Publications

2011
Other Unpublished Work

Functional Centralization and the Division of Labor in Management

By: Julie Wulf, Maria Guadalupe and Hongyi Li

This paper shows that the trend towards flatter hierarchies in large US firms since the mid-80's has been accompanied by increased centralization of activities at the top of the organization. In particular, the number of functional managers (e.g., Chief Financial... View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Management Teams; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Diversification; Information Technology; United States

16 Aug 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

HBS Introduces Marketing Analysis Tools for Managers

Analysis": Managers frequently need to estimate the size of their markets, both for existing products, so that sales forecasts can be developed, and for new products, so that market opportunities can be... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

2010
Simulation

Marketing Simulation: Managing Segments and Customers

By: Das Narayandas

In this single-player simulation, students assume the position of CEO of a medical motor manufacturer and are tasked with executing a successful business-to-business marketing strategy over a period of twelve fiscal quarters. Students determine all aspects of the... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Salesforce Management; Distribution Channels; Price; Product Positioning; Customer Relationship Management; Profit; Revenue; Cost vs Benefits; Policy; Manufacturing Industry

05 Dec 2007
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Marketing

merchant's direct channel sales after she opens a retail store in the area. The study used a proprietary longitudinal data set from a multichannel retailer to understand what happens and to probe the implications for channel View Details

September 2023
Supplement

Accelerating with Caution: Forecasting and Managing birddogs’ Growth (B)

By: Mark Egan

As 2017 was drawing to a close, birddogs’ founder and CEO, Peter Baldwin, was working with his CFO Jack Sullivan to prepare for 2018. Their task at hand? To predict the demand for their product in the coming season, determine the appropriate investments in working... View Details

Keywords: Working Capital; Forecasting and Prediction; Expansion; Production; Apparel and Accessories Industry

24 Oct 2007
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Innovation

innovative solutions? Can Innovation And Creativity Be Managed? High Note: Managing the Medici String Quartet Many managers in business experience difficulty dealing with their best creative thinkers. So how... View Details

20 Feb 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Where Should We Build a Mall? The Formation of Market Structure and Its Effect on Sales

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung, Kyoungwon Seo, and Reo Song; Retail; Real Estate; Construction

18 Nov 2003
Other Presentation

The U.S. Homebuilding Industry and The Competitive Position of Large Builders

By: Michael E. Porter

Strategy presentation at the Centex Investor Conference, New York. Topics include: The structure of the homebuilding industry, the competitive advantages of large homebuilders, market assessment of homebuilding versus other industries and the role of investors in... View Details

Keywords: Industry Analysis; Five Forces; Strategy; Five Forces Framework; United States

Read Now

February 2002 (Revised March 2002)
Background Note

Primer on Politics and Government Management in the United States, A

By: Joseph L. Bower

Introduces the wide variety of political and organizational forces at work in federal and local governments in the United States. View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; United States

May 1990 (Revised September 1994)
Background Note

Note on Financial Reporting Strategy and Analysis When Managers Have Proprietary Information

By: Krishna G. Palepu

Provides a framework that helps explain these real-world observations about accounting and financial statement analysis. When managers have superior information on firms' strategies, and when investors suspect that managers have incentives not to fully disclose this... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Strategy; Knowledge Management

July 2001 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Policy Management Systems Corp.: The Financial Reporting Crisis

Tim Williams, the new CFO of a publicly-traded enterprise software company, attempts to rebuild his company's reputation for reliable financial reporting following a highly visible financial reporting crisis. The crisis begins with an earnings shortfall warning, which... View Details

Keywords: Accrual Accounting; Revenue Recognition; Capital Markets; Policy; Corporate Governance; Accounting Audits; Technology Industry

February 2014 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Go Mobile: Aligning District Managers and Store Teams

By: Tatiana Sandino

Indian cell phone retailer Go Mobile had implemented high-powered incentives to motivate its store employees to behave as owners and provide exceptional service. As the company scaled up, it faced multiple challenges in building a layer of district managers that were... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth Management; Organizational Design; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Telecommunications Industry; India

November 2016 (Revised April 2017)
Case

Basecamp: Pricing

By: Frank Cespedes and Robb Fitzsimmons

A data analyst at Basecamp is evaluating the results of pricing research and its potential implications for the venture’s latest version of its project management software product. View Details

Keywords: Pricing; Entrepreneurial Management; Data Analysis; Marketing; Customer Acquisition; Customer Retention; Value Proposition; Sales Management; Product Management; Market Research; Life Time Value; Testing; Entrepreneurship; Analytics and Data Science; Customers; Value; Sales; Product Marketing; United States

November 2003 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Caja España: Managing the Branches to Sell (A)

By: Francisco de Asis Martinez-Jerez and Rosario de Albornoz

Juan Luis Rojas, commercial planning manager of a Caja de Ahorros (savings bank), faces the challenge of motivating the branches to sell more long-term mortgages and ponders whether to use transfer prices to achieve his objective. View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Banks and Banking; Resource Allocation; Organizational Design; Performance Improvement; Sales; Motivation and Incentives; Banking Industry

January 2014 (Revised January 2014)
Supplement

GlaxoSmithKline in China (C)

By: John Quelch and Margaret L. Rodriguez

Keywords: China; Healthcare; Pharmaceutical Sales; Ethics; Multinational Firms and Management; Pharmaceutical Industry; China