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All HBS Web
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- Faculty Publications (972)
- April 1991 (Revised March 2017)
- Teaching Note
Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A) and (B)
By: Robert Simons
Teaching Note for (9-190-103) and (9-190-122).
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- spring 1991
- Article
Breaking the Cycle of Failure in Services
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Heskett
Most managers recognize that good service is a direct result of having effective, productive people in customer contact positions. However, most service companies perpetuate a cycle of failure by tolerating high turnover and expecting employee dissatisfaction. This...
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Keywords:
Goals and Objectives;
Service Delivery;
Success;
Failure;
Management Skills;
Service Industry
Schlesinger, Leonard A., and James Heskett. "Breaking the Cycle of Failure in Services." MIT Sloan Management Review 32, no. 3 (spring 1991): 17–28.
- January 1991 (Revised March 2010)
- Case
Westchester Distributing, Inc. (A)
By: Robert L. Simons and Robert Boxwell
Focuses on the three-way interaction among internal controls, employee behavior, and incentives. Salesmen are illegally providing kickbacks to customers of this beer-distribution firm. In turn, salesmen are reimbursing themselves by filing fraudulent expense reports....
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Keywords:
Financial Reporting;
Crime and Corruption;
Corporate Governance;
Governance Controls;
Salesforce Management;
Behavior;
Motivation and Incentives;
Distribution Industry;
Food and Beverage Industry
Simons, Robert L., and Robert Boxwell. "Westchester Distributing, Inc. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 191-118, January 1991. (Revised March 2010.)
- September 1990 (Revised January 1992)
- Case
Procter & Gamble Japan (A)
Ten years after entering Japan, P&G had accumulated over $250 million in operating losses on declining annual sales of $120 million by 1983. The decision facing the president of P&G International: exit, retrench or rebuild the operation? Ironically, the initial entry...
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Keywords:
Restructuring;
Change Management;
Profit;
Market Entry and Exit;
Market Participation;
Sales;
Competition;
Technology;
Beauty and Cosmetics Industry;
Consumer Products Industry;
Japan
Yoshino, Michael Y. "Procter & Gamble Japan (A)." Harvard Business School Case 391-003, September 1990. (Revised January 1992.)
- July 1990 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A)
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
In 1989, the performance measurement systems and compensation policies of Nordstrom Department Stores unexpectedly came under attack by employees, unions, and government regulators. The case describes the "sales-per-hour" monitoring and compensation system that many...
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Keywords:
Performance Consistency;
Performance Evaluation;
Compensation and Benefits;
Motivation and Incentives;
Labor Unions;
Salesforce Management;
Retention;
Growth and Development;
Industrial Products Industry;
Utilities Industry
Simons, Robert L., and Hilary Weston. "Nordstrom: Dissension in the Ranks? (A)." Harvard Business School Case 191-002, July 1990. (Revised October 1999.)
- May 1990 (Revised September 1994)
- Background Note
Note on Financial Reporting Strategy and Analysis When Managers Have Proprietary Information
Provides a framework that helps explain these real-world observations about accounting and financial statement analysis. When managers have superior information on firms' strategies, and when investors suspect that managers have incentives not to fully disclose this...
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Palepu, Krishna G. "Note on Financial Reporting Strategy and Analysis When Managers Have Proprietary Information." Harvard Business School Background Note 190-188, May 1990. (Revised September 1994.)
- April 1990 (Revised November 1992)
- Case
Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh (Abridged)
By: James E. Austin
Population Services International (PSI) was a not-for-profit agency founded to disseminate family planning information and to market birth control products, primarily in less developed countries seeking to curb their population explosions. In 1976, PSI concluded an...
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Keywords:
Conferences;
Developing Countries and Economies;
Information Publishing;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Marketing Strategy;
Social Marketing;
Agreements and Arrangements;
Product;
Nonprofit Organizations;
Pharmaceutical Industry;
Bangladesh;
Washington (state, US)
Austin, James E. "Population Services International: The Social Marketing Project in Bangladesh (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 590-061, April 1990. (Revised November 1992.)
- 1990
- Book
A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management
By: J. P. Kotter
Kotter, J. P. A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management. New York: Free Press, 1990.
- March 1990 (Revised June 1991)
- Case
IBM Corp.: ""Make It Your Business"" (A)
By: Robert L. Simons
In 1987, IBM changed its strategy in an attempt to become a market-driven company rather than a product-driven company. The case begins with a description of the new strategy and the reasons for the change and then describes the top-down sales planning and quota system...
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Keywords:
Commercialization;
Competitive Advantage;
Business Strategy;
Goals and Objectives;
Strategic Planning;
Motivation and Incentives;
Sales;
Volatility;
System;
Information Technology Industry
Simons, Robert L. IBM Corp.: ""Make It Your Business"" (A). Harvard Business School Case 190-137, March 1990. (Revised June 1991.)
- March 1990 (Revised November 1999)
- Case
MCI Communications: Planning for the 1990s
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
Concentrates on the evolution of MCI's strategy-setting process following a period of dramatic growth. Opportunistic strategies during MCI's early years have given top managers a dislike of formal strategic planning and a strongly-held belief in top down strategy...
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Keywords:
Globalization;
Growth and Development;
Planning;
Strategic Planning;
Growth Management;
Business or Company Management;
Competition;
Alignment;
Communications Industry
Simons, Robert L., and Hilary Weston. "MCI Communications: Planning for the 1990s." Harvard Business School Case 190-136, March 1990. (Revised November 1999.)
- March 1990 (Revised October 1999)
- Case
Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A)
By: Robert L. Simons and Hilary Weston
Describes the incentive system by which Mary Kay Cosmetics motivates the sales force of 200,000 independent agents who comprise the firm's only distribution channel. Illustrates the powerful effect on sales-force behavior that results when creative types of employee...
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Keywords:
Motivation and Incentives;
Cost Management;
Salesforce Management;
Distribution Channels;
Beauty and Cosmetics Industry;
United States
Simons, Robert L., and Hilary Weston. "Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (A)." Harvard Business School Case 190-103, March 1990. (Revised October 1999.)
- March 1990 (Revised March 1992)
- Supplement
Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (B)
By: Robert L. Simons
Details the changes made to the VIP automobile plan.
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Simons, Robert L. "Mary Kay Cosmetics: Sales Force Incentives (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 190-122, March 1990. (Revised March 1992.)
- November 1989 (Revised February 1992)
- Case
Ford Motor Co.: Dealer Sales and Service
Since Henry Ford founded Ford Motor Co., Ford vehicles have been sold and serviced the same way. By the late 1980s Ford began to consider making changes in its sales and service process. Two developments forced Ford to reconsider these processes. First, Ford found...
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Keywords:
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Change Management;
Distribution Channels;
Customer Focus and Relationships;
Service Industry;
Auto Industry;
Retail Industry;
United States
Schlesinger, Leonard A. "Ford Motor Co.: Dealer Sales and Service." Harvard Business School Case 690-030, November 1989. (Revised February 1992.)
- October 1989
- Background Note
Aspects of Sales Management: Key Themes
Keywords:
Salesforce Management
Cespedes, Frank V. "Aspects of Sales Management: Key Themes." Harvard Business School Background Note 590-042, October 1989.
- October 1989 (Revised November 2006)
- Background Note
Deployment, Focus, and Measuring Effectiveness
Written for a module in the Marketing Implementation course (second-year MBA elective). Offers a framework for considering relevant factors that affect sales force deployment and criteria for measuring sales effectiveness and the conduct of field marketing efforts.
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Cespedes, Frank V. "Deployment, Focus, and Measuring Effectiveness." Harvard Business School Background Note 590-044, October 1989. (Revised November 2006.)
- October 1989
- Background Note
Managing Major Accounts
Written as an introduction to a module in the second-year MBA course, Marketing Implementation. Discusses issues encountered in the selling and management of major accounts. The topics covered include: 1) reasons for the increasing importance of major account...
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Keywords:
Accounting Audits;
Marketing;
Marketing Strategy;
Consumer Behavior;
Market Participation;
Relationships;
Salesforce Management
Cespedes, Frank V. "Managing Major Accounts." Harvard Business School Background Note 590-046, October 1989.
- October 1989 (Revised November 2006)
- Background Note
Managing Selling and the Salesperson
Written for a module in the Marketing Implementation course (a second-year elective in the MBA program). Provides a brief introduction to common issues involved in recruiting, training, compensating, and evaluating field salespeople. Also offers questions to consider...
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Keywords:
Salesforce Management
Cespedes, Frank V. "Managing Selling and the Salesperson." Harvard Business School Background Note 590-043, October 1989. (Revised November 2006.)
- September 1989 (Revised July 1991)
- Case
Caterpillar, Inc.: George Schaefer Takes Charge
For over half a century, Caterpillar, Inc. (CAT) had been a world leader in the manufacture of earthmoving and construction machinery. In 1982, just months after it recorded the highest sales and profits in its history, CAT experienced its greatest crisis. Demand fell...
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Keywords:
Machinery and Machining;
Crisis Management;
Labor Unions;
Demand and Consumers;
Management Teams;
Problems and Challenges;
Competitive Strategy;
Business Strategy;
Organizational Change and Adaptation;
Manufacturing Industry;
Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry;
Industrial Products Industry
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Caterpillar, Inc.: George Schaefer Takes Charge." Harvard Business School Case 390-036, September 1989. (Revised July 1991.)
- July 1989 (Revised April 2001)
- Case
Kanthal (A)
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Multinational company needs an improved cost system to determine the profitability of individual customer orders. Its strategy is to have significant sales and profitability growth without adding additional administrative and support people. The new cost system...
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Keywords:
Cost Accounting;
Earnings Management;
Cost Management;
Financial Management;
Multinational Firms and Management;
Business or Company Management;
Customer Relationship Management;
Sales;
Business Strategy;
Profit;
Electronics Industry
Kaplan, Robert S. "Kanthal (A)." Harvard Business School Case 190-002, July 1989. (Revised April 2001.)
- June 1989 (Revised November 1991)
- Supplement
Ingersoll-Rand (B): Managing Multiple Channels--1986
Peter Baldwin takes over Clabough's job and is charged with the responsibility to improve sales force morale, control expenses, and improve market share.
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Keywords:
Salesforce Management;
Supply and Industry;
Management Teams;
Industrial Products Industry
Rangan, V. Kasturi. "Ingersoll-Rand (B): Managing Multiple Channels--1986." Harvard Business School Supplement 589-122, June 1989. (Revised November 1991.)