Publications

October 1996 (Revised April 1998)
Case

Mobil USM&R (D): Gasoline Marketing

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Mobil US Marketing & Refining has shifted from a centralized staff-driven organization to decentralized business-units. Staff functions now must negotiate service agreements with a buyer's committee consisting of representatives from the profit-center business units.... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Management Teams; Human Resources; Agreements and Arrangements; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customers; Situation or Environment; Business Units; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

19 Feb 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, February 19, 2019

https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55632 forthcoming Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes Active Choice, Implicit Defaults, and the Incentive to Choose By: Beshears, John, James J. Choi, David Laibson, and... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2014 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Go Mobile: Aligning District Managers and Store Teams

By: Tatiana Sandino

Indian cell phone retailer Go Mobile had implemented high-powered incentives to motivate its store employees to behave as owners and provide exceptional service. As the company scaled up, it faced multiple challenges in building a layer of district managers that were... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Growth Management; Organizational Design; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Telecommunications Industry; India

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

July 2011
Teaching Note

Shanghai Diligence Law Firm (TN)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Penelope Rossano

Teaching Note for 409065. View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Opportunities; Brands and Branding; Competitive Strategy; Innovation and Invention; Compensation and Benefits; System; Talent and Talent Management; Legal Services Industry; Shanghai

April 2010
Teaching Note

IBM: The Corporate Service Corps (TN)

By: Christopher Marquis, Alison Comings and Bobbi Thomason

Teaching Note for [409106]. View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Employees; Partners and Partnerships; Non-Governmental Organizations; Developing Countries and Economies; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Programs; Global Strategy; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry; Ghana; Tanzania; Romania; Philippines; Viet Nam

January 2009 (Revised April 2009)
Case

Disaster in April: The Obligations of Kelly Construction

By: John D. Macomber, Christopher M. Gordon and Ben Creo

A construction company experiences a crane accident with multiple fatalities. The CEO, a client, and an employee must make choices to meet the company's obligations. Set in 2006, the case looks at the choices faced by board members of a museum that is an important... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Family Business; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Contracts; Crisis Management; Construction Industry

December 2005 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Leerink Swann & Co.: Creating Competitive Advantage

By: Boris Groysberg and Andrew N. McLean

In the spring of 2005, CEO Jeff Leerink has called a meeting of the executive committee to formulate Leerink Swann's growth strategy over the next five years so that it accomplishes three goals: expand into a new business, reinforce the firm's legacy businesses, and... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Human Resources; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Culture; Alignment; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Expansion

October 2005 (Revised September 2006)
Case

Sapient Corporation (Abridged)

By: Rakesh Khurana and Joel Podolny

Describes the start-up, growth, organizational design, and operations over the first 10 years of a professional services firm. Focuses on the creative use of organizational purpose and values as an integral part of strategy and alignment of organizational activities. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Change Management; Human Resources; Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Business Growth and Maturation; Operations; Business Processes; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Service Industry

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Ockham Technologies: Living on the Razor's Edge

By: Noam T. Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board of directors, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. View Details

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

Web

2018 Symposium - Race, Gender & Equity

Since joining PwC in 1999, Elena has served in a variety of Human Capital roles and spearheaded the firm's signature Vanguard program, a year-long leadership development program for the firm’s Black/African American new hires. Externally,... View Details

01 Sep 2005
News

WATER Ltd.

in “water-stressed” countries, where either the quantity or the quality of water supplies will have sunk to levels ranging from inadequate to economically crippling. At the same time, another valuable water-infrastructure system, the environment, is in steep decline... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Waste Management and Remediation Services; Corporate Services; Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

19 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Public Education Goes to School

organizational coherence in support of the strategy Developing and managing human capital Allocating resources in alignment with the strategy Using performance data for decision making and accountability... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark; Education

22 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 22

Publisher's Link: http://www.jchs.harvard.edu/publications/MF10-16.pdf Unable to Resist Temptation: How Self-control Depletion Promotes Unethical Behavior Authors:F., M. Schweitzer Gino, N. Mead, and D. Ariely Publication:Organizational Behavior and View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Aug 2010
First Look

First Look: August 17

deployed to handle uncertain tasks. How can they effectively use their knowledge resources to assure quality communications and high performance when confronting uncertainty? Drawing on the resource-based view (RBV) of the firm, we... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Sep 2012
News

The School of Life

technology giants, Intel and SAP. Pandesic was designed to create a more affordable version of SAP’s enterprise resource planning software, targeted at small and midsize companies. It was founded in 1997 with high hopes—and $100 million... View Details

Keywords: Professor Clay Christensen; Educational Services; Management

01 Mar 2014
News

Faculty and Alumni Books for March 2014

Leadership and Innovation in a New Global Economy So-Young Kang (MBA 2004) (Awaken Group Pte. Ltd.) Too often, people look at leaders and focus on their accomplishments and successes, but Kang examines the more human side of 12... View Details

October 2010
Teaching Note

From Imitation to Innovation: Zongshen Industrial Group (TN)

By: Willy C. Shih

Teaching Note for 610057. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Transformation; Problems and Challenges; Taxation; Information Technology; Selection and Staffing; Talent and Talent Management; Corporate Strategy; Acquisition; Technology Adoption; Supply Chain; Motorcycle Industry

February 2009 (Revised March 2009)
Case

AFSCME vs. Mozilo...and "Say on Pay" for All! (A)

By: Fabrizio Ferri and James Weber

Union seeks to protect its pension funds through shareholder activism focused on corporate governance and executive compensation. The case uses Countrywide Financial as an example. Richard Ferlauto, director of pensions and benefits policy at the AFSCME, the largest... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Mortgages; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Labor Unions; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States