General Management

- November–December 2024
- Article
How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?

By: Lynn S. Paine and Suraj Srinivasan

During the past few years, as evidence of climate change and its effects has mounted, many corporate boards have added climate governance to their agendas. But the maturity of boards’ climate-oversight processes and activities varies widely. To better understand how climate issues are being handled in the boardroom and to determine what good climate governance looks like in practice, the authors interviewed 20 directors who hold leadership positions on the boards of S&P 500 companies. Drawing from those interviews and other research, they identify eight hallmarks of meaningful climate oversight. For example, “the board is knowledgeable about the company’s climate profile,” “the board has the expertise needed for effective climate oversight,” and “the board can articulate the company’s climate positioning and strategy.” The authors also offer their perspective on the set of issues associated with each hallmark that corporate leaders must grapple with as they decide how to incorporate climate issues into their company’s governance. Climate concerns are here to stay, and climate governance will increasingly be seen as a core element of good governance.
- November–December 2024
- Article
How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?

By: Lynn S. Paine and Suraj Srinivasan

During the past few years, as evidence of climate change and its effects has mounted, many corporate boards have added climate governance to their agendas. But the maturity of boards’ climate-oversight processes and activities varies widely. To better understand how climate issues are being handled in the boardroom and to determine what good...
- October 31, 2024
- Article
How to Build a Life: Why You Might Need an Adventure

By: Arthur C. Brooks
- October 31, 2024
- Article
How to Build a Life: Why You Might Need an Adventure

By: Arthur C. Brooks
- October 2024
- Case
NextGen CDR Facility: From Davos to Details

By: Peter Tufano, Emily A. Chien and Karina Val

Next Gen CDR is a startup that pools corporate commitments to purchase Tech CDR, which promises to permanently remove and store carbon from the atmosphere to combat climate change. A partnership between South Pole and Mitsubishi Corp., Next Gen has secured initial commitments from five founding buyers and has just announced the pool at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos. Now the parties have to hammer out the exact terms of the agreement to bring it to fruition.
- October 2024
- Case
NextGen CDR Facility: From Davos to Details

By: Peter Tufano, Emily A. Chien and Karina Val

Next Gen CDR is a startup that pools corporate commitments to purchase Tech CDR, which promises to permanently remove and store carbon from the atmosphere to combat climate change. A partnership between South Pole and Mitsubishi Corp., Next Gen has secured initial commitments from five founding buyers and has just announced the pool at the World...

About the Unit

The General Management Unit is concerned with the leadership and management of the enterprise as a whole. This concern encompasses:

the personal values and qualities of effective general managers and enterprise leaders;
the philosophies, values, and strategies that inform successful enterprises; and
the relation of enterprise to the broader community and other external constituencies.

The Unit's work is conceived and carried out principally in four interest groups, each of which has its own leadership, research agenda, and teaching programs:

Management Policy and Process
Management Information Systems
Society and Enterprise
Leadership, Values, and Corporate Responsibility

Recent Publications

How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?

By: Lynn S. Paine and Suraj Srinivasan

November–December 2024 |
Article |
Harvard Business Review

During the past few years, as evidence of climate change and its effects has mounted, many corporate boards have added climate governance to their agendas. But the maturity of boards’ climate-oversight processes and activities varies widely. To better understand how climate issues are being handled in the boardroom and to determine what good climate governance looks like in practice, the authors interviewed 20 directors who hold leadership positions on the boards of S&P 500 companies. Drawing from those interviews and other research, they identify eight hallmarks of meaningful climate oversight. For example, “the board is knowledgeable about the company’s climate profile,” “the board has the expertise needed for effective climate oversight,” and “the board can articulate the company’s climate positioning and strategy.” The authors also offer their perspective on the set of issues associated with each hallmark that corporate leaders must grapple with as they decide how to incorporate climate issues into their company’s governance. Climate concerns are here to stay, and climate governance will increasingly be seen as a core element of good governance.

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governing and Advisory Boards

Citation

Find at Harvard

How to Build a Life: Why You Might Need an Adventure

By: Arthur C. Brooks

October 31, 2024 |
Article |
The Atlantic

Citation

NextGen CDR Facility: From Davos to Details

By: Peter Tufano, Emily A. Chien and Karina Val

October 2024 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Next Gen CDR is a startup that pools corporate commitments to purchase Tech CDR, which promises to permanently remove and store carbon from the atmosphere to combat climate change. A partnership between South Pole and Mitsubishi Corp., Next Gen has secured initial commitments from five founding buyers and has just announced the pool at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos. Now the parties have to hammer out the exact terms of the agreement to bring it to fruition.

Citation

Educators

El Salvador: Launching Bitcoin as Legal Tender

By: Laura Alfaro

October 2024 |
Teaching Note |
Faculty Research

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 322-055. In June 2021, Nayib Bukele, El Salvador’s president, surprised the world with the announcement that the country would adopt bitcoin as legal tender, becoming the first nation to do so. Bitcoin was mostly used for trading and had one of the most volatile track records among assets. Yet, crypto adoption as a medium of exchange was starting to gain pace worldwide. Bukele claimed it would be a boon for financial inclusion, investment, innovation, and economic development. El Salvador´s $27 billion economy suffered from persistently low growth, high public debt, and a strong dependence on remittances, which could potentially become cheaper and faster to access in bitcoins. The Bitcoin plan was met with both enthusiasm from Bitcoin supporters and skepticism from credit agencies and multilateral finance institutions, which believed it could bring macroeconomic instability to the local economy. Was bitcoin a viable currency for Salvadorans? Or, as some observers pointed out, was Bukele's plan another sign of weakened governance in his administration?

Keywords: Bitcoin; Cryptocurrency; Currency; Financial Strategy; Economic Growth; Governance; Macroeconomics; Assets; Latin America; El Salvador

Citation

Purchase

How to Build a Life: Are You a Platonist or an Aristotelian?

By: Arthur C. Brooks

October 24, 2024 |
Article |
The Atlantic

Citation

Purpose of the Firm

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

October 2024 |
Module Note |
Faculty Research

Purpose of the Firm (PoF) is a short module designed to explore how, and under what circumstances, business leaders can harness the power of capitalism and markets to “make a difference in the world” – that is, to address a significant societal problem as a commercial endeavor. This Module Note summarizes the themes discussed in PoF. Together, the cases taught in PoF are designed to study entrepreneurs and business leaders who are tackling some of the world’s most complex problems and understand 1) how to identify the problems or challenges that have both commercial potential and a positive impact on society; 2) the opportunities and limitations of the private sector’s role in systems change; and 3) how to collaborate with other societal entities to operate most successfully in a cross-sectoral fashion.

Keywords: Social Accounting; Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Enterprise; Mission and Purpose

Citation

Purchase

How to Build a Life: Why Humility Is the Key to Well-Being

By: Arthur C. Brooks

October 17, 2024 |
Article |
The Atlantic

Citation

Parexel: Scaling Up and Industry Dynamics

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ben Creo

October 2024 |
Case |
Faculty Research

Through the lens of biopharmaceutical contract research organization (CRO) PAREXEL, this case traces the evolution of the firm as it reinvents itself in response to the transformation of the CRO sector from a small, secondary cluster of firms into a major player with essential capabilities for global drug development. The case begins as PAREXEL is pursuing an expensive globalization and IT strategy while many of its competitors focus on cost cutting. Over the prior 20 years, CEO Josef von Rickenbach had grown PAREXEL into a billion-dollar company by taking calculated risks and making bold investments based on anticipated industry trends and client demand. Now, despite slowing demand for CRO services, PAREXEL is betting that a global footprint and technology capabilities will become its key future competitive advantage. Near the end of the case, the timing transitions to a decade after Rickenbach made this strategic decision, describing the development of the industry and PAREXEL's place within it.

Keywords: Research; Innovation and Invention; Business Model; Transformation; Globalization; Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Pharmaceutical Industry

Citation

Educators

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