Publications

08 May 2015
News

Adopting a common language can strengthen global companies

language must also equip their employees to work together more effectively,” she says. According to Neeley, common-language mandates tend to be poorly implemented, leaving employees feeling diminished and... View Details

23 Apr 2019
Blog Post

HBS Shares Their Favorite Books for HR Leaders

Unstuck: A Guide to Discovering Your Next Career Path Getting Unstuck offers leaders tools to manage their own careers, and help their employees move forward. In Getting Unstuck, business psychologist and Senior Fellow and Faculty Advisor... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

04 Feb 2022
News

Hour by Hour

lost money on training, and employees often started right back at minimum wage with each new job. This insight is at the heart of HourWork (formerly Syrg), which Morris founded in 2018 to bring together employers and their former View Details

12 Nov 2020
News

All in the Neighborhood

community. The Near Eastside neighborhood of Indianapolis fit that bill—and it didn’t take long for the hoped-for engagement to follow. In the late 1990s, when Angie’s List was just getting off the ground, the company’s employees reached... View Details

Keywords: community; volunteer work; corporate social responsibility; entrepreneurship; leadership; Personal Services

February 1996 (Revised February 2008)
Case

Toshiba: Ome Works

By: H. Kent Bowen, Janice H. Hammond, Sylvie Ryckebusch and Hiroshi Uchikoga

In 1995, Toshiba was the market leader in portable computer sales worldwide. This case describes the assembly of portable notebook computers in Toshiba's Ome factory in Ome, Japan, providing insights into some of the reasons for Toshiba's success. In addition to... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Employees; Job Design and Levels; Production; Hardware; Japan

May 1982 (Revised June 1982)
Case

Air Traffic Controllers

By: Michael Beer

On August 3, 1981 President Ronald Reagan terminated 12,000 air traffic controllers, members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization, for violating their no-strike oath. Provides background on the human resources policies and practices of the Federal... View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Labor and Management Relations; Government and Politics; Labor Unions; Negotiation; Employees; Air Transportation Industry; United States

August 1975 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Acton-Burnett, Inc.

By: John J. Gabarro

Describes the formation, selection, and experience of a task force with multidepartmental membership. The problems faced by the task force leader at the end of the case raise issues of who does the selection; the establishment of group norms, values, and goals; the... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams; Conflict Management

Web

Why You Might Want to Say Goodbye to the Annual Performance Review | Working Knowledge

through career growth, says a case study by Katherine Coffman . For decades, the annual performance review has induced both hope and dread from employees and managers alike—yet some business leaders are questioning whether this... View Details

27 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

IBM Finds Profit in Diversity

understand differences among the groups and find ways to appeal to a broader set of employees and customers," according to HBS professor David A. Thomas. Since then, the number of female executives in the company has grown by 370... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Thomas

03 Jan 2017
Research & Ideas

5 New Year's Resolutions You Can Keep (With the Help of Behavioral Science Research)

Norton conducted a field experiment in which employees at a large corporation had the opportunity to exercise on slow-moving treadmills attached to standing desks. The goal of the employees: To get in shape while doing their everyday... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

March 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Merck Latin America (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Introduces Grey Warner, the vice president of Merck's Latin America region, and his efforts to improve the organizational effectiveness of the region and to introduce a more global business culture and values. Discusses Merck's ethics and values, its Latin American... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Ethics; Business Processes; Strategic Planning; Change Management; Values and Beliefs; Globalized Firms and Management; Employee Relationship Management; Business Strategy; Government and Politics; Economy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Latin America

2022
White Paper

Building from the Bottom Up: What Business Can Do to Strengthen the Bottom Line by Investing in Front-line Workers

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Manjari Raman

A significant number of American workers—44%—are employed in low wage jobs at the front line of industries. Despite undertaking some of the most tedious, dirtiest, and most dangerous jobs, low-wage workers are—and have long been—the most likely to be overlooked by... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Labor Market; Low-wage Workers; Worker Welfare; Churn/retention; Morale; Jobs and Positions; Employees; Wages; Retention; Well-being; Human Resources