Publications

November 2019
Case

The Boss Has the Wrong Idea: Confidential Role Material for Lee Clancy

By: Katherine Coffman, Kathleen McGinn, Judith A. Clair and Katherine Chen

“The Boss Has the Wrong Idea” is a two-person conversation exercise in which an MBA student seeks advice from a mentor in her field about how to handle an incident of workplace sexual harassment. The case consists of two confidential role materials: a role for the... View Details

Keywords: Sexual Harassment; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Culture

November 2019
Case

The Boss Has the Wrong Idea: Confidential Role Material for Julia Smith

By: Katherine Coffman, Kathleen McGinn, Judith A. Clair and Katherine Chen

“The Boss Has the Wrong Idea” is a two-person conversation exercise in which an MBA student seeks advice from a mentor in her field about how to handle an incident of workplace sexual harassment. The case consists of two confidential role materials: a role for the... View Details

Keywords: Sexual Harassment; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Culture

November 2012 (Revised October 2013)
Supplement

Global Expansion at Sanford C. Bernstein (C)

By: Linda A. Hill and Dana Teppert

Robert van Brugge, CEO of Sanford C. Bernstein, a premier sell-side research firm, has recently appointed a new Director of Asian Research to lead the firm's Hong Kong office. Van Brugge wonders what advice he should give the new Director as the firm continues to... View Details

Keywords: Collaboration; Organizational Design; Talent Management; Leadership; Finance; Globalization; Organizational Culture; Financial Services Industry; Hong Kong

February 1997
Supplement

WPP--Integrating Icons (Video)

By: Joseph L. Bower and Sonja Ellingson Hout

Interviews with Martin Sorrell, Chairman of WPP Group plc, and also with the heads of several companies that are owned with WPP. Discusses corporate culture, strategies for the future, and how the various companies interact. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Relationships; Communication; Strategy

2022
Conference Presentation

Organizational Competition: A Catalyst for Workplace Diversity and Desires for Uniqueness

By: Samantha N. Smith, Edward H. Chang, Erika L. Kirgios and Katherine L. Milkman

Competition is prevalent in organizations. For example, people often compete against their colleagues for status and recognition in the workplace or for opportunities for advancement. Workers also compete against others to get hired into organizations in the first... View Details

Keywords: Status and Position; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior

November 2016 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Lenovo to Buy IBM PC: Integration Challenges

By: David G. Fubini and Christine Snively

In December 2004, Chinese computer manufacturer Lenovo announced its purchase of IBM’s PC division. At the time, few industry observers were optimistic about the merger of these entities with seemingly opposite company cultures. How should the two entities plan to... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Strategy; Organizational Culture; Computer Industry; Technology Industry; United States; China

02 Jul 2001
Research & Ideas

George C. Lodge

Spearheads of Democracy (inspired by his Labor Department duties, which had taken him to Latin America, Africa, and Asia), he decided to leave the School to run for the U.S. Senate as the Republican... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

05 Sep 2008
What Do You Think?

Is Case Method Instruction Due for an Overhaul?

Summing Up Is the case method gaining relevance over time? Case method instruction may not be perfect, but to paraphrase Winston Churchill's view of democracy (and Sameer Kamat's response to the column),... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Education

Video

Nicolás Jodal

Nicolás Jodal, Co-Founder and CEO of GeneXus, describes how the gender balance in systems engineering has unexpectedly changed over time in Uruguay, while expressing his commitment to diversity as both a foundational aspect and a deliberate business strategy. View Details

02 Feb 2016
First Look

February 2, 2016

press Journal of Applied Psychology Cooperation in Multicultural Negotiations: How the Cultures of People with Low and High Power Interact By: Kopelman, Shirli, Ashley E.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Dec 2009
News

Don’t Scare the Bankers

a replacement for his original HBS diploma, lost during the tumult of the Cultural Revolution. That upheaval saw Mr. Ji, a BOC official in Shanghai, get banished to the provinces for ten years. But those bad... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Offices of Bank Holding Companies; Offices of Bank Holding Companies; Offices of Bank Holding Companies

December 1999
Article

Changes in the Work Environment for Creativity during Downsizing

By: T. M. Amabile and Regina Conti

This study examined the work environment for creativity at a large high-technology firm before, during, and after a major downsizing. Creativity and most creativity-supporting aspects of the perceived work environment declined significantly during the downsizing but... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Situation or Environment; Creativity; Resignation and Termination; Employees; Business or Company Management; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Crisis Management; Groups and Teams; Communication; Announcements; Interpersonal Communication

Find at Harvard

05 Dec 2005
What Do You Think?

Is Growth Good?

effects. His analysis suggests that major events occurring in response to periods of growth foster openness, tolerance, mobility, fairness, and democracy to support his thesis. The reverse is also true. He... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

March 1978
Case

Lincoln Electric Co. (B)

Reaction of a recent MBA to the climate, motivational systems, and management practices of the Lincoln Electric Company. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture

February 1999 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Cherkizovsky Group (A), The

By: Lynn S. Paine and Hal Hogan

Describes the transformation of a formerly state-owned meat processing plant in Russia into a privately-owned and operated food processing conglomerate under Russia's economic reforms of the 1990s. Among the challenges the CEO, Igor Babaev, and his top management team... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Privatization; Transformation; Global Strategy; Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Russia

March 1981 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Hank Kolb, Director, Quality Assurance

By: Frank S. Leonard and W. Earl Sasser

Designed to introduce the systemic nature of product quality and the complexity of quality problems. Uses a new director, quality assurance, and the discovery of a quality problem. The new director has to decide if it is a real problem, what to do about it, and how to... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Product; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Attitudes; Complexity

December 1994 (Revised February 1995)
Case

Anne Livingston and Power Max Systems (A): Interviewing with the PowerPlayer Software Engineering Team

Follows the entry and early experiences of engineer Anne Livingston, an African American woman, as she joins Power Max Systems in 1991 as software engineering manager for the new product development group. Power Max is facing stiff competition and wants to be first to... View Details

Keywords: Race; Personal Development and Career; Organizational Culture; Gender; Information Technology Industry