Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,107)
- Faculty Publications (204)
- May 1994
- Background Note
Managing Market Complexity: A Three-Ring Circus
Proposes models of organization that address the various product-market environments posed by the product life cycle. Frames these changes along the two dimensions of uncertainty and diversity. Offers three sets of organizational characteristics to reflect the three... View Details
- September 1992
- Case
Kodak Business Imaging Systems Division
By: Marie-Therese M. Flaherty and Steven C. Wheelwright
Describes Kodak's decision regarding a manufacturing site for some of its products. Compares several types of products (with different cost structures) and several worldwide locations (with different characteristics). Provides a framework (model) for comparing and... View Details
- May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
- Supplement
ABB: Accountability Times Two (A)
By: Robert L. Simons
Describes the complexity of setting and reconciling performance targets in a global, matrix company. The president of the Finnish industry and rail transport company has received targets from two bosses--his regional superior and his business area superior. Each has... View Details
- May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
- Supplement
ABB: Accountability Times Two (B)
By: Robert L. Simons
Describes internal allocation conflicts in a complex global company structured as a matrix organization. ABB Switzerland has secured and will build an important power station project; however, internal market allocation policies dictate that this work be handled by ABB... View Details
- May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
- Case
Asea Brown Boveri: The ABACUS System
By: Robert L. Simons
Describes the computer-based information system (ABACUS) used to monitor and control business operations in a complex, global company. Describes the technical attributes of the database system, financial reporting requirements, target setting and profit calculations on... View Details
- July 1991 (Revised September 1995)
- Case
Eastman Kodak Co.: Managing Information Systems Through Strategic Alliances
In January 1988, Colby Chandler, Kodak CEO, created the Corporate Information Systems (CIS) and appointed Katherine Hudson head. She at once became the first head of IT and first woman corporate vice president in the company. Throughout 1989, Hudson inaugurated a... View Details
- February 1991 (Revised November 2010)
- Case
Tennessee Controls: The Strategic Ranking Problem
By: Robert L. Simons and Dale Geiger
Tennessee Controls has instituted a new formal asset acquisition process to rank competing proposals. Judy Starnes, the new division manager, is asked to rank three proposals by using techniques to quantify economic returns, risk, as well as the credibility of the... View Details
- 1990
- Chapter
Cost of Product and Process Complexity
By: S. Datar, R. Banker, S. Kekre and T. Mukhopadhyay
- April 1989 (Revised March 1990)
- Case
Burlington Northern (B)
Describes the experiences of a seasoned Burlington Northern (BN) sales representative after the introduction of ShipSmart, a decision support system developed by the BN to help its employees and customers analyze logistics problems. After a brief description of a... View Details
- April 1985 (Revised October 1988)
- Case
Everest Computer (A): The Development of the SuperMOS Process
By: Kim B. Clark
The research and development lab at the semiconductor development and manufacturing facility of a computer systems manufacturer has embarked on a radically improved semiconductor manufacturing process for application in a new computer system. The case offers a detailed... View Details
- August 1983 (Revised March 1995)
- Case
Railroad Problem and the Solution
A vehicle for a discussion of the causes and consequences of the Interstate Commerce Act. View Details
- March 1981 (Revised February 1993)
- Case
Hank Kolb, Director, Quality Assurance
By: Frank S. Leonard and W. Earl Sasser
Designed to introduce the systemic nature of product quality and the complexity of quality problems. Uses a new director, quality assurance, and the discovery of a quality problem. The new director has to decide if it is a real problem, what to do about it, and how to... View Details
Keywords: Leadership; Product; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Attitudes; Complexity
- September 1971 (Revised September 1983)
- Case
Gentle Electric Co.
By: W. Earl Sasser
Designed to illustrate various levels of complexity in determining optimum order sizes for a single item inventory policy. Students are asked to evaluate the impact of recent operational changes on the firm's ordering policy. Intended to follow the students' initial... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Data Science and AI for Leaders
By: Dennis Campbell
Modern business increasingly relies... View Details
- Research Summary
Distributed Innovation in Open Systems—The Role of Modularity
Distributed innovation in open systems is an important trend in the modern global economy. As education levels rise and communication costs fall, more people have the means and motivation to innovate. Supply chains now stretch around the world as firms outsource... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Financial Reporting and Control
By: Paul M. Healy
Throughout their careers, business leaders are required to measure and evaluate their organization's economic performance, improve resource allocation and strategy implementation within their organizations, and build accountability for performance through effective... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Financial Reporting and Control
By: Suraj Srinivasan
Financial Reporting and Control (FRC) covers topics about how managers can design and use performance measurement systems for external reporting and internal management to build more effective organizations. Throughout their careers, business leaders are required to... View Details
Keywords: Financial Reporting
- Teaching Interest
Leadership and Corporate Accountability
In this course, students learn about the complex responsibilities facing business leaders today. Through cases about difficult managerial decisions, the course examines the legal, ethical, and economic responsibilities of corporate leaders. It also teaches students... View Details
- Teaching Interest
Leading Innovation and Change
This portion of a doctoral seminar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education explores the relationship between innovation, organization design, and leadership in complex educational environments. We pay particular attention to leading large system change. View Details
- 2025
- Chapter
Leapfrog Leaders: Accelerating Systems Leadership Skills
By: Laura Cabrera, Derek Cabrera and Hise O. Gibson
We need leaders who can execute at the Strategic, Operational, and Tactical (SOT) levels. But, research shows it takes time for skills to develop at all three levels—too much time. Why does it take too much time? First, because expertise is borne of experience. An... View Details
Keywords: DSRP; VCML; Strategy; Operations; Leadership Development; Decision Making; Organizational Structure