Research I research topics in management accounting. In particular, I am interested in performance evaluation and incentives. I am using field experiments to understand how firms can use incentives and performance feedback to improve performance. I am studying how financial incentives can be used as a catlyst to form desirable habits and to harness other motivators such as peer pressure. I use analytical modeling and field data to research this topic.
Bachelors in Commerce, University of Madras, May 1988
Work Experience
September 1994 to present - Professor, Harvard Business School. I have taught Financial Reporting and Control (a first-year required course), Measuring and Driving Corporate Performance (a second-year elective), Management Control and Performance Measurement (a doctoral course), and several executive education courses.
March 1985 to May 1988 - Audit Assistant with J. Gowrikanthan & Co., Chartered Accountants, Madras.
This book is a self-study guide written for someone who wishes to teach themselves basic financial accounting. It is based on a course by the same author that has been successfully completed by thousands of students worldwide. It explains concepts in simple language with illustrative examples, provides review questions and quizzes after each chapter and section, contains two full-length practice exams at the end of the book as well as a glossary. It compares and contrasts U.S. GAAP and IFRS for every topic covered in the book. For a preview of the book, please see: www.createspace.com/Preview/1186020.
R. S. Kaplan, F. Erhun, V.G. Narayanan, B. Mistry and K. Brayton, et al
We use time-driven activity-based costing to estimate the cost of personnel and space for an elective coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery at two U.S. hospitals, Intermountain and Baylor Heart, and Narayana Health (NH), in India. All three hospitals use modern management methods to achieve excellent patient outcomes. We use variance analysis to remove the effect of differential prices paid for personnel and space at the three hospitals. NH, even at U.S. price levels, retains a cost advantage over the two U.S. hospitals by shifting tasks to less-credentialed and/or less-experienced personnel, supervised by highly-skilled personnel, a practice facilitated by NH’s high annual CABG volume. NH offsets some of its task downshifting cost savings by having lower-skilled employees spend more time counseling patients and their families for in-hospital and home recovery. NH’s cost-saving practices could be captured by U.S. hospitals by relaxing hospital and health professional licensing regulations, encouraging greater family participation in inpatient care, and performing complex surgeries in high-volume regional centers of excellence.
F. Erhun, B. Mistry, T. Platcheck, A. Milstein, V.G. Narayanan and R. S. Kaplan
Coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery is a common treatment for coronary artery disease—a disease that affects over 10% of US adults and is a major cause of morbidity and mortality. In 2005, the mean cost for a CABG procedure among Medicare beneficiaries in the USA was $32,000. The same operation reportedly costs less than $2000 to produce in India. The proposed study will (1) identify the difference in the costs incurred to perform CABG surgery at three Joint Commission accredited hospitals, two in U.S. and one in India, and (2) characterize the opportunity to reduce the cost of performing CABG surgery. We use time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) to quantify the hospitals' costs of producing elective, multivessel CABG. TDABC estimates the costs of a given clinical service by combining information about the process of patient care delivery (specifically, the time and quantity of labor and non-labor resources utilized to perform each activity) with the unit cost of each resource used to provide the care. We will conduct a variance analysis of labor costs to separate out price and quantity effects across the three hospitals to reveal opportunities to bend the cost curve for CABG production in the USA.
Pablo Casas-Arce, Asis Martinez Jerez and V.G. Narayanan
This paper analyzes the effects of forward-looking metrics on employee decision-making. We use data from a bank that started providing branch managers with the customer lifetime value (CLV)—an estimate of the future value of the customer relationship—of mortgage applicants. The data allow us to gauge the effects of enriching the employees' information set in an environment where explicit incentives and decision rights remained unchanged. On average, customer value increased 5 percent after the metric's introduction. The metric's availability resulted in a significant shift in attention toward more profitable client segments and some improvement in cross-selling. However, the use of CLV did not negatively impact pricing or default risk, as the literature predicts. Finally, branch managers with shorter tenure displayed a stronger response, consistent with information substituting for experience.
We conduct a field experiment, based on a registered report accepted by the Journal of Accounting Research, to test performance effects of setting a high reference point for peer‐performance comparison. Relative to providing the median as a reference point for online students to compare themselves to, providing the top quartile: damps performance for those below the median, boosts performance for those between the median and top quartile, and, in the case of outcome but not process comparison, boosts performance for those above the top quartile. We do not find that either reference point yields a greater average performance effect. However, providing the more effective reference point in each partition of initial performance yields a 40% greater performance effect than providing either reference point uniformly. Students access the online courses intermittently over the span of a year. Our effects derive from small portions of our treatment groups—5% in the case of process comparison and 26% in the case of outcome comparison—who accessed treatment and who were, on average, more active leading up to and during our intervention.
Dennis Campbell, Srikant M. Datar, Susan L. Kulp and V.G. Narayanan
We analyze balanced scorecard data from a convenience store chain, Store24, during the implementation of an innovative, but ultimately unsuccessful, strategy. Quarterly strategic reviews, based in part on the firm's balanced scorecard, led executives at Store24 to identify problems with, and eventually abandon, this strategy over a two-year period. We find that formal statistical tests of the hypotheses underlying the firm's balanced scorecard and strategy map reveal problems with the strategy on a timelier basis. We also test alternative hypotheses to those underlying the firm's formal strategy map and scorecard that are consistent with concerns expressed by some of Store24's top executives during the initial stages of implementing the new strategy. Our analysis demonstrates that this firm's balanced scorecard contained useful and timely information for distinguishing between these alternatives. These results provide some of the first field-based evidence on the potential for a firm's balanced scorecard to provide useful information for detecting problems in its strategy.
The central theme of Competition and Cost Accounting is that strategic considerations may make it desirable for a firm to have divisions and product managers internalize something other than their true costs. In the case of transfer prices, a high transfer price serves as a means of promoting tacit collusion. In the case of product cost measurement, an inferior cost allocation system that just spreads costs evenly may promote tacit collusion.
This study examines the attitudes, use, and acceptance of a new accounting system in a pharmaceutical corporation that switched from an Activity Based Costing System to the Theory of Constraints System (TOC). Using structuration theory as a framework, we posit that user responses and attitudes towards TOC are influenced not only by the technical features of the system and the potential economic benefits, but also by the fit between TOC and the existing structures of the users' environment. When users interact with TOC on an ongoing basis they form interpretations of the new system, and based on such interpretations, they exhibit actions with respect to the use of TOC ranging from championship to rejection of the system. We explore cross sectional variations in the use of the system and link such variations to the practical features of the new system as well as the social structures of the users' environments.
This article gives a brief overview of the causes and consequences of the current global credit crisis. The article then discusses the benefits and potential drawbacks of real estate loan securitization in India, and what India can do to realize those benefits while avoiding some of the pitfalls.
Pablo Casas-Arce, F. Asis Martinez-Jerez and V.G. Narayanan
This paper analyzes the effects of providing forward-looking metrics on employee decision making. We use data from a southern European bank that, in April 2002, started providing its branch managers with customer lifetime value (CLV) information about mortgage applicants. The data allow us to gauge the effects of enriching the information set of these employees in an environment where incentives and the allocation of decision rights remained unchanged. We find that CLV availability resulted in a significant shift in attention towards the more profitable client segments (the weight of the top segment in the portfolio of customers increases from 26% to 34%), but we do not find evidence of improved cross-selling (except for an increase in the sale of insurance products). Moreover, the use of CLV information did not have a negative impact on pricing, as some of the literature suggests, nor on default risk, indicating that managers increased sales to more profitable customers by providing better customer service.
In May 2017 in Chennai, India, the chairman of Celebrity Fashions doubted whether the company could last until the end of the year. Venkatesh Rajagopal had found that the company, a readymade garment manufacturing and exporter he founded in 1989, was having a hard time financially. It had been dealing with declining revenues for the past five years, and its losses had tripled between 2014 and 2016. A slowdown in factory plant processes in 2006 and the value of the rupee against the dollar, as well as wage arrears, contributed to the financial problem. Rajagopal’s son, Vidyuth, had recently joined the company after moving roles both within Celebrity and its sister company, Indian Terrain, and organizations elsewhere. In 2017, as joint managing director, he was convinced he would be able to turn the company around. Vidyuth, along with the independent director Venky appointed, identified the problems. There were communication gaps on the factory floor, and this caused lags in the shipments of garments and pushed up costs of production. The financial problems had confused some employees, and others were not aware of them at all. The leadership team was not communicating effectively. Would Celebrity be able to cut operational costs, and would Vidyuth be able to get the buy-in from his team to transform the company and protect his family business?
Mahindra Finance is a non-banking lender operating mainly in the rural and semi-urban areas of India. Set up in 1991, the company had grown to become a market leader with assets of $8.5 billion and a presence in 3,30,000 villages across India. Since most of Mahindra's customers are occupied in farming or allied activities, they are reliant on India's erratic monsoons for their source of livelihood. In order to manage the credit risks associated with lending to such a group, Mahindra Finance has developed ways of diversifying its risks and dealing with bad debt. The case discusses Mahindra Finance's practices of how to manage credit risk, measure this risk, make appropriate provisions for this risk, and finally communicate the risk and its management to the capital markets.
By mid-2016, five years of aggressive growth had transformed Fetchr from a small logistics startup to a 1,000-employee, full-fledged last-mile delivery company operating across four countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Already beneficiaries of the largest Series A round to the Middle East from an American firm, CEO Idriss Al Rifai and the Fetchr team had ambitions of raising another $40 million in Series B and deliberated continuing international expansion. But first, Al Rifai and his team needed to address the operational efficiency and profitability issues that led their investors to threaten the discontinuation of funding and put the company’s future at stake. The case provides background information on the logistics sphere in the Middle East and the challenges companies face in the region. The case then takes the reader through Al Rifai’s journey of founding and growing Fetchr, backed with innovations like their patented GPS-based delivery technology. Finally, the case zooms in on Fetchr’s management team as they race against time to perform evaluations of their operational efficiency, weigh cost-cutting options, and explore strategies to improve profitability.
Narayanan, V.G., and Shawn O'Brien. "Controversy over Executive Remuneration at BP." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 118-089, March 2018.
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Narayanan, V.G., and Joel L. Heilprin. "AT&T Versus Verizon: A Financial Comparison, Spreadsheet for Instructors (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 917-546, June 2017.
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Narayanan, V.G., and Joel L. Heilprin. "AT&T Versus Verizon: A Financial Comparison, Spreadsheet for Students (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Spreadsheet Supplement 917-545, June 2017.
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Narayanan, V.G., and Joel L. Heilprin. "AT&T Versus Verizon: A Financial Comparison (Brief Case)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 917-544, June 2017.
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This case asks students to prepare a report comparing the financial and operating performance of AT&T and Verizon. Taking the perspective of a communications industry analyst, they must also consider the differences between and implications of the companies' business strategies and the differences between the technology and growth rates of the wireless and wireline business segments. As part of this exercise, students reorganize the balance sheets in terms of operating and financial components, calculate changes in working capital, derive unlevered free cash flow (FCF), and apply DuPont style ratios and margin analysis on a consolidated—as well as a segment—basis. Students must also consider the effects of actuarial gains and losses on operating results and how analysts might adjust for those effects. The case was designed for first-year MBA students in financial statement analysis (FSA) and accounting classes, but it could also be used in other courses to prepare for discounted cash flow (DCF) exercises.
Rob Mitchell, the Chairman of the Audit Committee of Silver Lake Bank, had just flicked on the latest episode of Dancing with the Stars when he received an urgent phone call from Diego Alvarez, the CEO of the bank. Alvarez had recently spoken with the auditors, who had completed reviewing the 2013 financial statements and stated that the bank had been incorrectly recognizing profit on its loans for years. The auditors believed the bank should recognize profit immediately upon the receipt of a loan application, but the bank had been taking a conservative approach, waiting until it sold the loan on the secondary market to recognize revenue. Mitchell knew that management had to make a decision well before Silver Lake’s annual meeting in April, but he was conflicted about the right way to account for these loans – was it better to follow the mainstream practice of big banks, which recognized revenue when they received applications, or stay with a more conservative approach?
Narayanan, V.G., and Ashley Hartman. "Revenue Recognition at Silver Bank." Harvard Business School Case 117-026, July 2016. (Revised July 2016.)
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In March 2016, BP disclosed that its chief executive officer, Bob Dudley, would receive a $19.6 million compensation package, a 20% increase in total compensation over the previous year. BP justified the amount, emphasizing that the company delivered strong results despite an exceptionally challenging environment, which included a nearly 50% drop in oil prices. However, shareholders questioned the massive payout and ultimately rejected BP's remuneration report in April 2016. Was BP right to give a generous pay package despite the industry slump? Or was it “unreasonable and insensitive,” as shareholder Royal London Asset Management claimed?
Narayanan, V.G., and Saloni Chaturvedi. "Transport Corporation of India (A): The Cross-selling Conundrum." Harvard Business School Teaching Plan 115-061, June 2015.
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The Ethics Advisory Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) provides training and support for member Chartered Accountants to help them deal with difficult professional situations. Members can seek help through call centers and in-person meetings with accounting experts in the field to discuss how to best handle difficult situations. In addition, the Ethics Advisory Committee meets regularly to identify new issues that raise questions for professional standards. This case examines professional standards for ICAEW Chartered Accountants and a number of challenging ethical situations that members have faced.
This auto parts company has just ousted its longtime CEO and founder, and the new, professional CEO is badly in need of a coherent strategy, clear objectives and metrics, and initiatives that are aligned with the strategy and objectives. Will the balanced scorecard approach help his leadership team create an action plan that makes sense for the company's strategy?
IDFC was set up in 1997 to direct private finance to infrastructure projects in India. Over the years, it expanded its capabilities to become a 'complete solutions provider' offering financing solutions including debt and equity, investment banking, brokerage and asset management services to clients in the infrastructure sector. With nearly 50% of its employees joining through acquisitions, there were significant cultural differences within the company. In 2009, the company embarked on a journey to build 'One-Firm' with a unifying culture and governance system across business groups. IDFC aimed to provide seamless access to products and expertise across business groups, increase its competitive position and maximize interactions with its clients. A critical component of the One-Firm initiative was a technology-enabled performance management system that articulated metrics for individual and group performance, and aligned these with the overall performance of IDFC. While the new system had several strengths, it also raised questions on whether a common system allowed IDFC to recognize and retain talent across its diverse businesses. This case examines if a uniform performance management system provided autonomy and flexibility needed to build a culture of high performance across varied business groups.
In this multi-player simulation, students experience the benefits and challenges of using a scorecard to implement strategic initiatives and monitor firm performance. Small teams of students work together to choose a strategy for their company, create a strategy map, develop a balanced scorecard, choose initiatives to implement their strategy, and use feedback from the balanced scorecard to adjust their implementation approach over a series of 8 rounds. At the conclusion of the simulation, each team's company will be purchased by a private investor. The goal of the simulation is to maximize firm value at the time of buyout-the buyout price being based on the company's financial position and future prospects. Strategy Simulation: The Balanced Scorecard is designed as a multi-player experience but can also be played as a single-player. Instructors have the option of allowing students to play practice rounds and assigning certain teams to a "control group." The simulation debrief section provides key statistics and visuals that summarize student performance.
Citation:
"Balanced Scorecard Simulation." Harvard Business School Simulation 114-701, June 2014.
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Narayanan, V.G., and Matthew Packard. "Strategy Simulation: The Balanced Scorecard ." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 114-006, June 2014.
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Transport Corporation of India was a logistics company that provided multi-modal transport solutions to its customers. Set up in 1958, TCI had grown from a 'one man, one truck, one office' set-up to a company with revenues of $400 million in half a century. TCI's growth had been assisted by the creation of individual divisions that provided specialized services to its clients—Freight, Express, Supply Chain Solutions, Seaways and Global. In 2012, the company renewed it efforts to foster cross-selling across the divisions with the hope that this would increase customer-stickiness and foster growth. However, as the company tried to push the cross-selling agenda across its various divisions, it faced myriad issues. It needed to educate its divisional sales-staff about the services provided by divisions other than their own; to motivate them to cross-sell; and to create intra-division confidence to facilitate cross-selling. While the Joint Managing director, Vineet Agarwal, under the guidance of his father D.P. Agarwal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, TCI, and in conjunction with TCI's Executive Committee, had introduced initiatives like training across divisions, competitions on cross-selling, and tracking of cross-selling leads, he was not sure that these were enough. Were there other ways in which TCI could successfully cross-sell? Could they put in place a system that specifically incentivized cross-sales to motivate sales staff? The (A) case focuses on TCI's cross-selling efforts and the strategic decisions before it. Cases (B), (C), and (D) discuss specific situations that demonstrate issues related to the cross-selling initiative.
Transport Corporation of India was a logistics company that provided multi-modal transport solutions to its customers. Set up in 1958, TCI had grown from a 'one man, one truck, one office' set-up to a company with revenues of $400 million in half a century. TCI's growth had been assisted by the creation of individual divisions that provided specialized services to its clients—Freight, Express, Supply Chain Solutions, Seaways and Global. In 2012, the company renewed it efforts to foster cross-selling across the divisions with the hope that this would increase customer-stickiness and foster growth. However, as the company tried to push the cross-selling agenda across its various divisions, it faced myriad issues. It needed to educate its divisional sales-staff about the services provided by divisions other than their own; to motivate them to cross-sell; and to create intra-division confidence to facilitate cross-selling. While the Joint Managing director, Vineet Agarwal, under the guidance of his father D.P. Agarwal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, TCI, and in conjunction with TCI's Executive Committee, had introduced initiatives like training across divisions, competitions on cross-selling, and tracking of cross-selling leads, he was not sure that these were enough. Were there other ways in which TCI could successfully cross-sell? Could they put in place a system that specifically incentivized cross-sales to motivate sales staff? The (A) case focuses on TCI's cross-selling efforts and the strategic decisions before it. Cases (B), (C), and (D) discuss specific situations that demonstrate issues related to the cross-selling initiative.
Transport Corporation of India was a logistics company that provided multi-modal transport solutions to its customers. Set up in 1958, TCI had grown from a 'one man, one truck, one office' set-up to a company with revenues of $400 million in half a century. TCI's growth had been assisted by the creation of individual divisions that provided specialized services to its clients—Freight, Express, Supply Chain Solutions, Seaways and Global. In 2012, the company renewed it efforts to foster cross-selling across the divisions with the hope that this would increase customer-stickiness and foster growth. However, as the company tried to push the cross-selling agenda across its various divisions, it faced myriad issues. It needed to educate its divisional sales-staff about the services provided by divisions other than their own; to motivate them to cross-sell; and to create intra-division confidence to facilitate cross-selling. While the Joint Managing director, Vineet Agarwal, under the guidance of his father D.P. Agarwal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, TCI, and in conjunction with TCI's Executive Committee, had introduced initiatives like training across divisions, competitions on cross-selling, and tracking of cross-selling leads, he was not sure that these were enough. Were there other ways in which TCI could successfully cross-sell? Could they put in place a system that specifically incentivized cross-sales to motivate sales staff? The (A) case focuses on TCI's cross-selling efforts and the strategic decisions before it. Cases (B), (C), and (D) discuss specific situations that demonstrate issues related to the cross-selling initiative.
Transport Corporation of India was a logistics company that provided multi-modal transport solutions to its customers. Set up in 1958, TCI had grown from a 'one man, one truck, one office' set-up to a company with revenues of $400 million in half a century. TCI's growth had been assisted by the creation of individual divisions that provided specialized services to its clients—Freight, Express, Supply Chain Solutions, Seaways and Global. In 2012, the company renewed it efforts to foster cross-selling across the divisions with the hope that this would increase customer-stickiness and foster growth. However, as the company tried to push the cross-selling agenda across its various divisions, it faced myriad issues. It needed to educate its divisional sales-staff about the services provided by divisions other than their own; to motivate them to cross-sell; and to create intra-division confidence to facilitate cross-selling. While the Joint Managing director, Vineet Agarwal, under the guidance of his father D.P. Agarwal, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, TCI, and in conjunction with TCI's Executive Committee, had introduced initiatives like training across divisions, competitions on cross-selling, and tracking of cross-selling leads, he was not sure that these were enough. Were there other ways in which TCI could successfully cross-sell? Could they put in place a system that specifically incentivized cross-sales to motivate sales staff? The (A) case focuses on TCI's cross-selling efforts and the strategic decisions before it. Cases (B), (C), and (D) discuss specific situations that demonstrate issues related to the cross-selling initiative.
Presents the company's perspective using an interview format. Ramnath K. Nalli, vice chairman of Nalli Silk Sarees Private Limited, and his daughter, Lavanya Nalli (HBS MBA 2011), the fifth generation entrepreneur to be involved in the family business, discuss customer preferences, buying behavior, and price sensitivity for cotton and silk sarees.
Narayanan, V.G., Namrata Arora, and Vidhya Muthuram. "Nalli Silk Sarees (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 113-048, December 2012. (Revised July 2015.)
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Transworld Auto Parts had to implement its new strategy flawlessly to survive the auto industry upheaval. The new CEO asked her leadership team to craft strategy maps and balanced scorecards to help each division implement its strategies.
Nalli Silk Sarees Private Limited was a family owned and operated business that retailed Indian ethnic wear. This 83-year-old company had enjoyed impressive growth with a $95 million turnover, a 22-store retail footprint, and had outdone its competitors by being the only player in its segment to have a national presence. Headquartered in Chennai, India, the company built its unique national brand by emphasizing innovation, customer-centric practices, quality, and honesty across the store's retail operations. In 2011, with changing dynamics in the Indian apparel market, the company started to face intense competition from small and large Indian and foreign retailers. The company's chairman, Dr. Nalli Kuppusamy Chetty, announced a $25 million expansion plan and proposed the opening of 12 new stores over a period of two years. This case focuses on the company's pricing strategy, merchandising process, and product assortments to support its own competitiveness and overall customer experience.
Narayanan, V.G., Namrata Arora, and Vidhya Muthuram. "Nalli Silk Sarees (A)." Harvard Business School Case 113-004, July 2012. (Revised July 2015.)
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A small company in the graphic design business faces severe price competition. The company must respond by cutting costs and making process improvements.
This auto parts company has just ousted its longtime CEO and founder, and the new, professional CEO is badly in need of a coherent strategy, clear objectives and metrics, and initiatives that are aligned with the strategy and objectives. Will the balanced scorecard approach help his leadership team create an action plan that makes sense for the company's strategy?
Narayanan, V.G., Lisa Brem, and Matthew Packard. "Delta/Signal Corp." Harvard Business School Case 112-048, October 2011. (Revised July 2013.)
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Owens & Minor (O&M) performed lean inventory services for Virginia Mason (VM) as its Alpha Vendor, but the outdated industry pricing model created perverse incentives and could not capture O&M's costs. Together, O&M and VM created an activity-based pricing model: Total Supply Chain Costs (TSCC), which incented both companies to be more efficient and to streamline their distribution activities. After beta testing the TSCC for one year, VM's Daniel Borunda and O&M's Michael Stefanic believed that TSCC was a better and more cost-effective pricing model, but could they convince their companies to continue to invest in TSCC?
When ISS, a large shareholder advisory group, recommended a "no" vote on Jeff Immelt's award of 2 million stock options in April 2011, GE's compensation committee had to decide whether to rescind or amend the award or ignore the ISS recommendation. Was Immelt's 2010 pay in line with his performance? How would shareholders vote on the advisory "say on pay" ballot question at GE's annual meeting in April?
Transworld Auto Parts had to implement its new strategy flawlessly to survive the auto industry upheaval. The new CEO asked her leadership team to craft strategy maps and balanced scorecards to help each division implement its strategies.
Hamermesh, Richard G., V.G. Narayanan, and Rachel Gordon. "Whose Money Is It Anyway? (TN) (A), (B), and (C)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 111-128, June 2011.
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The pet and pet supply industry was one of the few bright lights in an otherwise dismal retail outlook in 2009. This case gives background pet retail industry information and strategic positioning information for both PetSmart and PETCO to enable students to develop their own Balanced Scorecards and strategy maps for the two companies.
Narayanan, V.G., and Lisa Brem. "Transworld Auto Parts (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 110-064, April 2010. (Revised January 2011.)
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Describes a situation in which Sara Campbell, the CEO of a women's apparel company, must decide how to resolve the tense relationship with her Financial Controller and ex-brother-in-law, Stephen Holt. Holt was employed by Campbell for 10 years, took on the majority of financial responsibilities for the firm, and knew the business very well. Although he was bright, Campbell was often disappointed by his poor judgment and disorderly nature. By 1999, two incidents by Holt forced Campbell to question how she should proceed in terms of his employment. Students are given context to debate whether Holt's behavior was detrimental enough to overshadow a successful ten-year working relationship and his monetary obligations to Campbell's immediate family.
Autrey, Romana, V.G. Narayanan, and Julia Rozovsky. "Sara Campbell Ltd. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 108-070, January 2008. (Revised October 2010.)
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Supplements the Sara Campbell Ltd. (A) case by introducing additional concerns with Holt. In January of 1999, Campbell received a certified letter written by Holt. The letter described Holt's own frustration in working for Campbell. Students are given context to discuss how to proceed.
Autrey, Romana, V.G. Narayanan, and Julia Rozovsky. "Sara Campbell Ltd. (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 108-071, January 2008. (Revised October 2010.)
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Supplements the Sara Campbell Ltd. (A) and (B) cases by revealing the aftermath of issues presented in the (B) case. The students are given context to discuss how this situation could have been prevented.
Autrey, Romana L., V.G. Narayanan, and Julia Rozovsky. "Sara Campbell Ltd. (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 110-034, October 2009. (Revised October 2010.)
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Founded as a for-profit microfinance company, Equitas had acquired nearly a million clients in the short two years since it was founded. The founder, Vasu, and his management team wished to accelerate the already impressive spurt to three million clients in the next two years. The case describes the company's business model, which attempts to integrate microfinance with social development, and provides students with the opportunity to discuss the scaling options and challenges facing the founder.
Narayanan, V.G., and Lisa Brem. "Executive Pay and the Credit Crisis of 2008 (TN) (A) and (B) and The Credit Crisis of 2008: An Overview." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 111-027, July 2010.
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The Brigham and Women's Physician's Organization (BWPO) and its corporate parent disagree over who has jurisdiction over significant legacy funds. Are they controlled by the BWPO or do they belong to BWPO's corporate parent? The BWPO and its corporate parent must negotiate who has control of the funds which impacts how the funds may be used.
The credit crisis of 2008 placed compensation practices at publicly traded firms in the United States under scrutiny. This case examines perceived excessive pay and severance packages at several firms implicated in the credit crisis of 2008, the executive compensation provisions in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act, and discusses the implications for compensation committees at public companies.
Virginia Mason Medical Center (VM) hired Owens & Minor (O&M) as its alpha vendor for medical/surgical supplies in 2004. By 2005, O&M was performing Just-in-Time and Low Unit of Measure services for VM, but they believed the pricing model in the industry was outdated. VM and O&M partnered to create the Total Supply Chain Cost (TSCC) pricing program, an activity-based model that assigned all the cost drivers of distribution and inventory handling to VM, but also assured O&M of a profit. The TSCC incented VM to streamline its distribution activities, since these would directly impact its fee. After beta testing the TSCC for one year, VM's Daniel Borunda and O&M's Michael Stefanic believed that TSCC was a better and more cost-effective pricing model, but could they convince their companies to continue to invest in TSCC?
The epilogue to Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (A), the B case details the outcome of the issues discussed in Case A; namely that Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor did implement the TSCC contract. Virginia Mason also kept the suture contract with O&M because the TSCC model was able to prove that O&M was the low-cost provider. Case B also gives results metrics, such as reduction in line items, orders, and days sales outstanding.
As the recession lingered on into 2009, the U.S. government sought to limit executive pay and excessive risk. The debate raged over what constituted excessive risk and how best to mitigate it. This case describes the government restrictions on executive pay for TARP recipients and delves into the debate on executive compensation and incentives that encourage excessive risk.
Hawkins, David F., Gregory Miller, and V.G. Narayanan. "Kim Park (B): Liabilities." Harvard Business School Supplement 110-018, July 2009. (Revised June 2010.)
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Ferri, Fabrizio, V.G. Narayanan, and Lisa Brem. "Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (TN) (A1), (A2), (A), and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 110-074, June 2010.
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Narayanan, V.G., and Lisa Brem. "Ujjivan: A Microfinance Institution at a Crossroads (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 110-069, May 2010.
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Narayanan, V.G., and Lisa Brem. "Offering the Right Service in the Right Place: Growing Orthopedics at the Brigham and Women's/Faulkner (BW/F) Hospitals (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 110-073, May 2010.
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Narayanan, V.G., and Lisa Brem. "Supply Chain Partners: Virginia Mason and Owens & Minor (TN) (A), (B), and (A) (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 110-056, April 2010.
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This case examines the causes and consequences of the credit crisis of 2008 from a national and global perspective and explores the actions taken and proposed by the U.S. and European governments.
The case describes how the Brigham and Women's Physicians Organization and its corporate parent resolved the issue of how the disputed funds would be distributed and used.
Ranjay Gulati, Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, V.G. Narayanan and Rachna Tahilyani
The case describes the formation of Indus Towers, the largest telecom tower company in the world that has a joint venture created to build and manage the passive infrastructure of wireless telecom operators by bringing together three competitors in India's tough telecom market—Bharti Airtel, Vodafone Essar, and Idea Cellular—and merging their tower holdings. It focuses on the issue as to how do you collaborate with your competitors in setting up towers but engage in a brutal competition with them in the marketplace?
Hawkins, David F., Gregory Miller, and V.G. Narayanan. "Kim Park (B): Liabilities (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 110-021, July 2009.
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Areva, the world's market leader in civilian nuclear power, was positioned to take advantage of the resurgence of nuclear power. However, three issues clouded the positive outlook: (1) a 1.7 billion euro loss on the construction of the first next generation nuclear reactor in Finland, (2) the decision of German company Siemens to pull out of its partnership in Areva NP and exercise its 2.1 billion euro put option, and (3) the projected investment budget shortfall of 3 billion euros in 2008. How can Areva best generate cash to finance its investments for 2008 and beyond?
After the merger of two local hospitals, hospital leaders much decide how to reorganize services to take advantage of newly created efficiencies. Focuses on the Orthopedics department at one of the hospitals.
Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979, they sold the business and retired. In 2000, Blake became concerned that Friendly's CEO, who owned approximately 10% of Friendly and also owned a larger percentage of another restaurant company, was shifting expenses between the businesses in a way detrimental to Friendly shareholders but personally advantageous to the CEO. Further, Blake believed that Friendly's board of directors was not meeting their fiduciary obligations to shareholders by properly overseeing the activities of the CEO and that the directors had conflicts of interest because they were involved with the CEO's non-Friendly business activities. In 2003, Blake filed a lawsuit against the CEO and the company. In 2006, Sardar Biglari, a hedge fund manager who had invested in Friendly, entered into negotiations with Friendly for him to join the board of directors to help improve the management of the business. When these negotiations failed, Biglari launched a proxy fight against Friendly in 2007. While these two activist investors shared similar objectives, they worked independently and chose different strategies. The A1 case ends as activists Sardar Biglari and Phil Cooley prepare to meet with CEO Don Smith at Friendly's headquarters in September 2006.
The A1 and A2 versions of the “Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)” split the original A case into two parts. The A1 case ends as activists Sardar Biglari and Phil Cooley prepare to meet with CEO Don Smith at Friendly's headquarters in September 2006. The A2 case resumes the story just after the meeting and details Biglari's and Friendly's actions from that point on. The A1 and A2 cases are provided for instructors who wish more flexibility in the teaching plan. These cases do not omit or abridge any information contained in the original A case. Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979 they sold the business and retired. In 2000, Blake became concerned that Friendly's CEO, who owned approximately 10% of Friendly and also owned a larger percentage of another restaurant company, was shifting expenses between the businesses in a way detrimental to Friendly shareholders, but personally advantageous to the CEO. Further, Blake believed that Friendly's board of directors was not meeting their fiduciary obligations to shareholders by properly overseeing the activities of the CEO and that the directors had conflicts of interest because they were involved with the CEO's non-Friendly business activities. In 2003, Blake filed a lawsuit against the CEO and the company. In 2006, Sardar Biglari, a hedge fund manager who had invested in Friendly, entered into negotiations with Friendly for him to join the board of directors to help improve the management of the business. When these negotiations failed, Biglari launched a proxy fight against Friendly in 2007. While these two activist investors shared similar objectives, they worked independently and chose different strategies.
Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge-fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979 they sold the business and retired. In 2000, Blake became concerned that Friendly's CEO, who owned approximately 10% of Friendly and also owned a larger percentage of another restaurant company, was shifting expenses between the businesses in a way detrimental to Friendly shareholders, but personally advantageous to the CEO. Further, Blake believed that Friendly's board of directors was not meeting their fiduciary obligations to shareholders by properly overseeing the activities of the CEO, and that the directors had conflicts of interest, because they were involved with the CEO's non-Friendly business activities. In 2003, Blake filed a lawsuit against the CEO and the company. In 2006, Sardar Biglari, a hedge-fund manager who had invested in Friendly, entered into negotiations with Friendly for him to join the board of directors to help improve the management of the business. When these negotiations failed, Biglari launched a proxy fight against Friendly in 2007. While these two activist investors shared similar objectives, they worked independently and chose different strategies.
Briefly describes the trend in 2006 and 2007 in the United States to give shareholders an advisory vote on executive compensation. Highlights a few examples where shareholders have successfully garnered a majority in support of an advisory vote measure on company proxy ballots, and describes discussion within Congress on the matter.
Campbell, Dennis, Susan L. Kulp, and V.G. Narayanan. "Store24 (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 103-078, April 2003. (Revised April 2008.)
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Samit Ghosh, the CEO and founder of Ujjivan, a major microfinance provider in Bangalore, wants to grow his business rapidly and become financially sustainable, but he's struggling with staff fraud, high costs, and how to stay true to Ujjivan's mission of poverty alleviation, while simultaneously reaching out to higher-income customers. The case explores how Ujjivan can grow, looking at such issues as new technology, diversifying product offerings, and how to hire the best staff.
Case (B) of "Ujjivan: A Microfinance Institution at a Crossroads" addresses some of the actions Ujjivan, a microfinance provider in Bangalore, has taken with regard to issues raised in the (A) case, particularly regarding fraud and establishing financial sustainability. For example, the CEO of Ujjivan, Samit Ghosh, decides to strengthen the Audit Team and implements new loan products.
Narayanan, V.G. "Executive Compensation at General Electric (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 108-064, December 2007.
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Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, V.G. Narayanan and Michele Jurgens
Faced with exponential growth and a competitive telecom environment, Bharti looks for ways to better manage its capital expenditures for telecommunications and information technology. One option is to hand over management of its telecom and IT networks to its vendors. Explores the pros and cons of such an outsourcing arrangement for a company in an industry where technological superiority is considered an essential element in competitive strategy.
Martinez-Jerez, Francisco de Asis, and V.G. Narayanan. "Internet Customer Acquisition Strategy at Bankinter (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 104-004, January 2004. (Revised August 2007.)
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The Royal Bank of Canada uses customer relationship management and customer profitability tools to gain a competitive advantage in Canada's increasingly crowded financial services market. The case presents two pricing and customer management issues: one from the point of view of the vice president of customer relationship marketing and the other from a line manager's perspective.
Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem
Bankinter, a relatively small Spanish bank, has a large presence as an Internet financial services provider. Leading the way to profitability through the Internet will give Bankinter a major competitive advantage over the larger, more established Spanish banks. Ann Peralta, director of the Internet network in Bankinter, must evaluate whether the thousands of new customers pouring in from other portals are profitable for the bank. Peralta uses tools such as customer relationship management, activity-based costing, customer profitability, and lifetime value computations to determine the value of this cohort of new customers for the bank and in doing so, can decide on future customer acquisition strategies.
Narayanan, V.G., and Preeti Choudhary. "Achieving Customer Satisfaction at Pizza Hut (A)." Harvard Business School Case 101-006, December 2000. (Revised February 2007.)
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Hawkins, David F., V.G. Narayanan, Michele Jurgens, and Jacob Cohen. "Introduction to Cost Accounting Systems (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 106-045, February 2006. (Revised October 2006.)
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Jay W. Lorsch, V.G. Narayanan, Krishna G. Palepu, Lisa Brem and Ashley Robertson
Reckitt Benckiser plc has developed an executive compensation system. This case outlines the structure of the system, its emphasis on performance-based pay and a global outlook, and explains the role of the human resources department, the board of directors, and company shareholders in determining pay. It raises questions about how to balance incentive remuneration effectively in recruiting and retaining top managers, while addressing shareholder concerns about executive compensation.
Hawkins, David F., V.G. Narayanan, Michele Jurgens, and Jacob Cohen. "Cost-Volume-Profit Models (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 106-046, February 2006.
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Hawkins, David F., V.G. Narayanan, Michele Jurgens, and Jacob Cohen. "Alternative Choice Decision Analysis (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 106-048, February 2006.
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Hawkins, David F., V.G. Narayanan, Michele Jurgens, and Jacob Cohen. "Introduction to Responsibility Accounting Systems (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 106-047, February 2006.
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David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens
Covers the basics of cost system design, demonstrating in a clear, step-by-step fashion how costs are assigned to cost objects. Key concepts include direct and indirect costs, two-stage allocation, cost pools, and cost drivers. Also provides a brief review of several variations of cost systems, explaining the difference between job and process costing, direct and full cost systems, as well as standard cost systems. Provides exercises throughout the tutorial to test understanding of the material.
David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens
Responsibility accounting systems generate financial and related nonfinancial information about the actual and planned activities of a company's responsibility centers--organizational units headed by managers responsible for a unit's performance. The principal components covered are budgets, performance reports, variance reports, and transfer prices. Describes these components and walks students through how a responsibility center's actual performance is compared to its planned (budgeted) performance and how resources can be transferred from one center to another. Also explains the management planning and control process. Provides numerous exercises to test understanding of the material.
David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens
Shows how managers use information on costs and revenues to decide between possible alternative courses of action. Presents two case examples of differential cost analysis. The first, a make or buy decision, examines two alternatives in which only costs vary. The second presents a situation in which both revenues (changes in price and volume) and costs (including fixed costs) change. Both analyses allow students to act as managers and conclude which of several alternatives yields the greatest differential profits.
David F. Hawkins, V.G. Narayanan, Jacob Cohen and Michele Jurgens
Covers fixed, variable, and semivariable costs and their role in building and interpreting cost-volume-profit models. Introduces the cost-volume and contribution-volume-profit models and identifies some of their uses and limitations. Teaches how to use the cost-volume-profit model to determine profit at various levels of unit volume and how to calculate a breakeven point. Includes multiple exercises throughout the tutorial.
Faced with falling share prices and the critical eye of the media focused on Jack Welch's retirement plan, newly appointed CEO Jeff Immelt had the challenge of reassessing GE as a leader of corporate integrity and good governance. Presents the changes Immelt initiated in the board of directors, in Immelt's own compensation scheme, and in the compensation scheme for all GE executives, designed to address GE's corporate governance issues. Examines the use of stock options and alternative stock-based incentive schemes, along with the importance of each tool in a total compensation plan. A rewritten version of an earlier case.
Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem
In 2002, Esteban Garriga, customer service director at Henkel Iberica, questions whether Collaborative Planning, Forecasting, and Replenishment (CPFR) would help manage retail promotions and limit their impact on the stock-outs and obsolete inventory. Describes the situation facing Henkel Iberica, the Spanish subsidiary of the German consumer products company Henkel KgaA, with respect to the management of retail promotions. The increasing number of promotions and the complexity of the company portfolio seriously taxed Henkel Iberica's sales, production, and distribution systems. Many in the organization believed the company should abandon or cut back promotions and adopt an everyday low pricing strategy. Garriga believes the solution to be in CPFR. Describes Henkel Iberica's operations and provides the necessary background to discuss whether CPFR is the adequate solution for its problems.
Martinez-Jerez, Francisco de Asis, V.G. Narayanan, and Lisa Brem. "Henkel Iberica (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 105-024, March 2005.
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Kulp, Susan L., and V.G. Narayanan. "Metalcraft Supplier Scorecard, TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 102-081, May 2002. (Revised April 2004.)
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Kulp, Susan L., V.G. Narayanan, and Dennis Campbell. "Store24." Harvard Business School Case 103-058, February 2003. (Revised March 2004.)
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Narayanan, V.G. "Activity-Based Management at W.S. Industries (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 103-011, August 2002. (Revised November 2003.)
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Investors felt betrayed by the increasingly lucrative pay packages awarded to CEOs and other top executives at multinational companies. Yet, board members charged with adequately rewarding executives were forced to compete with rising packages of salaries and stock options. Bart Becht, CEO of Reckitt Benckiser, the Anglo-Dutch manufacturer of cleaning products, was the United Kingdom's highest paid CEO in 2003. With shareholder protests looming at its annual meeting, should the board reconsider Becht's pay package or ride out the storm? Examines the issues facing board compensation committees when trying to design remuneration packages that will keep CEOs performing and meet shareholder goals. Discusses the viability of stock options, proper balance between variable and nonvariable pay, setting effective performance targets, and how rising U.S. pay affects global companies.
Narayanan, V.G., Krishna G. Palepu, and Lisa Brem. "Executive Compensation at Reckitt Benckiser plc." Harvard Business School Case 104-006, September 2003.
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Describes the main themes of the module on the design and implementation of an activity-based costing (ABC) system. Instructors can teach this module to second-year MBA students who have been exposed to activity-based costing in their first-year core accounting courses. Emphasizes how a firm's particular business context affects ABC system design and the factors that help an ABC implementation succeed.
Describes the main themes of the module on control in interorganizational settings, which instructors can teach as part of a second-year MBA course on control. Identifies the root causes of control problems in interorganizational settings and identifies principles for mitigating these problems.
Describes how the lack of incentive alignment between retailers and their vendors can lead to stockouts. Also describes various means to reduce incentive misalignment and hence stockouts.
Narayanan, V.G., and Lisa Brem. "Owens & Minor, Inc. (A) and (B) TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 100-100, March 2000. (Revised May 2003.)
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The owners of the Video Vault struggle to determine the optimal stocking levels of home videos in an industry fraught with new technology, new pricing paradigms, and stiff competitive pressure from large national chains. Teaching Purpose: To demonstrate the role of incentive contracts in achieving supply chain coordination.
Narayanan, V.G. "Supply Chain Close-Up: The Video Vault TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 103-012, August 2002. (Revised May 2003.)
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Logan Airport is facing mounting delays for flights landings and takeoffs, especially in inclement weather. An additional runway and peak-period pricing are two alternatives being considered.
Narayanan, V.G. "Achieving Customer Satisfaction at Pizza Hut (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 103-059, April 2003.
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Describes activity-based budgeting at W.S. Industries. Also describes target costing-led product redesign, and product, customer, and order profitability.
W.S. Industries undertakes the design and implementation of an activity based costing (ABC) system, and the ABC information empowers workers to make process improvement decisions. Workers' incentive pay is tied to cost savings from process improvements.
The Cambridge Hospital Community Health Network needed to gain a better understanding of its unit-of-service costs, which had been rising at a rate of 10% per year. The network's step-down costing system gave only aggregate costing information, and there was some concern that it might be inaccurately representing the true cost of the intern and resident program, the interpretive services department, and the use of nurse practitioners. So the Primary Care Unit (PCU) initiated a pilot activity-based costing program. The case provides detailed exhibits on the methods of allocating costs using activity-based drivers.
Presents a series of problems that face a newspaper publisher, including inventory level, effort level, subsidy for unsold inventory, and commission for sales. Each problem is accompanied by one or more spreadsheets. Students must make various operational decisions.
Narayanan, V.G., and Ananth Raman. "Hamptonshire Express TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 698-073, April 1998. (Revised August 2002.)
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Narayanan, V.G. "Customer Profitability and Customer Relationship Management at RBC Financial Group." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 103-013, August 2002. (Revised February 2018.)
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Following Intel Inc.'s decision to replace flawed Pentium chips, the company faces revenue recognition choices. Events leading up to IBM's decision to halt shipment of computers that have Intel's microprocessor inside and Intel's decision to replace all the flawed chips are outlined. Intel must decide whether to: make a provision for the costs of replacing the chips, defer recognition of revenue on the flawed chips that it has now agreed to replace, or make no entries on grounds of materiality.
Narayanan, V.G., and Lisa Brem. "Cambridge Hospital Community Health Network - The Primary Care Unit TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 101-007, July 2000. (Revised May 2002.)
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The history, current dynamics, and future trends of the $10 billion home video rental industry provides a platform to discuss revenue-sharing contracts between suppliers of home videocassettes and retailers.
Miller, Gregory S., and V.G. Narayanan. "Accounting for the Intel Pentium Chip Flaw TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 102-077, April 2002.
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The Royal Bank of Canada uses customer relationship management and customer profitability tools to gain a competitive advantage in Canada's increasingly crowded financial services market. The case presents two pricing and customer management issues: one from the point of view of the vice president of customer relationship marketing and the other from a line manager's perspective.
A forward-thinking manager at Owens & Minor (O&M), a large national medical and surgical distribution company, enlisted the help of both logistics and cost managers to develop an innovative pricing schedule based on the customer's activities instead of the price of the product since the existing cost-plus pricing structure made it impossible for O&M to price services appropriately. The case also explores the customer resistance to his new proposal.
A small CPA firm puts in a new performance measurement system, and profits increase by 350% in less than a year. This case illustrates the reasons for improved profitability as well as the sustainability of levels of growth, the opportunities, and the threats that await the company.
Examines the high-profile Firestone/Ford product recall/investigation that took place in the summer of 2000. Focuses on the management of supplier relationships and incentives.
Narayanan, V.G., Lisa Brem, and Sanjay Pothen. "Measurement and Management at CitySoft TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 101-073, January 2001.
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Introduces students to the basics of principal-agency theory as it applies to supply chains. Operational problems in supply chains can often be traced to incentive issues. Students and managers lack frameworks to analyze incentive problems in supply chains. This note offers such a framework.
After a manager at Owens & Minor, a national medical and surgical distribution company, proposes and develops a formalized activity-based pricing and activity-based management approach to sales and service provision, this case explore the outcome.
Narayanan, V.G., and Laura Donohue. "Lehigh Steel TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 198-112, April 1998. (Revised November 1999.)
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Insteel implements an activity-based costing (ABC) system in 1996. It finds pallet nails to be its most profitable product and decides to expand the number of cells making pallet nails from two to four. A repeat of the ABC study in 1997 shows pallet nails have become the least profitable product.
Narayanan, V.G., and Ratna G. Sarkar. "Insteel Wire Products: ABM at Andrews TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 198-111, April 1998.
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Lehigh Steel is a specialty steel manufacturer that plummeted from record profits to record losses in less than three years, driven by an inability to distinguish between profitable and unprofitable business. The scale and growth of service activities and overhead costs in an increasingly customized product line suggests that activity-based costing (ABC) could unlock the secrets of profitability. However, the high fixed-cost structure suggests that theory of constraints (TOC) could also be relevant. Lehigh must determine how to measure profitability to rationalize its products.
A small company in the graphic arts business faces severe price competition. The company must respond by cutting costs and making process improvements.
Narayanan, V.G., and Amy P. Hutton. "Romeo Engine Plant TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 196-142, June 1996. (Revised March 1997.)
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Explains variance analysis. Concepts of price variance and quantity variance are introduced to analyze prime cost variances. Spending variance and capacity variance are used to analyze overhead variance. Consistent with conducting variance analysis in an activity-based costing setting. All concepts are illustrated graphically.
A senior manager faces three accounting and control decisions related to a new R&D project: to expense or capitalize, how to implement management control over the R&D function, and how to use activity-based cost drivers for product costing.
Casas-Arce, Pablo, Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez, and V.G. Narayanan. "The Impact of Forward-Looking Metrics on Employee Decision Making." January 2011.
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