Publications

Blog

Leading Successful Digital Transformation

bright young entrepreneurs who are given significant resources and freedom to come up with new ideas. It is not uncommon for these new units to be physically located far away from the headquarters. However, this approach often fails... View Details

12 Sep 2023
Blog Post

Harvard Climate Entrepreneurs Circle: Taking Climate Solutions from Idea to Action, Faster

and they are now featured in Forbes as a go-to resource on decarbonizing concrete factories. And I first spoke with Margaret Wang (HGSE 2020) before she even had an idea for a startup. Now she and David Jaffe (ALI 2021) have created... View Details

March 2000 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Microsoft: Competing on Talent (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Meg Wozny

Describes the evolution of Microsoft's human-resource philosophies, policies, and practices and how they used as a core of the company's competitive advantage. In particular, the focus is on how Microsoft tried to retain its ability to recruit, develop, motivate, and... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Retention; Recruitment; Competitive Advantage; Motivation and Incentives; Business Startups; Talent and Talent Management

12 May 2020
Blog Post

Leaving a Career in Tech for Venture Capital and Entrepreneurship

were Rock Venture Partners. A colleague at Google had even explored a startup idea at the i-Lab. The more I investigated the resources at HBS, the more I knew an MBA there was the perfect fit for me. I also saw my time at HBS as an... View Details

20 Jan 2022
Op-Ed

3 Steps to Help Companies Rebuild Trust During the Pandemic

We’re approaching year three of the COVID-19 pandemic, with no clear end in sight. During this time, companies have had to make difficult decisions about whether employees should work from home, wear masks in the office, and get vaccinated and tested. Many companies... View Details

Keywords: by Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

March 2023
Case

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth about $4.4 million at the time) in... View Details

01 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

How Systemic Racism Can Threaten National Security

the social apparatus may not work well because of discrimination." “The government and the bureaucracy and the social apparatus may not work well because of discrimination,” he says. “The state might be in danger because the state itself is officially preventing... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

March 2021
Case

Yale Investments Office: November 2020

By: Josh Lerner, Jo Tango and Alys Ferragamo

David Swensen and the Investments Office staff must decide whether to continue to allocate the bulk of the university's endowment to illiquid investments—hedge funds, private equity, venture capital, real estate, natural resources—given the impact of the COVID-19... View Details

Keywords: University Endowment; Asset Allocation; Real Estate; Equities; Fixed Income; COVID-19; Asset Management; Private Equity; Venture Capital; Natural Resources; Resource Allocation; Investment; Investment Portfolio; Health Pandemics; Financial Crisis; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Energy Industry; Connecticut

24 Oct 2019
Blog Post

Harvard’s JD/MBA: Viroopa Volla (JD/MBA 2021) Answers Your Questions

Not only do students learn more about resources at HBS and HLS but also, they have the time to pursue long-term projects that require more effort. Students have co-written cases with HBS professors, published Harvard Law Review student... View Details

March 2008
Case

Shangri-La Hotels

By: Dennis Campbell and Brent Kazan

In November 2006, Symon Bridle, the newly appointed chief operating officer of Shangri-La Hotels and Resorts, was thinking about a number of organizational issues that presented challenges to Shangri-La's rapid expansion strategy. There were three major issues at hand:... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Growth and Development Strategy; Standards; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Accommodations Industry; China; Europe; North America

07 May 2020
Research & Ideas

The One Good Thing Caused by COVID-19: Innovation

Learning from forced experimentation and investment in risk-mitigating technologies may help firms become smarter and more flexible. For example, before the crisis, firms may have regarded the investment of time and resources to... View Details

Keywords: by Hong Luo and Alberto Galasso

01 Feb 1999
News

Too Much of a Good Thing?

day, and it's obvious where companies are going to choose to build and invest. Many exposed Western firms will have to exit certain businesses, redeploy resources to more productive ventures, and shut down large chunks of capacity - which... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

September 2004 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Roller Coaster Ride, The: The Resignation of a Star

By: Boris Groysberg, Steve Balog and Jennifer Haimson

Presents a detailed account of power dynamics that unfold in the firm when one of its best and brightest threatens to leave. Focuses on the dynamics of attracting, retaining, compensating, negotiating, and leveraging a star performer in a professional services firm. A... View Details

Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Resignation and Termination; Retention; Business or Company Management; Negotiation; Power and Influence

August 2014
Case

Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee... View Details