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- All HBS Web (1,692)
- Faculty Publications (729)
- December 1997
- Case
Making the Grade (A)
By: Robert L. Simons
Focuses on the dilemma of a young professor at a graduate school of business. He must decide what final grade to give a student who has worked extremely hard, but he is constrained by the school's "forced curve" grading policy. Designed to explore the multiple purposes... View Details
Keywords: Design; Management Systems; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Education Industry
Simons, Robert L. "Making the Grade (A)." Harvard Business School Case 198-083, December 1997.
- 01 Mar 2012
- News
The Incentive Bubble
- September 2003 (Revised September 2004)
- Case
Hearthside Homes
By: Jason R. Barro, Brian J. Hall and Aaron Zimmerman
Investigates the "controllability problem" inherent in bonus systems. Ideally, an incentive system accurately measures performance in areas that the individual can control. But most measures are either too broad, including factors outside the influence of the employee,... View Details
- 2011
- Article
Strike Three: Discrimination, Incentives, and Evaluation
By: Christopher Parsons, J. Sulaeman, M. Yates and D. Hamermesh
Major League Baseball umpires express their racial/ethnic preferences when they evaluate pitchers. Strikes are called less often if the umpire and pitcher do not match race/ethnicity, but mainly where there is little scrutiny of umpires. Pitchers understand the... View Details
Keywords: Wages; Motivation and Incentives; Prejudice and Bias; Ethnicity; Race; Performance Productivity; Sports; Sports Industry
Parsons, Christopher, J. Sulaeman, M. Yates, and D. Hamermesh. "Strike Three: Discrimination, Incentives, and Evaluation." American Economic Review 101, no. 4 (June 2011): 1410–1435.
- August 1993
- Case
Applichem (A) (Abridged)
By: Janice H. Hammond and Gary P. Pisano
Applichem manufactures the same chemical product in four plants, each of which is located in a different country. The company has completed a major study comparing the productivity and performance of these plants. Using the data from the study, students must decide... View Details
Keywords: Business or Company Management; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Performance Efficiency; Performance Evaluation; Strategy; Judgments; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Business Exit or Shutdown; Chemical Industry
Hammond, Janice H., and Gary P. Pisano. "Applichem (A) (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 694-030, August 1993.
- February 2011 (Revised April 2012)
- Case
Braddock Industries, Inc.
This case examines the drivers of economic value creation for shareholders, and how these drivers are reflected in various incentive compensation programs for management. The case also looks at how the economic performance of business units can be evaluated using... View Details
Keywords: Business Units; Investment; Executive Compensation; Measurement and Metrics; Performance Evaluation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Motivation and Incentives; Value Creation
Fruhan, William E. "Braddock Industries, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 211-061, February 2011. (Revised April 2012.)
- August 1999 (Revised May 2001)
- Case
Catanese and Vulcan (A)
By: V.G. Narayanan and Sanjay Pothen
A small CPA firm puts in a new performance measurement system, and profits increase by 350% in less than a year. This case illustrates the reasons for improved profitability as well as the sustainability of levels of growth, the opportunities, and the threats that... View Details
Narayanan, V.G., and Sanjay Pothen. "Catanese and Vulcan (A)." Harvard Business School Case 100-021, August 1999. (Revised May 2001.)
- March 2024
- Module Note
Accounting Standards for the 21st Century
By: Jonas Heese
Over the past two decades, accounting standards have evolved to meet the demands of a rapidly changing business environment. This module note focuses on understanding the impact of these standards on measuring firm performance and financial position in the context of a... View Details
Heese, Jonas. "Accounting Standards for the 21st Century." Harvard Business School Module Note 124-056, March 2024.
- 2016
- Working Paper
CEO Personality and Firm Policies
By: Ian D. Gow, Steven N. Kaplan, David F. Larcker and Anastasia A. Zakolyukina
Based on two samples of high quality personality data for chief executive officers (CEOs), we use linguistic features extracted from conferences calls and statistical learning techniques to develop a measure of CEO personality in terms of the Big Five traits:... View Details
Gow, Ian D., Steven N. Kaplan, David F. Larcker, and Anastasia A. Zakolyukina. "CEO Personality and Firm Policies." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 22435, July 2016.
- January – February 2008
- Article
Managing the Impact of Employee Turnover on Performance: The Role of Process Conformance
By: Zeynep Ton and Robert S. Huckman
We examine the impact of employee turnover on operating performance in settings that require high levels of knowledge exploitation. Using 48 months of turnover data from U.S. stores of a major retail chain, we find that, on average, employee turnover is associated with... View Details
Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Governance Compliance; Retention; Standards; Service Operations; Business Processes; Retail Industry; United States
Ton, Zeynep, and Robert S. Huckman. "Managing the Impact of Employee Turnover on Performance: The Role of Process Conformance." Organization Science 19, no. 1 (January–February 2008): 56–68.
- 2021
- Working Paper
The Changing Role of Business in Society
Business interaction with the U.S. government, historically based on securing industry or company special interests at the expense of the public good, has enabled and furthered government dysfunction. Gridlock within the American political system has precluded the... View Details
Keywords: Politics; Shared Value; Social Progress Index; Competitiveness; Walmart; BlackRock; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG; Transparency; Campaign Contributions; Campaign Finance; Lobbying; Revolving Door; Political Ideology; Political Parties; Political Partisanship; Government And Business; Government Innovation; Elections; Democracy; Capitalism; Stakeholder Capitalism; Shareholder Engagement; Competition; Strategy; Government and Politics; Society; Social Issues; Human Needs; Wealth and Poverty; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Accountability; Financial Services Industry; Banking Industry; United States
Porter, Michael E. "The Changing Role of Business in Society." Working Paper, July 2021.
Strategy Execution Series
The 15-module Strategy Execution series forms a complete course that teaches the latest techniques for using performance measurement and control systems to implement strategy. Module... View Details
- October 2016 (Revised February 2019)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 5: Building a Profit Plan
By: Robert Simons
This module reading describes how to build a profit plan to reflect the strategy of a business in economic terms. After introducing the profit wheel, cash wheel, and ROE wheel, the module illustrates how to use a profit plan to assess the viability of different... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Profit Planning; Cash Flow Analysis; Asset Utilization; Return On Equity; Business Planning; Testing Strategy; Analyzing Strategic Alternative; Strategy; Asset Management; Cash Flow; Investment Return; Management Systems; Profit
Simons, Robert. "Strategy Execution Module 5: Building a Profit Plan." Harvard Business School Module Note 117-105, October 2016. (Revised February 2019.)
- October 1979 (Revised March 1995)
- Background Note
Note on the Management of Queues
Contains four sections: 1) measuring the performance of queuing systems; 2) types of queuing systems; 3) the behavior of simple systems (elementary queuing theory); and 4) the management of queues (including a discussion of their psychology). View Details
Keywords: Mathematical Methods
Maister, David H. "Note on the Management of Queues." Harvard Business School Background Note 680-053, October 1979. (Revised March 1995.)
- August 2016 (Revised December 2016)
- Module Note
Strategy Execution Module 2: Building a Successful Strategy
By: Robert Simons
This module reading describes the basics of building a successful strategy. Topics in this module include a discussion of the distinction between corporate and business strategy; how to conduct a SWOT analysis of market dynamics and internal capabilities; the use of... View Details
Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Business Strategy; Five Forces; Distinctive Capabilities; Emergent Strategy; Mission Statements; Strategy; SWOT Analysis; Competitive Advantage
Simons, Robert. "Strategy Execution Module 2: Building a Successful Strategy." Harvard Business School Module Note 117-102, August 2016. (Revised December 2016.)
- 22 Feb 2012
- News
Employee Happiness Matters More Than You Think
- 07 Jan 2020
- Cold Call Podcast
Can Capitalism Be Fixed by Making Companies More Just?
- May 1998 (Revised February 2007)
- Case
Morningstar, Inc.
By: Andre F. Perold and Markus Mullarkey
Morningstar, Inc., a publisher of information for mutual fund investors, is considering alternative strategies for broadening its subscriber base and increasing its revenues. Potential strategies include tailoring information for the defined contribution pension fund... View Details
Keywords: Investment Funds; Asset Management; Revenue; Financial Strategy; Publishing Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States
Perold, Andre F., and Markus Mullarkey. "Morningstar, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 298-140, May 1998. (Revised February 2007.)
- 2013
- Book
Business Analysis and Valuation: Using Financial Statements, Text and Cases
By: Krishna G. Palepu and Paul M. Healy
This book provides a framework for business analysis and has been used by business schools throughout the world. It provides a foundation for analysis using four key steps: 1) Strategy analysis: Identifying a firm's strategy and understanding sources of its competitive... View Details
Keywords: Governance; Debt Securities; Valuation; Performance Evaluation; Financial Statements; Credit; Business Ventures; Strategy; Financial Condition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Forecasting and Prediction
Palepu, Krishna G., and Paul M. Healy. Business Analysis and Valuation: Using Financial Statements, Text and Cases. 5th ed. Cengage Learning, 2013.
- October 2021 (Revised February 2022)
- Case
Newsweek: Driving a Digital First Strategy
By: Lynda M. Applegate and Suraj Srinivasan
The case describes the transformation at Newsweek, the storied news magazine that had fallen from its commanding position as a premier print publication unable to find its footing in the fast changing digital media landscape. After buying Newsweek and taking over as... View Details
Keywords: Transformation; Strategy; Internet and the Web; Analytics and Data Science; Performance Evaluation; Partners and Partnerships
Applegate, Lynda M., and Suraj Srinivasan. "Newsweek: Driving a Digital First Strategy." Harvard Business School Case 822-052, October 2021. (Revised February 2022.)