Publications

May 2008 (Revised September 2009)
Case

IBM's Dynamic Workplace

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

IBM already competed for talent by being a best workplace. It was one of the first companies to provide paid vacations, health insurance, sick leave, job sharing, and domestic partner benefits. Its human resources portfolio included a full array of progressive policies... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Globalized Firms and Management; Leading Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Culture; Social Enterprise

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April 2011 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Renewing GE: The Africa Project (A)

By: David A. Thomas and Stephanie J. Creary

This case profiles the evolution of General Electric's African American Form (AAF), an employee affinity group, and its efforts to increase the company's involvement in Africa. The AAF formed in 1991 to help advance GE's recruitment, retention and development of black... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Africa; United States

15 Apr 2008
First Look

First Look: April 15, 2008

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=808087 Two Brattle Center: A Mental-Health Clinic in Search of a Viable Operating Model Harvard Business School Case 408-103 Two Brattle Center (TBC) is a struggling for-profit private mental View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Apr 2020
What Do You Think?

What Are Lessons for Leaders from This Black Swan Crisis?

outbreaks Climate change and its ensuing environmental, economic and social disasters is the next White Swan.” JSD saw a possible motive behind the debate when he opined that, “In the corporate sector, the continuing effort to brand the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2025
Chapter

Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America

By: Geoffrey Jones

This chapter argues that since the nineteenth century capitalism has created much wealth, but at the cost of massive ecological destruction, which has been particularly severe in Latin America. During the first global economy before 1929, considerable wealth was... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business History; Globalization; Economic Growth; Latin America

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01 Oct 2021
Research & Ideas

Dying to Lead: How Reaching the Top Can Kill You Sooner

lifestyle, education, work environments, low employment turnover rates, and access to health care, I find higher-ranked employees at GE were more susceptible to a shorter lifespan,” Nicholas concludes in the paper. Job stress may vary by... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

2000
Chapter

Anticipating Greener Supply Chain Demands: One Singapore Company's Journey to ISO 14001

By: Michael W. Toffel

One major benefit of Jebsen & Jessen Packaging Pte Ltd (JJPS’s) implementation of ISO 14001 is that it acquired a third-party 'seal of approval' that will be used in its marketing efforts to meet the growing environmental concern of its customers within the electronics... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Standards; Environmental Sustainability; Singapore

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11 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 11, 2007

and reveals how to recruit, nurture, and promote this special type of leader. With a healthy supply of qualified internal candidates, companies get the leadership they need—when they need it. Who Killed Health Care? America's $2 Trillion... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2025
Case

#FutureFresenius: Implementing a New Strategy to Transform the Company and Advance Patient Care

By: David J. Collis, Benjamin C. Esty and Haisley Wert

In February 2024, Fresenius CEO Michael Sen reflected on the company’s transformation journey from his office in Bad Homburg, Germany. With revenues of €22 billion and a mission to advance patient care, Fresenius had built a strong reputation through decades of... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Corporate Strategy; Transformation; Finance; Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Alignment; Health Industry; Germany; United States

18 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Are Banks the ‘Bad Guys’? Overdraft Fees Are Crushing Low-Income Customers

consumers’ financial health improves The researchers looked at the link between high-to-low ordering and payday lenders and found a direct relationship between the two. They compiled data from alternative credit bureau Clarity Services,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

02 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 2

legacy labor and health care costs-is seriously incomplete and that GM's share collapsed for many of the same reasons that many of the other highly successful American firms of the 50s, 60s, and 70s were forced from the market, including... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, March 20, 2018

Abstract—Firms spend millions of dollars annually on whistle-blower hotlines, training, and other efforts to ensure adherence to laws, regulations, and company policies. Yet malfeasance remains entrenched in the corporate world. Why? Too... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2019 (Revised July 2025)
Case

Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (A)

By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Christina R. Wing, Emilie Fournier and Anna Resman

This case covers the rise and fall of Theranos, the company founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2004 to revolutionize the blood testing industry by creating a device that could provide from a small finger prick the same results and accuracy as intravenous blood draws. As... View Details

Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Entrepreneurship; Lawsuits and Litigation

24 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 24, 2006

improving forecasts in corporate settings. We examine the implementation of a supply chain planning process at a consumer electronics company, concentrating on the consensus forecasting approach around which the process revolves. Our... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Apr 2022
Book

How to Avoid the 'Ethical Slide' That Leads Companies Astray

Good ethical practices don’t just happen; everyone within a corporation has to continuously work on them. “People are not always comfortable talking about ethics,” Nelson says. “Some have been dismissing ethics as, ‘I don’t have to think... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

November 2022
Teaching Note

Proximie: Using XR Technology to Create Borderless Operating Rooms

By: Ariel D. Stern, Alpana Thapar and Menna Hassan

Founded by Nadine Hachach-Haram in 2016, Proximie was a digital medicine platform that used mixed reality and a host of digital audio and visual tools to enable clinicians, proctors, and medical device company personnel to be virtually present in operating rooms (ORs),... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Business Growth and Maturation; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Decision Making; Health Industry; Health Industry

23 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 23

School Case 713-483 Yammer (B) Supplement to "Yammer (A)," HBS case 713-407 Purchase this case: http://hbr.org/search/713483-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 712-466 Moving to Universal Coverage: Health Care Reform in... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

January 2006 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Wal-Mart's Business Environment

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

In 2004, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. proposed to build a new supercenter in Inglewood, a low-income community near Los Angeles. The proposal was a part of Wal-Mart's strategy to bring its supercenter format to California. Introduced in the late 1980s, supercenters added a... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Expansion; Market Entry and Exit; Corporate Strategy; Labor Unions; Conflict and Resolution; Retail Industry; Los Angeles