Publications

July 2007
Case

Kristen's Cookie Company (A) (Abridged)

By: Roger E. Bohn and Janice H. Hammond

The student is starting his or her own business, baking make-to-order cookies. Basic times of each operation are laid out and the student is asked to determine the consequences for the operating system. Serves as an exercise and review of concepts such as capacity,... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Growth Management; SWOT Analysis; Operations; Outcome or Result; Performance Capacity

22 Feb 2022
News

New Urban Order

the country have different cost structures and regulatory requirements when it comes to waste reduction, diversion, and disposal,” he says. “It doesn’t make sense for us to... View Details

August 2017 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Fuyao Glass America: Sourcing Decision

By: Willy Shih

In today's global economy, what are the factors that go into production location choice? This case is set in the world's second largest automotive glass producer as it expands from China into the United States. To meet a very aggressive cost target, management is faced... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chains; Globalization Of Supply Chain; Manufacturing Footprint; Manufacturing; Manufacturing Strategy; Global Strategy; Supply Chain; Globalization; Supply Chain Management; Production; Logistics; Strategy; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States; China

November 2019 (Revised April 2021)
Technical Note

Rechargeable Batteries, 2017: Gigafactory Wars in the Offing?

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2017, the global market for rechargeable lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries was 126 gigawatt-hours (GWh) valued at $37 billion, growing by $10 billion in two years. Once confined largely to consumer electronics and appliances, the rapid increase in demand was spurred by... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Lawsuits and Litigation; Crisis Management; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Design; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Crime and Corruption; Business Organization; Business Model; Ethics; Corporate Accountability; Governance Compliance; Policy; Compensation and Benefits; Resignation and Termination; Laws and Statutes; Legal Liability; Business or Company Management; Risk Management; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Failure; Agency Theory; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Salesforce Management; Public Opinion; Banking Industry; North and Central America

June 2017 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Sales Misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Dennis W. Campbell, Susanna Gallani and Amram Migdal

Set in early 2017, this case examines widespread sales misconduct at Wells Fargo Community Bank. Wells Fargo's governance and controls are described in the lead up to the September 2016 announcement that Wells Fargo had settled with regulators for $185 million in... View Details

March 1978 (Revised October 1978)
Case

Rosemont Hill Health Center

An administrator of a neighborhood health center is considering changing his cost accounting system from a single cost per visit to a cost per visit for each department in the center. Used to illustrate several issues related to cost accounting in health care:... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

Article

Beyond the Reach of the Invisible Hand: Impediments to Economic Activity, Market Failures, and Profitability

By: Dennis Yao

In this paper it is argued that failures of the competitive market are necessary conditions for supranormal profitability. Three fundamental causes of these market failures-production economies and sunk costs, transactions costs, and imperfect information-are developed... View Details

Keywords: Economics; Markets; Failure; Profit; Cost; Information; Market Transactions; Competition; Strategy; Production

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Dean Datar on the shootings in Atlanta and violence against Asian Americans | About

coronavirus as a China virus, make real the consequences of prejudice and fear-mongering. Let there be no doubt: Harvard Business School condemns racist actions and hateful... View Details

January 1986 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Kristen's Cookie Company (A)

The student is starting his or her own business, baking make-to-order cookies. Basic times of each operation are laid out and the student is asked to determine the consequences for the operating system. Serves as an exercise and review of concepts such as capacity,... View Details

Keywords: Production; Business Startups; Food and Beverage Industry

Web

Preface - Coin and Conscience – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections

Dutch Humanism, intentionally illustrated passages from Matthew to comfort the poor and to warn the rich (nos. 1 and 8 ). Other prints in this group are more judgmental–portraying the folly View Details

November 2012
Article

Does Management Really Work?

By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen

HBR's 90th anniversary is a sensible time to revisit a basic question: Are organizations more likely to succeed if they adopt good management practices? The answer may seem obvious to most HBR readers, but these three economists cast their net much wider than that. In... View Details

Keywords: Best Practices; Consulting Firms; Corporations; Cost Control; Employee Training; Executive Ability (Management); Executives—training Of; Hospitals—administration; Industrial Management—research; Productivity Incentives; School Management Teams; Work Environment; Management; Research

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06 Nov 2012
Op-Ed

Stop Talking About the Weather and Do Something: Three Ways to Finance Sustainable Cities

The wrath of Hurricane Sandy has illuminated a fundamental question: How do we ensure that our cities are resilient in the face of inevitable future disasters? A destroyed city is not a sustainable city. I'm making the case that it's time to stop complaining about... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

April 2004 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (B)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Dina R. Pradel

New technology underlies a protracted dispute between West Coast longshoremen and their employers. Severe economic consequences lead to government intervention in the dispute. View Details

Keywords: Economics; Negotiation Process; Business and Government Relations; Labor and Management Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Shipping Industry; Western United States

June 15, 2021
Article

Cutting the Gordian Knot of Employee Health Care Benefits and Costs: A Corporate Model Built on Employee Choice

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Barak D. Richman

President Joe Biden’s promise to give every American access to affordable health insurance is well-intentioned, but his plan’s policy elements—a public option, a permanent expanded tax credit—require congressional approval and would expend significant political and... View Details

Keywords: Health Insurance; Health Insurance Marketplaces; Health Care Delivery; Health Care Financing; Health Care Industry; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Service Delivery; Cost Management; Health Industry; United States

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Launching leaders: HBS's new initiative fuels first-generation and low-income student success - Recruiting

Club, financial wellness programming, and scholarships covering the total cost of tuition and fees for students with the greatest financial need—about 10 percent of the student... View Details

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Navigating Your Worth: AI, Negotiations, and the Nature of Expertise - Course Catalog

capabilities, enhanced over time, duplicated at no cost and commoditized to destroy its uniqueness and value This change could shift how you should navigate your career View Details

December 2021
Article

Employee Responses to Compensation Changes: Evidence from a Sales Firm

By: Jason Sandvik, Richard Saouma, Nathan Seegert and Christopher Stanton

What are the long-term consequences of compensation changes? Using data from an inbound sales call center, we study employee responses to a compensation change that ultimately reduced take-home pay by 7% for the average affected worker. The change caused a significant... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Wages; Compensation and Benefits; Change; Performance; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Analysis