Publications

Find at Harvard

July 2002 (Revised October 2002)
Case

Bradley Marquez: Reduction in Force (A)

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayaraghavan

The Bradley Marquez advertising agency had created a successful niche delivering ethnic markets to their clients, corporate giants like Compaq, Sprint, Texaco, and British Airways. The company was operating in aggressive growth mode when, in 2000, the stock market... View Details

Keywords: Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Financial Crisis; Price Bubble; Human Resources; Employees; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Advertising Industry

10 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Winners and Losers in the Retail Revolution

if your toilet blows up, you aren't going to wait two days for delivery for a part from (competitor) Amazon Prime. You need that part right now. You need it to be in stock, and you need somebody to help you understand what to do, what... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

14 Feb 2016
News

Why being too nice to new staff can store up problems

08 Jan 2020
Research & Ideas

NFL Head Coaches Are Getting Younger. What Can Organizations Learn?

quality nowadays. That young candidates are being selected for the most prestigious and critical positions in the NFL means, to some extent, that they are bypassing older colleagues for job opportunities.... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

08 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs

potential profit drivers rather than the first troops to cut in a downturn. Ton's working paper, "The Effect of Labor on Profitability: The Role of Quality", examines how mundane activities such as stocking shelves, setting up displays,... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

16 Aug 2024
In Practice

Election 2024: What's at Stake for Business and the Workplace?

with strongly-held views about societal issues, 20 percent would not be willing to work with someone with which they disagree.” This has consequences. Uncivil workplaces lead employees to be three times more likely to be dissatisfied with their View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

December 2010 (Revised June 2014)
Supplement

eBay Partner Network — slide supplement

By: Benjamin Edelman

eBay considers adjustments to the structure and rules of its affiliate marketing program, eBay Partner Network (ePN). In particular, eBay reevaluates affiliate compensation structure, the role of bonuses for especially productive affiliates, and the overall rationale... View Details

Keywords: History; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Internet and the Web; Markets; Marketing Channels; Negotiation Participants; Marketing; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry

15 Dec 2024
News

Back at the Ranch

The summer training program at Bear Hug Cattle Company starts truly at square one. “The first day is about teaching the guys how to just be out here and not die,” says lead instructor Zach Aguilar, gazing out from under his broad-brimmed hat to the grassy rangelands of... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; photos by Adler and Vance Jacobs; Animal Production and Aquaculture; Agriculture

09 Aug 2017
Blog Post

"A Balance Between Autonomy and Resources to Help Me Learn."

supply chain. Reflecting on the search experience, Jon noted “The big, important thing was figuring out what I was most interested in. There are a lot of things you can prioritize, like lining up your first job after graduation, or... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing

16 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

What Football Firings Teach Managers About Staying Relevant

among NFL coaches now support this idea. We examined this link between tenure and job performance among business managers, finding that some are able to maintain job... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg, Evan M.S. Hecht, and Abhijit Naik; Sports

August 2012
Case

Danshui Plant No. 2

By: William Bruns, Julie H. Hertenstein and Kelvin Liu

Danshui Plant No. 2 in southern China has a one-year contract with Apple Inc. to assemble 2.4 million iPhones. In the first three months of the contract, the plant is unable to assemble as many phones as expected and is operating at a loss. The plant manager must... View Details

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Production; Budgets and Budgeting; Manufacturing Industry; Electronics Industry; China

June 2014
Supplement

eBay Partner Network — slide supplement (widescreen)

By: Benjamin Edelman

eBay considers adjustments to the structure and rules of its affiliate marketing program, eBay Partner Network (ePN). In particular, eBay reevaluates affiliate compensation structure, the role of bonuses for especially productive affiliates, and the overall rationale... View Details

Keywords: History; Online Technology; Markets; Negotiation Participants; Marketing; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Internet and the Web; Marketing Channels; Business Processes; Change; Compensation and Benefits; Web Services Industry

September 2008 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Tong Lung Metal Industry Co., Ltd.

By: Willy C. Shih, Chintay Shih, Chen-Fu Chien, Ho Howard Yu and Yu-Shian Chiang

Develop its own branded line, or continue as an original design manufacturer (ODM)? Tung Lung Metal Industries Co. Ltd. is a Taiwanese maker of door lock hardware that is faced with the question of whether to continue to focus on its ODM business or start placing more... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Markets and Industries; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Brands and Branding; Corporate Strategy; Industrial Products Industry; Taiwan

19 Dec 2023
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Articles of 2023

story. How KKR Got More by Giving Ownership to the Factory Floor: ‘My Kids Are Going to College!’KKR turned around a struggling door company and sold it for 10 times its investment—giving factory workers a life-changing View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

1997
Chapter

Environmental Determinants of Work Motivation, Creativity, and Innovation: The Case of R&D Downsizing

By: T. M. Amabile and R. Conti

Keywords: Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Research and Development; Working Conditions; Motivation and Incentives; Creativity; Innovation and Invention

Web

Women's Leadership in Technology and Finance - Blog: RGE Report

achieve cutting edge innovation or build a great business in isolation. Get comfortable with your peers, both in and out of a workplace setting . Learn how to generate ideas View Details

January 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Cat is out of the Bag, The: KANA and the Layoff Gone Awry (A)

By: Leslie A. Perlow and David Ager

Vicki Amon-Higa, vice president of KANA, a publicly traded, midsize development company, was working with Bryan Kettle, KANA's CFO, to plan a layoff in which KANA would reduce the size of its workforce by nearly 40%. Despite the best of intentions, news of the layoff... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Employees; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Problems and Challenges; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Conflict Management