Systems Thinking - Publications - Faculty & Research

15 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 15, 2009

organized systems for improvement. Traditional structures and cultures within AHCs, although well suited to the tripartite missions of teaching, research, and clinical care, are not easily adaptable to the tasks of measuring, reporting,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

08 Oct 2020
Research & Ideas

Keep Your Weary Workers Engaged and Motivated

How Remote Work Changes What We Think About Onboarding What Leaders Can Do to Fight the COVID Fog It’s Time to Reset Decision-Making in Your Organization What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership The COVID Two-Step for... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

29 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

Is There a Method to Musk’s Madness on Twitter?

said, the fallen advertising revenue has probably been more dramatic than anyone expected. The advertisers are right to at least take a pause here and think about whether they want to remain involved with Twitter. In the longer term, Musk... View Details

Keywords: by Christina Pazzanese, Harvard Gazette; Technology

15 Nov 2022
Book

Stop Ignoring Bad Behavior: 6 Tips for Better Ethics at Work

opioid crisis?” asks Bazerman. “We think the Sackler family. What caused the number of sexual assaults at Miramax? Harvey Weinstein. And it's not that these answers are wrong. It's just that it's taking other people off the hook who could... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

14 May 2018
Research & Ideas

Amazon vs. Whole Foods: When Cultures Collide

from that.” The new inventory system was actually something Whole Foods had started to implement before the Amazon deal, pressured by activist shareholders who had seen the grocer’s stock and sales margins slipping for two years. “This is... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

13 Feb 2020
Book

Open Your Organization to Honest Conversations

value proposition and create a competitive advantage. Managers don’t often take this diagnostic step to understand the systemic issues, in many cases because they’re afraid to make themselves vulnerable. “Leaders often feel like they need... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

28 Nov 2018
HBS Case

On Target: Rethinking the Retail Website

Professor Srikant M. Datar in a recent case study, Data Science at Target, co-written with research associate Caitlin N. Bowler. “Target had to make this big shift from thinking only about retailing to also View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Retail

21 Jul 2021
Research & Ideas

What Does an ESG Score Really Say About a Company?

Receiving more information can clarify the complex, but not when it comes to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) scores. A recent study shows that the more information a company discloses about its ESG practices, the more rating agencies disagree on how well... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

Article

Scandal, Social Movement, and Change: Evidence from #MeToo in Hollywood

By: Hong Luo and Laurina Zhang

Social movements have the potential to effect change in firm decision-making. In this paper, we examine whether the #MeToo movement, spurred by the Harvey Weinstein scandal, led to changes in the likelihood of Hollywood producers working with female writers on new... View Details

Keywords: Gender Inequality; Social Movement; Scandal; Creative Industries; Project Selection; Gender; Equality and Inequality; Social Issues; Film Entertainment; Projects; Change

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27 Jul 2020
Book

Reflection: The Pause That Brings Peace and Productivity

one manager said. “I hate the feeling of not doing anything that I don’t think is productive.” And some resisted reflecting, saying it was easier to focus on the here-and-now, rather than look down the road where they might be forced to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Value Maximization and Stakeholder Theory

is a sure way to destroy value. This is where enlightened stakeholder theory can play an important role. We can learn from the stakeholder theorists how to lead managers and participants in an organization to think more generally and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael C. Jensen

24 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

When Tech Platforms Identify Black-Owned Businesses, White Customers Buy

support Black-owned businesses. For instance, Yelp introduced a system in which users could click a button to search for and identify local Black-owned restaurants. “We wanted to know whether the programs were effective—or if they could... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald; Food & Beverage

01 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 1, 2008

balancing profit, growth and control. Difficulties encountered in the business are due to management's attempts to design and use formal control systems to achieve profit and performance goals. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

29 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

A Manager’s Moral Obligation to Preserve Capitalism

through the writings of Adam Smith, Milton Friedman, and Friedrich Hayek among other foundational thinkers. "Many economists think of it as a positivist system that does not impose morality upon... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

18 Jul 2023
Research & Ideas

Will Global Demand for Oil Peak This Decade?

Is the globe’s thirst for oil finally topping out? A major international energy watcher says yes, predicting last month that demand for global oil for transport will peak around 2026, plateau for all uses by 2028, and possibly hit a zenith by the end of the decade.... View Details

Keywords: by Alvin Powell, Harvard Gazette; Energy; Industrial Products; Auto; Green Technology

19 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

The History of Beauty

often deemed an affront to public morality, to the $330 billion global industry of today. Q: Why has this industry been so neglected by business school faculty? A: I think there are two reasons. First of all, this is a difficult industry... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics

11 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

Is Amazon a Retailer, a Tech Firm, or a Media Company? How AI Can Help Investors Decide

boundaries of businesses have become much more diffuse because of digital technology driven business models. Now, if you think about Walmart and Amazon, both their business models have changed over time. Many companies are becoming tech... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Consumer Products; Real Estate; Financial Services; Retail

16 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Are You a Strategist?

academic research that started to take hold in the 1980s and '90s. The work brought much-needed economic thinking to strategy's underpinnings. It armed legions of MBAs and strategy consultants with frameworks and techniques to help... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

23 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 23, 2015

Sciences Modularity and Organizations By: Baldwin, Carliss Y Abstract—Modularity describes the degree to which a complex system can be broken apart into subunits (modules) that can be recombined in various ways. Modularity is important... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Billions of Entrepreneurs in China and India

differences in the electoral process. That has been pretty much a disaster for the system of governing. Q: China and India have had tense relations in the past. Will these persist? A: I think there are lots... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

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