Publications

01 Feb 2017
What Do You Think?

Is the Next Jobs Crisis Just Ahead?

for how to deal with it. Deaver Brown saw the future (and the jobs crisis) most succinctly: “Better quicker results due to fewer people between a customer and the solution.” Fizzinnf said, “Robotics and artificial intelligence will cut... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Service

Frances X. Frei

Frances Frei is a Professor of Technology and Operations Management at Harvard Business School. Her research investigates how leaders accelerate performance and design for excellence in leadership, strategy, and operations. She regularly advises senior executives... View Details

Keywords: financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services; financial services

February 2010
Case

Go Mobile: The Phirbol Franchise

By: Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

To grow Phirbol, a telecom retail franchise chain in Delhi, India's underdeveloped markets, its founders were exploring ways to offer more value to the franchisees. In mid-2009, the Phirbol franchise was comprised of some 150 franchisees that had converted their small... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Innovation and Management; Brands and Branding; Service Operations; Franchise Ownership; Value Creation; Telecommunications Industry; Delhi

29 May 2006
What Do You Think?

How Important Is the “Service Sector Effect” on Productivity?

lower paying jobs . . . one look at the American auto industry gives us a glimpse into the future economy." As Daniel Hayes put it: "I see a shakeout coming among... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Service

16 Jun 2015
Blog Post

Military Alumna Reflects on Time at HBS

my new friends caught up on the Forum’s discussion, as well as their HBS cases that day— a LEAD case about a protagonist facing View Details

May 2006 (Revised November 2006)
Case

Willa Seldon at Tides Center (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

Willa Seldon, an African-American woman with 16 years of for-profit experience, was hired as executive director of Tides Center, a nonprofit in San Francisco, CA. Tides Center was a fiscal sponsor dedicated to supporting individuals and groups working toward social... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Nonprofit Organizations; Transition; Change Management; Leadership Style; Performance; Customer Satisfaction; San Francisco

May 2009 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Daqi

By: Robert C. Pozen, Richard Franklyn Armbrust and Ziquan Zhang

In 2008, Daqi was one of the largest Internet portals for user-generated content and the leading word-of-mouth marketing provider in China. Grace Zhou, Daqi's CEO, was contemplating the risks and benefits of expanding Daqi's services into three new content areas—news,... View Details

Keywords: Information Publishing; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Marketing; Business and Government Relations; Expansion; Internet; Information Industry; China

Career Coach

Meredith Hamilton

Meredith [she/her] has served as a mentor and coach to innumerable mid-career staff as well as several CEOs in the social sector. She is... View Details

Keywords: Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All); Financial Services (All)

May 1992 (Revised May 1993)
Supplement

Jan Carlzon: CEO at SAS (B)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Summarizes Carlzon's new focus externally on building alliances and acquiring travel service companies. Describes the financial problems resulting from the recession and the Gulf War crisis. Designed as an in-class handout to highlight the long-term management... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financial Crisis; Problems and Challenges; Planning; Leadership; Alliances; Strategy; Air Transportation Industry

June 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Zensar: The Future of Vision Communities (A)

By: David A. Garvin and Rachna Tahilyani

Zensar is a rapidly growing, mid-sized Indian IT services company with a collaborative management philosophy and innovative HR policies. One of its practices, Vision Communities, is an inclusive forum for innovation and strategy formulation. As the company grows,... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Cooperation; Information Technology Industry; India

09 Feb 2024
HBS Case

Slim Chance: Drugs Will Reshape the Weight Loss Industry, But Habit Change Might Be Elusive

she coauthored with John McDonough, a former MBA student at HBS. The case notes that morbidly obese Americans spend more on medical services and prescriptions, and they face a... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Health; Pharmaceutical

April 2006 (Revised October 2006)
Case

Best Buy Co., Inc.: Customer-Centricity

By: Rajiv Lal, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Irina Tarsis

With FY2005 sales of $27.3 billion, Richfield, Minn.-based Best Buy Co., Inc. was the leading retailer of consumer electronics, home-office products, and related services in North America. Its operations included the distinct store formats Best Buy, Future Shop in... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Operations; Business Earnings; Financial Crisis; Failure; Business Model; Leadership; Segmentation; Value Creation; Electronics Industry; United States; Canada; Mongolia

2023
Working Paper

Design-Based Inference for Multi-arm Bandits

By: Dae Woong Ham, Iavor I. Bojinov, Michael Lindon and Martin Tingley

Multi-arm bandits are gaining popularity as they enable real-world sequential decision-making across application areas, including clinical trials, recommender systems, and online decision-making. Consequently, there is an increased desire to use the available... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Mathematical Methods

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Forthcoming
Article

Achieving Epilepsy Care for All: Ecosystem-Based Transformation

By: Susanna Gallani, Bernice Martin Lee and Lidia M. V. R. Moura

Epilepsy exemplifies many of the systemic challenges of modern health care— fragmented care delivery, inequitable access, financial strain, and so on. The current “system of systems” (SoS) structure of U.S. health care fosters siloed operations among its member systems... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare Delivery; Epilepsy; Seizures; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Equality and Inequality; Framework; Service Delivery

Teaching Interest

Design of Field Research Methods (DFRM)

Field research involves collecting original data (qualitative and/or quantitative) in field sites. This course combines informal lecture and discussion with practical exercises to build specific skills for conducting field research in organizations. Readings include... View Details

October 1996 (Revised January 1997)
Case

MacTemps: Building Commitment in the Interim Workforce

MacTemps is a provider of temporary workers skilled in computer graphics and database management. Unlike many temporary agencies that treat temps as a commodity, MacTemps has attempted to build relationships with temps through offering benefits and training. This case... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Organizational Design; Personal Development and Career; Information Technology Industry; Employment Industry