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Giving - Alumni

existing pledge or to customize your pledge fulfillment schedule, please contact HBS Gift Management at gifts@hbs.edu or 617.495.6207. How can I make a gift in honor or in memory of someone? Use this form... View Details

September 2008
Case

Adobe Systems: Working Towards a "Suite" Release (A)

By: David A. Thomas and Lauren Barley

The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to launch Creative Suite 3, the biggest software release in the company's 25-year history. The protagonist, Yvonne Murray, is a group program... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Product Launch; Projects; Groups and Teams; Conflict Management; Power and Influence

February 2010 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Merger Integration at Bank of America: The TrustWeb Project

By: Gary P. Pisano and Bradley R. Staats

This case explores project management in a large organization through the eyes of a young project manager, Mike Morris. Morris is tasked with leading a project within the overall merger integration effort at Bank of America. Morris encounters difficulties with managing... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Management Skills; Business Processes; Projects; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Banking Industry; United States

March 2005
Case

Vignette: Waiting for a CEO

By: G. Felda Hardymon and Ann Leamon

A venture capitalist must decide how to respond to an e-mail from his long-time troubleshooter now installed as interim CEO at a struggling contract manufacturing exchange for the custom car business. The investors have been seeking a full-time CEO but have made little... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Business or Company Management; Investment; Business Ventures; Corporate Governance; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Financial Strategy

01 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 1, 2006

Working PapersUnfinished Business: The Impact of Race on Understanding Mentoring Relationships Authors:Stacy Blake-Beard, Audrey Murrell, and David Thomas Abstract W.E.B. DuBois's 1903 words are prophetic, as he proclaims the importance... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

2008
Working Paper

The Decentering of the Global Firm

By: Mihir A. Desai

This paper describes recent changes in the relationship between firms and nation states. Firms are typically linked to the nation in which they began and are considered to have fixed national identities. While firms have reallocated various activities around the world... View Details

Keywords: Business Headquarters; Geographic Location; Globalized Firms and Management; Policy; Business and Government Relations

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2020
Working Paper

Corporate Leadership and Creditor Recovery Rates: Evidence from Executive Gender

By: Clarissa Hauptmann, Syrena Shirley and Anywhere Sikochi

We examine the relationship between the gender of executives and corporate creditor recovery rates. Using 2,288 defaulted debt instruments, we find that female executives are associated with higher creditor recovery rates. Our findings are robust to tests that correct... View Details

Keywords: Executive Gender; Default; Recovery Rates; Debt; Corporate Bonds; Conservatism; Leadership; Gender; Borrowing and Debt; Bonds; Risk Management

2013
Working Paper

Span of Control and Span of Attention

By: Oriana Bandiera, Andrea Prat, Raffaella Sadun and Julie Wulf

Using novel data on CEO time use, we document the relationship between the size and composition of the executive team and the attention of the CEO. We combine information about CEO span of control for a sample of 65 companies with detailed data on how CEOs allocate... View Details

Keywords: Conferences; Analytics and Data Science; Leadership Style; Management Style; Managerial Roles; Time Management; Planning

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November 2015 (Revised March 2018)
Case

Air Products' Pursuit of Airgas (A)

By: Charles C.Y. Wang, Paul M. Healy, Penelope Rossano and Kyle Thomas

This case centers around the Air Products' hostile takeover attempt of Airgas in 2010. Air Products argued that its offer of a 38% premium is generous given Airgas' poor performance, which Air Products attributed to underperforming and entrenched managers at Airgas. On... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business and Shareholder Relations; Industrial Products Industry; Energy Industry; Chemical Industry

November 1991 (Revised April 1994)
Case

Nucleon, Inc.

By: Gary P. Pisano

Nucleon is a small biotechnology company whose first potential product is about to enter clinical testing. Before Nucleon can begin clinical trials, however, its management must decide how and where to manufacture the product. Three options are being contemplated: 1)... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Entrepreneurship; Health Testing and Trials; Rights; Product Development; Production; Partners and Partnerships; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry

October 1988 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Siemens Electric Motor Works (A): Process-Oriented Costing

Explores how a cost system can help support a firm's decision to change strategies. In the process, the students are introduced to a simple activity-based cost system. Siemens Electric Motor Works found itself facing an increasingly competitive environment and so made... View Details

Keywords: Production; Activity Based Costing and Management; Manufacturing Industry

November 2024
Case

Group AMANA: Built to Last

By: Hise Gibson and Fares Khrais

The case chronicles the Bsaibes brothers’ journey in founding and operating Group AMANA; a contracting business founded in 1993, based in the United Arab Emirates with operations across the Middle East. Over the years, the business found itself grappling with major... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Family Business; Transformation; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Succession; Business Strategy; Construction Industry; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; United Arab Emirates

01 Nov 2017
What Do You Think?

What Are the Real Lessons of the Wells Fargo Case?

loan recipients to take out insurance on autos that were already insured. Wells Fargo management claimed that it was unaware of customer complaints collected by the insurance company. Further, when made... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Banking

February 2021
Article

How Transparency into Internal and External Responsibility Initiatives Influences Consumer Choice

By: Ryan W. Buell and Basak Kalkanci

Amid growing calls for transparency and social and environmental responsibility, companies are employing different strategies to improve consumer perceptions of their brands. Some pursue internal initiatives that reduce their negative social or environmental impacts... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Operations; Corporate Social Responsibility; Operational Transparency; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Operations; Environmental Sustainability; Consumer Behavior; Perception

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January – February 2011
Article

Are You a Good Boss-Or a Great One?

By: Linda A. Hill and Kent Lineback

Private moments of doubt and fear come even to managers who have spent years on the job. Any number of events can trigger them: an initiative is going poorly; you get a lukewarm performance review; your new assignment is daunting. HBS professor Linda Hill and executive... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Personal Development and Career; Groups and Teams; Power and Influence; Social and Collaborative Networks

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03 Jan 2017
First Look

January 3, 2017

Winter 2017 MIT Sloan Management Review Why Big Data Isn't Enough By: Chai, Sen, and Willy C. Shih Abstract—There is a growing belief that sophisticated algorithms can explore huge databases and find View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

January 2023 (Revised November 2024)
Case

ELCA's Series A

By: Anke Becker, Raymond Kluender and William R. Kerr

Vu Phong and Xavier Silva co-founded ELCA to build proprietary software for their technology-enabled language learning tool. Since winning a prestigious venture contest in 2021, their number of registered users grew rapidly, as did the demand for new features like... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Business Startups; Venture Capital; Growth and Development Strategy