Publications

01 Mar 2004
Lessons from the Classroom

Mission to Mars: It Really Is Rocket Science

of development process for a project. But my past work (studying projects in high-tech industries) had convinced me that we were missing an important level of analysis. It seemed that decisions made in a project sometimes worked against... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

January 2007 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Organic Growth at Wal-Mart

By: Jan W. Rivkin and Troy Smith

In 2005, an executive vice president at Wal-Mart must decide whether to expand the retailer's selection of organic food. The decision is made in the context of wider attempts to move the giant retailer slightly upscale and to focus on environmental sustainability. View Details

Keywords: Food; Growth and Development Strategy; Product; Business Processes; Environmental Sustainability; Expansion; Retail Industry; United States

26 Mar 2014
Research & Ideas

How Electronic Patient Records Can Slow Doctor Productivity

new study of physician offices transitioning to electronic health records (EHRs) used in managing patient care. In general, larger offices in the study that employed EHRs recorded productivity gains, but certain types of smaller practices... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Health

01 Jun 2013
News

Minding The Gap

Baltimore City Public Schools CEO Andrés Alonso for a prized spot on the team that represents the district at a weeklong summer institute run by Harvard's Public Education Leadership Project (PELP). Harcum's assessment of the program—which seeks to turn best practice... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; Blagg, Deborah; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Educational Support Services; Educational Services; Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services

13 May 2019
Research & Ideas

The Unexpected Way Whistleblowers Reduce Government Fraud

managers The study’s findings can be applied to customer-supplier contractual relationships in general, says Perez Cavazos, providing a lesson for managers about ways to repair the reputational damage caused... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Service; Construction

August 2001
Background Note

Work Methods Design: Note on Time Standards

By: H. Kent Bowen

Looks at production design. Helps students observe and work with procedures and consider cost reduction ideas using a view of methods improvement. View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Management Practices and Processes; Standards; Production; Performance Improvement; Perspective

01 Mar 2018
News

What I Do: Philippe Hellich (MBA 1996)

Founded in Sweden in 1943, IKEA is the world’s largest furniture retailer, outfitting dorm rooms and designer homes around the globe. A company that engages nearly a billion customers every year and employs over 194,000 workers in 49 countries has plenty of upside... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; illustrations by Peter and Maria Hoey

04 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Predictions, Prophets, and Restarting Your Business

“Predictions are risky, especially about the future,” according to a popular expression. Still, business is inescapably about the future—that’s what managers’ decisions are about. In the current crisis, we have daily grand predictions about “new normals,” and View Details

Keywords: by Frank V. Cespedes

April 1992
Background Note

Ethical Dimensions of Competitive Analysis

By: Michael E. Porter

Presents some of the dilemmas of gathering competitive information and the appropriate limits for competitive analysis. Raises the issues involved and provides information about actual corporate practice. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Competition; Management Practices and Processes; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Corporate Governance; Information Management

June 2021
Teaching Note

Wolfgang Puck: Setting the Table for the Future

By: Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 419-001. View Details

Keywords: Brands and Branding; Growth and Development; Management Systems; Business Processes; Leadership; Transition; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry

November 15, 2021
Article

Putting Your Corporate Purpose to Work

By: Hubert Joly

Making a company purpose come to life is an arduous journey that requires a multi-pronged and sustained approach. Yet as hard as it is, the journey is well worth it and will yield positive transformation not only for the company, but also for the people who work there.... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Business and Stakeholder Relations

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February 2016 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Astroscale, Space Debris, and Earth's Orbital Commons

By: Matthew Weinzierl, Angela Acocella and Mayuka Yamazaki

An engineer and technology entrepreneur, Nobu Okada, had turned a mid-life crisis into a bold—some would say quixotic—quest to prevent a tragedy of the commons at the global scale. Namely, Okada believed the accumulation of debris in near-Earth orbital space posed a... View Details

Keywords: Market Entry and Exit; Global Range; Entrepreneurship; Crisis Management; Wastes and Waste Processing; Economics; Aerospace Industry