Robert F. Hartley

Marketing professionals have relied on Hartley’s book for 30 years to uncover the best and worst marketing programs. Invitation to Research suggestions allow readers to take the case a step further, to investigate what has happened since the case was written, both to the company and even to some of the individuals involved. Learning Insights help marketing professionals see how certain practices—both errors and successes—cross company lines and are prone to be either traps for the unwary or success models. Each chapter has been updated to reflect the latest information available about each case.

Hartley’s casebook is rich in content with easy to read case studies that are well suited for business professionals. They’ll learn every key aspect of management, from performance and crisises; to mergers and acquisitions. The tenth edition presents more new case studies to illustrate management concepts. These include Google’s entrepreneurial strategy, Procter and Gamble, Starbucks, and more. Recent business failures and successes are also examined in a way that offers practical insights and strategic principles. By focusing on the mistakes and successes, this book helps business professionals learn how to become great business leaders.

In today's business climate, firms need to be wary of practices that may provoke criticism and scandals. Investigative reporters, eager lawyers, and zealous governmental agencies are lurking in the wings. These lessons of the past give you an inside look at some of the biggest mistakes of recent history. You can ponder not only how they might have been avoided, but also how their resolution might have been better handled. Robert Hartley, author of the popular Marketing and Management Mistakes and Successes books, brings you face-to-face with major players and the temptations, crises, and torments they experienced. Thought-provoking discussion questions, role-playing exercises, and debates present you with key ethical concerns that may help you avoid similar situations in your own career.

Any company violating the public trust today puts itself at a disadvantage. Competitors who are more eager to please their clients will gain the upper hand by developing trusting relationships. Readers are exposed to ethical problems, striking examples of unethical conduct, and a variety of moral dilemmas and temptations businesses encounter every day. The aim of this book is to teach from the mistakes of the well-known cases described and to show how to avoid, and how to respond best, should the worse scenario occur.