Publications

Keywords: Labor; Performance Productivity

10 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Why a Federal Rule on CEO Pay Disclosure May Get You In Trouble With Customers

disclosure might affect consumer behavior. Previous research has shown that consumers consider 4.6:1 to be the ideal CEO-to-average-worker pay ratio. In reality, the average ratio among S&P 500 companies is roughly 373:1, according to 2014 information from the... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail

Research Summary

Leadership and Leadership Development: An Ontological Approach

This summarizes my research program over the last twelve years (with my co-investigators Werner Erhard, Steve Zaffron, and more recently Kari Granger) in which the objective has been to rigorously distinguish leader and leadership and to create a technology for... View Details

23 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

The Open Office Revolution Has Gone Too Far

employers on this issue. Much of my research is about the impact of workplace transparency (the observability of employee activities, routines, behaviors, output, and/or performance) on employee productivity and collaboration. So these... View Details

Keywords: Re: Ethan S. Bernstein

27 Jan 2017
Working Paper Summaries

The Microstructure of Work: How Unexpected Breaks Let You Rest, but Not Lose Focus

Keywords: by Pradeep Pendem, Paul Green, Bradley R. Staats, and Francesca Gino

05 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Porsche’s Risky Roll on an SUV

Germany in 2000, the labor costs were about 25-26 Euros per hour. In the Czech Republic it's about four Euros per hour. So it's quite dramatic. But how you assess these costs depends on productivity levels... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Auto; Manufacturing

06 Dec 2021
News

Tipping Point

November and December, these women typically awake before dawn to pick the coffee cherries in the cooler morning air. Then they spend days tending to the drying beans, meticulously sorting them for sale. To ensure that more of the value produced in the supply chain is... View Details

Keywords: April White; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing

01 Jun 2016
News

Up by the Roots

its wine, but inferior product from Canada and China had begun flooding the market, driving down retail prices from $50 a pound that year to $12 a pound by 2006. Instead of joining the family business, Hsu went to work for General Mills... View Details

Keywords: Francis Storrs

08 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs

unavoidable, research by HBS assistant professor Zeynep Ton suggests that retailers should make labor decisions thoughtfully. "Many retailers see labor more as a cost driver than a sales driver." Her advice:... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

01 Mar 2006
News

The Real Conflict

economic pie available to be divided among its various stakeholders, instead of just slicing up a fixed pie in a way that favors one group over another. Consider, for example, the conclusions of the McKinsey Global Institute’s study of U.S. View Details

Keywords: Pankaj Ghemawat; Ken A. Mark; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

Web

Post-war PR Campaigns Reaching Wide Audiences | Baker Library | Bloomberg Center | Harvard Business School

production that depicted the labors of “men who served their fellow men” as the narrator explained. “Corporate public relations . . . sought to cajole, persuade, and assuage fears—all goals that required a... View Details

01 Mar 2006
News

Drive-In Nation

worldwide, once employed 600,000 Americans alone and estimates it will employ only 86,000 in its U.S. operations by 2008. And in another telling numbers game, highly profitable Toyota has announced it will produce 9.06 million cars worldwide this year, while... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Motor Vehicle and Parts Dealers; Retail Trade

William C. Procter

Under Procter's guidance, P&G grew out of its mid-western roots as a soap producer into a national consumer goods conglomerate. Procter was responsible for the creation of many famous brands, including Crisco shortening, but also played a large role in improving... View Details

Keywords: Personal Care & Home Products

06 Aug 2018
Research & Ideas

Supersmart Manufacturing Tools are Lowering Prices on TVs, Bulbs, and Solar Panels

capacity and a collapse in pricing. Silverthorne: Over the next two to three years, what products are particularly susceptible to being commoditized? Shih: I think high volume, high tech hardware products... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing; Electronics

01 Feb 2017
What Do You Think?

Is the Next Jobs Crisis Just Ahead?

is whether these efforts overlook a much larger job crisis ahead, one involving the service sector. The focus of attention is on a sector of the American economy that employs 12.3 million people, down from about 17.3 million in 2000, a 29 percent decline. According to... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Service

October 1987 (Revised January 1991)
Case

Dana Corp.: The Richmond Camshaft Plant (Condensed)

Keywords: Labor; Performance Productivity

March 1981 (Revised August 1985)
Case

Dana Corp.: The Richmond Camshaft Plant (B)

Keywords: Labor; Performance Productivity

March 1981 (Revised March 1985)
Case

Dana Corp.: The Richmond Camshaft Plant (A)

Keywords: Labor; Performance Productivity