Publications

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28 Nov 2016
Research & Ideas

Challenging the Belief that Liability Laws Kill Medical Device Innovation

the benefits that innovative devices provide in reducing risk outweigh the risk of trying new technology. “It seems, on average, the chilling effect is likely to be there, but it’s not substantial compared... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Medical Devices & Supplies

Web

Real Estate Private Equity - Course Catalog

2. How to assess the risks and returns in private investments and real estate portfolios 3. How to perform relative value analyses of differing investments 4. How to manage troubled investments (when to hold... View Details

09 Feb 2016
News

Applying Business Principles to Military Problems

required; to be able to help people prioritize. I’m not an operator; I’m a business person, but [my job is] getting the Navy Seal leadership to decide what’s important—what they can trade off—and identifying risk and helping them View Details

October 1991 (Revised November 1993)
Case

Play Time Toy Co.

By: Thomas R. Piper

The president of a toy company is considering the adoption of level production in a business characterized by highly seasonal sales. The issues include balancing the cost savings and the inventory risk, estimating the seasonal financing need, and determining the... View Details

Keywords: Production; Cost Management; Banks and Banking; Sales; Goods and Commodities; Financial Management; Risk Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

January 2001 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Student Educational Loan Fund, Inc. (Abridged)

By: Peter Tufano

Rick Melnick oversees the Student Educational Loan Fund (SELF), which provides loans to Harvard Business School students. SELF is changing the terms of student loans from variable-rate with semiannual payments to fixed-rate loans with equal monthly payments. Melnick... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Financing and Loans; Business Education; Interest Rates; Education Industry; Boston

February 2004
Case

The Making of Verizon

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter, Douglas A Raymond and Ryan Raffaelli

Through a series of mergers, Ivan Seidenberg, Verizon chairman and CEO, successfully shared the co-CEO title twice while building the largest telecom company in the United States. The strong and complementary cultures of the companies that Seidenberg and a key group of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Change Management; Transition; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Risk Management; Telecommunications Industry; United States

February 2018
Case

Robert K. Steel at Wachovia (A)

By: Gautam Mukunda, Nien-hê Hsieh and David Lane

In September 2008, Robert Steel presided over the sale of Wachovia, a top U.S. bank, less than three months after becoming its CEO. Wachovia’s exposure to risky home loans led depositors and creditors to flee the bank on Friday, September 26, after the FDIC seized and... View Details

June 2005 (Revised January 2006)
Case

Investment Policy at the Hewlett Foundation (2005)

By: Luis M. Viceira

In early January 2005, Laurance Hoagland Jr., VP and CIO of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation (HF), and his investment team met to finish their recommendations to the HF Investment Committee for a new asset allocation policy for the foundation's investment... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Risk and Uncertainty; Public Equity; Globalization; Investment; Property; Risk Management; Asset Management; Financial Services Industry

01 Oct 2018
News

Learning About Leadership

Abigail P. Johnson (MBA 1988) is chairman and CEO of Fidelity Management and Research in Boston and a recipient of the 2018 HBS Alumni Achievement Award. In this interview, she reflects on her early lessons in business leadership and on... View Details

Keywords: Finance

17 Apr 2017
HBS Case

This Turkish Debt Collector Is Customer-friendly

consortium of asset management companies (AMCs) that included the Turkish branch of Lehman Brothers. When Lehman went bankrupt, Turkasset acquired a $200 million portfolio of non-performing loans (NPLs). After that, it continued to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

18 Jul 2006
First Look

First Look: July 18, 2006

What is missing is any role for market forces in governance, with their promise to achieve better cost effectiveness and innovation in governance practice. The authors argue that governance-linked D&O insurance is a means toward that end of market-based governance,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2000 (Revised April 2000)
Case

RadioShack

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Youngme E. Moon and Marie Bell

Outlines the transformation of RadioShack stores from a parts and accessories business to a provider of high bandwidth Internet access. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Marketing Strategy; Risk and Uncertainty; Internet

March 2002 (Revised June 2003)
Case

MAC Development Corporation

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Colleen McCaffrey

Deals with MAC Development's efforts to develop a 41-acre site near Chicago. Reviews two years of efforts and highlights the remaining issues of: 1) gaining town approval for development and tax reductions, 2) meeting the bank's debt covenants, including finding a... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Taxation; Financial Instruments; Borrowing and Debt; Asset Pricing; Construction Industry; Chicago

23 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Strategy for Small Fish

is still enabling thousands of different firms to survive. Value Sharing And Risk Management How can a niche player influence the way that value is shared in an ecosystem? How can it protect itself against... View Details

Keywords: by Marco Iansiti & Roy Levien

April 1998
Case

Cephalon, Inc.

By: Peter Tufano

In early 1997, Cephalon, awaited an FDA panel's decision on whether its drug, Myotrophin, would be approved. If the drug was approved, the firm might need substantial additional funds to commercialize as well as to buy back rights to it (which had been sold earlier to... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Financing and Loans; Health Care and Treatment; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

17 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

Companies Detangle from Legacy Pensions

Prudential could manage risk better than the automaker could on its own. That doesn't mean the deal was without its challenges. The two companies had to decide who was going to assume the assets and the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Aerospace; Financial Services

27 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

Take Responsibility for Rising Stars

Many executives believe that leadership development is a job for the HR department. This may be the single biggest misconception they can have. As corporations have broken down work into manageable activities and then consolidated... View Details

Keywords: by Jeffrey M. Cohn, Rakesh Khurana & Laura Reeves

October 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rio Tinto vs. the Securities and Exchange Commission

By: Aiyesha Dey, Krishna G. Palepu and Sarah Gulick