Publications

13 Feb 2012
Research & Ideas

The Case Against Racial Colorblindness

In trying to prevent discrimination and prejudice, many companies adopt a strategy of "colorblindness"—actively trying to ignore racial differences when enacting policies and making organizational decisions. The logic is simple: if we... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Boston.com

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Jon K Rust

How aggressively should an incumbent move when developing an online business that threatens its core product? With Internet competitors taking direct aim at the traditional print newspaper business model, the Boston Globe fought back with its own web initiative,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Change Management; Internet and the Web; Customer Relationship Management; Competitive Strategy; Publishing Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States

Accuracy Obsession: Humans Prioritize Immaterial AI Accuracy Over Their Own Compensation — Unless We Educate Them

1. Problem definition: Accuracy isn't everything. In many contexts, high or low sensitivity is more important than overall correctness — and yet, we find that humans prefer accurate algorithms, even to their detriment. Specifically, we identify and address an... View Details

Article

What Do Nongovernmental Organizations Do?

By: Eric D. Werker and Faisal Z. Ahmand

Nongovernmental organizations are one group of players who are active in the efforts of international development and increasing the welfare of poor people in poor countries. Nongovernmental organizations are largely staffed by altruistic employees and volunteers... View Details

Keywords: Non-Governmental Organizations; Growth and Development; Welfare or Wellbeing; Poverty; Service Delivery; Crime and Corruption; Social Entrepreneurship; Decision Making; Resource Allocation; Product Development; Framework

Find at Harvard

27 Jun 2022
News

The Courageous Leadership of Frederick Douglass: Lessons for Here and Now

2012
Article

The Excess Burden of Government Indecision

By: Francisco J. Gomes, Laurence J. Kotlikoff and Luis M. Viceira

Governments are known for procrastinating when it comes to resolving painful policy problems. Whatever the political motives for waiting to decide, procrastination distorts economic decisions relative to what would arise with early policy resolution. In so doing, it... View Details

Keywords: Saving; Risk and Uncertainty; Investment Portfolio; Decision Choices and Conditions; Retirement; Policy; Government and Politics

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June 2018 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Valuing Snap After the IPO Quiet Period (A)

By: Marco Di Maggio, Benjamin C. Esty and Gregory Saldutte

Snap, the disappearing message app, went public at $17 per share on March 2, 2017, making its two 20-something founders the youngest self-made billionaires in the country. Over the next three weeks, 14 analysts made investment recommendations on Snap: two with buy... View Details

08 Sep 2014
Research & Ideas

The Strategic Way To Hire a Sales Team

Google and Groupon, for instance, a higher percentage of employees work in sales than engineering or data mining. And at Facebook the salesforce's ability to translate 'likes' into advertisers will make or break that company's valuation... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

2017
Working Paper

Task Selection and Workload: A Focus on Completing Easy Tasks Hurts Long-Term Performance

By: Diwas S. KC, Bradley R. Staats, Maryam Kouchaki and Francesca Gino

How individuals manage, organize, and complete their tasks is central to operations management. Recent research in operations focuses on how under conditions of increasing workload, individuals can increase their service time, up to a point, to complete work more... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Decision Making; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Productivity

SSRN

05 Jul 2006
What Do You Think?

How Important Is “Executive Intelligence” for Leaders?

information that produces decisions Execution is the basic ingredient that makes a great leader." On the other hand, Philip Derrow argued, "Executive intelligence, particularly as Mr. Menkes... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

10 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

Has #MeToo Changed How Hollywood Hires?

Female representation in movies has been consistently low, with women making up only 4.5 percent of directors and 14.4 percent of writers for top-grossing films. Worse, many women have endured sexual harassment and abuse. In October 2017,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Media & Broadcasting

Article

The Wisdom of Competitive Crowds

By: Kenneth C. Lichtendahl, Yael Grushka-Cockayne and Phillip E. Pfeifer

When several individuals are asked to forecast an uncertain quantity, they often face implicit or explicit incentives to be the most accurate. Despite the desire to elicit honest forecasts, such competition induces forecasters to report strategically and nontruthfully.... View Details

Keywords: Forecast; Forecasting and Prediction

February 2021
Case

Digital Manufacturing at Amgen

By: Shane Greenstein, Kyle R. Myers and Sarah Mehta

This case discusses efforts made by biotechnology (biotech) company Amgen to introduce digital technologies into its manufacturing processes. Doing so is complicated by the fact that the process for manufacturing biologics—or therapeutics made from living cells—is... View Details

01 Jun 2023
News

Pet Project

for subscription options (with tracking). And Maev should keep in mind that the purchase decision is made at the shelf, so include key conversion claims right on the packaging. Success in DTC will make for a... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade; Sporting Goods, Hobby, Musical Instrument, and Book Stores; Retail Trade

28 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Accountability at the World Bank

for better accountability to project-affected communities, or in improving board accountability through greater transparency in decision making, more representative vote allocation, or better parliamentary scrutiny. Before elaborating, I... View Details

Keywords: by Alnoor Ebrahim

Globalization - Faculty & Research

political, and regulatory institutions. One question that arises is whether there are certain minimum standards that ought to guide managers in their decision making independently of local institutional... View Details

08 Sep 2015
News

Knowledge Transfer: You Can't Learn Surgery By Watching

13 Jan 2020
News

The Business Case for Becoming a Jack-of-All-Trades

November 2002 (Revised January 2004)
Case

Martha McCaskey

By: Joshua D. Margolis and Bart J. van Dissel

Martha McCaskey, a project leader at a consulting firm, is asked to complete a project at a crucial point in her career. Successful completion of the project would gain McCaskey a promotion and a significant raise. McCaskey, however, cannot see a way to complete the... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Personal Development and Career; Decision Making; Problems and Challenges; Consulting Industry