Hbr Cases Solved
CASE STUDY ,
Au Bon Pain
This is a company which has achieved great success and soon had become the leader on the market. If we could describe them by only one word that word would be: Quality. Very quickly they became recognizable. Despite that they gained a lot of competition in the market they were still trying to develop. The company began to develop so quickly that they had to make some changes. They stopped and focused their attention on the structure of the company, the company inside.
From the early beginning “Au Bon Pain” has been managed by people with experience in the industry as well as very well-educated. Shaich and Kane – both were students of Harvard Business School and College. Thanks to a few golden rules, which they remembered from school, they were able to manage their business.
They decided to make several changes. They decided to work on the quality rather than on speed. The major change was a decision to centralize production, which led to improved quality of the products. They also decided to increase the quality of work and make some reductions in employees. Inside the company, they shaped the structure of the teamwork. Everyone was in the company of his own choice, everyone shared the same values. Through communication between employees at every level, they were able to take better control over the entire company. People felt themselves as part of a whole and, therefore, performed the work well and selflessly. Of course, it was connected with the great progress, so the company assured employees the training, high wages for well-done work and a lot of benefits.
With these changes, and high culture of the company, they have gained a lot of shareholders and attracted the attention of a new partner- Len Schlesinger. At the beginning he wasn’t interested in cooperation offer, but it turned out, that the company mission statement is related with his personal statement, and and that it is a place exactly for him.
The company still makes
Au Bon Pain
This is a company which has achieved great success and soon had become the leader on the market. If we could describe them by only one word that word would be: Quality. Very quickly they became recognizable. Despite that they gained a lot of competition in the market they were still trying to develop. The company began to develop so quickly that they had to make some changes. They stopped and focused their attention on the structure of the company, the company inside.
From the early beginning “Au Bon Pain” has been managed by people with experience in the industry as well as very well-educated. Shaich and Kane – both were students of Harvard Business School and College. Thanks to a few golden rules, which they remembered from school, they were able to manage their business.
They decided to make several changes. They decided to work on the quality rather than on speed. The major change was a decision to centralize production, which led to improved quality of the products. They also decided to increase the quality of work and make some reductions in employees. Inside the company, they shaped the structure of the teamwork. Everyone was in the company of his own choice, everyone shared the same values. Through communication between employees at every level, they were able to take better control over the entire company. People felt themselves as part of a whole and, therefore, performed the work well and selflessly. Of course, it was connected with the great progress, so the company assured employees the training, high wages for well-done work and a lot of benefits.
With these changes, and high culture of the company, they have gained a lot of shareholders and attracted the attention of a new partner- Len Schlesinger. At the beginning he wasn’t interested in cooperation offer, but it turned out, that the company mission statement is related with his personal statement, and and that it is a place exactly for him.
The company still makes