美国商*必教的15个经典案例（上）

        If you attend business school, you can expect to read a lot of case studies. Professors love them because they offer real-world examples of why businesses succeed and fail.There are some classic cases that every business student should know, like why Apple changed its name and how Ryanair beat two industry giants.We've compiled the most influential cases here, with recommendations from business school professors across the nation and abroad.

       若你在商里读书，你一定希望阅读大量的商务案例来做研究。教授们非常喜爱这些案例的原因是这些案例能告诉你在真实世界里为什么有些生意成功了而有些则失败了。今天就和大家一起分析其中的前7个案例。
 
1.Why Apple changed its name
 Case: Apple Inc., 2008
 Key takeaway: Sometimes you can't take a rival head on.
 What happened? Apple changed its name from "Apple Computers" to "Apple Inc." in 2007. That reflected a fundamental shift in its business, away from its iconic Mac computers and towards new lines like the iPod and new iPhone, which made up more than half of the company's revenue by then. Though still an important part of the company, Apple's amazing success came from completely changing the world of digital devices rather than from beating "Wintel" for share of the computer market. It reinvented itself, and did so very successfully.
 
2.How Lululemon kept its cult
 Case: Leadership, Culture, and Transition at lululemon
 Key takeaway: Figure out how to bring the founders into a strategy rather than alienating them.
 What happened? In mid-2008 new CEO Christine Day took over from founder Dennis "Chip" Wilson. The decision came as the company wanted to expand and become more corporate. At the same time, Wilson was concerned about maintaining the culture and values of the company.
 Day faced entrenched problems like outperforming stores, a poor real estate strategy, and barriers between various parts of the company. She used her experience from helping expand Starbucks worldwide to align the whole company with a strategic plan. She even convinced the founders to attend advanced management programs at Harvard and Stanford so they could better understand how the company must change. Worth around $350 million at the start of her tenure, Lululemon is now a $10.59 billion dollar company.
 
3.How Cisco bounced back
 Case: Cisco Systems: Developing A Human Capital Strategy
 Key takeaway: Great homegrown talent and a culture that values it are a huge advantages in a tough environment.
 What happened?: Cisco grew rapidly during the tech bubble, acquiring 70 companies and more than doubling its work force. After the bubble burst, the company had to change the way it grew and developed talent, to build more from within rather than going out and buying it.
 The company created a team to develop and leverage Cisco's talent and began the 'Cisco University' initiative to promote an agile and versatile workforce. Within three years, the company had turned around and was listed as one of the top companies to become a leader.
 
4.How USA Today reinvented itself
 Case: USA Today: Pursuing The Network Strategy
 Key takeaway: Sometimes the old guard can't handle a new reality.
 What happened? Facing falling circulation of the daily newspaper and the rise of digital news, USA Today CEO Tom Curley saw the need to better integrate his businesses, to leverage and share content across the company's internet, television and print platforms. His management team and staff were resistant, claiming insurmountable divides in culture and work style. Curley had to make the case that this was essential for the future of the business, and eventually replaced 5 of 7 senior managers as part of the change.
 
5.How Dreyer's survived a disaster
 Case: Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream
 Key takeaway: Don't try to spin bad news or mislead workers.
 What happened? A variety of problems at the company, including high input prices, a collapse in sales of a low fat product line, and the end of a distribution contract with Ben & Jerry's forced restructuring on the company. During the restructuring, the company's executives flew all over the country and met with every employee to discuss the plan, preserving the company's culture of openness and accountability. The company continued investment in a leadership program. This cultural consistency and employee faith in leadership helped them bounce back within a couple of years.
 
6.How Microsoft challenged Google on its home turf
 Case: Microsoft's Search
 Key takeaway: There's no magic solution. It takes an entire organization's experience and talent.
 What happened? 10 years after its founding, Google had managed to become dominant in search and search advertising. Microsoft was a distant third, and a deal to buy Yahoo had fallen through. Though already in a very strong financial position, it wanted a bigger piece of a rapidly-growing business.
 The case tracks Google's rise, Microsoft's initial search efforts, and Microsoft's push for real innovation in 2008, which led to Bing! in 2009. Microsoft decided to focus on how it met such challenges in the past, focusing on "user experience, the business model, and the ecosystem of the industry in question," along with a significant marketing effort.
 
7.How Ryanair beat two giants of the industry
 Case: Dogfight Over Europe: Ryanair
 Key takeaway: Lean organizations focused on a single business can lead on cost and challenge established competitors.
 What happened?: In 1986, the two Ryan brothers announced that their young airline will take on giants like British Airways and Aer Lingus for the first time on the route between Dublin and London. It significantly undercut those two airlines on price, bringing in people who had previously preferred rail or ferry tickets.