Organizational Development - Publications - Faculty & Research

April 2025
Case

Setting a CEO Agenda: Ole Rosgaard at Greif

By: Krishna Palepu and Kerry Herman

Since taking over as CEO of industrial packaging giant Greif, Ole Rosgaard has focused on growing the company and improving the perception of its value by the capital markets. He and his senior leadership team have made inroads to this end, including adjusting the... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Valuation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Industrial Products Industry; North America; Europe

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November 1994 (Revised May 1996)
Case

Walt Disney's Dennis Hightower-- Taking Charge

By: Ashish Nanda

In 1987, Dennis Hightower, was recruited from outside for a newly created position as head of Disney Consumer Products European operations. Hightower has to win initial acceptance of entrenched country managers, integrate the company's diverse subsidiaries closer... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Change Management; Corporate Strategy; Personal Development and Career; Consumer Products Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Europe

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Profile

Tim Nicolette

graduating from Columbia, I worked for a year with a nonprofit. I was deeply committed to the mission, but I realized the administration didn’t have the strategy, management, and organizational skills necessary to maximize impact. Also, I... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit; Nonprofit / Government

06 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

The Determinants of Corporate Venture Capital Success

and private venture funds. Corporate efforts lack the partnership-based organizational structure that many have identified as critical to the success of private equity funds. On the other hand, corporations are able to exploit... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Gompers & Josh Lerner

10 May 2016
First Look

May 10, 2016

developing world. We then discuss how survey techniques can be improved to better measure willingness to pay for urban amenities. Finally, we explain how Internet data is being used to improve the quality of city services. Publisher's... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

01 Mar 2013
News

Leveraging Female Talent

transitions, achieving work-life balance, and developing the right traits and leadership skills. The organizational segment will focus on leveraging female talent and the role of leadership and View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

27 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Manly Men, Oil Platforms, and Breaking Stereotypes

masculinity in the workplace. A resulting working paper, "Unmasking Manly Men: The Organizational Reconstruction of Male Identity," not only explores how organizations influence the way men enact their gender, but also looks at... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

01 Mar 2018
What Do You Think?

Two Decades Later, is the 'New Economy' Finally Here?

are driving the shift from bricks (“atoms”) to clicks (“bits”), the economics of “free, perfect, and instant,” and the development of platforms (think “digital environments” such as Amazon Web Services) based on such economics. Further,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Web

Faculty Spotlight: HBS Racial Equity Fellow Professor Ivuoma N. Onyeador - Blog: RGE Report

well-being of minorities at work. Her recent scholarship peels back the veil on how we connect across cultural barriers and can help us foster positive employee dynamics to soothe discord. When we’re thinking in organizational terms, it’s... View Details

03 May 2004
What Do You Think?

How Much Is Enough?

asks, "When organizations follow maximum profit/wealth, why not individuals?" Mark Porter posed the question in a different way, saying, "It seems that we have somewhat of a paradox if we are able to determine a threshold of 'just enough' in our personal... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

January 1998 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Sealed Air Corporation: Globalization and Corporate Culture (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Karen Wruck

Sealed Air Corp.'s CEO and COO are considering what approach they should take to building a seamless corporate culture worldwide. Anticipating continuing growth and expansion, especially outside the United States, they are concerned with preserving and promoting the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Expansion; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Leadership; United States; Europe; Asia

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13 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Ignore This Advice at Your Own Peril

School researchers: Disregarding advice from colleagues could invite harsh backlash that just might damage valued workplace relationships, according to the recent paper Seeker Beware: The Interpersonal Costs of Ignoring Advice, published in View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

24 Feb 2015
First Look

First Look: February 24

resistance to their lobbying activities from the general public. These areas are known as "thin political markets" to distinguish them from more vibrant and competitive "thick" political processes (e.g., healthcare regulation). This book View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 5, 2008

that make this possible. Together, they reveal a systematic approach to managerial work at the top, which is seldom found in the literature. By building on the engagement of many in the development of the organization, the practices are... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

17 Dec 2001
Research & Ideas

Risks and Rewards of the Intrapreneur

for him, Levine said, was that the company's CEO backed the project, and allowed the group to operate outside the usual corporate boundaries. Levine was even able to move the start-up off campus. Once the group had developed its product,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

01 Feb 2000
News

HBS Alumni Association Board of Directors: President's Report

at 40 percent), proactively publicize the School's Web site and add new features that will attract more alumni to the site, and develop push technology allowing alumni to subscribe to specific online offerings. Last year, the committee... View Details

Keywords: Edmund A. Hajim (MBA '64)

16 Jul 2024
Op-Ed

Corporate Boards Are Failing in Their No. 1 Duty

shareholder value. The GE board had deferred to Welch in a highly public selection process, which had favored the sales-focused Immelt over someone who could transform GE to prepare the company for the future, just as Welch had done in the early 1980s. Immelt never... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

28 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 28

organization from outside can work less well than having managers develop their own, potentially inferior, performance measures. In this sense, it is the creation of a balanced scorecard, more than actual use, that can change an... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Managing Alignment as a Process

of organizational alignment—the primary focus of this book—the enterprise must also align its employees and management processes with the strategy. Having aligned and integrated strategies at all View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Retail