Publications

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July 1993 (Revised April 1999)
Case

ABB's Relays Business: Building and Managing a Global Matrix

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Describes the development and management of the relays business area (BA) in ABB's global matrix organization. Focuses on three levels of management--corporate, BA, and operating company. Highlights the roles and responsibilities of individuals at each level as ABB... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Business or Company Management; Business Strategy; Organizational Structure; Managerial Roles; Management Practices and Processes; Employees; Organizational Culture; Success; Manufacturing Industry

Educators

30 Apr 2024
Book

When Managers Set Unrealistic Expectations, Employees Cut Ethical Corners

billion loss, the largest in its then-106-year history (Brooks, 1993). As this example illustrates, how a company is managed and led can make it harder—or easier—for individual employees to act ethically and for the organisation as a... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

Web

Entrepreneurial Management - Faculty & Research

Entrepreneurial Management Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students July–August 2025 Article Case Study: Do We Reskill or Replace Our Workforce? By: William Kerr To remain competitive in the... View Details

16 Oct 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Government Debt Management at the Zero Lower Bound

Keywords: by Robin Greenwood, Samuel G. Hanson, Joshua S. Rudolph & Lawrence H. Summers

08 Aug 2011
Research & Ideas

The Death of the Global Manager

mental flexibility that enables a manager to negotiate, adapt, and modify the layers of competitive advantage and various strategic imperatives that are part of any multinational company. "We talk about building a matrix into the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna

September 2013
Case

Management Levels at Staples (A): Company and Organization (Abridged)

By: David A. Garvin

Abridged version of one of six cases that describe the roles and responsibilities of managers at each of the hierarchical levels of management within the U.S. Stores business unit of Staples, the world's largest office supply company. Together, the cases form a... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Managerial Roles; Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Job Design and Levels; Business Processes; Consumer Products Industry; United States

Educators

January 2024 (Revised February 2024)
Course Overview Note

Managing Customers for Growth: Course Overview for Students

By: Eva Ascarza

Managing Customers for Growth (MCG) is a 14-session elective course for second-year MBA students at Harvard Business School. It is designed for business professionals engaged in roles centered on customer-driven growth activities. The course explores the dynamics of... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Decision Making; Analytics and Data Science; Growth Management; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Financial Services Industry; Education Industry; Travel Industry

26 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

The Office of Strategy Management

scorecards to align the organization? How can we ensure that our people understand our strategy? How do we use the scorecard to improve how we conduct our management meetings? An OSM typically emerges when the Balanced Scorecard team... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

07 Apr 2020
News

How to Manage Coronavirus Layoffs with Compassion

26 Jan 2021
News

Clubs See Wealth in FemTech; Health Care Alumni Look at COVID Response

them to forgo returns at all.” An Inside Look at Leading the UK and US Response to COVID As the US and the UK raced to develop a COVID vaccine this year, two HBS alums found themselves at the forefront of the effort. How they grappled... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

01 Mar 2023
News

The Exchange: Micro Management

The loans start small but grow as borrowers demonstrate good repayment. They’ve been very popular. Rigol: A year ago, when CEOs of microfinance institutions heard about these ideas, their response was, “You guys are nuts, but it would be... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

2005
Chapter

Environmental Protection and the Social Responsibility of Firms: Perspectives from the Business Literature

By: Forest Reinhardt

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

13 Dec 2010
Research & Ideas

Managing the Support Staff Identity Crisis

got essentially no response at all. Clearly, these employees were unsure of their roles. Since then, Gulati has seen similar uncertainty abound in other "support function" departments, such as legal and information technology.... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

May 2011
Article

Race at the Top: How Companies Shape the Inclusion of African Americans on Their Boards in Response to Institutional Pressures

By: Clayton S. Rose and William T. Bielby

Drawing on institutionalist theory, we conceptualize the racial composition of the boards of directors of large American companies as shaped in response to social and political norms. We use new longitudinal and cross-sectional data to test hypotheses about factors... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Governing and Advisory Boards; Race; Mathematical Methods; Government and Politics; Public Ownership; United States

March 1998 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Teradyne: Corporate Management of Disruptive Change

By: Joseph L. Bower

Two cases deal with the introduction of a new product to Teradyne's line of semiconductor test equipment. This case deals with the problems facing the head of a start-up division responsible for developing and bringing to market a new product based on technology deemed... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Disruption; Management; Market Entry and Exit; Product; Problems and Challenges; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Technology

March 2012
Article

Managing Political Risk in Global Business: Beiersdorf 1914-1990

By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski

This article is concerned with business strategies of political risk management during the twentieth century. It focuses especially on Beiersdorf, a pharmaceutical and skin care company in Germany. During World War I, the expropriation of its brands and trademarks... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Government and Politics; Risk Management; Brands and Branding; Problems and Challenges; Communication Technology; Cost; Trademarks; Strategy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Germany