...HARVARD BUSINESS SCHOOL 9-108-092 REV: JANUARY 14, 2009 ATH MicroTechnologies, Inc. (A): Making the Numbers nstructi This case describes the evolution of an innovative, entrepreneurial firm in the medical technology industry. The successes-and di(fIcult-ies---of the business are due in large part to management's attenpts to design and use formal control systems to achieve profit and performance goals The case is structured in five chronological sections that will be discussed in class. To prepare for the initial discussion,please answer the questions at the end of this case. Founding In 1997, Dr. Charles Casper and John Frost founded ATH MicroTechnologies Inc. to develop, manufacture, and sell a new medical imaging product. Dr. Casper (47), a radiologist, had trained at Johns Hopkins medical school and, after a research fellowship at Harvard Medical School, joined a private practice in Florida. Casper specialized in the use of imaging systems for the medical practice. Over time, he had experimented with different procedures, such as ultrasounds and x-ray, until he became interested in a new technology based on sending electronic impulses through electrodes attached to the skin and observing how these impulses changed as they went through the body. Together with John Frost-an engineer who specialized in digital imaging for medical applicationsCasper perfected the technology, reducing its cost and improving its resolution. Both founders anticipated a significant market...
Words: 4842 - Pages: 20
...technology industry. The successes—and difficulties—of the business are due in large part to management’s attempts to design and use formal control systems to achieve profit and performance goals. The case is structured in five chronological sections: (1) founding of the company, (2) growth phase, (3) push to profitability, (4) refocus on process, and (5) takeover by new management. At the end of each section, you will be asked a series of questions about how managers should use control systems to overcome the problems that they encounter. Write your brief answer in the space provided before proceeding to the next section. In this way, you can evaluate your understanding of the applicable techniques to balance profit, growth, and control. I. Founding In 1997, Dr. Charles Casper and John Frost founded ATH MicroTechnologies, Inc. to develop, manufacture, and sell a new medical imaging product. Dr. Casper (47), a radiologist, had trained at Johns Hopkins medical school and, after a research fellowship at Harvard Medical School, joined a private practice in Florida. Casper specialized in the use of imaging systems for the medical practice. Over time, he had experimented with different procedures, such as ultrasounds and x-ray, until he became interested in a new technology based on sending electronic impulses through electrodes attached to the skin and observing how these impulses changed as they went through the body. Together with John Frost—an engineer who specialized in digital imaging...
Words: 4635 - Pages: 19
...TUFANO Sally Jameson: Valuing Stock Options in a Compensation Package Sally Jameson, a second-year MBA student at Harvard Business School, was thrilled but confused. It was late May 1992, graduation was approaching, and she had finally landed the job of her choice. She had just finished an early morning telephone conversation with Bob Marks, the MBA recruiting coordinator at Telstar Communications, a large, publicly held multinational company. Mr. Marks had offered Ms. Jameson a unique position in operations at Telstar, and from the description, it sounded exactly like the job that she wanted. Since her first interview with Telstar, she had been very impressed with the company and its people. While Ms. Jameson was certain that she would accept the job, there was still one unsettled, yet crucial, matter--her compensation. During the conversation with Marks, Jameson had asked what her compensation package would be. Marks: "Well, Sally, we are all very impressed with you and would like to offer you a starting salary of $50,000. In addition, you will also receive a signing bonus." Jameson: "The base salary is a little below what I had expected. Is that negotiable?" Marks: "I'm afraid not. That's the same starting package all MBAs get. However, you will receive a bonus upon accepting our offer. You can receive $5,000 in cash, or choose stock options instead." Jameson: "I'm not too familiar with stock options. Could you explain to me what they are?" Marks: "Sure...
Words: 1531 - Pages: 7
...TUFANO Sally Jameson: Valuing Stock Options in a Compensation Package Sally Jameson, a second-year MBA student at Harvard Business School, was thrilled but confused. It was late May 1992, graduation was approaching, and she had finally landed the job of her choice. She had just finished an early morning telephone conversation with Bob Marks, the MBA recruiting coordinator at Telstar Communications, a large, publicly held multinational company. Mr. Marks had offered Ms. Jameson a unique position in operations at Telstar, and from the description, it sounded exactly like the job that she wanted. Since her first interview with Telstar, she had been very impressed with the company and its people. While Ms. Jameson was certain that she would accept the job, there was still one unsettled, yet crucial, matter--her compensation. During the conversation with Marks, Jameson had asked what her compensation package would be. Marks: "Well, Sally, we are all very impressed with you and would like to offer you a starting salary of $50,000. In addition, you will also receive a signing bonus." Jameson: "The base salary is a little below what I had expected. Is that negotiable?" Marks: "I'm afraid not. That's the same starting package all MBAs get. However, you will receive a bonus upon accepting our offer. You can receive $5,000 in cash, or choose stock options instead." Jameson: "I'm not too familiar with stock options. Could you explain to me what they are?" Marks: "Sure...
Words: 1411 - Pages: 6
...Individual Research Paper: Employee Incentives The purpose of this paper is to discuss incentive programs for teachers. In a society where education is more important as ever, public school districts should be thinking of new ways to encourage their teachers to remain in the educational field. Teachers are leaving their desired profession to find employment that has enhanced incentives. According to Management-People, Performance, Change, “a growing number of companies are launching inititives so that employees can balance their family and work life. The most common inititives are redesigning work, alternative work arrangements, leaves, time-saving assistance, emotional well-being, financial assistance, legal assistance, relocation, health benefits, wellness, parenting, childcare, child develepment, exceptional care giving services, and handling family issues in the office.” In order to preserve respected, qualified, and experienced teachers, incentive programs for educators need to be improved. The school district I will be discussing has 18 schools. According to Connecting Business to the Future website, the school district “is one of the newest school districts in their state. In 2008, it was surveyed to have more than 15,500 and 2000 staff members.” The school district is the 2nd largest employer in their county. I interviewed two high school teachers, and one principal from the school district. They all agreed there is a large turn over with teachers and one...
Words: 1127 - Pages: 5
...Winter Project On “Comparative Study on Employee Welfare Schemes of Private and Nationalized Bank” Submitted for the Partial fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of Post Graduation Diploma in Management in Human Resource Department Submitted By: Ria Shah INDEX Sr. No. | Particulars | Page No. | Chapter 1: Introduction | | 1 | Employee Welfare | 6 | 2 | Oblectives Of Employee Welfare | 6 | 3 | Principles Of Employee Welfare Services | 7 | 4 | Agencies For Labour Welfare Work In India | 7 | Chapter 2: Research Methodology | | 1 | Introduction: | 12 | 2 | Research Definition | 12 | 3 | Benefits Of Research Methodology | 12 | 4 | Research Process | 13 | 5 | Research Design | 14-16 | 6 | Data Collection Method | 16-18 | Chapter 3: Literature Review | | 1 | Welfare | 20 | 2 | Types Of Employee Welfare Schemes | 21 | 3 | Employee Benefits | 22 | 4 | 2012 Employee Benefits: A Research Report By SHRM | 24-26 | 5 | Laws Related To Employee Welfare (Factory Act) | 27 | 6 | Employee Satisfaction | 28 | Chapter- 4: About The Company | | 1 | ICICI Bank | 31-44 | 2 | The State Bank Of India | 45-47 | Chapter 5: Data Analysis And Interpretation | | 1 | Data Analysis | 49 | 2 | Analysis Of The Data Collected From ICIC Bank | 50-65 | 3 | Findings | 66 | Chapter 6: Comparison | | 1 | Employee Benefits By ICICI Bank | 67-69 | 2 | Employee Benefits Provided By SBI Bank | 70-74 | 3 | Comparison between ICICI Bank And SBI Bank...
Words: 11915 - Pages: 48
...development and implementation of strategies, which ensure that valuable workers feel secured at their work place and rewarded for their accomplishment. A successful company focused compensation strategy including tuition reimbursement, bonus and paid time off. They are valuable programs and creating attraction process for most common compensation programs. These strategies are useful tool to improve employee satisfaction and work ethics. But, used incorrectly, it can cause some financial damages and relation disconnect between company and work forces. Bonus, tuition reimbursement and paid time off can be created to reward individual performance which is related to company’s mission and building trust in the organization. Company can use these strategy tools to communicate a fresh commitment from the employer to the employees and remind workers how much they are appreciated. The purpose this report is to determine the proper amount of compensations gets applied for different jobs in the organization. The organization because persuading the incorrect determination can cause bad implications for the company and damaging the work ethics of the employee organization as well as the employer’s power to hire qualified employees. Another purpose of the research report Well treated employees make a major role in a company’s power to improve its product quality, services and make a profit, so attracting employees can be a main key to success. Making a decision about compensation is also affecting...
Words: 5183 - Pages: 21
...Compensation and Benefit Management: A Study on Pacific Bangladesh Telecom Limited (CITYCELL) Submitted By: Submitted To: Mr. A.K. Nazmul In Partial Satisfaction of Requirements for the Human Resource Management Course Fall, 2008 Dhaka, Bangladesh Letter of Transmittal Date: 27th November, 2008 To Mr. A.K. Nazmul Faculty, School of Business American International University- Bangladesh. H: 83/B, R: 4, Kamal Ataturk Avenue, Banani, Dhaka-1213 Subject: Submission of term paper. Sir, We are glad to submit herewith the report for Human Resource Management .We are grateful to you for assigning this work as this has given us an opportunity to make a practical demonstration to relate our classroom theoretical knowledge to a virtual real life scenario and thus broaden our applied knowledge. We have all along enjoyed our working on this project and we shell feel glad to give any further clarification, you desire from us on this paper. With Regards, Acknowledgement I specially thank our faculty Mr. A.K. Nazmul for giving us this wonderful opportunity and approval to submit a formal report...
Words: 5113 - Pages: 21
...argument, recent legislation and regulations for reform tend to support those who believe it is unfair. We have evaluated the current standards of CEO compensation and examined why both sides think they should prevail. There are some advantages that strongly support CEO’s huge salaries, including the following: * Provides incentives and motivates the CEO to obtain or surpass corporate objectives * Retains key-value leaders for the long-term, resulting in consistent corporate success * Creates a strong CEO confidence for him/her to reinvest in the corporation (bonds) Our overall research indicates that CEO compensation does not reflect actual performance in most cases. Many CEO’s are grossly over compensated (including stock options, bonuses, hedge funds, and other benefits). The “Golden Parachute” guarantee adds insult to injury. Based on our research, conducted from the UNLV Library periodicals database and online sources, we recommend the following: * Require corporations to adhere to sections 951, 953, 955 and 956 of the Dodd-Frank Bill * Maintain a collective (“Esprit de corps”) work force environment for all employees * Consult third party professional payroll agencies that evaluate and determine appropriate salaries The goal of our research is to reveal the best solutions to optimize corporate payroll risk management that will promote steady growth for corporations, their leaders and work force. Sincerely, Ray Mirkosky ...
Words: 10991 - Pages: 44
...experience and judgment to plan and accomplish goals. • Performs a variety of tasks. o Interfacing with other areas of the company o Works with clients o Leads and directs the work of a team of six. • A wide degree of creativity and latitude is expected. • Reports to the head of the unit. • The job requires a little travel (approx. 1-2 days of travel/ month) You have interviewed for a number of positions. This job is your first choice. There are 8 issues of concern in this negotiation: Signing Bonus Job Assignment Vacation Time Starting Date Moving Expense Coverage Insurance Coverage Salary Location Your goal is to reach an agreement with the other person on all eight issues that is best for you. THE MORE POINTS YOU EARN, THE BETTER. You’ve assessed your preference using a technique you learned in a decision making course you took in grad school. You’ve assigned points that reflect your preferences to each alternative. You may determine what type of agreement is best for you by referring to "PAYOFF SCHEDULE" on the next page. The 8 issues...
Words: 1328 - Pages: 6
...ORGANIZATION PROFILE COMPANY HISTORY INTRODUCTION OF THE COMPANY The Housing Development Finance Corporation Limited (HDFC) was amongst the first to receive an 'in principle' approval from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to set up a bank in the private sector, as part of the RBI's liberalization of the Indian Banking Industry in 1994. The bank was incorporated in August 1994 in the name of 'HDFC Bank Limited', with its registered office in Mumbai, India. HDFC Bank commenced operations as a Scheduled Commercial Bank in January 1995. • PROMOTER HDFC is India's premier housing finance company and enjoys an impeccable track record in India as well as in international markets. Since its inception in 1977, the Corporation has maintained a consistent and healthy growth in its operations to remain the market leader in mortgages. Its outstanding loan portfolio covers well over a million dwelling units. HDFC has developed significant expertise in retail mortgage loans to different market segments and also has a large corporate client base for its housing related credit facilities. With its experience in the financial markets, a strong market reputation, large shareholder base and unique consumer franchise, HDFC was ideally positioned to promote a bank in the Indian environment. • BUSINESS FOCUS HDFC Bank's mission is to be a World-Class Indian Bank. The objective is to build sound customer franchises across distinct businesses so as to be the preferred provider of banking services...
Words: 6845 - Pages: 28
...Consequences of Pay-Level and Mix Decisions Efficiency Fairness Compliance Your Turn: Sled Dog Software Your Turn: Managing a Low-Wage, Low-Skill Work Force January is always a good month for travel agents in Ithaca, New York. In addition to the permanent population eager to flee Ithaca’s leaden skies (our computer has a screen saver whose color is titled “Ithaca”; it consists of 256 shades of gray), graduating students from Ithaca’s two colleges are traveling to job interviews with employers across the country— at company expense, full fare, no Saturday-night stayovers required. When they return from these trips, students compare notes and find that even for people receiving the same degree in the same field from the same college, the offers vary from company to company. What explains the differences? Location has an effect: Firms in San Francisco and 185 Milkovich−Newman: Compensation, Eighth...
Words: 13519 - Pages: 55
...Walmart Customer Loyalty Program Save Money, Live Better, Reward Yourself! Travis Godderidge Rick Hayes Darrell Johnson Chad Mikels HBM 581 Services Management Section 2 Team 5 February 24, 2013 [Type text] Table of Contents Executive Summary Background Research Companies researched, program names and descriptions Description of the Proposed Program Company overview Target customers Suggested Program Names Features and Benefits Terms and Conditions Duration of the Program Initiating and Marketing Tracking Device for Customers Estimates costs to implement and sustain the loyalty program Summary and Recommendations References 1 2 3 8 9 9 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Executive Summary In the fierce world of global discount retail competition, differentiation is critical to long term success and survival. Walmart was founded on the differentiating factor of the lowest prices for the highest quality products. While this has served Walmart well and will continue to do so with global sourcing and supply chain management to secure the best products at the best prices, an expansion of the services provided to the customer and the ability to obtain demographic spending information and trends will prove invaluable to Walmart’s continued success and rapid global expansion. Additionally, programs that help retain customers once the customer has entered the store will increase market share more rapidly and increase...
Words: 4862 - Pages: 20
...objectives | | | | | 5 | Business objectives: measuring success | | | | | 6 | Business objectives: stakeholders | | | | | 7 | Business plans | | | | | 8 | Business risk and uncertainty | | | | | 9 | Legal structure: sole trader and partnership | | | | | 10 | Legal structure: limited and unlimited | | | | | 11 | Locating the business | | | | | Section 2 – Marketing | Content | | R | A | G | 1 | Market research with limited budgets | | | | | 2 | Market research methods | | | | | 3 | The marketing mix | | | | | 4 | The marketing mix: product | | | | | 5 | The marketing mix: price | | | | | 6 | The marketing mix: promotion | | | | | 7 | The marketing mix: place | | | | | Section 3 – Finance | Content | | R | A | G | 1 | Finance for small businesses | | | | | 2 | Support for small businesses | | | | | 3 | Financial terms and basic financial calculations | | | | | 4 | Cash flow and survival | | | | | 5 | Using cash flow forecasts | | | | | Section 4 – People in Business | Content | | R | A | G | 1 | People in business: recruiting | | | | | 2 | People in business: rewarding employees | | | | | 3 | Motivating staff | | | | | 4 | Protecting staff through legislation | | | | | Section 5 – Operations...
Words: 6461 - Pages: 26
...Accrual-based and real earnings management activities around seasoned equity offerings Daniel A. Cohen 1, Paul Zarowin à New York University, Stern School of Business, NY 10012-1118, USA a r t i c l e i n f o abstract Article history: Received 15 January 2008 Received in revised form 22 December 2009 Accepted 18 January 2010 Available online 2 February 2010 We show that SEO firms engage in real activities manipulation, and the decline in postSEO performance due to the real activities management is more severe than that due to accrual management. Our evidence is important, because it shows that post-SEO operating underperformance is driven not just by accrual reversals, but also reflects the real consequences of operational decisions made to manage earnings. We also show how firms’ choices of real versus accrual-based earnings management activities around SEOs vary predictably as a function of the firm’s ability to use accrual management and the costs of doing so. & 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. JEL Classification: G14 G32 M4 M41 Keywords: Seasoned equity offerings Earnings management Accounting choices Accounting Accruals Real activities 1. Introduction In this paper, we examine both real and accrual-based earnings management activities around seasoned equity offerings (SEOs). Prior research has documented that SEOs are associated with earnings management and subsequent declines in operating performance (e.g., Rangan, 1998; Teoh et al...
Words: 14924 - Pages: 60
