Publications

August 2007 (Revised May 2008)
Case

Rebuilding the New Orleans Public Schools: Turning the Tide? (Abridged)

After Hurricane Katrina, the New Orleans Public School System is faced with rebuilding from the ground up. The challenge is enormous, as is the opportunity to remake the lowest-performing public school system in Louisiana and one of the lowest-performing in the nation.... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Entrepreneurship; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Natural Disasters; Conflict and Resolution; Education Industry; New Orleans

December 2010
Case

Everything or Nothing: Martti Ahtisaari and the Aceh Negotiations (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

In early 2005, Martti Ahtisaari planned negotiations to end the decades-long conflict between Acehnese insurgents and the Indonesian government that had claimed thousands of lives. The "modern" phase of the insurgency by the fighters from the Free Aceh Movement that... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; Negotiation; Conflict and Resolution; Conflict Management; Indonesia

September 2023
Technical Note

Note on Family Constitutions

By: Christina R. Wing

Less than half of family businesses will survive generational transfer. While sometimes this is due to operating company issues, in many cases it is because of conflict within the family. Many families create and adopt a family constitution to proactively mitigate... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Policy; Organizational Structure; Family Ownership; Conflict Management; Agreements and Arrangements

February 2008
Exercise

Gerson Lehrman Group

By: Robert G. Eccles Jr. and David Lane

Gerson Lehrman Group (GLG) brought together decision makers in search of hard-to-find answers with specialized experts in nearly every imaginable field. Over time, GLG developed software to help minimize potential conflicts of interest among and between experts and... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Customer Focus and Relationships; Governance Compliance; Conflict of Interests; Competitive Advantage; Software; Consulting Industry

September 2004
Article

Capital Controls: A Political Economy Approach

By: Laura Alfaro

This paper examines the economic consequences of political conflicts that arise when countries implement capital controls. In an overlapping-generations model, agents vote on whether to open or close an economy to capital flows. The young (workers) receive income from... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Voting; Conflict of Interests; Capital; Government and Politics; Wages; Saving; Forecasting and Prediction

July 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Sony Ericsson WTA Tour (A)

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Kaitlyn Simpson

Larry Scott, the new CEO of the Women's Tennis Association, arrives amidst turmoil. Players and tournaments clash over opposing interests. As a result, the board members who represent them are equally divided and feel conflicted about their role. They aren't sure how... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leadership; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Cooperation; Sports Industry

July 2013
Case

Slicing Pie with a Razor: Ockham Technologies' Founding Agreement

By: Noam Wasserman and Yael Braid

Ockham Technologies' three founders are about to craft their founding agreement and split the equity among themselves. Uncertainty lingers over each member's future contributions, though—how is the team to devise a durable and effective split? Jim Triandiflou and Ken... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry

Article

A Persuasive Peace: Syrian Refugees' Attitudes Towards Compromise and Civil War Termination

By: Kristin Fabbe, Chad Hazlett and Tolga Sınmazdemir

Civilians who have fled violent conflict and settled in neighboring countries are integral to processes of civil war termination. Contingent on their attitudes, they can either back peaceful settlements or support warring groups and continued fighting. Attitudes toward... View Details

Keywords: Refugees; War; Conflict and Resolution; Attitudes; Perspective; Syria

Read Now

November 2005 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Trolltech (Norway) - Will Cenapio Steal Christmas?

Describes the creation of an open source software venture in Norway, Australia, and the United States that lands a strategic OEM deal with a leading Japanese manufacturer of embedded devices (PDAs in this instance). Details the evolution of the two companies'... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Conflict and Resolution; Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Open Source Distribution; Information Infrastructure; Entrepreneurship; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Information Technology Industry; Australia; Japan; Norway; United States

February 2012 (Revised August 2014)
Case

Poles Apart on PZU (A)

By: Francesca Gino, Vincent Dessain, Karol Misztal and Michael Khayyat

In October 2008, Andrzej Klesyk, CEO of Poland's largest insurer PZU, reflected on possible ways of resolving a decade-long cross-border shareholder conflict at his company. Owned 55% by the Polish State Treasury and 33% by the Dutch insurer Eureko as of October 2008,... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Trust; Conflict and Resolution; Business and Shareholder Relations; Poland

September 1992 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Kaiser Steel Corporation, 1987

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Kaiser Steel entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in early 1987. Nine months later it still faces several difficult obstacles to reorganization, including litigation, environmental liabilities, and pension and medical benefits for retired employees. Students are... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Employee Relationship Management; Resource Allocation; Opportunities; Conflict and Resolution; Steel Industry; United States

September 1996 (Revised June 1998)
Case

InterSoft of Argentina (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Stacy Palestrant

Focuses on InterSoft of Argentina, a growing software company in Argentina. In 1993, InterSoft acquires a Russian software company and Emilo Lopez, the vice president and director of InterSoft's Systems Software Lab, must manage a creative, cross-cultural, "virtual"... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Business Growth and Maturation; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Teams; Groups and Teams; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict Management; Information Technology Industry; Argentina; Russia

September 1977 (Revised June 1984)
Case

Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force

By: John J. Gabarro and James G. Clawson

Outlines events leading up to a meeting of a six-person task force which has been assigned to reduce overhead costs at a major manufacturing company. History of the company, and backgrounds of all the task force members are presented. Raises the following questions and... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Cost Management; Cooperation; Planning; Manufacturing Industry