Publications

March 2011
Case

Insight Communications

By: Rajiv Lal and Natalie Kindred

After undertaking a multi-year, metrics-driven operational and cultural overhaul, in April 2010 Insight Communications was planning the next phase of its development. Insight was a New York-based provider of cable, landline phone, and high-speed Internet service to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Improvement; Growth Management; Management Systems; Business Processes; Measurement and Metrics; Employees; Telecommunications Industry; New York (state, US)

August 2023
Article

Do Rating Agencies Behave Defensively for Higher Risk Issuers?

By: Samuel B. Bonsall IV, Kevin Koharki, Pepa Kraft, Karl A. Muller III and Anywhere Sikochi

We examine whether rating agencies act defensively toward issuers with a higher likelihood of default. We find that agencies' qualitative soft rating adjustments are more accurate as issuers' default risk grows, as evidenced by the adjustments leading to lower Type I... View Details

Keywords: Credit Rating Agencies; Soft Rating Adjustments; Default; Credit; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Financial Institutions; Risk Management

12 Nov 2018
Research & Ideas

'Always On' Isn't Always Best for Team Decision-Making

collaboration encouraged by today’s communication tools like Slack and Skype good or bad for finding the best answer? “I don’t want there to be zero communication, but I do think that transparency and... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

December 1998
Case

Grupo Industrial Bimbo S.A. (1998)

By: Ray A. Goldberg, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Srinivas Sunder

A leading Mexican agribusiness firm wants to expand in the United States and other locations. How to do so in a manner that utilizes the strengths of the company? View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Food; Global Strategy; Strength and Weakness; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; United States; Mexico

July 1991 (Revised May 1993)
Case

Fairfield Inn (B)

By: James L. Heskett

The manager of a Fairfield Inn located near a family entertainment center is requesting special consideration for a falling quality rating caused, in his opinion, by unusually high occupancy rates at his unit. The case raises questions about quality measurement,... View Details

Keywords: Entertainment; Measurement and Metrics; Performance Consistency; Quality; Strategy; Accommodations Industry

06 Nov 2013
What Do You Think?

Is Top-Down Resource Allocation on the Rise?

be familiar with specific opportunities) manages the context—organization, the way managerial performance is measured and rewarded, etc.—that shapes definition of opportunities... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

September 2017 (Revised August 2018)
Case

The Productivity Decline: Demographics, Robots, or Globalization?

By: Laura Alfaro, Hayley Pallan and Sarah Jeong

In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity... View Details

Keywords: Productivity; Performance Productivity; Measurement and Metrics; Technological Innovation; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Globalization; Business and Government Relations

18 Jun 2012
Research & Ideas

Better by the Bunch: Evaluating Job Candidates in Groups

people are evaluated jointly rather than separately regarding their future performance. These findings are presented in the working paper When Performance Trumps Gender Bias: Joint versus Separate Evaluation, coauthored by HKS Professor... View Details

Keywords: by Maggie Starvish

21 Jun 2004
Research & Ideas

Racial Diversity Pays Off

the benefit of racial diversity alone, done right, pays off not just in a better company, but a more productive one. In new research that focuses specifically on racial diversity, Ely said they found measurable View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

14 Jul 2003
Research & Ideas

Keeping Your Balance With Customers

A successful CM strategy must address each of the following processes. (Typical objectives and measures for customer management are shown in Figure 1.) 1. Customer selection.... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton

27 Sep 2016
First Look

September 27, 2016

plans and performance measurement systems to implement their strategy and explores the five organizational... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 7, 2020
Article

Where ESG Ratings Fail: The Case for New Metrics

By: Mark R. Kramer, Nina Jais, Erin E. Sullivan, Carina Wendell, Kerry Rodriguez, Carlo Papa, Carlo Napoli and Filippo Forti

One agency’s A+ is another’s “laggard” — and neither links to financial performance. Hybrid metrics will change everything, argue Harvard Business School’s Mark Kramer and leaders in the shared-value movement. View Details

Keywords: ESG Ratings; Shared Value; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Performance; Measurement and Metrics

Read Now

16 Aug 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

HBS Introduces Marketing Analysis Tools for Managers

learn to measure market demand and calculate market penetration rates and market share. "Situation Analysis": Before managers can begin to formulate marketing View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

11 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Four Ways to Create Lasting Change

systems and processes. Moreover, the firm had experienced a slight decline in performance and increasing competition from major rivals prior to his arrival. We were intrigued... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

09 Jun 2009
Research Event

Business Summit: Enterprise Risk Management

measurements for risk management and making managers accountable for these measures. Professor Robert S. Kaplan began the session by providing his perspective on why risk management plays an important role... View Details

Keywords: Re: Robert S. Kaplan

September 2017
Teaching Note

The Productivity Decline: Demographics, Robots, or Globalization?

By: Laura Alfaro and Hayley Pallan

In the early 21st century, there was a noticeable trend of declining productivity growth. Despite the persistent decline in productivity growth, a consensus on its explanation had not been reached. Some of the debate focused on the technicalities of productivity... View Details

Keywords: Performance Productivity; Measurement and Metrics; Technological Innovation; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Globalization; Business and Government Relations

June 1977 (Revised September 1992)
Case

Sorenson Research Co. (Abridged)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright

Presents the issues facing a high volume, high margin (but lightweight) medical products business. The company is trying to improve its inventory control to reduce inventory investment and improve service. The present multi-site inventory system is described and major... View Details

Keywords: Business Earnings; Investment; Volume; Service Delivery; Supply Chain; Performance Improvement; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry