Publications

Find at Harvard

September 2001 (Revised October 2018)
Case

DIENA

By: Robert Simons and Indra Reinbergs

Requires students to draw a new organization structure diagram for a rapidly evolving business. A/S DIENA is a newspaper publisher founded during Latvia's 1990/91 struggle for independence from the USSR with a clear social mission to support democracy. With the help of... View Details

Keywords: Employee Ownership; Organizational Design; Marketing Strategy; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development; Economic Systems; Publishing Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Latvia

June 2008 (Revised February 2013)
Case

Vignettes on Governance of Private Equity Firms

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Ann Leamon and Eugenia Adofo

In a series of vignettes, Nigella Hardy-Smyth of an international development agency that invests in emerging markets private equity firms must decide how to handle various situations that arise. As a member of the Limited Partner Advisory Board of each of the five... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Funds; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Emerging Markets; Partners and Partnerships

20 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 20

Decentralize? Authors:Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen Abstract There is a widespread sense that over the last two decades firms have been decentralizing decisions to employees further down the managerial hierarchy.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Sep 2016
First Look

September 27, 2016

development programs have entered a period of disruption catalyzed by the digitalization of content, connectivity, and communication and are driven by renewed demand for high-level executive and managerial skills. Unlike other segments of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

05 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

5 Companies Where Employees Move Up the Ladder Fast

Companies vying to fill entry-level roles should take a page from AT&T and American Express and offer aggressive advancement opportunities to workers without college degrees to help expand the talent pool, says a new report. According... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

September 2008 (Revised March 2009)
Supplement

Traversing a Career Path: Pat Fili-Krushel (B)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn, Deborah M. Kolb and Cailin B. Hammer

Pat Fili-Krushel has agreed to take on the job of first executive vice president of administration for AOL Time Warner, leading corporate human resources, internal communications, real estate and facilities, and other administrative roles for the combined company. She... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Negotiation Tactics; Personal Development and Career; Gender; Power and Influence; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Publishing Industry; United States

08 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

The Return of the Salesman

included some mention of peddlers and drummers in his 1977 book, The Visible Hand: The Managerial Revolution in American Business. He discussed them, though only briefly, within the larger context of the rise of mass distribution and mass... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

08 Oct 2013
First Look

First Look: October 8

Publications August 2013 The Industrial Policy Revolution I: The Role of Government Beyond Ideology Growth and the Quality of Foreign Direct Investment: Is All FDI Equal By: Alfaro, Laura, and Andrew Charlton Abstract—In this paper we... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

November 2021 (Revised October 2024)
Background Note

Legal Analysis: Fiduciary Duties for Managers

By: J.S. Nelson and Trevor Fetter

This note describes the essential legal responsibilities of managers and company directors toward investors and other parties. These include basic fiduciary duties of loyalty, obedience, good faith and care, as well as duties that relate to... View Details

Keywords: Fiduciary Duty; Managerial Roles; Legal Liability

26 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

What Companies Want Most in a CEO: A Good Listener

basic social capabilities are perceived to play a key role for the success of complex and information intensive organizations. It is unclear, however, whether the supply of social skills in the managerial... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

October 1995 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Cambridge Consulting Group: Bob Anderson

By: Jay W. Lorsch and John J. Gabarro

Describes the situation facing the head of a rapidly growing industry-focused group within a consulting company. Highlights the dilemmas of being a "producing manager" (i.e., a professional who has both individual production as well as management responsibilities).... View Details

Keywords: Management; Managerial Roles; Agency Theory; Consulting Industry

August 1999 (Revised June 2008)
Case

Taran Swan at Nickelodeon Latin America (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

Eighteen months after launching Nickelodeon Latin America, general manager Taran Swan must leave the company's Miami headquarters for her New York home because of complications with her pregnancy. Unable to travel for at least the next six months, Swan must decide how... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Leadership Style; Managerial Roles; Organizational Culture; Groups and Teams

2011
Book

The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Steve J. Kramer

The most effective managers have the ability to build a cadre of employees who have great inner work lives-consistently positive emotions; strong motivation; and favorable perceptions of the organization, their work, and their colleagues. The worst managers undermine... View Details

Find at Harvard

November 1993 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Rudi Gassner and the Executive Committee of BMG International (A)

By: Linda Hill and Katherine Seger Weber

Explores the roles of CEO Rudi Gassner and the 9-person executive committee in leading BMG International. BMG International is the international music subsidiary of Bertlesmann, a German company that is the second-largest media conglomerate in the world. Describes a... View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Management Teams; Decision Making; Business Plan; Growth and Development Strategy; Global Strategy; Leadership Style; Organizational Culture; Business Subsidiaries; Business Conglomerates; Cost Management; Change Management; Music Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Germany