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December 2003 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Circon (A) (Abridged)

By: Brian J. Hall, Christopher Rose and Guhan Subramanian

In 1996, U.S. Surgical launched a hostile takeover bid against Circon Corp. CEO Richard Auhll recruited an old HBS friend, George Cloutier, to the Circon board to help him defend the company. Circon's primary defenses include a "poison pill" and a staggered board and... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Trust; Relationships; Acquisition; Business and Shareholder Relations; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States

December 1998
Background Note

Cash Management Practices in Small Companies

By: H. Kent Bowen, Andrew R. Jassy, Laurence E. Katz, Kevin E. Kelly and Baltej Kochar

Most small business managers claim that cash management is their leading concern. Often walking a tightrope between growth and illiquidity, small business managers face different cash management challenges than their counterparts in larger companies. Compared to larger... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Working Capital; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Design; Cash; Forecasting and Prediction; Policy; Business Strategy

02 Dec 2002
What Do You Think?

How Will We Respond to the “Moment of Truth” in Option Plans?

Summing Up Are We Getting More Sensible About Management Incentives? Respondents to this month's column suggest ways of fixing or selectively using various methods of providing incentives to management. They join the chorus of voices... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

04 Nov 2002
What Do You Think?

What’s Best for the Corporate Brain?

needed to develop intellectual capital and things like continuity of employment, organization structure, and incentives equivalent to the synapses by which information is exchanged and knowledge created, how many (if any) cells are... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

November–December 2024
Article

Why Employees Quit

By: Ethan Bernstein, Michael B. Horn and Bob Moesta

The so-called war for talent is still raging. But in that fight, employers continue to rely on the same hiring and retention strategies they’ve been using for decades. Why? Because they’ve been so focused on challenges such as poaching by industry rivals, competing in... View Details

Keywords: Retention; Recruitment; Talent and Talent Management; Employee Relationship Management; Motivation and Incentives

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12 Sep 2016
Research & Ideas

What Brands Can Do to Monitor Factory Conditions of Suppliers

poor conditions exposed. In other words, the more concerned they are, the more likely they have more incentives to maintain better conditions. “Press freedom empowers journalists and labor activists to investigate and publicize poor... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

12 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 12

the problems in participants' incentives and in legal rules. Publisher's link: http://www.benedelman.org/publications/pitfalls-and-fraud-in-online-advertising-research-jar-jun2014.pdf August 2014 Economic Journal Highway to Success: The... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Feb 2011
First Look

First Look: Feb. 23

large exchange pool (although the worst-case cost is very high), while the cost of failing to guarantee individually rational allocations could be large, in terms of lost transplants. We also identify an incentive compatible mechanism.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Good Banks, Bad Banks, and Government’s Role as Fixer

incentives at each stage of the process. We need to ensure that mortgages are appropriate for the resources of borrowers, and that mortgage brokers have skin in the game when they sell loans. We need to control the conflicts of interest... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

01 Mar 2010
News

Sole Mates

promoting its investment opportunities, to organizing site visits and meetings for foreign investors, to negotiating investment deals and incentive packages. In little more than two years on the job, we’ve had some good results: The... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Forestry and Logging; Agriculture; Monetary Authorities-Central Bank; Finance; Administration of Environmental Quality Programs; Government

04 Aug 2020
News

How Business Can Advance Racial Equity

resourcing, establishing targets and measurements and incentives that you would attach to any other strategic initiative that mattered. Third, I would say don't demand perfection of yourself. I make mistakes, clients make mistakes, people... View Details

24 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, October 24, 2017

incentives to collaborate would remain intact. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/718422-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 718-423 Tempur Sealy International (B) Analyzes the commercial relationship between... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Nov 2009
First Look

First Look: Nov. 17

Piecemeal attempts to fix elements of corporate governance will fail. The problem, to illustrate, is not just the structure of compensation. Nor will increasing required capital prevent problems at companies with strong incentives and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

25 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 25, 2008

products, as well as the regulations that sometimes stood in the way. Throughout, the case identifies incentives for both consumers and merchants, including direct costs, efficiency benefits, rebates, and treatment in case of loss or... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Sealed Air Taiwan (A) (Abridged)

By: Lynn S. Paine

The general manager for U.S.-based Sealed Air Corp.'s Taiwan subsidiary must decide how to improve productivity and achieve profitability. In addition to considering a new approach to compensation, he is wondering how to bridge the gap between Sealed Air's corporate... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Relationships; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Management Skills; Compensation and Benefits; Taiwan; United States

November 2008 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Stone Finch, Inc.: Young Division, Old Division

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Elizabeth Collins

CEO Jim Billings wants to attract energetic, entrepreneurial talent to Stone Finch, Inc., which comprises an older division that fabricates products like piping and tanks for water and wastewater processing plants, and a much newer division that develops biochemical... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Motivation; Business Growth; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Business Subsidiaries; Innovation Strategy; Resource Allocation; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Retention; Operations; Recruitment; Integration; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Growth and Development Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

15 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 15, 2006

Working PapersOptimal Reserve Management and Sovereign Debt Authors:Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk Abstract Most models currently used to determine optimal foreign reserve holdings take the level of international debt as given. However, given the sovereign's... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Mar 2005
News

A Primer on Patents

one would be willing to invest in research for fear that imitators who had not spent a dime on R&D would become competitors and drive down profits. By protecting innovations, patents are an essential incentive for the development of new... View Details

Keywords: James E. Aisner; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

September 2011 (Revised May 2013)
Case

New Resource Bank: In Pursuit of Green

By: Christopher Marquis and Juan Almandoz

New Resource Bank was founded in San Francisco in 2006 with a mission focused on environmental sustainability. The case illustrates the opportunities and challenges of banking on values and the challenges of organizations defining a social and environmental commitment.... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Banking Industry; San Francisco