Publications

2015
Working Paper

The Impact of Funds: An Evaluation of CDC 2004-12

By: Josh Lerner, Ann Leamon, Steve Dew and Dong Ik Lee

CDC was founded in 1948 as part of the U.K. government's efforts to develop the economic resources of Britain's remaining colonies. Since then, CDC has pursued a series of strategies to "do good without losing money," as its original mission was phrased. Its approach... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Great Britain

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18 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Hazard Warning: The Unacceptable Cost of Toxic Workers

replacing one toxic worker, which is almost double the figure a company gains from hiring a “superstar.” A superstar in the top 1 percent of performers adds $5,303 in increased performance to a company’s... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

Web

Organize Care Around Medical Conditions - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

represents either an acute or chronic disease process that may require management by multiple clinicians representing different specialties and types of providers and support personnel. Care for a medical condition involves View Details

24 Apr 2017
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Courage: The Defining Characteristic of Great Leaders

decisions to build great global companies. If businesses are managed without courageous leadership, then R&D programs, product pipelines, investments in emerging markets, and employees’ commitment to the company’s mission all wither.... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George; Auto; Food & Beverage

November 2015 (Revised February 2016)
Supplement

Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (B)

By: W. Earl Sasser and Gamze Yucaoglu

At the age of 39, Solmaz Altın took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated in Turkey, the company was operating in a very competitive environment with pressure on prices and, hence, cost... View Details

Keywords: Service Excellence; Customer Experience; Customer Service; Emerging Market; Customer Focus; Net Promoter Score; Customer Relationship Management; Competition; Leading Change; Service Operations; Emerging Markets; Customer Satisfaction; Insurance Industry; Turkey

05 Jan 2017
Blog Post

Crossing the River: The HBS/HKS Joint Degree Program

rigor it deserved. The more time I spent in the social sector, the more I recognized that robust applications of strategy, financial analysis, and enterprise management were underrepresented in the field. After surveying potential... View Details

Web

Topics - HBS Working Knowledge

Browse All topics Accounting Audits (3) Accounting (119) Acquisition (20) Activity Based Costing and Management (2) Adaptation (7) Adoption (3) Advertising Campaigns (6) Advertising (77) Agency Theory (3) Age (3) Agreements and... View Details

December 1999 (Revised July 2000)
Case

Cimetrics Technology (B): Russian Perspectives

By: Lynn S. Paine

Presents the perspectives of two Russian software developers working for Cimetrics in Moscow. A central issue from the Russian perspective is whether a more structured and formal arrangement is needed for managing the Russian team. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Applications and Software; Business or Company Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Labor and Management Relations; Product Development; Performance Evaluation; Information Technology Industry; Russia; Canada; United States

September 2011
Supplement

Narayana Hrudayalaya Heart Hospital

By: Tarun Khanna and Tanya Bijlani

Narayana Hrudayalaya (NH) is one of the world's busiest heart hospitals, where surgeons perform 30-35 complex cardiac surgeries daily. With an average cost of $1,800 per surgery, the hospital treats patients at affordable prices, and does not turn away even the poorest... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Experience and Expertise; Cost Management; Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Resource Allocation; Time Management; Emerging Markets; Infrastructure; Cooperative Ownership; Quality; Social Enterprise; Health Industry; Karnataka

31 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

were less likely to appoint a Black teammate to a leadership position, compared with those who weren’t exposed to this research. Those hearing the business case were also less likely to agree that racially diverse teams perform better. In... View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Hutt Scott and Barbara DeLollis

Web

Impact Investments

investing and green bonds. The UN launched its six Principles for Responsible Investment in 2006 in order to promote greater commitment to ESG issues amongst global investors, garnering 100 signatories. By the start of 2020, more than 3,000 organizations View Details

February 2003 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose, The

By: Allen S. Grossman and Christina Darwall

Patrick J. McGrath, the bishop of the healthy and growing San Jose diocese, is pioneering the use of long-term, business-like strategic planning to better deliver on his churches' core mission. The adopted plan addresses issues at the heart of how the diocese is... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Growth Management; Success; Performance Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges

2010
Working Paper

Reversing the Queue: Performance, Legitimacy, and Minority Hiring

By: Andrew Hill and David A. Thomas

Studies of minority hiring have found that poor-performing firms or firms in highly competitive contexts are more likely to hire minority candidates. However, most work has examined hiring for entry and mid-level positions, not senior management. Management positions... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Selection and Staffing; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Performance Effectiveness; Sports Industry; United States

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January 2014
Case

CleanSpritz

By: John A. Quelch and Alisa Zalosh

Sales of CleanSpritz all-purpose cleaning spray have been steadily declining for the past five years, and management believes the decline correlates to a growing environmental concern among U.S. consumers. CleanSpritz's management is considering several options to... View Details

Keywords: Product Positioning; Competition; Marketing Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Improvement; Environmental Sustainability; Product Launch; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry

20 Sep 2010
Research & Ideas

Power Posing: Fake It Until You Make It

it's how they perform in a job interview or how they participate in class." Cuddy acknowledges that there are moderating factors in how easily some groups can use traditional power poses. It would run counter to social norms, for... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

16 Nov 2021
HBS Case

How a Company Made Employees So Miserable, They Killed Themselves

attendance and behavior, asked some workers to reapply for their jobs, and gave what seemed like unmanageable workloads to others. Some employees returned from vacation to find that a company car, badge, or desk had been stripped from them. During View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 1997 (Revised May 1998)
Case

Decision Making at the Top: The All-Star Sports Catalog Division

By: David A. Garvin and Michael Roberto

Describes a senior management team's strategic decision-making process. The division president faces three options for redesigning the process to address several key concerns. The president has extensive quantitative and qualitative data about the process to guide him... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Management Teams; Performance Improvement; Planning; Mathematical Methods; Strategy

August 2000
Case

Belmont Industries, Inc. (A)

By: Joseph L. Bower

A new general manager has to propose a salary structure for the top 20 managers. His task is complicated as he learns about past performance, ambitions, interpersonal relations, and market conditions. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Executive Compensation; Goals and Objectives; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits