F. Warren, William C. Kirby, and Tracy Manty. "Li & Fung 2006." Harvard Business School Case 307-077, February 2007. (Revised May 2007.)
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F. Warren McFarlan, GuoQing Chen, HengYuan Zhu, Bin Yang, Michael Shih-ta Chen, G.A. Donovan, Waishun Lo and Yan Yang
Founded in 1987, China Merchants Bank (CMB) is a pioneer in the use of technical innovation and IT as a competitive tool in the rapidly evolving Chinese banking sector. With a relatively small branch network when compared to its larger competitors, CMB uses an IT-driven strategy to introduce an "all-in-one" card, which integrates a suite of financial products to drive its personal banking business enabling CMB to be ranked 6th among China's commercial banks and 2nd among the other national commercial banks in terms of total assets as of June 2006. Underlying its excellence in personal banking is CMB's leadership in developing its credit card business. By April 2006, CMB had issued a total of over 5 million credit cards, capturing one-third of the Chinese credit card market. In September 2006, CMB's IPO in Hong Kong fetched about $2.4 billion and, given deregulation in the banking sector in China, CMB's President was presented with new challenges and opportunities concerning how such funds should be productively allocated to ensure CMB's competitiveness.
McFarlan, F. Warren, GuoQing Chen, HengYuan Zhu, Bin Yang, Michael Shih-ta Chen, G.A. Donovan, Waishun Lo, and Yan Yang. "China Merchants Bank: Here Just For You." Harvard Business School Case 307-081, December 2006. (Revised February 2009.)
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Kendall Square Research was a small competitor in the supercomputer industry. Sales grew rapidly in 1992 and early 1993 and the company sold stock to the public for the first time. Analysts forecast higher earnings for 1993, then the company's revenue recognition practices were questioned and the answers were devastating.
Provides a brief background on the history of credit agencies in the United States. Focuses on the mature process of data collection on an American consumer and how credit agencies share the information to determine proper credit risk and worthiness of a consumer. The American system as defined in this note can be contrasted against the lack of developed systems in burgeoning economies and help to better understand the capital markets of society.
Explores the various aspects of information technology that can be outsourced. Cathay Pacific outsourced a significant part of its vital operations from Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia.
Dana Hall is a private all-girls school in New England facing a crisis in its mission. As social norms shift away from single-sex education, the school's enrollment is falling and deficits are becoming the norm. At the same time, the modern vision for girls' education requires an even greater investment in science and sports--at a time when Dana Hall's resources are lower than ever before. Can the school stay true to its mission? How will it find the funding? Through the story of Blair Jenkins, head of school, this case examines the difficult mission and funding decisions facing many nonprofit organizations.
McFarlan, F. Warren, Herman B. Leonard, and Melissa Tritter. "Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 306-100, June 2006. (Revised January 2007.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren, Herman B. Leonard, and Melissa Tritter. "Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 306-106, June 2006. (Revised January 2007.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Otis Elevator: Accelerating Business Transformation with IT (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 306-086, February 2006. (Revised December 2006.)
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Provides an overview of capital markets in mainland China, evaluating the up-to-date performance of key components of the markets, highlighting concerns as China strives to modernize its financial system to meet global competition and support its fast growing economy.
Kimbrough, Michael D., and F. Warren McFarlan. "Restating Revenues and Earnings at INVESTools Inc. (TN) (A), (B),(C) and (D)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 106-066, March 2006.
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Relates the events leading up to the announcement in February 2005 that INVESTools, a Utah-based provider of investor education services, would be restating prior-year financial statements due to inappropriate revenue recognition.
Describes the current status of IT applications at the second largest container shipping company in the world: China-based COSCO. Describes the challenges the company has faced in dealing with its development and shows a series of organizational and application challenges it must select from in the future. Shows the growing IT sophistication of large, state-owned enterprises in China.
McFarlan, F. Warren. "Enabling Business Strategy with IT at the World Bank (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 306-006, July 2005.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "UCB: Managing Information for Globalization and Innovation (A)(TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 306-007, July 2005.
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CEO Ari Bousbib talks about how IT is transforming Otis and the practical challenges they are overcoming. Visibly demonstrates what appropriate CEO involvement is in an IT-enabled business transformation.
Illustrates the challenges associated with centralizing IT decisions at Cisco after a decade of decentralized planning and project funding. When Brad Boston became Cisco's new CIO in 2001, he found that managers were starting to get frustrated with the results of their latest IT initiatives. Boston believed that Cisco needed to focus on its global infrastructure before investing in more functional tools and applications. Under the leadership of Boston and an executive operating committee, Cisco selected three major enterprise projects that required an unprecedented level of process planning and cross-functional cooperation, a major change from Cisco's legacy of entrepreneurial drive. As these three projects started to wind down in 2004, Boston and the operating committee were thinking about what types of new projects the IT organization should support. Raises issues about change management, centralized planning, IT prioritization and resource allocation, enterprise cooperation, and project funding.
McAfee, Andrew P., F. Warren McFarlan, and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld. "Enterprise IT at Cisco (2004)." Harvard Business School Case 605-015, September 2004. (Revised August 2007.)
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A major enterprise software company must select which technologies to support, based on their long-term and short-term viability and benefits. The protagonist is involved in the release of the B2B integration component of major enterprise software whose purpose is to facilitate communication between users and their business partners. To enable standardized, automated data exchange between business partners, the e-business component release must provide support for one or more e-business standards. Time and resource constraints, however, demand that the company support only one e-business standard in the first release. The protagonist must decide which e-business standard to support: ebXML or RosettaNet.
F. Warren McFarlan, Andrew P. McAfee, Thomas R. Eisenmann and Masako Egawa
Rakuten, a native Japanese, e-commerce start-up and highly successful company, is expanding into new categories and new countries. It must figure out how to continue its trajectory of growth and profitability. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
McFarlan, F. Warren, Andrew P. McAfee, Thomas R. Eisenmann, and Masako Egawa. "Rakuten." Harvard Business School Case 305-050, October 2004. (Revised December 2005.)
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Focuses on a major transformation of Otis Elevator's infrastructure. Led by the CEO, this transformation represents a remarkable long-term reengineering of all the processes of the firm to drive its operating costs down and service image up. The transformation is the continuation of a process that has been going on for more than 20 years.
Discusses the IT organization and IT strategy issues facing Pfizer, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. Managing over $1 billion of IT expense, the company has a committee approach for handling all critical IT decisions, an approach that is consistent with the internal culture of Pfizer in other aspects.
A medium-size European manufacturer of pharmaceuticals and chemicals faces a number of information strategy issues. The case focuses on the issues of coordinating international IT activities and day-to-day operations as well as balancing the company's IT applications portfolio. To encourage discussion of the appropriate role and background of a CIO.
Describes the circumstances leading to the three-and-a-half-day collapse of a major hospital group's IS capabilities. Identifies the technical reasons for the failure, management steps in dealing with the problem short term, and the long-term lessons they believe they learned from the incident.
This case presents a complex total MIS strategy case for a $3 billion European pharmaceutical/chemicals company based in Brussels. It covers corporate strategy alignment of IT portfolio, IT operations issues, and global coordination of IT.
McFarlan, F. Warren, and Brian DeLacey. "UCB: Growth Strategy (B)." Harvard Business School Case 303-107, February 2003. (Revised August 2005.)
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World Bank IT provides services (communications, applications, video conferencing, knowledge sharing, distance learning, information sharing, client commerce, crisis management, etc.) on a global basis to the poorest countries in the globe via satellites. This case covers the bank's global business strategy transformation and the role that IT plays in enabling that vision. Covers strategy and implementation topics and conveys a sense of using IT to narrow the digital divide on a global scale while recapping the evolution of the bank's IT strategy and implementation from 1995 to 2003.
This case explores the various aspects of information technology that can be outsourced. Cathay Pacific outsourced a significant part of its vital operations from Hong Kong to Sydney, Australia.
Focuses on the current IT applications portfolio and plans for the world's second largest cruise line. An IT-intensive organization, it forces students to think through how IT resources should be allocated in this dynamic environment and what kind of management system is most appropriate.
Details the evolution of the Charles Schwab business model, from its founding in 1975 to October 2002. The protagonist, David Pottruck, is faced with re-inventing the firm as a full-service brokerage at a time of tremendous industry instability as the industry reels from the effects of deregulation, consolidation, global economic downturn, and investor lack of confidence.
Applegate, Lynda M., F. Warren McFarlan, and Jamie Ladge. "Charles Schwab in 2002." Harvard Business School Case 803-070, November 2002. (Revised May 2007.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Postgirot Bank and Provment AB: Managing the Cost of IT Operations, TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 303-050, August 2002. (Revised May 2005.)
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Kendall Square Research was a small competitor in the supercomputer industry. Sales grew rapidly in 1992 and early 1993, and the company sold stock to the public for the first time. Analysts forecasted higher earnings for 1993, then the company's revenue recognition practices were questioned and the answers were devastating.
McFarlan, F. Warren. "Tale of Two Airlines in the Network Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III is Alive and Well!, TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 303-004, July 2002.
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Describes an airline service incident that ought not to have happened in the network age. Inadequate use of available technology creates service problems. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
This case analyzes a complex ERP implementation that takes place in one of the leading companies in China. The issues are indistinguishable from those facing a U.S. organization.
Describes a specific approach for measuring the efficiency of the groups of computers inside an organization and suggests ways this tool may be used to reduce the company's computing investment while maintaining service. It is a software-enabled industrial engineering approach to delivery of computing resources. The evolution of this approach and the listing of its strengths and weaknesses is the key purpose for the class discussion.
LaGrange, GA was the first city in the world to offer free Internet access to citizens. The city manager and mayor must assess the project and decide whether to continue. This case chronicles the city's efforts to build a telecommunications infrastructure and offer broadband Internet access to its citizens. Students are presented with information concerning adoption and use of the system and must decide whether the project has been successful and whether further continuation is warranted.
McFarlan, F. Warren. "Li & Fung (A): Internet Issues (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 302-031, September 2001. (Revised May 2005.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren, Guoqing Chen, David Kiron, and Iris T. Li. "Shenzhen Stock Exchange." Harvard Business School Case 302-070, December 2001. (Revised June 2002.)
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Focuses on the IT challenges facing COSCO, one of the largest shipping companies in the world, as it deals with the Internet and modern information technology. The challenge is to understand what they are trying to do and understand the complexity of the task.
Designed to show how Cisco has taken its U.S.-based infrastructure and applied it to China. It is stunning in its impact as one notes how so much of what is being done in the United States in terms of the intranet has been transferred to China.
The challenges the largest Chinese electronic commerce company faces many challenges at the end of 2001. This case describes how it has completely reoriented its strategy in the past 12 months to become a B-to-B company. The key question is: Will it work and what should be done now?
Describes a complex software project that has run into difficulties. Students must decide whether to press forward, stop the project, or reconfigure it. Illustrates many of the similarities to challenges facing U.S. and Chinese companies in this difficult arena.
McFarlan, F. Warren. "H.E. Butt Grocery Company: The New Digital Strategy (A) and (B)TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 302-027, September 2001.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Cisco Systems Architecture: ERP and Web-enabled IT TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 302-030, September 2001.
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Merrill Lynch, a full-service brokerage firm with $1.5 trillion in client assets, is under attack from both discount and electronic brokerage firms. It responds with Integrated Choice, a suite of products designed to capture clients, from the do-it-yourself investor who doesn't want to use a broker to clients who want to rely completely on a broker. The strategy is high risk and requires a sea change in the company. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
This case looks at the issues facing a Hong Kong-based trading company, which links hundreds of factories in India and Asia with major customers like Gap and the Limited in Europe and in the United States. The company has recently launched a dot-com operation to allow its extraordinary network of factories in Asia to target much smaller retail chains in Asia and Europe than they were able to do before.
Shows how the company's IT priorities have moved from primary supply chain restructuring to e-commerce. Shows the new organization structure created by the company.
This case focuses on the strategic issues of an emerging dot-com in a rapidly emerging Internet nation-China. Alibaba, a bulletin board company based in Hangzhou, China, is trying to carve out a niche in the B-to-B e-commerce world. It also shows the speed and complexity of strategy evolution and the fascinating set of problems that a player in this new space must confront. Whether the company will ultimately survive or not is very much a question. The issues are surprisingly similar to those which confront companies in Western Europe and the United States.
McFarlan, F. Warren, Carin-Isabel Knoop, and David Lane. "Alibaba.com." Harvard Business School Case 301-047, November 2000. (Revised December 2001.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren, David Lane, and Carin-Isabel Knoop. "adM@rt (B)." Harvard Business School Case 301-083, December 2000. (Revised October 2001.)
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Describes the complex policy alternatives facing an online Hong Kong grocery company as it tries to apply Webvan-type concepts in the Hong Kong marketplace. Captures the extraordinary process of adaptation the company is going through as it tries to find the right features for the marketplace.
McFarlan, F. Warren, Carin-Isabel Knoop, and David Lane. "adM@rt(A)." Harvard Business School Case 301-046, October 2000. (Revised October 2001.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Charles Schwab Corporation (A) and (B) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 300-127, March 2000. (Revised September 2001.)
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"We have made significant progress in reshaping the group in the current cycle of change," announced the homepage of Jardine Matheson & Co.'s web site. Percy Weatherall, newly appointed managing director of the company, knew all too well about change. In his previous position as chief executive of Hongkong Land Holdings, a core Jardines holding, Weatherall had successfully navigated through the Asian economic crisis and the plummeting Hong Kong rents and asset values that ensued. But these changes paled in comparison to the challenge of devising an e-commerce strategy for Jardine Matheson, a group with an intricate imbroglio of minority interests and diverse subsidiary and associate companies employing over 160,000 people worldwide. From the 48th floor of Jardine House in Hong Kong, Weatherall and approximately 100 of his Jardine Matheson Ltd. colleagues provided leadership, direction, planning, budgeting, as well as financial resources to the decentralized subsidiary companies located around the world. The question at hand was how a 168-year-old multinational company with commercial interests in over 30 countries could move fast enough to stake its claim in the electronic domain.
David Pottruck, Co-CEO of Charles Schwab Corp., discusses the company's information technology and competitive strategy with an Executive Education (Program for Management Development) class at Harvard Business School, October 22, 1999.
McFarlan, F. Warren. "Providian Trust: Tradition and Technology (A) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 399-047, February 1999. (Revised September 2001.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Providian Trust: Tradition and Technology (B) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 399-089, March 1999. (Revised September 2001.)
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Catches the situation facing Charles Schwab Corp. in late August 1999 in the dramatically changing brokerage industry. Their bold moves in January 1998 have created a new industry competitive pattern and provoked aggressive response by companies like Merrill Lynch.
A look at the industrial restructuring in the brokerage industry made possible by e-commerce. Focuses the student's attention on the decision alternatives facing Charles Schwab, one of the industry leaders in January 1998. In a word, the challenge is "Do they slash prices to meet competition from companies like E-Trade or do they stand still?"
McFarlan, F. Warren. "H.E. Butt Grocery Company: A Leader in ECR Implementation (A) & (B) (Abridged) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 399-073, March 1999.
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The agricultural sector is among the preeminent information technology users in our economy," exclaimed an August 1998 Forbes ASAP survey of the U.S. economy's best and worst users of information technology (IT). The survey designated Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., the most successful user of IT in the agricultural sector. Pioneer, a leading supplier of seeds and agricultural genetics, was headquartered in the heart of North America's corn belt, Des Moines, Iowa. The information management (IM) team had successfully implemented support services for 5,000 employees and an international technical infrastructure connecting Pioneer's 93 research stations and 62 production locations around the world. In 1998, however, Tom Hanigan, vice president and director of IM, Tom Hanigan, faced the greatest challenge of his 22-year career with Pioneer. The company was engaged in a research race with major competitors. Pioneer was growing, transporting, packaging, and distributing an increasing number of seed varieties at unprecedented volumes. Its research, operations, and sales business units would have to work together in an integrated way to successfully perform large-scale ramp-ups of new products. Information management and business line professionals would have to work quickly and efficiently, and within clearly prescribed budgetary boundaries, to successfully implement new applications. In 1998, the success of the company's larger business strategy depended upon the effective implementation of major information technology projects.
In 1998,chief information officers (CIOs) in the highly competitive international gases and chemicals business faced the reality that electronic commerce capability was a strategic necessity. The results of annual surveys of technology officers in the chemical industry indicated a shift in priorities from the building of a corporation's internal infrastructure in 1995 to enabling the same infrastructure to connect with customers, suppliers, and partners in 1998. The CIOs cited computer-supported collaborative work, electronic commerce, and Internet systems as critical technologies in 1998, according to surveys conducted by Computer Sciences Corp. Most companies have completed in-house reengineering tasks and are ready to put new systems to work managing whole supply chains. The increasing strategic importance of electronic commerce commanded the attention of the senior executives of Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., an international corporation with headquarters in Trexlertown, PA. With sales of $4.6 billion in 1997, Air Products held the number two position in the gases industry in the United States, behind Praxair, and was the fourth largest provider in the worldwide market. Air Products Management Information Systems (MIS) Vice President Joe McMakin and his colleagues recognized the opportunity: they could improve service to customers by automating the buying, selling, and distribution of products, while simultaneously improving productivity and realizing cost savings. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
F. Warren McFarlan, Avnish S. Bajaj, Michael V. Kadyan, Devtosh K Khare and Suvir S Sujan
The increasing focus in the Western World on outsourcing has fueled the growth of the Indian software export industry. This note gives background on this phenomenen.
McFarlan, F. Warren, Avnish S. Bajaj, Michael V. Kadyan, Devtosh K Khare, and Suvir S Sujan. "The Indian Software Industry." Harvard Business School Background Note 398-164, June 1998.
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This case provides a realistic, current, and detailed view of software procurement in an international business environment where the competition in enterprise-wide software solutions is growing. Focuses on the selection of packaged software to serve multiple sites within the context of a multinational company. Describes the creation of an RFP and the selection of a software vendor. Two software proposals are presented.
H.E. Butt Grocery Co. led the grocery industry in adopting many innovations, including category management, electronic data interchange, and continuous replenishment. They have also moved aggressively and profitably into newer applications such as Scanner-based payment and basket analysis.
A major trust company attempts to implement a major software system while simultaneously reengineering business processes. Providian Trust, a previously non-IT intensive organization, must completely reposition its management of technology to deal with IT's new strategic role in the company. The case illustrates how the appropriate use of IT framework can illuminate risk and suggests appropriate courses of action.
Business Week's June 1997 "Rising Star" profile of Springs Industries' president and COO, Crandall Bowles, reported that she was poised to become one of the top two or three women executives in the country. In November 1997, the company announced Bowles' appointment to the position of CEO. A priority on her agenda was to hone in on the company's information systems (IS) strategy and determine both the breadth of expenditures and the pace of innovation necessary for coming years. Springs Industries, Inc.-a $2.2 billion textile company headquartered in South Carolina,-produces home furnishings under such well-known brand names as Wamsutta and Springmaid and major licenses such as Disney, Liz at Home, and Bill Blass. Springs' customers, mega-retailers such as Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Target, expected suppliers to keep inventories precisely tuned to consumers' purchasing trends. Many suppliers were developing sophisticated information technology (IT) systems for analyzing mega-retailers' point of sale (POS) data. To increase profitability, Springs had to quicken the pace of its application of new technology and sources of information to marketing, customer service, and inventory management. Bowles was navigating the 110-year old company through massive change as it entered a business environment where electronic commerce and marketing were key sources of competitive differentiation.
Southwire, based in Carrollton, GA, was the leading producer of aluminum and copper rod, wire, and cable for the transmission and distribution of electricity. In one decade, CEO Roy Richards, Jr. grew annual sales from $500 million in 1985 to $1.9 billion in 1995, an increase he attributed to increasing and streamlining production and total quality management practices. The company's customers included 135 of the major U.S. electric power companies. With only a 2% market growth rate in the United States, however, Southwire officers were looking beyond domestic soil to countries that were just beginning to build their infrastructures. In 1996, Richards was focused on the threat posed by large multinationals that were targeting the same promising territories. Richards knew that he would have to lead the 5,000 managers and employees through a series of changes to ensure the growth of the company. Their aim was to increase the 6% Non-U.S. revenue achieved in 1995, to 25% by the year 2005. Southwire had established a strong tradition in technological research and development with nearly 400 patents in 40 countries, covering subjects from metal processing to plastics formulation.
McFarlan, F. Warren, and Melissa Dailey. "Southwire: Beyond 2000." Harvard Business School Case 397-074, January 1997. (Revised June 1997.)
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Describes VeriFone's new organizational model and its role in catapulting VeriFone to a market leadership position. Examines the impact of information technology and information access on the ability to leverage global resources, market responsiveness, and organizational structure and behavior. (Shortened for ESL students.)
McFarlan, F. Warren. "Xerox: Outsourcing Global Information Technology Resources TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 196-086, February 1996. (Revised May 2002.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "General Dynamics and Computer Sciences Corporation: Outsourcing the IS Function Series TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 196-048, January 1996. (Revised September 2001.)
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Trinity College was an elite, private, liberal-arts college of some 1,800 students located in Hartford, CT. When Tom Gerety was chosen as Trinity's 17th president in 1989, he pledged to stay for ten years. Now less than five years at the job, Gerety announced he was resigning to become president at Amherst. For Alfred Koeppel, the chairman of Trinity's Board of Trustees, Gerety's decision could not have come at a worse time. The college was about to announce a $100 million capital campaign. Its number two position, the dean of the faculty, was vacant and Trinity's initiative to redevelop its urban neighborhood had just started. In addition to these difficulties, Gerety's defection to Amherst was doubly painful because Trinity considered Amherst a direct rival for students and reputation. This case discusses the development of Gerety and Koeppel's relationship, the unfinished business that Gerety leaves behind at the time of his resignation, the anger and feelings of betrayal on campus, and the search for interim and permanent president. Written from board chairman Koeppel's perspective and highlights the many roles and duties a board chairman might have to assume in a crisis.
In December of 1993, two of Boston's largest and best known hospitals, Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women's, announced that they were setting aside their historic rivalry to form an alliance and build a regional health network. The announcement set off a wave of merger talk throughout a Boston health care market that was carrying too many specialists, beds, and service providers. Like its peers, Mt. Auburn Hospital began a search for an alliance. The hospital had managed to thrive during the previous decade by restructuring its operations in response to the revolution in managed care. But in a health care environment potentially dominated by regional networks, the hospital's position as a mixture of community and teaching hospital had made it vulnerable. Mt. Auburn's board of trustees formed a special task force on alliances to solicit proposals and make a recommendation as to which (if any) organization would make for the best partner. The suitors that showed up at the task force's door represented nearly every type of player in the health care market. In February of 1996, the task force faced the daunting task of picking through the various alternatives.
McFarlan, F. Warren. "Tale of Two Airlines in the Information Age: Or Why the Spirit of King George III Is Alive and Well! TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 196-033, December 1995. (Revised September 2001.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Canadian Airlines: Reservations About Its Future (A) and (B) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 196-050, September 1995. (Revised March 1999.)
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Describes the industry context that has resulted in the development of efficient consumer response (ECR) within the grocery industry and its adoption by H.E. Butt Grocery Co.
McFarlan, F. Warren. "Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: Project ICON (D) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 196-032, December 1995. (Revised April 1997.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Procter & Gamble: Improving Consumer Value Through Process Design TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 396-083, October 1995.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "H.E. Butt Grocery Company: A Leader in ECR Implementation (Abridged) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 396-084, October 1995.
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Stoddard, Donna B., and F. Warren McFarlan. "VeriFone: The Transaction Automation Company (A) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 196-100, September 1995.
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Stoddard, Donna B., and F. Warren McFarlan. "FMC Corporation: Ground Systems Division TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 196-103, September 1995.
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A) and Project ICON (A), (Abridged) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 196-035, July 1995.
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American Airlines Describes has organized and developed their Systems Operation Control (SOC) center in Dallas, from which the day-to-day running of the airline takes place. This case details the decision support system used by the flight dispatchers, and the object-oriented tools and techniques used to develop it.
An introductory case in the construction of financial statements from basic financial transactions where inflation accounting is an issue. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Designed to generate discussion on the issues of outsourcing from the perspective of a firm thinking about turning over its IS activities to a third-party vendor.
Describes five years of development in a centralized data processing activity serving a highly decentralized corporation. Data processing manager discovers that a major software system conversion is a full year behind schedule, and subsequently makes several managerial and organizational changes. Raises issues of leadership style, human resource management, conflict, and organizational change.
McFarlan, F. Warren. "Aerospace Technology Manufacturing, Inc.: Industry, Company, and I/S Transitions TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 193-041, September 1992.
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McFarlan, F. Warren, and Jiro Kokuryo. "CIBA Vision Canada--1990, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 191-036, January 1991.
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McFarlan, F. Warren, and Jiro Kukuryo. "CIBA Vision Canada--1990." Harvard Business School Case 191-001, July 1990. (Revised December 1990.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren, and H. Jeff Smith. "Philips In-Car Entertainment (A), (B), & (C), and Industry Note: In-Car Entertainment, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 189-158, March 1989.
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An information systems vice president has one hour to make an ethical decision: should a software program, left inadvertently on the company's computer, be copied and stored? Copying the program would protect clients' assets, but it seems to violate the vendor contract. Thus, responsibilities to various stakeholders (customers, vendors, and stockholders) can be examined in an information systems context.
Describes a regional airline that is on the losing end of a strategic application of information technology. Management is focusing on internal data processing issues while its principal, and larger, competitor is using its computerized reservations system to gain control of ticket distribution channels. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Describes the company's use of information technology to strengthen its position in the elevator sales and service market. Also demonstrates how information technology can be used to better manage and control a large geographically dispersed service organization.
McFarlan, F. Warren, Tapio Reponen, and Duncan Copeland. "Finnpap/Finnboard (A)." Harvard Business School Case 186-130, November 1985. (Revised August 1989.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "McGraw-Hill Book Co.: Micro Computer Resource Center, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 183-150, March 1983. (Revised April 1987.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Decatur Industries, Inc., Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 183-148, March 1983. (Revised October 1985.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Metropolitan National Bank (A) and (B), Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 183-147, March 1983. (Revised January 1984.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Corning Glass: Information Systems Planning, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 183-153, March 1983. (Revised January 1984.)
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McFarlan, F. Warren. "Marrett Corp.: Systems Planning Committee, Teaching Note." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 183-152, March 1983.
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McFarlan, F. Warren, and John Raticheck. "Perkins Engines (A)." Harvard Business School Case 174-119, February 1974. (Revised November 1977.)
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The Digital Initiative is a cross-unit venture that unites scholars and practitioners to explore and impact the transformation of business in today’s digital, networked, and media-rich environment.
