Publications

07 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Pursuing a Deadly Opportunity

organizational legitimacy and the kind of moral order we want to create as a society," Anteby explains. The same issues could help us come to grips with the murky legal and ethical areas surrounding the digital age, for example.... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health

January 2015 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Omar Selim: Building a Values-Based Asset Management Firm (A)

By: George Serafeim, Rebecca Henderson and Shannon Gombos

The sustainable investing market was a recent phenomenon in the first decade of the 21st century. However, an increasing number of investors began to integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in investment decisions. At Barclays Capital, Omar Selim... View Details

February 2014
Background Note

Furloughs: An Alternative to Layoffs for Economic Downturns

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Susan J. Winterberg

This note describes the practice of employee furloughs (also known as work sharing or short-time work) including their regulatory frameworks in different countries and the business and ethical implications of their use. View Details

Keywords: Work Sharing; Furloughs; Temporary Layoff; Short Time Work; Employee Relationship Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing

July 2012 (Revised April 2013)
Case

Peter Jepsen

By: Howard H. Stevenson, Michael J. Roberts and James M. Sharpe

About to break bank covenants, Peter Jepsen has to deal with a contentious prior owner, improve profitability and staff appropriately all while maintaining credibility with his investors, in the furniture hardware company he has owned for less than a year. View Details

September 1997
Case

Siam Cement Group, The: Corporate Philosophy (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Prompilai Khunaphante

In 1996, senior executives of Thailand's Siam Cement Group must decide whether to apply its management philosophy and code of ethics when doing business outside of Thailand. The status of the code in joint ventures and contractual relationships is of particular... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Decision Making; Joint Ventures; Corporate Strategy; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Policy; Construction Industry; Thailand

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April 1985 (Revised November 1987)
Case

Sun Hydraulics Corp. (B)

Fifteen years later, the company has achieved widespread recognition in the industry for its innovative designs, its quality products, and its highly ethical standards for business dealings. This case describes the organization, the plant, and current concerns. View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Ethics; Engineering; Organizational Culture; Technology Industry

March 2024 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Governing OpenAI (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan and Will Hurwitz

In late November 2023, OpenAI’s new board of directors took stock of the situation. The company, which sought to develop artificial general intelligence (AGI)—computer systems with capabilities exceeding human abilities—was looking to regain its footing after a chaotic... View Details

11 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Is Group Loyalty a Force for Good or Evil?

Most ethical principles are pretty unambiguously good. Honesty, fairness, compassion—sure they have their downsides (being “honest to a fault”), but that’s more a by-product of something good than it is something evil in and of itself.... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

December 2014 (Revised February 2023)
Module Note

Legal Analysis: Customers

By: Lena G. Goldberg

This Note introduces the Module on Responsibilities to Customers taught in Leadership and Corporate Accountability, a required course in the Harvard Business School MBA program. The Note outlines the asymmetries inherent in the company-customer relationship and... View Details

Keywords: Customers; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Legal Liability; Customer Relationship Management

September 2022
Article

Drivers of Philanthropic Foundations in Emerging Markets: Family, Values and Spirituality

By: Valeria Giacomin and Geoffrey Jones

This article discusses the ethics and drivers of philanthropic foundations in emerging markets. A foundation organizes assets to invest in philanthropic initiatives. Previous scholarship has largely focused on developed countries, especially the United States, and has... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Foundations; Spirituality; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Social Enterprise; Emerging Markets; Values and Beliefs; Africa; Asia; Latin America; Middle East

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January 1983 (Revised May 1984)
Case

Beliefs of Borg-Warner

Shows how the Borg-Warner Corporation developed a statement of values and beliefs under the leadership of its chief executive officer, James F. Bere. The "Beliefs," a set of general principles intended to guide business behavior, now must be given operational meaning... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Business Processes

19 Feb 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Dishonest Deed, Clear Conscience: Self-Preservation through Moral Disengagement and Motivated Forgetting

Keywords: by Lisa L. Shu, Francesca Gino & Max H. Bazerman

February 2007 (Revised March 2012)
Compilation

John D. Rockefeller and the Creation of Standard Oil

By: Nancy F. Koehn and Katherine Miller

Reconstructs the entrepreneurial journey of John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil and one of the most famous business figures in history. Traces his early career as a retailer in Cleveland through his decision to enter the oil industry in the early 1860s to his... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Ethics; Business History; Innovation and Invention; Growth and Development Strategy; Personal Development and Career; Competitive Strategy; Energy Industry

March 2023
Module Note

LCA Module Overview: Society

By: Nien-hê Hsieh

Leadership and Corporate and Accountability (LCA) is a required course in the first-year MBA curriculum at Harvard Business School to help managers determine and deliver on their economic, legal, and ethical responsibilities. This note summarizes the cases and outlines... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

May 9, 2023
Article

8 Questions About Using AI Responsibly, Answered

By: Tsedal Neeley

Generative AI tools are poised to change the way every business operates. As your own organization begins strategizing which to use, and how, operational and ethical considerations are inevitable. This article delves into eight of them, including how your organization... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Prejudice and Bias; Ethics

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November 1994 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Levi Strauss & Co.: Global Sourcing (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Jane Palley Katz

In 1993, senior managers at Levi Strauss & Co., the world's largest brand-name apparel manufacturer, were deciding whether the company should have a business presence in China, given the human rights and other problems there. The China Policy Group has been asked to... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Decisions; Management Skills; Trade; Brands and Branding; Rights; Ethics; Foreign Direct Investment; Apparel and Accessories Industry; China

March 2017 (Revised April 2021)
Module Note

Responsibilities to Society

By: Nien-hê Hsieh

This module note for students outlines an approach to help managers deliver on their responsibilities in relation to society. The approach frames these responsibilities in terms of potential harms to third parties beyond investors, customers, and employees. The... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Political Activity; Corporate Social Responsibility; Human Rights; Role Of Business In Society; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Ethics; Business and Community Relations; Rights; Society

August 2020 (Revised July 2021)
Case

From Farm Boy to Financier: Eiichi Shibusawa and the Creation of Modern Japan

By: Geoffrey Jones, Gabriel Ellsworth and Ryo Takahashi

This case describes the career of Eiichi Shibusawa (1840-1931), a serial entrepreneur who is widely known as the “father of Japanese capitalism” and as a pioneer of socially responsible investment. Born in feudal Edo Japan, following the Meiji Restoration in 1868... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Personal Development and Career; Business History; Ethics; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Economy; Society; Japan