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Lean Knowledge Work
Staats, Bradley R.; Upton, David M.Article HBS-R1110G-EService and Operations ManagementMany manufacturing companies and some service firms have reaped considerable benefits by applying variations of the Toyota Production System, a method for making operations "lean" through relentless efforts to increase quality and efficiency and eliminate waste. But conventional wisdom holds that lean principles don't lend themselves to knowledge work, which involves judgment and expertise, not the sorts of repetitive, easily specified tasks foun...Starting at €8.20
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The Morning Star Company: Self-Management at Work
Gino, Francesca; Staats, Bradley R.Case HBS-914013-ELeadership and People ManagementMorning Star, a collection of affiliated companies, had grown steadily since 1970 when Chris Rufer, president and founder, started the business hauling tomatoes to processing plants in a truck. The company's main products continued to be tomato-based, including a 40% share in the tomato paste and diced tomato market in 2013. Different from traditional manufacturing companies, Morning Star relied on self-management to execute the work in any part ...Starting at €8.20
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Why Organizations Don't Learn
Gino, Francesca; Staats, Bradley R.Article HBS-R1511G-ELeadership and People ManagementFor any enterprise to be competitive, continuous learning and improvement are key--but not always easy to achieve. After a decade of research, the authors have concluded that four biases stand in the way: We focus too heavily on success, are too quick to act, try too hard to fit in, and rely too much on experts. Each of these biases raises challenges, but each can be curbed with particular strategies. A preoccupation with success, for example, le...Starting at €8.20
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Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (B)
Bernstein, Ethan S.; Gino, Francesca; Staats, Bradley R.Case HBS-415016-ELeadership and People ManagementValve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee handbook) includes 100% self-allocated time, no managers (and therefore no managerial oversight), a structure so fluid that all desks have wheels to allow free movement between ""cabals"...Starting at €5.74
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Tegan c.c.c. (Spanish version)
Upton, David M.; Staats, Bradley R.Case HBS-610S02StrategyExamines a struggling IT outsourcing project from the perspective of the customer--Tegan. It should be used in conjunction with Hrad Technika (9-609-039), which illustrates the supplier's point of view. When Tegan, a Welsh toy distributor, outsources the development of a new accounts payable system to Hrad Technika, a growing outsourcing firm from the Czech Republic, Tegan believes they are getting a problem off their hands. Unfortunately the pro...Starting at €8.20
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Samasource: Give Work, Not Aid
Gino, Francesca; Staats, Bradley R.Case HBS-912011-EService and Operations ManagementTo maximize their effectiveness, color cases should be printed in color. Samasource sought to use work, not aid, for economic development. The company secured contracts for digital services from large companies in the United States and Europe, divided the work up into small pieces (called microwork) and then sent it to delivery centers in developing regions of the world for completion through a web-based interface. Different from traditional busi...Starting at €8.20
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Belk: Towards Exceptional Scheduling
Bernstein, Ethan S.; Kesavan, Saravanan; Staats, Bradley R.; Hassall, LukeCase HBS-415023-ELeadership and People ManagementWith 24,000 staff and over 300 stores, Belk Inc. sought to replace its entirely manual labor scheduling system with an automated software solution from Reflexis. Belk hoped the upgrade would simplify scheduling, reduce time employees spent in non-customer-facing roles, and result in improved allocation of resources through the use of big data, thereby increasing sales productivity. Like many other retailers, Belk expected the benefits from automa...Starting at €8.20
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Codelco Copper Mines
Upton, David M.; Staats, Bradley R.; Fuller, Virginia A.Case HBS-608053-EInformation TechnologiesCodelco was a Chilean copper-mining company, widely considered to be one of the most professionally managed firms in South America in spite of the fact that it was 100% government-owned. A $10.5 billion company in 2005, Codelco faced the challenge of incorporating information technology into its production processes, which had historically been very manual in nature. CEO Juan Villarzu's initial turnaround attempts introduced a customer-centric co...Starting at €8.20