Management Controls - Publications - Faculty & Research

October 2014 (Revised June 2015)
Case

Quiet Logistics (A)

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This two-part case focuses on how to identify and manage strategic uncertainties in an innovative, entrepreneurial start-up company. In the (A) case, students learn about Quiet Logistics, an e-commerce fulfillment company working with high-end apparel retailers such as... View Details

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March 2020
Case

China's Management of COVID-19 (A): People's War or Chernobyl Moment?

By: Meg Rithmire and Courtney Han

In late 2019, a novel respiratory virus appeared in a province in central China. Government officials in Wuhan, Hubei province had to respond to the new virus in the shadow of the 2002–2003 outbreak of SARS in China and within the context of the country’s public health... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Coronavirus; Pandemics; Public Health; COVID-19 Pandemic; Health Pandemics; Government Administration; Social Issues; Policy; Decision Making; China

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Web

Accounting & Management Curriculum - Faculty & Research

Accounting & Management Overview Faculty Curriculum Seminars & Conferences Awards & Honors Doctoral Students MBA Required Curriculum (FIRST YEAR) Financial Reporting and Control (FRC) Recognizing that... View Details

June 2017
Teaching Note

Google to Alphabet: Two Job Opportunities

By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard

This is the teaching note for "Google to Alphabet: Two Job Opportunities" HBS No.116-046 The case describes two job postings for positions at Google. The first job posting is for a Software Engineer in the Google Maps unit and the second job posting is for an Account... View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Span Of Control; Span Of Accountability; Span Of Support; Management Control Systems; Entrepreneurial Gap; Motivation; Job Design; Strategy; Information Technology; Organizational Design; Jobs and Positions; Technology Industry

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November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 12: Aligning Performance Goals and Incentives

By: Robert Simons

This module reading explains how managers use performance goals and incentives to ensure that employee actions align with the overall business strategy of the organization. The module begins by discussing how managers use goals to communicate business strategy, the... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Performance Goals; Performance Measures; Incentives; Benchmarks; Motivation; Compensation; Bonuses; Strategy

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10 Sep 2007
Research & Ideas

High Note: Managing the Medici String Quartet

world of the unexpected. Think of crisis management. It's very important in crisis management not to fall into a comfortable pattern because you may be misperceiving the data. Psychologists talk about the initial hypothesis problem: In a... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Music

October 2014
Supplement

Quiet Logistics (B)

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This two-part case focuses on how to identify and manage strategic uncertainties in an innovative, entrepreneurial start-up company. In the (A) case, students learn about Quiet Logistics, an e-commerce fulfillment company working with high-end apparel retailers such as... View Details

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03 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

The Tricky Business of Managing Web Advertising Affiliates

better to manage these programs in-house or to use outside experts. . Power Of The Network Affiliate networks slash the cost of buying ads for sellers through the use of advertising marketplaces. In essence, sellers are able to place... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Advertising; Publishing

Article

The Growing Strategic Importance of End-of-Life Product Management

By: Michael W. Toffel

Requiring manufacturers to manage the their products when they become waste is an innovative form of regulation, one that has been adopted by countries in Asia, Europe, and North America on a variety of products that range from vehicles to appliances to batteries.... View Details

Keywords: Product; Environmental Sustainability; Cost Management; Wastes and Waste Processing; Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

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August 1989
Article

Organizational Frame-Bending: Principles for Managing Reorientations

By: D. Nadler and Michael Tushman

Keywords: Organizations; Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

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12 Aug 2011
Working Paper Summaries

From Counting Risk to Making Risk Count: Boundary-Work in Risk Management

Keywords: by Anette Mikes

06 Jan 2011
What Do You Think?

How Should Management Deal With “Anonymous”?

intended victim. (Ironically, in the meantime we have learned that the "worm" that attacked Iran's nuclear centrifuges and sent them whirling out of control and into self-destruction in all likelihood was carefully engineered... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett

14 Aug 2006
HBS Case

On Managing with Bobby Knight and “Coach K”

way, and setting high goals while maintaining standards. "If you believe people are fundamentally bad—if you believe people are constantly looking to get over and get by and won't do anything unless they're watched—then you'll tend to lead with a very... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Sports

Article

The Translucent Hand of Managed Ecosystems: Engaging Communities for Value Creation and Capture

By: Elizabeth J. Altman, Frank Nagle and Michael Tushman

Management research has increasingly explored the domains of ecosystems, platforms, and open/user/distributed innovation—governance structures focused on engaging with external communities. While these research areas include substantial empirical and theoretical work... View Details

Keywords: Ecosystems; Platforms; Open And User Innovation Strategy; Capabilities; Governance; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Value Creation

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Article

The Big Five Personality Traits, Material Values, and Financial Well-being of Self-described Money Managers

By: Grant Edward Donnelly, Ravi Iyer and Ryan Howell

Previous research has linked personality traits, material values, and money management to savings, debt, and compulsive buying. To extend previous research, four online surveys examined the Big Five personality traits and material values of those who manage their money... View Details

Keywords: Values; Personality; Well-being; Personal Characteristics; Values and Beliefs; Personal Finance; Money

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July 2012
Case

New Century Financial Corporation (Abridged)

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Suraj Srinivasan and Ian Cornell

After years of rapid growth and stock price appreciation, New Century Financial Corporation, one of the largest subprime loan originators in the U.S., reported accounting problems in early 2007. The resulting liquidity crisis forced the company to file for Chapter 11... View Details

Keywords: Audit Committees; Financial Management; Control Systems; Securities; Loan Evaluation; Accounting; Value; Financial Services Industry; United States

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July 2012 (Revised February 2017)
Teaching Note

Dovernet

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This is the teaching note for Dovernet (HBS No. 112-061) View Details

Keywords: Execution; Management Control Systems; Performance Measurement; Performance Goals; Incentives; Strategy

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14 Oct 2021
In Practice

Reunited and It Feels (Not) So Good: Tips for Managing a Rocky Return

School and a leader of the Managing the Future of Work Project and the Project on Workforce. Lakshmi Ramarajan: Don’t leave struggling workers behind Employers should remember the pandemic is not over. Many employees still need... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz