Publications

June 2020 (Revised February 2023)
Teaching Note

GitLab and the Future of All-Remote Work

By: Prithwiraj (Raj) Choudhury

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 620-066 and 620-117. View Details

Keywords: Remote Work; Remote Operations; Business Offices; Value Creation; Organizational Culture; Business or Company Management; Employee Relationship Management; Communication Strategy; Organizational Structure

November 2010
Article

Stress-Test Your Strategy: The 7 Questions to Ask

By: Robert Simons

An economic downturn can quickly expose the shortcomings of your business strategy. But can you identify its weak points in good times as well? And can you focus on those weak points that really matter? I identify seven questions all executives should ask in order to... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Creativity; Success; Customers; Employees; Business and Shareholder Relations; Performance; Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions

Find at Harvard

December 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Innovation and Collaboration at Merrill Lynch

By: Boris Groysberg and Ingrid Vargas

In the spring of 2005, Candace Browning, head of Global Securities Research and Economics at Merrill Lynch, led about 500 Merrill Lynch analysts worldwide in a collaborative effort to produce innovative research, most of them accustomed to working independently in... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Groups and Teams; Management Teams; Decision Making; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Negotiation; Mathematical Methods; Strategy; Human Resources; Motivation and Incentives; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

August 1999 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Brita Products Company, The

By: John A. Deighton

Clorox's Brita skillfully exploits a tide of water safety concerns, growing a home water (filtration) business from inception to a 15% U.S. household penetration in ten years. The dilemma in the case arises as the period of increasing returns seems to be drawing to a... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Acquisition; Retention; Safety; Natural Environment; Emerging Markets; Investment Return; Equity; Demand and Consumers; United States

September 1989 (Revised April 1990)
Case

Banc One Corp.--1989

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Banc One Corp., an innovative and financially successful super-regional bank holding company, has a track record of upgrading performance of acquisitions while retaining previous management--doing better with the same people. In June 1989 Banc One made its first... View Details

Keywords: Business Growth and Maturation; Banks and Banking; Private Ownership; Human Resources; Mergers and Acquisitions; Performance Evaluation; Management Teams; Banking Industry; United States

17 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

America Needs a Manufacturing Renaissance

tough logic to combat. Yet, as each company makes such a decision, it becomes increasingly difficult for existing suppliers to stay in business. Investing in new technologies or training workers becomes less economically feasible. This lack of investment in... View Details

Keywords: by Gary P. Pisano & Willy C. Shih; Manufacturing

02 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

The Curse of Double-Digit Growth

then Liberia would be unlikely, in our opinion, not to grow at double-digit rates from the moment that the ore is exported in quantity, so long as market conditions for natural resources remain strong," the report concludes. But... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

06 May 2025
Blog Post

The Incredible Land of Ice and Fire: Exploring Iceland's Renewable Energy Model for a Changing Planet

developing small-scale geothermal heat and power projects that promote energy and resource efficiency, energy security for small communities, and local green jobs, all while preserving nature’s balance. The warm welcome we received from... View Details

May 2008
Supplement

Kenny Kahn at Muzak (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

Supplemental Material for 408-057 View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Geographic Location; Innovation and Invention; Employees; Management Teams; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Design; Music Industry

Find at Harvard

March 2006 (Revised March 2014)
Teaching Note

Founder-CEO Succession at Wily Technology (TN)

By: Noam Wasserman

Teaching Note to 805150. View Details

Keywords: Management Succession; Governing and Advisory Boards; Selection and Staffing; Transformation; Venture Capital; Business Startups; Decisions

28 Apr 2021
Blog Post

Alumni Spotlight: Cissy Chen (MBA 2019)

organization, and then wrote reports that our team would provide to the target company. Much of what I wrote about dealt with issues that are common in Asia, from a lack of governance that met global standards, human capital View Details

06 Mar 2013
What Do You Think?

Who Should Manage Our Work Time?

CRM and voicemail systems Technology can scale human efficiency, but only up to a point." Ganesh Ramakrishnan added, "The technologies to communicate, collaborate and access infinite information have evolved and spread much... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

05 May 2010
What Do You Think?

Is Denial Endemic to Management?

Summing Up How best is denial managed? Denial is endemic to management. It is a natural part of human nature, closely related to the survival instinct. It can be useful or disastrous. And it can be managed. That sums up at least many of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Purity Steel Corporation, 2012

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Judgments; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Efficiency; Compensation and Benefits; Salesforce Management; Performance Consistency; Performance Productivity; Steel Industry

November 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Dilyana Karadzhova

a-connect was started in 2002 by three former McKinsey partners who wanted to develop an alternative business model consulting firm, which they have positioned as a high-end staffing company. The company has been very successful, growing to revenues of CHF 30 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Initial Public Offering; Selection and Staffing; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketplace Matching; Expansion; Consulting Industry

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Stop Thinking of Climate Change as a Religious or Political Issue

You sometimes hear people say things like, "I believe in global warming" or "I don't believe in climate change." It seems odd to approach climate change in this way, as though it were a question of belief, like religion. Most of the time when we confront uncertainty in... View Details

Keywords: by Forest Reinhardt; Energy; Utilities

29 Sep 2020
Blog Post

Virtual Networking Tips from HBS Career Coaches

alumni I’ve spoken with have consistently received positive responses to their outreach.” Genuine human connection is especially welcome right now, and with diminished commutes and limited social events, some have more time now than ever... View Details

September 2019
Technical Note

Care Economy in the U.S. (Primer)

By: Joseph B. Fuller, William R. Kerr, Manjari Raman and Carl Kreitzberg

This case describes how caregiving responsibilities influence American employees, firms, and the broader economy. It details how sociodemographic trends in the late 20th century transformed the way that Americans balance their personal and professional lives, analyzing... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Talent and Talent Management; Demographics; Labor; Health Care and Treatment; Family and Family Relationships; Strategy; Management; United States

April 1996 (Revised May 2008)
Exercise

Adam Baxter Company/Local 190: 1985 Negotiation Baxter Management Confidential Information

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Victoria Medvec

ncludes a series of three negotiation exercises portraying management/labor relations at ABC over a period of seven years. ABC, initially a family-owned business, had prided itself on its cooperative relationship with its union, Local 190. With the skyrocketing... View Details

Keywords: Inflation and Deflation; Compensation and Benefits; Wages; Working Conditions; Management; Negotiation Process; Labor and Management Relations