Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(1,490)
- Faculty Publications (318)
- April 2004 (Revised September 2007)
- Case
Accounting Fraud at WorldCom
By: Robert S. Kaplan and David Kiron
The principal players in WorldCom's accounting fraud included CFO Scott Sullivan, the General Accounting and Internal Audit departments, external auditor Arthur Andersen, and the board of directors. The case provides sufficient detail to allow for a full discussion of... View Details
- December 2003 (Revised February 2004)
- Case
Scott Lawson's Dilemma
By: Thomas R. Piper
The head of SysCom's test equipment division is concerned about how to answer employee and customer questions concerning the possible sale or liquidation of the division. The consequences of alternative approaches (full transparency vs. strong optimism and reassurance)... View Details
- August 2003
- Case
BRAC and Aarong Commercial Brands, The
By: John A. Quelch
BRAC is the world's largest NGO and has recently initiated a number of successful profit-making commercial enterprises, ranging from dairy processing to vegetable exports, as well as a university. Explores the tensions and benefits of a major nonprofit entering the... View Details
- 2003
- Book
When You Say Yes But Mean No: How Silencing Conflict Wrecks Relationships and Companies
By: Leslie Perlow
“Saying yes when you really mean no” is a problem that haunts organizations from start-ups to multi-nationals. It exists across industries, levels, and functions. And it’s exacerbated by a down economy, when the fear of losing one’s job is on everybody’s mind and the... View Details
- February 2003 (Revised March 2003)
- Case
The Nature Conservancy
By: Allen S. Grossman and Jane Wei-Skillern
Almost immediately upon being appointed CEO of The Nature Conservancy (TNC), Steve McCormick undertakes a radical reorganization of this global institution. TNC is the largest and, by most measures, the most successful environment organization in the world, with... View Details
- February 2003
- Background Note
Identity Issues in Teams
By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Hillary Anger Elfenbein
This note explains how identity dynamics underlie many of the observable interpersonal problems that team members encounter, ranging from lack of participation and low involvement to misunderstandings and dysfunctional emotional conflict. It provides a framework for... View Details
- November 2002 (Revised November 2006)
- Case
Tax-Motivated Film Financing at Rexford Studios
By: Mihir A. Desai, Gabriel J. Loeb and Mark Veblen
The head of production for Rexford Studios must analyze the terms and value consequences of an international financing involving a German film fund. The financing involves a sale-leaseback structure where international tax rules give rise to a sizable economic pie that... View Details
- July 2002 (Revised March 2003)
- Case
Restructuring Bulong's Project Debt
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane
Preston Resources, a small Australian gold mining company, bought the Bulong nickel mine for A$319 million in November 1998 and financed the acquisition by issuing a US$185 million (A$294 million) project bond. At the time, mining had been underway for several months,... View Details
- April 2002
- Article
The Determination of Unemployment Benefits
By: Rafael Di Tella and Robert J. MacCulloch
While much empirical research exists on labor market consequences of unemployment benefits, there is remarkably little evidence on the forces determining benefits. We present a simple model where workers desire insurance against unemployment risk and benefits increase... View Details
- November 2001
- Background Note
Sexual Harassment Law and Policy
By: Michael A. Wheeler, Georgia Levenson and Arturo Corso
Outlines the recent development of legal principles regarding sexual harassment, including procedures in the United States and state courts, what circumstances constitute harassment, the resolution of these conflicts and the resulting consequences for the individuals... View Details
- 2000
- Working Paper
The Drivers of National Innovative Capacity: Implications for Spain and Latin America
By: Michael E. Porter, Jeffrey L. Furman and Scott Stern
In the past decade, both academic scholars and policymakers have focused increasing attention on the central role that technological innovation plays in economic growth. There are at least two distinct reasons for this increased interest. First, though economists have... View Details
- Article
Businessmen and Land Ownership in the Late Nineteenth Century
By: Tom Nicholas
This article analyses the proportions of personal to real estate wealth for a group of 295 businessmen profiled in the Dictionary of business biography. It shows that businessmen who owned land on a large scale in the late nineteenth century were a comparatively small... View Details
- 1997
- Chapter
Discussion of "Microeconomic Policy, Technological Change, and Small Business" by Edwin Mansfield
By: Joshua Lerner
Edwin Mansfield’s thoughtful review of the literature on the economics of technological change raises a variety of interesting issues, far too many to address in a few pages. Consequently I will focus my discussion on the section that I found most challenging and... View Details
- December 1994
- Case
Intel's Pentium: When the Chips Are Down (A)
By: Stephen A. Greyser and Norman Klein
Intel, the largest-selling manufacturer of microprocessor computer chips, finds itself in a brand-threatening situation when a flaw is revealed in its top-of-the-line Pentium chip. The story is front-page news for weeks. The company invested tens of millions of dollars... View Details
- November 1994
- Case
Navistar International
By: Stuart C. Gilson and Jeremy Cott
As a consequence of laying off half its workforce in a massive downsizing program, the company--a large manufacturer of medium and heavy trucks--struggles with a huge ($2.6 billion) liability for retiree medical costs. Although the company has promised its retirees... View Details
- October 1994 (Revised April 1996)
- Case
Patricia Ostrander
By: Nancy F. Koehn, Donald J. Edwards and Antonio F. Weiss
Analyzes the career of former money manager Patricia Ostrander. Focuses on Ostrander's purchase of stock warrants issued in connection with the 1985 leveraged buyout of Storer Communications and on her later indictment and conviction for accepting unlawful... View Details
- April 1994 (Revised March 1995)
- Case
China (C): Energy and the Environment
Describes energy and environmental policy in China during the period 1980-1993. China has implemented ambitious plans for electrification and the substitution of fossil fuels (mostly coal) for biomass. The environmental consequences of these changes, at the local and... View Details
- March 1993
- Supplement
Eastwind Trading Company (B)
Describes the aftermath of the (A) case. Describes the actions taken and the possible consequences for the company and its principals. Also describes the principals' attitudes at this point. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details
- June 1990 (Revised October 1991)
- Supplement
Lake Pleasant Bodies Case (B)
Describes how the attorney resolved the dilemma he faced, the reasons for his decision, and the consequences he suffered. Displays vividly the personal toll that moral conflicts can create for professionals with role obligations. View Details