Publications

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June 1989 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Fairfield Inn (A)

By: James L. Heskett

The Fairfield Inn, an economy hotel venture by the Marriott Corp., has developed a novel method for selecting and measuring the performance of its hotel personnel that fits the company's strategy. Because it faces the need to grow rapidly, questions have arisen as to... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Franchise Ownership; Performance Evaluation; Corporate Strategy; Accommodations Industry

01 Apr 2001
News

The Small Business Difference: How Smaller Companies Manage with Less

A few years ago, H. Kent Bowen, the Bruce V. Rauner Professor of Business Administration, undertook a study of smaller companies (firms in the $5 million to $50 million range) in order to develop cases and teaching materials for the elective course Running and Growing... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

15 Mar 2021
Blog Post

REFLECTIONS ON MY TIME AS BEI DIRECTOR

capacity. BEI began in 2010 with one full-time administrator. A Coordinator was added in 2013, and in 2019 we added an Associate Director, tripling the staffing from early years. These changes have made possible important accomplishments.... View Details

December 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Managing Talent at Bertelsmann AG (A)

By: Boris Groysberg, Nitin Nohria, Mark Maletz and Kerry Herman

Bertelsmann's EVP HR Immanuel Hermreck and his team were focused on four key HR issues. Three of these were somewhat discreet: improving Bertelsmann's employer brand; managing Bertelsmann talent across the firm's decentralized businesses; and ensuring early... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Recruitment; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Leadership Development; Strategic Planning; Competitive Advantage; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Germany

2023
Working Paper

Setting Gendered Expectations? Recruiter Outreach Bias in Online Tech Training Programs

By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Karim R. Lakhani and Roberto Fernandez

Competence development in digital technologies, analytics, and artificial intelligence is increasingly important to all types of organizations and their workforce. Universities and corporations are investing heavily in developing training programs, at all tenure... View Details

Keywords: STEM; Selection and Staffing; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Training; Equality and Inequality; Competency and Skills

SSRN

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January 2008 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Uría Menéndez (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles

Uria Menendez, the pre-eminent law firm in Iberia, is at a critical point in its long and distinguished history. Its newly appointed second generation co-managing Partners are facing some critical strategic decisions concerning how the firm should position itself in... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Networks; Selection and Staffing; Work-Life Balance; Compensation and Benefits; Decision Making; Expansion; Legal Services Industry; Iberian Peninsula

01 Dec 2018
News

A Force for Good

Photo courtesy of Ananth Kasturiraman Photo courtesy of Ananth Kasturiraman There is no shortage of evidence demonstrating that the hiring process is one of the ways in which economic inequalities are perpetuated. Take, for example, the finding that job candidates who... View Details

February 2003 (Revised September 2003)
Case

NanoGene Technologies, Inc.

Describes a company during the start-up phase and focuses on the founders' decisions regarding splitting the equity and compensation. Also considers establishing policies and practices that will set the tone for the company as it grows. Discusses a number of specific... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Business or Company Management; Compensation and Benefits; Selection and Staffing; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Policy; Technology Industry

February 2001 (Revised May 2001)
Case

Balance, Inc. (A)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Michele Lutz

Focuses on an entrepreneur who founded a successful health-food store and seeks to expand his retail concept. Illustrates the challenges he faces as he recruits his top management team. View Details

Keywords: Distribution Channels; Executive Compensation; Agreements and Arrangements; Outcome or Result; Recruitment; Management Teams; Selection and Staffing; Food and Beverage Industry

Article

Employee Selection as a Control System

By: Dennis Campbell

Theories from the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study... View Details

Keywords: Management Systems; Governance Controls; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Motivation and Incentives; Decision Making; Business Model

July 2001
Case

Bobbie D'Alessandro and the Redesign of the Cambridge Rindge and Latin School

By: Linda A. Hill, Kristin Doughty and Ellen Pruyne

Bobbi D'Alessandro, the superintendent of the school system in Cambridge, MA, has just hired a new principal to lead a major redesign effort in the city's only high school. The need for reform had been evident since the late 1980s when school statistics highlighted... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Performance Improvement; Change Management; Secondary Education; Selection and Staffing; Leading Change; Education Industry; Cambridge

2002
Book

Searching for a Corporate Savior: The Irrational Quest for Charismatic CEOs

By: Rakesh Khurana

Corporate CEOs are headline news. Stock prices rise and fall at word of their hiring and firing. Business media debate their merits and defects as if individual leaders determined the health of the economy. Yet we know surprisingly little about how CEOs are selected... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Selection and Staffing; Personal Characteristics; Experience and Expertise; Investment Activism; Corporate Strategy

September 2008 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Marc Abrahams: Annals of an Improbable Entrepreneur

By: Boris Groysberg and Michael Slind

Marc Abrahams was a media entrepreneur who specialized in science humor. In 2008, he sought to boost the scale and monetization potential of his business. That business, called Improbable Research, encompassed a magazine (Annals of Improbable Research), a high-profile... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Selection and Staffing; Human Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Brands and Branding; Personal Development and Career

April 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Liz Claiborne China

By: Joseph L. Bower, Sonja Ellingson Hout and Fred Young

A new country manager builds the Shanghai office of Liz Claiborne into a powerful sourcing organization using local talent. She explains the nuts and bolts of transforming the office. View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Transformation; Selection and Staffing; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Market Entry and Exit; Fashion Industry; China

October 1997 (Revised November 1997)
Case

NAACP, The

By: James E. Austin, Paul Barese, Stephanie L. Woerner and Elaine V. Backman

In February 1995, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the largest civil rights organization in the United States, was in the midst of a crisis. The executive director had been fired due to financial improprieties amid charges of... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Capital; Governance Controls; Resignation and Termination; Selection and Staffing; Rights; Leadership; Management; United States

December 23, 2022
Article

What the World Cup Can Teach Business Leaders About Top Performers

By: Boris Groysberg, Sascha L. Schmidt, Abhijit Naik and Harry Krueger

Our people are our greatest source of competitive advantage." This sentiment is often heralded in companies by everyone from middle managers to HR professionals to CEOs. It is a great sound bite. The problem: It is not true—at least, not entirely. View Details

Keywords: Soccer; Performance; Business; Leadership; Competitive Advantage; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management

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November 15, 2021
Article

What Do Black Executives Really Want?

By: Frank Cooper III and Ranjay Gulati

Recruiting and retaining Black talent is a priority for many organizations. Most are committed to and investing in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). And yet, according to interviews and focus groups with Black executives working in a variety of blue-chip... View Details

Keywords: Black Executives; Selection and Staffing; Retention; Race; Organizational Culture; Change Management