Publications

March 1998 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Shepard Quraeshi Associates (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Harold F. Hogan Jr

Samina Quraeshi, principal of Boston-based Shepard Quraeshi Associates, must decide whether to take legal action against her key employees after they leave her firm to start their own, taking with them key clients and data. Quraeshi sees the situation as reflecting... View Details

Keywords: Ethnicity; Nationality; Ethics; Employees; Gender; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Immigration; Growth and Development Strategy; United States

August 2000 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Cox Communications, Inc., 1999

This case focuses on how much external financing a firm needs and what securities the firm should issue to raise this financing. Cox Communications is a major player in the cable industry, which is consolidating due to technological changes/capabilities brought about... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Telecommunications Industry

23 Jan 2017
Blog Post

Celebrating National Coming Out Day at HBS

When I first got to HBS I wasn’t sure about a lot of things – one of them being if I would be out as a member of LGBT community or not. I hadn’t been out at work prior to school, and I wasn’t sure how... View Details

February 2010 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Arup: Building the Water Cube

By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Dilyana Karadzhova

Arup, an engineering firm, collaborated with PTW Architects and China Construction Design Institute to develop a design for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Aquatics Center design competition. Their winning concept for the Water Cube combined elements of Chinese... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Environmental Sustainability; Design; Construction; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Projects; Groups and Teams; Real Estate Industry; Sports Industry; Beijing; Sydney

November 2011
Case

Celeritas, Inc.: Leadership Challenges in a Fast-Growth Industry

By: Michael Beer and Ingrid Vargas

In 2011, Celeritas is a leading data communications company in the crowded, highly competitive, and ever-evolving enterprise-network optimization market. Having experienced rapid growth since its founding in 2003, Celeritas has recently seen sales decline and has begun... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Morale; Conflict; Organizational Change; Team Building; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology; Leadership; Communication; Groups and Teams; Attitudes; Conflict and Resolution; Communications Industry; Communications Industry

07 Mar 2014
Blog Post

Let’s Go! Highlights from the Dynamic Women in Business Conference

Students from the Women’s Student Association hosted the 23rd Annual Dynamic Women in Business Conference on Saturday, Feb. 22nd, welcoming more than 1,000 female professionals, community Saturday, Feb. 22nd, welcoming more than 1,000... View Details

September 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Zurich Insurance: Fostering People Management Practices

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

Zurich Insurance was undergoing organizational change after implementing five new people practices focused on manager development, diversity and inclusion, job model and data analytics, recruitment, and talent pipeline. The case provides background for the company, as... View Details

Keywords: Managing Change; Organizational Behavior; Diversity Management; Organizational Architecture; Recruiting; Succession Planning; Management; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Human Capital; Human Resources; Insurance; Leadership; Diversity; Organizational Structure; Recruitment; Management Succession; Insurance Industry

18 Nov 2019
Video

Adi Godrej

Adi Godrej, Chair of the India-based consumer products Godrej Group, describes the difficulties... View Details

February 2001 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Kenan Systems

By: Joseph L. Bower, James Weber and Sonja Ellingson Hout

Kenan Sahin has built a very successful company using a unique business model and a unique organization and culture. Success has brought important risks, but logical options such as sale, partnering, or going public threaten the culture and hence the business. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Innovation and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Organizational Culture

November 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Tyco International: Corporate Governance

By: Rakesh Khurana and James Weber

Examines how Tyco and its board recovered from its corporate scandals. Describes how its CEO and board set out to institute processes, guidelines, and a culture that would make Tyco into a company widely recognized for its world class corporate governance. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business Processes; Organizational Culture

July 2020 (Revised January 2021)
Case

Rosalind Fox at John Deere

By: Anthony Mayo and Olivia Hull

Rosalind Fox, the factory manager at John Deere’s Des Moines, Iowa plant, has improved the financial standing of the factory in the three years she’s been at its helm. But employee engagement scores—which measured employees’ satisfaction with working conditions and... View Details

October 2021 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Project Maji: Pricing Water in Sub-Saharan Africa

By: Elie Ofek, Marco Bertini, Dilyana Karadzhova Botha and Esel Çekin

In July 2021, Sunil Lalvani, founder and CEO of Project Maji, a non-profit social enterprise headquartered in Dubai that had already provided sustainable, clean water solutions to 80,000 people living in rural communities across Ghana and Kenya, was facing an important... View Details

Keywords: Water; Pricing; Nonprofit Organizations; Projects; Price; Decision Making; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development Strategy; Equity; Green Technology; Social and Collaborative Networks; Africa; Dubai

26 Feb 2001
Research & Ideas

Evolving for Success [Part One]

A whole new way of working, leading, and living is in store for every human being, thanks to the Internet, according to HBS professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter. But how best can people and businesses make their... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

October 1998 (Revised December 1998)
Case

CompUSA The Computer Superstore

By: Ananth Raman and Anna Sheen McClelland

Examines the CompUSA organization, focusing especially on the operations and the company culture. Highlights the economics of PC retailing and the importance of a responsive supply chain for their product category. The description of company culture emphasizes the role... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Supply Chain Management; Computer Industry; Retail Industry; United States