Publications

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2008
Working Paper

Product Development and Learning in Project Teams: The Challenges are the Benefits

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Ingrid M. Nembhard

The value of teams in new product development (NPD) is undeniable. Both the interdisciplinary nature of the work and industry trends necessitate that professionals from different functions work together on development projects to create the highest quality product in... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Learning; Management Skills; Product Development; Projects; Groups and Teams; Conflict Management; Social and Collaborative Networks

23 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

It’s Called ‘Price Coherence,’ and It’s Surprisingly Bad for Consumers

options, as price coherence forces them to pay for services they don't want and may not even use." Competition Only Exacerbates The Problem What happens when multiple intermediaries compete in any given market? After all, it's an economic... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail; Air Transportation; Food & Beverage; Entertainment & Recreation

19 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

LEED-ing by Example

have a rigorous and transparent procurement process—help landlords, investors, and tenants alike to optimize the whole asset, and not be bogged down by those otherwise competing interests," he says. Assessing The Paper's Results Toffel... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

26 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 26, 2008

http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=708053 Work Is Good: Branding the Employ+Ability Mission Harvard Business School Case 809-028 Employ+Ability, a small company employing developmentally disabled adults, finds itself View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Health Care Research and Prospects

outstanding work. Rob Huckman's done a lot of very interesting work on adoption of new medical technology and how competing technologies—how the organization of hospitals influences the uptake of competing... View Details

Keywords: by Wendy Guild Swearingen; Health

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (B): Nurturing Entrepreneurs and Change Agents

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

Thirty-one "change agents" at Sun Microsystems, Inc. told the story of their most recent significant change project: its origins and goals, the project team, the chronology of the work, the challenges, results, and lessons learned. Their stories answer two questions:... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Projects; Problems and Challenges; Outcome or Result; Learning; Experience and Expertise; Independent Innovation and Invention; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

July – August 2011
Article

The New Psychology of Strategic Leadership

In this article, it is argued that today's dominant ideas about the practice of business strategy-defined by Porter three decades ago-hinge on a specific and therefore partial interpretation of competition. The result is an equally partial picture of the strategist's... View Details

Keywords: Cognition and Thinking; Leadership; Business Strategy; Training; Experience and Expertise; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Competition; Markets

Find at Harvard

July – August 2011
Article

Deliberate Learning to Improve Performance in Dynamic Service Settings: Evidence from Hospital Intensive Care Units

By: I. M. Nembhard and A. L. Tucker

Dynamic service settings-characterized by workers who interact with customers to deliver services in a rapidly changing, uncertain, and complex environment (e.g., hospitals)-play an important role in the economy. Organizational learning studies in these settings have... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Focus and Relationships; Learning; Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Performance Improvement; Quality; Groups and Teams; Cooperation; Health Industry

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January 1998
Case

Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corporation (B)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Massimo Russo and Steven J. Spear

Connecticut Spring and Stamping Corp. (CSSC), a 50-year-old spring manufacturing and metal stamping firm, is experiencing slow sales growth and feeling the impact of global competition. The company has over 800 customers but little understanding of those customers'... View Details

Keywords: Globalization; Competency and Skills; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Production; Customer Relationship Management; Quality; Training; Performance Efficiency; Cost Management; Sales; System

07 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 7, 2007

decline. Infighting throughout the 1990s led to a defection of talent that left many wondering if Lazard could compete with the diversified financial behemoths of the 21st Century. It also left Chairman Michel David-Weill looking for a... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

July 2011
Teaching Note

Miles Everson at PricewaterhouseCoopers (TN)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Penelope Rossano

Teaching Note for 410062. View Details

Keywords: Partners and Partnerships; Employees; Financial Institutions; Opportunities; Networks; Managerial Roles; Experience and Expertise; Attitudes; Leadership; Service Industry; United States

May – June 2011
Article

Too Many Cooks Spoil the Broth: How High Status Individuals Decrease Group Effectiveness

By: Boris Groysberg, Jeffrey T. Polzer and Hillary Anger Elfenbein

Can groups become effective simply by assembling high status individual performers? Though an affirmative answer may seem straightforward on the surface, this answer becomes more complicated when group members benefit from collaborating on interdependent tasks.... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Equity; Theory; Human Resources; Integration; Body of Literature; Performance Effectiveness; Status and Position; Experience and Expertise

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February 1997 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Jim Sharpe: Extrusion Technology, Inc. (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Barbara Feinberg

Jim Sharpe, 11 years after receiving his MBA from Harvard and working for others, has finally become his own boss and 100% owner of manufacturer of aluminum extrusions. After 10 months of an unfunded search, he acquires the business in an LBO and prepares to face his... View Details

Keywords: Acquisitions; Search Funds; Entrepreneurial Management; Entrepreneurs; Turnarounds; Bank Loan; Manufacturing; Metals Processing; Entrepreneurial Finance; Leveraged Buyouts; Labor Unions; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Crisis Management; Management Skills; Experience and Expertise; Borrowing and Debt; Manufacturing Industry

September 1987 (Revised October 1987)
Background Note

The Job of the General Manager

By: James L. Heskett

Describes elements of the job of the general manager that are addressed in the Management Policy and Practice course at the Harvard Business School. These include: 1) establishing strategic direction, 2) setting goals and managing standards of performance, 3)... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Policy; Recruitment; Working Conditions; Managerial Roles; Resource Allocation; Mission and Purpose; Performance Evaluation; Strategy; Value