Publications

September 12, 2017
Article

What's the Right Kind of Bonus to Motivate Your Sales Force?

By: Doug J. Chung and Das Narayandas

Companies typically compensate their sales force by using some combination of salary, commission, and bonuses, but executives are often unsure which incentives provide the best motivation. Should bonuses be tied to quotas or should they be given unconditionally? Is it... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management

2024
Working Paper

Human-Computer Interactions in Demand Forecasting and Labor Scheduling Decisions

By: Caleb Kwon, Ananth Raman and Jorge Tamayo

We investigate whether corporate officers should grant managers discretion to override AI-driven demand forecasts and labor scheduling tools. Analyzing five years of administrative data from a large grocery retailer using such an AI tool, encompassing over 500 stores,... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Forecasting and Prediction; Working Conditions; Performance Productivity

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Producing Prosperity: Why America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

For years—even decades—in response to intensifying global competition, American companies decided to outsource their manufacturing operations in order to reduce costs. But we are now seeing the alarming long-term effect of those choices: in... View Details

18 Dec 2006
Lessons from the Classroom

Grooming Next-Generation Leaders

Narayandas, faculty of the School's Executive Education offering "Program for Leadership Development (PLD): Accelerating the Careers of High-Potential Leaders," are experts on the subject. PLD invites executives with ten to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

May 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Jan Carlzon: CEO at SAS (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes Jan Carlzon's actions on assuming the CEO's responsibility at SAS in a time of financial and organizational difficulty. After tracing Carlzon's development as a manager, it focuses on the way in which he developed, then communicated a clear and motivating... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Financial Crisis; Employee Relationship Management; Knowledge; Leadership Development; Crisis Management; Motivation and Incentives; Business Strategy; Aerospace Industry

May 2019
Article

The Role of Gatekeepers in Capital Markets

By: Sugata Roychowdhury and Suraj Srinivasan

Gatekeepers in financial markets have the power to provide the institutional stability, fortitude and direction necessary for the development and the smooth functioning of capital markets. At the same time, they are often motivated by their own private incentives.... View Details

Keywords: Gatekeepers; Capital Markets; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Performance Effectiveness

SSRN

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Career Coach

Rebecca Emerick

Rebecca is a Corporate Relations Director in the HBS Career & Professional Development (CPD) office. She has worked in CPD since 2008 and serves as the consulting industry lead for the office. In addition, she View Details

Keywords: Consulting

June 2012 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Driving Towards a Disruption?

By: Willy Shih and William Noble

As Clayton Christensen drove to the studio to deliver an online executive education class, he pondered the future of management education. How big a threat did online degree programs, corporate universities, and other innovations in the delivery of management training... View Details

Keywords: Disruptive Technology; Performance Trajectories; Disruptive Innovations; Business Education; Business School; Internet And Online Services Industries; Disruptive Innovation; Higher Education; Corporate Strategy; Internet; Performance; Education Industry; Boston

27 Jul 2020
Book

Reflection: The Pause That Brings Peace and Productivity

what to do and when. “That is your call,” he says. What the design principles provide is a template for sound reflection in a hectic world. [div class=infogram-embed data-id=_/VZte60GUZvifD3GzJskt][/div] 1: Aim for good enough For many of the View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Article

Conversational Receptiveness: Expressing Engagement with Opposing Views

By: M. Yeomans, J. Minson, H. Collins, H. Chen and F. Gino

We examine “conversational receptiveness”—the use of language to communicate one’s willingness to thoughtfully engage with opposing views. We develop an interpretable machine-learning algorithm to identify the linguistic profile of receptiveness (Studies 1A-B). We then... View Details

Keywords: Receptiveness; Natural Language Processing; Disagreement; Interpersonal Communication; Relationships; Conflict Management

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Joseph B. Lassiter

Joe is the Senator John Heinz Professor of Management Practice in Environmental Management, Retired. He focuses on one of the world’s most pressing problems: developing clean, secure and carbon-neutral supplies of reliable, low-cost energy all around the world. He... View Details

Keywords: green technology; high technology; internet; oil ＆ gas; private equity (LBO funds); utilities; software; energy

August 1980 (Revised August 1985)
Case

Teradyne, Inc.--1979: Semiconductor Test Division (A)

By: Benson P. Shapiro

In 1979, the management of Teradyne's Semiconductor Test Division had to make important decisions regarding the allocation of engineering resources in the face of increased competition. They had to choose between upgrading an existing product and developing a new one. View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Resource Allocation; Product; Product Development; Competition; Semiconductor Industry

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01 May 2024
What Do You Think?

Have You Had Enough?

Culture? 2017: Why Can’t Organizations Engage Their Employees? 2016: When Business Performance Falters, is Culture Change the Fix? 2013: Why Isn’t ‘Servant Leadership’ More Prevalent? 2012: Why Is Trust So Hard to Achieve in Management? 2008: Why Don’t View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Eric J. Van den Steen

Eric Van den Steen is a Professor of Business Administration at HBS, where he teaches strategy. He holds the Roy Little chair, established in honor of the founder of Textron.

Professor Van den Steen's research studies the fundamentals of strategy and... View Details

05 Mar 2008
News

Harvard Business School Joins 10,000 Women

November 1989 (Revised February 1990)
Case

John A. Clendenin

Brief description of the life history of a Xerox manager. When used with Managing Xerox's Multinational Development Center it allows for the discussion of the relationship between personal history, personal values, and career choices. View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career

May 1989 (Revised June 1990)
Case

Great Britain: Decline or Renewal?

Focuses on the origins of economic decline and the problems of economic management in Great Britain, the oldest industrial state. Reviews the formation of macroeconomic policy, welfare policy, and industrial policy in the postwar period. Examines Prime Minister... View Details

Keywords: Macroeconomics; Great Britain

July 1997
Case

We've Got Rhythm! Medtronic Corporation's Cardiac Pacemaker Business

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Illustrates how a new management team at Medtronic's Cardiac Pacemaker business reversed a steep decline in market share by adopting certain management principles for new product development: clarifying strategy, aggregating project planning, accommodating the number... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Innovation Strategy; Innovation and Management; Product Development; Health; Technology; Change Management; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States