Skip to content
Dynamic Corporate Transformation
The CFO's rule stops the program after one round (seed 26205)

Ch. II.5 The CFO's rule stops the program after one round

Case Studies

Sixteen real decisions behind Volume II, told from the published record.

Every chapter of Volume II carries an In Practice case: a real organization that took a decision of the chapter's kind, told from its published record. Each case sets out the decision, the method, the result and what it took to make it work, then what Meridian, the book's case company, takes from it and four questions for a board.

The cards give a preview. The full two-page case is in the chapter, after its Worked Example and before its AXIOM Lab.

16 organizations · 15 sectors · 4 Franz Edelman Awards · 1 INFORMS Wagner Prize

1 of 16 cases

  1. Chapter 7Dynamic Enterprise Optimization
    Dynamic Programming for Enterprise Systems
    American Airlines

    American Airlines Prices Its Last Seat

    $1.4 billion over three years, by American's estimate

    Franz Edelman Award, 1991

    AirlinesWeek 11

    In 1977 American Airlines launched its Super Saver fares. Robert Crandall, who named the practice yield management, saw that most flights left with empty seats that cost almost nothing to fill. The catch was every flight's dilemma: a seat sold cheaply in advance may turn away a full-fare passenger later. American put the benefit at $1.4 billion over three years and won the 1991 Franz Edelman Award. The founder of one rival put it bluntly: “That was the end of our run.” What is the last seat worth?

    Read the case in Chapter 7 →Lab →

Company and organization names identify the organizations whose published decisions the cases discuss. They are trademarks of their respective owners; no affiliation with or endorsement by them is implied.