...ankaj Ghemawat, Raymond Hill, L.G. Thomas "Southern Co. Investment in CEMIG" Harvard Business School Case 707-512 In the spring of 1997, Southern Company had the opportunity to acquire a significant portion of the electric utility in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais. The shares in the utility, CEMIG, were being sold by the state government as part of a comprehensive privatization of Brazil's electric sector. Brazil's privatization was, in turn, part of a world wide movement toward deregulation and privatization of the electric sector. Like many of its rivals in the utility sector, Southern had committed itself to a strategy of growth by taking advantage of the significant opportunities for cross-border investment that were being created by this trend. The privatization of CEMIG was a particularly appealing opportunity for Southern. Not only was CEMIG one of the largest utilities in Latin America, but this investment would provide a base in the Brazilian market, which was expected to have the largest potential for further growth on the continent. Brazil was in the process of reforming its system of regulating electric utilities and of introducing competition into Brazil's wholesale generating market. These changes would further enhance the potential profitability of investing in CEMIG. In addition to the attractiveness of the investment, Southern had been able to secure non-recourse financing for half of the required amount. Keeping in mind Brazil's volatile economic history...
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...Lee, H. 2010. Don’t Tweak Your Supply Chain – Rethink It End to Tend. Harvard Business Review. Vol. 88, Issue 10, 63-69 As a company, sustainability is important, and you have to undergo certain steps in order to achieve maximal sustainability. Main points: -Sustainability should be integrated in the core of the operations. -Work together with operations close to yourselves in order to gain sustainability. -Examine the all the links in your supply chain and decide whether or not they can be more sustainable -Work with other supply chains, even rival ones, to achieve high sustainability. Evaluation: The article itself was not bad. Sustainability being a noble subject made the article easy to agree with. The article clearly favored sustainability, contained personal opinions of the author and therefore lacked in objectivity a bit. For example: ‘Instead, companies--throughout the supply chain, not just at the end--should take a holistic approach to sustainability and pursue broader structural changes than they typically do.‘ From this sentence, one can see that the author is very pro-sustainability. He could have put some points against sustainability in the article, so that the reader can evaluate both sides of the topic and then make a decision whether or not sustainability is worth pursuing so intensely as the author wants. Questions: 1 What are the biggest downsides of sustainability? 2 In the article, you told that you have to work closely with your competition...
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...Hacking Into Harvard Discussion Questions: 1. Suppose that you had been one of the MBA applicants who stumbled across an opportunity to learn your results early. What would you have done, and why? Would you have considered it a moral decision? If so, on what basis would you have made it? I would have not made the decision to learn my results early and honestly it would have been from fear of being caught or someone finding out which could possible ruin my chances at something great. Not checking would have been the moral thing to do. This is because if we were allowed to view early we would not have stumbled across the way to do it, it would have been provided to you, and those are two different things. 2. Assess the morality of what the curious applicants did from the point of view of egoism, utilitarianism, Kant’s ethics, Ross’s pluralism, and rule utilitarianism. Egoism: They were morally right as long as their actions promote their long term interest helps the greater good. Utilitarianism: If the actions balance, good over bad for everyone affected by the actions they were morally correct. Kant’s Ethics: If it was not done in the sense of duty because action out of own desires, inclination or self- interest the actions are morally wrong. Ross’s Pluralism: Moral duty cannot be reduced to the single obligation to make the most of happiness so they were morally wrong. Rule Utilitarianism: There should be standards moral principles so the actions could actually...
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...Making sustainability profitable Haanaes, K., D. Michael, J. Jurgens, S. Rangan. March 2013. Harvard Business Review. Vol. 91, Issue 3, Page 110—114 “We are moving to a world of scarce resources, in which companies will increasingly need to consider their total return not just on assets and equity, but on resources” ¹. Sustainability leads to innovation and effectiveness. It is hard for companies to believe that a sustainable production manner can be less expensive than a ‘quick-lowering-cost’ manner. Companies follow different approaches to make their environmental efforts pay back financially. Firstly, the ‘long-view’ in which they see that investment eventually leads to lower costs and higher yields. “Secondly, a bootstrap approach to conservation. Companies start with small changes that generate costs savings, which they can use to fund advanced technologies that make production more efficient. The last approach is spreading the sustainability efforts to the operations of their customers and suppliers, in the process devising new business models that competitors find hard to emulate”². Companies have to recognize the fact that initial investments made in more-costly materials and methods will lead to greater savings on the long term. Also, “the pursue of sustainability can be a powerful path to reinvention for all business facing limits on their resources and their customers’ buying power”³. Besides the impressive cost efficiencies, the growth that companies have gained...
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...Harvard Business Case 10-16-07 The Overhead Reduction Task Force: A Case Analysis The Facts Central Foods Corporation just hired a new General Manager, Georgia Dixon, to run the deteriorating Countertop Appliances Division. This new division was formed after Central Foods acquired Kitchen Help, Inc. six years ago. With sales decreasing quite dramatically over the past three years and overhead costs at their peak, Dixon is in charge of implementing positive changes in her department. For one of her first moves she appointed Larry Williams as head of the new Overhead Reduction Task Force. This task force is being formed to decrease overhead costs by 20% in the next four months while also increasing sales. External Factors Affecting CFC There are three main external factors that are influencing the overall sales production in this case. First off, one of CFC’s major competitors introduced a new household coffee maker that sold at the same retail price as CFC’s coffee maker, but CFC did not have the same innovation incorporated into their product. Secondly, another main competitor of CFC launched a new and improved microwave oven, which severely hurt Countertop’s sales of the same product. CFC’s product line still has not made a comparable substitute for this newly designed microwave oven. Finally, competitors’ pricing of the kitchen products was 10% lower than CFC’s pricing for the same products. CFC believed that these competitors would eventually have to increase...
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...62 HARVARD BUSINESS REVIEW Many have argued that the Internet renders strategy obsolete. In reality, the opposite is true. Because the Internet tends to weaken industry profitability without providing proprietary operational advantages, it is more important than everfor companies to distinguish themselves through strategy. The winners will be those that view the Internet as a complement to, not a cannibal of, traditional ways of competing. Strategy and the by Mich36l E. Porter Internet I "^ INTERNET is an extremely important new J technology, and it is no surprise that it has received so much attention from entrepreneurs, executives, investors, and business observers. Caught up in the general fervor, many have assumed that the Internet changes everything, rendering all the old rules about companies and competition obsolete. That may be a natural reaction, but it is a dangerous one. It has led many companies, dot-coms and incumbents alike, to make bad decisions - decisions that have eroded the attractiveness of their industries and undermined their own competitive advantages. Some companies, for example, have used Internet technology to shift the basis of competition away from quality, features, and service and toward price, making it harder for anyone in their industries to turn a profit. Others have forfeited important proprietary advantages by rushing into misguided partnerships MARCH 2001 63 strategy and t h e Internet and outsourcing relationships...
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...Infosys: Summary In 1981 Narayana Murthy and six colleagues established Infosys with $250; it is an organization created for professionals by professionals that promised to be fair to its “infoscions” (employees), customers, and shareholders (Delong, 2006, p. 1). The company’s overall vision was to become a “global company” that developed wealth in an honorable manner by redistributing funds to the poor and provide fairness to all (Delong, 2006, p. 3). Infosys worked in the information technology (IT) market via several strategies, body-shopping and offshoring; however; it turned out creating problems than the company planned for which caused a chain reaction of more problems before management finally realized they “fell from grace” (Delong, 2006, p. 10). Therefore, the following paragraphs summarize and analyze Infosys (A): Strategic Human Resource Management written by Delong, Tandon, and Rengaswamy as it relates to Strategic Human Resource Management (SHRM). Case Analysis When Infosys first opened its doors, their strategy known as bodyshop was increasing their labor costs due to the U.S. government limiting distribution on B1 Visas per year. Body shopping is a form of outsourcing in which Infosys recruits IT students straight out of college, place them with clients on project-based assignments until completion (Delong, 2006). Once completed workers are either placed on another project or benched to wait for a new assignment (Darwish, et al., 2010). This is similar...
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...There are 3 points which are in dispute between owners and players. These are 1) Roster depreciation 2) Overstated players salary expense 3) Related-party transactions 1. Roster depreciation Owners say that they bought the Zephyr’s in 1982 for 24 million dollars, and insist that it is applicable to the amortization of 50% of that price over a period of six years. On the other hand, players say that the depreciation expense arises only when a team is sold, and moreover, the depreciation is not real because many players actually improve their skills with experience and, at the same time, there should be an increase in roster value over time. The important point is whether the “team” could be thought as the asset that is applicable to the depreciation. As the principle of GAAP, the asset which is applicable to depreciation decreases the value as the time goes on. In this case, “Team” is not classified as asset but as impairment test which is not allowed to apply depreciation. Therefore, players are right. 2. Overstated players salary expense (1) Owners say that the signing bonuses should be counted as an expense in the period that they are paid out. On the other hand, the players mention that bonuses should be spread over the term of the player’s contract. The important point is when the signing bonuses should be counted as expense. In GAAP, there is principle of conservatism, which means that if a situation arises where there are two acceptable alternatives for reporting...
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...The case of White House Passes The presidential residence of United States of America is probably one of the most secure and locked up places in the this Earth. That does not mean that the visitors are allowed. Indeed, there is a separate section of the office in the White House which handles all sorts of visitors’ passes. And not only visitors’ passes, but also passes related to scheduled and unscheduled maintenance and any such requirement. Even the pizza delivery man has to obtain a pass! The processes involved in obtaining a pass are numerous and complex in nature. But, 20 years back, the people working for the president decided that time has come for the white house to have a more automated system of accepting the application of these passes, processing them and then issuing them. As such, consider yourself going back in time, to the point where the people of white house were detailing their pass processing steps. For simplicity and security, the information presented here is for processing of the lowest level security passes (the ones reserved for toilet cleaners in the ground floor and children accompanied by their adults to visit the White House!!). The officer in charge of processing the passes has a desk where the applications (having background checked for security) are organized. She picks up the applications, one at a time, and then checks through the databases (computer databases) that whether the person has already applied for a pass before or not...
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...L’Oreal Harvard Business Case by Nur Ili Athirah The pass 100-year history of L’Oreal, had much changed the company that made them the biggest global cosmetic company. The organizations have been going through a process of expanding their barriers to reach new markets across the globe. L’Oreal was founded by a French chemist, Eugene Schueller, who developed the world’s first synthetic hair-color product, L’Aureole in 1907. By 1912, his products expand to Netherlands, Austria and Italy. During the mid 1930s, Schueller diversified his products to hygiene and toiletry sectors of the cosmetic market with great success. As time goes by, L'Oreal positioned as the leader in European hair color market and skin care, but this wasn't good enough for them, as they wanted to reach new markets as the American, and Asian. However, entering US market was not easy as they face three main obstacles along the way which were; L’Oreal had little to no relationship established with U.S. Local middlemen, L’Oreal hair products were not well known by the salon workers and their clientele, and the French prestige, which helped sell perfumes, did little for the hair-coloring products. Therefore, L'Oreal made certain acquisitions, as well as the implementation of new market strategies and corporate strategies to successfully reach their goals that they achieved today. Let us analyze L’Oreal Company by using the SWOT Analysis theory. SWOT analysis involves understanding and analyzing the strengths...
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...The first comprehensive look at what employees are thinking and feeling as they go about their work, why it matters, and how managers can use this information to improve job performance Inner Work Life Understanding the Subtext of Business Performance by Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer I 72 Harvard Business Review | May 2007 | hbr.org Leigh Wells knowledge work from its people, then you undoubtedly appreciate the importance of sheer brainpower. You probably recruit high-intellect people and ensure they have access to good information. You probably also respect the power of incentives and use formal compensation systems to channel that intellectual energy down one path or another. But you might be overlooking another crucial driver of a knowledge worker’s performance – that person’s inner work life. People experience a F YOUR ORGANIZATION DEMANDS hbr.org | May 2007 | Harvard Business Review 73 Inner Work Life: Understanding the Subtext of Business Performance constant stream of emotions, perceptions, and motivations as they react to and make sense of the events of the workday. As people arrive at their workplaces they don’t check their hearts and minds at the door. Unfortunately, because inner work life is seldom openly expressed in modern organizations, it’s all too easy for managers to pretend that private thoughts and feelings don’t matter. As psychologists, we became fascinated a decade ago with day-to-day work life....
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...com/group/danshui-plant-no-2-case-study/page-0 Search Results for 'danshui plant no 2 case study'. Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,500. Case Studies Of Corporate Firms. : distribution of wafer production lines, 1995 ... 2. Danshui Plant No. 2 Case Study features.rr.com/article/080P6pegST5Zp?q=iPhone 1) Using budget data, 176087 iPhone 4's must be completed on a monthly basis in order for Danshui Plant No. 2 to break even. The first step is to calculate the ... 3. Danshui Plant No. 2 - Harvard Business Review hbr.org/product/danshui-plant-no-2/an/913525-PDF-ENG Sep 28, 2012 – Danshui Plant No. 2 in southern China has a one-year contract with Apple Inc. to assemble 2.4 mil... 4. [PDF] Danshui Plant No. 2 - Cool Tutoring www.cooltutoring.com/uploads/1/1/9/0/.../913525-pdf-eng_copy.pdf File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View Aug 3, 2010 – In August 2010, Wentao Chen, manager of Danshui Plant No. 2 in southern China, was anxious. The plant was in the third month of a 12-month ... 5. Danshui Plant No. 2 - Case - Harvard Business School www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=43379 Danshui Plant No. 2 in southern China has a one-year contract with Apple Inc. to assemble 2.4 million iPhones. In the first three months of the contract, the plant ... 6. Danshui Plant No. 2 - Sport Balla www.sportballa.com/2013/03/plant-2-danshui-no - United States Danshui Plant No. 2. Source: Term Paper Warehouse , Mar 31 2013, 2:20pm CDT. 1. Variable Costs: 187.89+13.11+1.06 = $202.06 per unit Fixed Costs: ....
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...mid 1980’s and created a demand for freelancers/independent contractors with limited skills sets. As technology continued to advance in early 2000, the second wave allowed full-time employees to work anytime from anywhere. Although there have been significant cost savings for companies that allow their employees to telecommute, important elements of physical interaction were taken for granted. Heidi McCullough saw a need to fill the physical interaction gap and created “The Urban Hub”. The Urban Hub is a virtual work space were telecommuters of different companies and backgrounds get together to do their own virtual work and also interact and inspire each other. Several companies have taken the “The Urban Hub” approach to doing business and are experiencing significant growth. Discussion: The text and article both mentioned the growth companies have experienced by having a virtual workforce. One area of growth was due to improved productivity. Virtual work has increased productivity for many companies because the amount of time an employee would spend physically commuting to work is now invested in getting work done from home. Companies that offer virtual work are sought after by individuals looking for a flexible work environment. A personal benefit of virtual work is that it “improves the employee’s work-life balance (which reduces stress)” (McShane & Von Glinow, 2013, p. 22). The text and article also mentioned the...
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...שאלה 5 חברת IMG החלה את דרכה בניהול ספורטאים, אך לאט לאט הרחיבה את פעילותה ונכנסה לתחומים רבים ומגוונים כגון ייצוג אמנים ודוגמניות, בעלות על אירועי ספורט ואופנה, קנייה והשכרה של איצטדיונים, הקמת אקדמיות ספורט, שידורי טלויזיה ועוד. ההגוונה בעסקיה של החברה, יחייב אותה לשנות את המבנה האירגוני, שכן ריבוי עסקיה של החברה יכול לגורם ליכולת מוגבלת של מנהלי המחברה לעבד את הזרם המתגבר של המידע האסטרטגי ולהתמודד עם ההגוונה המוגברת. בידי המנהלים לא יהיה את הזמן והמידע המספיקים כדי לתאם את הפעילות היומיומית ולפקח עליה. יתקיים קושי לתכנן ולבצע תיכנונים לטווח הארוך וכמו כן קיים קושי לפקח ולתאם פעילות בין המחלקות השונות (ניהול כמה ״קווי מוצרים״ במקביל). דבר זה יכול להוביל למצב בו הנהלת הארגון הופכת לצוואר בקבוק בתהליך קבלת ההחלטות ותתקשה להתאימו לשווקים משתנים ומתחדשים. על כן ארגון מסוג זה יש שיפעל במבנה רב חטיבתי אשר מורכב מחטיבות תפעוליות ((sbu, בו כל חטיבה מייצגת עסק או מרכז רווח נפרד, כאשר מנהל התאגיד מאציל את הסמכויות לתפעול השוטף ברמת היחידה למנהלי החטיבות. המבנה החטיבתי יתאים לאסטרטגיה מגוונת המתמקדת במגוון מוצרים/שירותים. ארגון בעל אסטרטגיה מגוונת יפעל באופן יעיל במידה ויתארגן במבנה חטיבתי תוך יצירת תיאום בין מגוון הפעולות הנוגעות למוצרים השונים. ניתן אכן לראות כי בכדי למנוע את הבעיות שצוינו לעיל, חברת IMG אכן חילקה את עסקיה ל-12 חטיבות אוטונומיות קטנות (מחלקת סקי, גולף, ספורט קבוצתי, שידורי טלויזיה, טכנולוגיה ועוד), כאשר כל אחת אחראית על תחומה. במבנה כזה ישנו חשש לחוסר יעילות תקציבית, שכן מכיוון שכל חטיבה פועלת באופן אוטונומי יתכן הוצאות רבות על פעילויות דומות, ריבוי מנהלים ותפקידים...
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...ORG Profits at the Bottom of the Pyramid A tool for assessing your opportunities by Erik Simanis and Duncan Duke OCTOBER 2014 REPRINT R1410G Erik Simanis is a senior extension associate at Cornell University’s Johnson School of Management. Duncan Duke is an assistant professor of management at Ithaca College’s School of Business. 2 Harvard Business Review October 2014 This article is made available to you with compliments of FM Global Insurance. Further posting, copying, or distributing is copyright infringement. To order more copies go to www.hbr.org or call 800-988-0886. FOR ARTICLE REPRINTS CALL 800-988-0886 OR 617-783-7500, OR VISIT HBR.ORG PROFITS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID A TOOL FOR ASSESSING YOUR OPPORTUNITIES BY ERIK SIMANIS AND DUNCAN DUKE During the past decade, many multinationals have come up short trying to make a profit by solving the pressing needs of low-income communities. Preoccupied with their social missions, companies have optimistically taken on challenging projects, only to be surprised when weak consumer demand and obstacles such as bad roads October 2014 Harvard Business Review 3 This article is made available to you with compliments of FM Global Insurance. Further posting, copying, or distributing is copyright infringement. To order more copies go to www.hbr.org or call 800-988-0886. PROFITS AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PYRAMID keep revenues low and costs high. Over tretched s and disillusioned, many...
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