Business Process Transformation at the CIA (Epilogue)

When Dick Calder was appointed director of the CIA (DA) in 1995, he was faced with the task of leading a beleaguered organization at a difficult time. As the unit charged with delivering its most glamorous intelligence to gather and analyze information, it has endured the worst part of a decade of agency budget cuts. …

Read solution

EA Financial Services

EA Financial Services is a microfinance group in Koforidua, Ghana. In its seven months of operation, it has executed properly to set up a purchaser base, however it now lacks enough capital to satisfy the developing call for for brand spanking new loans. Although having a developing purchaser base is a tremendous sign, the dearth …

Read solution

Leadership and Teaming, Module Note

Small differences in how teams are run can have a big impact on the success of your efforts. Many initiatives do not fail because of a fatal miscalculation or because of insufficient ideas, knowledge, motivation or skills to provide a solution. They fail because, as they often hear, “we had to be more of a …

Read solution

Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (B)

Valve, one of the world’s leading video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization without hierarchies. An organization of 400 people, Valve’s unique organizational form (detailed in the case and in the accompanying employee manual) includes 100% self-assigned time, no managers (and therefore no management oversight), such a fluid structure …

Read solution

Li & Fung (Trading) Ltd.

Li & Fung, one of Asia’s largest export trading companies, works primarily as an intermediary to connect American and European manufacturers and retailers of short-lived mass market consumer goods with East Asian suppliers who manufacture products to the designs of the clients. Li & Fung’s network of 2,000 suppliers in more than a dozen countries …

Read solution

Scaling Swagbucks (B)

“Swagbucks (B)”, HBS No. 817123, took over the corporate culture in mid-2014 following the events described in “Swagbucks (A)”, HBS No. 817122 and developed a close working relationship. In early 2016, the company now has the opportunity to acquire MyPoints, an established competitor with millions of members, and the opportunity to increase sales even faster, …

Read solution

A Dean’s Dilemma: Selection of Students for the MBA Program

Easwaran Iyer, Dean of the Jain University School of Business, wanted to make sure that the right students were entering his Master of Business Administration (MBA) program, but was unsure what parameters could be used to identify the right ones. students who were ideal for the MBA program. Jain University received applications for the MBA …

Read solution

Smashing the Cube: Corporate Transformation at CIBA-GEIGY Ltd.

CIBAGEIGY is a large diversified multinational corporation that underwent massive structural and cultural change in the 1990s. The case describes the changes made and the processes by which changes in portfolio, people, and structures occur. In mid-1994, CIBA evaluated the efficiency of the transformation and whether it went too far or too far.

The Freelancers Union (B)

One month after the start of Freelancers Insurance Company, Sara Horowitz, founder and CEO, holds a staff meeting to discuss the outcome. The discussion focuses in particular on the reaction of the members. With the workforce divided, Horowitz thinks about the next steps to take.