Publications

01 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

What it Takes to Lead Through Turmoil

take advantage of change in fundamental ways. In a presentation to an overflow crowd of HBS alumni, Kanter discussed the characteristics of companies that thrive with change and those that are swamped by it.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Supercell 2.0: Clash of Plans

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport and George Gonzalez

Founded in 2010, Supercell was a Helsinki, Finland-based mobile gaming company that had developed and launched five global hit mobile games: Clash of Clans, Clash Royale, Hay Day, Brawl Stars, and Boom Beach. The company’s early philosophy was that it could produce... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Restructuring; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Video Game Industry; Finland

October 1993 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Bausch & Lomb: Regional Organization

By: John A. Quelch

The CEO of Bausch & Lomb is contemplating replacing an international division with three regional divisions to sustain the company's growth, especially in international markets, and to add value to customers. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Structure; Globalization; Consumer Products Industry

September 2010
Case

Freddie Mac: Managing in Conservatorship

By: Robert Steven Kaplan, Nitin Nohria and Ben Creo

Ed Haldeman has recently become CEO of Freddie Mac, one of three major government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) charged with supporting U.S. residential mortgage finance. The company was placed into conservatorship by the U.S. treasury on September 7, 2008.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Financial Crisis; Mortgages; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Business and Government Relations; Financial Services Industry; United States

May 1994 (Revised January 1995)
Case

Warner Cable (A) and (B) (Condensed)

The new general manager of Warner Cable's Medford, Massachusetts complex faces a number of turnaround challenges in 1985, including service deficiencies, customer complaints, high turnover, and low employee morale. By 1988 he has turned the situation around, but some... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Style; Change Management; Performance Improvement; Telecommunications Industry; Massachusetts

19 Dec 2016
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Stories of 2016

Design and Identity Change at the Federal Bureau of Investigation Both the design and identity of the FBI changed greatly in the wake of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, write Ranjay Gulati, Ryan... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

January 2019 (Revised June 2019)
Technical Note

U.S. Commercial Health Insurance Industry

By: Susanna Gallani, Mary Witkowski and Harry B. Wolberg

This note describes the role of commercial payers in the U.S. healthcare industry. We begin with a review of the historical evolution of commercial payers and their role in the market, from the beginning to the Affordable Care Act and beyond. Every wave of reforms in... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Health Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

07 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 7, 2007

that both effects are operative. Instrumental variables analysis indicates that plausibly exogenous changes in payout policy result in shifting institutional ownership patterns. Similarly, exogenous changes... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2001 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Range, The (A)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn, Tracy Thompson and Michael Smith

Reveals the potential benefits and pitfalls of reorganization into teams in order to respond to environmental change. Takes place in the newsroom of a metropolitan daily newspaper. Both management and employees struggle to find new balance after a major restructuring... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Groups and Teams; Restructuring; Balance and Stability; Organizational Structure; Business Processes; Journalism and News Industry

Web

2013 Symposium - Race, Gender & Equity

, Deloitte Joanna Barsh , McKinsey & Company Roby Ely (moderator) , Harvard Business School Panel: Organizational Change Lesley Perlow , Harvard Business School Helping Women by Helping Men, Improving Lives... View Details

01 Dec 2013
News

Batteries and Chocolates

displaying characteristics (such as consensual decision-making and greater risk aversion) more associated with women's management styles. Admittedly, acknowledging gender-based organizational distinctions risks endorsing stereotypes that... View Details

Keywords: Spar, Debora; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

May 1994 (Revised October 1994)
Case

Motorola Corp.: The View from the CEO Office

By: Shoshana Zuboff and Janis Lee Gogan

Motorola, a leader in semiconductors and telecommunications, embarked on an ambitious program of renewal beginning in the early 1980s, leading to dramatic improvements in the company's quality, cycle time, and growth. Much of this progress was attributed to a major... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Leading Change; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Telecommunications Industry

June 1994 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Mrs. Fields, Inc. (1988-1992)

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Keri O. Pearlson and Randi Wade Purchia

Continues the story of Mrs. Fields Cookies. Explores the new challenges the company faced managing its geographic growth and its expansion of products and markets through combination stores. Details the decision of Debbi and Randy Fields to delegate management... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Expansion; Growth Management; Organizational Structure; Globalization; Information Management; Food and Beverage Industry

June 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Communities In Schools (Atlanta): Innovating a College Program

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Lynda M. Applegate and Alexis Lefort

Frank Brown, CIS of Atlanta's new Black CEO, was keen to extend CIS's well-honed case management in schools program to youth in college. Founded 50 years ago by Bill Milliken, CIS, a network of 110 affiliates, had built a strong program of assisting and supporting... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Education; Expansion; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Atlanta

January 19, 2021
Article

How to Be a 'Glass-Shattering' Organization

By: Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg

Advancing gender equality is certainly desirable, but may not seem vital during this turbulent time — yet that assumption couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, losing sight of gender equity right now is likely to put you at a real disadvantage when the pandemic... View Details

Keywords: Gender Equity; Gender Inclusivity; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Organizational Change and Adaptation