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Breaking the Trade-Off Between Efficiency and Service (Spanish version)
Frei, Frances X.Article HBS-R0611EService and Operations Managementdiagnosing the behavioral problem, designing an operating role for customers that creates new value for both parties, and testing and refining approaches for influencing behavior.Starting at €8.20
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Putting the Service-Profit Chain to Work (HBR Classic) (Spanish version)
Heskett, James L.; Jones, Thomas O.; Loveman, Gary W.; Sasser, W. Earl, Jr.; Schlesinger, Leonard A.Article HBS-R0807LService and Operations Managementinvestment in people, technology that supports frontline workers, revamped recruiting and training practices, and compensation linked to performance. They also express a vision of leadership in somewhat unconventional terms, referring to an organization's "patina of spirituality" and the "importance of the mundane." In this article, Heskett, Jones, Loveman, Sasser, and Schlesinger take a close look at the links in the service-profit chain, which...Starting at €8.20
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Using Gifts and Trees to Make Recyclers of Indian Consumers
Bakaya, Ambrish; O'Connell, AndrewArticle HBS-R0909G-EService and Operations ManagementRapid advances in technology and enormously increased numbers of cell phones in use in emerging markets give urgency to Nokia's newly launched effort to expand its worldwide phone-recycling initiatives. Ambrish Bakaya explains, in this interview with HBR associate editor Andrew O'Connell. This HBR Spotlight article offers a framework for determining your company's green opportunities and an overview of what other organizations are doing with cle...Starting at €8.20
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Does America Really Need Manufacturing
Pisano, Gary P.; Shih, WillyArticle HBS-R1203G-EService and Operations ManagementToo many U.S. companies base decisions about where to locate production largely on narrow financial criteria. They don't consider whether keeping manufacturing at home makes more sense strategically or take into account the impact it might have on their ability to innovate. The result has been an exodus of manufacturing from America, which has weakened the capabilities that domestic firms need to keep inventing high-quality, cost-competitive prod...Starting at €8.20
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Mumbai's Models of Service Excellence
Thomke, StefanArticle HBS-R1211K-EService and Operations ManagementThink you need exceptional employees, advanced IT, or rigid controls to build a high-performance organization? The dabbawalas of Mumbai prove otherwise. Six days a week, these 5,000 self-managed, semiliterate workers deliver upwards of 130,000 lunches from customers' homes to their offices with astonishing precision--negotiating the crowded city by train, bicycle, and handcart, without the aid of any technology or even cell phones. The 100-year-o...Starting at €8.20
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When Failure Looks Like Success
Zolli, Andrew; Healy, Ann MarieArticle HBS-F1104Z-EService and Operations ManagementEfforts to bring clean water to Bangladesh by installing tube wells appeared to be a huge success, but over time they led to epic failures: widespread arsenic poisoning, a rise in crime and prostitution, a projected increase in diarrheal diseases as villagers resume using groundwater. Due to the highly graphical nature of the Vision Statement, we offer this reprint in color, PDF format only. We recommend printing it out in color to maximize its ...Starting at €8.20
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Tug-of-War (HBR Case Study and Commentary)
Sheffi, Yossi; Mozaffar, Shakeel; Moffat, Robert W., Jr.; Blascovich, John D.; Lahowchic, NickArticle HBS-R0509A-EService and Operations ManagementJack Emmons, the CEO of Voici Brands, knew his apparel company needed a supply chain overhaul. Over the past couple of years, sales had dropped because of late deliveries, stock-outs, and other supply problems. Meanwhile, a major competitor had significantly reduced its time to market and boosted its bottom line by outsourcing all its product lines to a dazzlingly efficient "supply chain city" in Shanghai. Unfortunately, Jack's company was just t...Starting at €8.20
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Just in Time for the Holidays (HBR Case Study and Commentary)
McNulty, Eric; Johnson, M. Eric; Brandstatter, Horst; Hausman, Warren H.; Omrod, AnneArticle HBS-R0512A-EService and Operations ManagementIt's the busiest time of year for North Pole Workshops. Production is in high gear, and the elves are on overtime in the sprint toward Christmas. But an unexpected spike in demand for one toy may leave children around the world disappointed on Christmas morning, whether they've been naughty or nice. At the same time, another toy's popularity threatens to plummet, leaving Santa and his elves faced with the prospect of millions of unloved plaything...Starting at €8.20
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Inventory-Driven Costs (Spanish version)
Callioni, Gianpaolo; De Montgros, Xavier; Slagmulder, Regine; Van Wassenhove, Luk N.; Wright, LindaArticle HBS-R0503JService and Operations Managementcomponent devaluation costs for components still held in production; price protection costs incurred when product prices drop on goods distributors still have on their shelves; product return costs that have to be absorbed when distributors return and receive refunds on overstock items; and obsolescence costs for products still unsold when new models are introduced. By developing metrics to track those costs in a consistent way throughout the PC...Starting at €8.20
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Don't Tweak Your Supply Chain-Rethink It End to End (Spanish version)
Lee, Hau L.Article HBS-R1010CService and Operations ManagementWith the best of intentions, companies up and down supply chains experiment with isolated efforts to improve sustainability-only to encounter a long string of unanticipated consequences, often in the form of financial, social, or environmental costs. That's partly because most firms respond in a piecemeal way to pressure from customers, shareholders, boards, employees, governments, and NGOs. For instance, they demand that suppliers change their m...Starting at €8.20