Publications

June 2001 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Spir-It, Inc. (B): Managing People

When Jack Sindler founded Spir-it, Inc. in 1934, he was the company's sole employee. By 1999, Sindler's firm more than survived its first 55 years. Employment was up to nearly 200, with facilities in two states and work done in three shifts. The product line--which had... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Production; Business Growth and Maturation; Interpersonal Communication; Logistics; Human Resources; Diversity Characteristics; Manufacturing Industry

March 2011 (Revised April 2011)
Exercise

The Future of BioPasteur

By: Giovanni Gavetti and Francesca Gino

The purpose of this exercise is to let students experience a few biases that can be deleterious to strategic decision-making. In particular, students are induced to fall into a confirmatory trap, and to experience other biases such as anchoring and sampling bias.... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Decision Choices and Conditions; Outcome or Result; Groups and Teams; Prejudice and Bias; Strategy

January 2025
Article

Reducing Prejudice with Counter-stereotypical AI

By: Erik Hermann, Julian De Freitas and Stefano Puntoni

Based on a review of relevant literature, we propose that the proliferation of AI with human-like and social features presents an unprecedented opportunity to address the underlying cognitive and affective drivers of prejudice. An approach informed by the psychology of... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; AI and Machine Learning; Interpersonal Communication; Social and Collaborative Networks

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04 Oct 2024
In Practice

Research-Based Advice for the Seasonally Overwhelmed and Schedule Challenged

of September as the start of my year (even before I joined the HBS faculty) because many of the commitments in my portfolio were anchored to the academic calendar. Whether it was community chamber orchestras or semi-professional choirs,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

July 2010 (Revised August 2012)
Supplement

Assistant Professor Jo Worthington (B)

By: Dorothy A. Leonard

A professor teaching a case discussion based on numeric analysis is pleased that a student finally "cracks" the case--but the numbers differ from her own. The instructor has to decide how to handle the discrepancy. View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Teaching; Cases; Mathematical Methods; Conflict Management

December 2000 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Reverend Jeffrey Brown: Cops, Kids and Ministers

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Alexis Lefort

Introduces Reverend Jeffrey Brown, one of the cofounders of the Ten Point Coalition in Boston, Mass. The Ten Point Coalition, a group of ministers that worked to change the dynamics between the Boston Police Department and the kids on the street, was instrumental in... View Details

Keywords: Change; Civil Society or Community; Alliances; Interpersonal Communication; Power and Influence; Law Enforcement; City; Boston

August 1999
Case

Leaving

By: David A. Thomas

A company supervisor listens to an employee, an African American woman, announce she is leaving the company and tries to understand the situation. View Details

Keywords: Resignation and Termination; Retention; Race; Behavior; Diversity; Interpersonal Communication; Labor and Management Relations

02 Jan 2013
What Do You Think?

Should We Rethink the Promise of Teams?

Summing Up Under what conditions do teams, introverts, and innovation go together? Properly structured and led, teams can support innovative thinking that depends on contributions from both extroverts and introverts. That's the consensus of respondents to this month's... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2010
Working Paper

Dynamically Integrating Knowledge in Teams: Transforming Resources into Performance

By: Heidi K. Gardner, Francesca Gino and Bradley R. Staats

In knowledge-based environments, teams must develop a systematic approach to integrating knowledge resources throughout the course of projects in order to perform effectively. Yet, many teams fail to do so. Drawing on the resource-based view of the firm, we examine how... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Performance Effectiveness; Quality; Groups and Teams; Risk and Uncertainty; Familiarity

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November 1997
Supplement

Washington Post Company,The: Conversation Between Katharine and Don Graham (Video)

By: Louis B. Barnes and John A. Davis

Presents a conversation between a mother and son about such issues as family business, going public, the son coming into the business, and succession. View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Family Business; Interpersonal Communication; Management Succession; Going Public; Family and Family Relationships

23 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ‘Talk, Inc.’

Editor's note: As traditional hierarchical organizations flatten, new ways of thinking about internal communications must be developed—news no longer flows just from top to bottom. In Talk, Inc.: How Trusted Leaders Use Conversation to... View Details

Keywords: Re: Boris Groysberg

June 2010
Article

Change for Change's Sake

By: Freek Vermeulen, Phanish Puranam and Ranjay Gulati

No one disputes that firms have to make organizational changes when the business environment demands them. But the idea that a firm might want change for its own sake often provokes skepticism. Why inflict all that pain if you don't have to? That is a dangerous... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Innovation and Invention; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Creativity; Power and Influence; Adaptation

Find at Harvard

26 Mar 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Mitigating the Negative Effects of Customer Anxiety Through Access to Human Contact

Keywords: by Michelle A. Shell and Ryan W. Buell; Health

December 1999
Article

Changes in the Work Environment for Creativity during Downsizing

By: T. M. Amabile and Regina Conti

This study examined the work environment for creativity at a large high-technology firm before, during, and after a major downsizing. Creativity and most creativity-supporting aspects of the perceived work environment declined significantly during the downsizing but... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Situation or Environment; Creativity; Resignation and Termination; Employees; Business or Company Management; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Crisis Management; Groups and Teams; Communication; Announcements; Interpersonal Communication

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July 2002 (Revised November 2002)
Case

Crucial Conversations

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Vineeta Vijayraghavan

Todd McKenna, a third-year associate at an investment banking firm, confronts his boss. His boss had told him he would be the top paid associate at the firm, and McKenna finds out that this isn't true. He approaches his boss to find out why he was lied to. View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Investment Banking; Executive Compensation; Employee Relationship Management; Rank and Position; Banking Industry

22 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

Most Popular Articles, Papers of the Decade

collection look at how to improve decision making, encouraging employees to speak up, and the difficulty of coordinating communication in a complex organization. Enjoy! Most Popular Articles 2000-2010 Creating a Positive Professional... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

13 Mar 2018
First Look

March 13, 2018

little is known about the interpersonal consequences of the advice-seeking process. In this paper, we investigate the interpersonal consequences when an advisor believes his or her advice will be ignored. We... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2018
Case

Candor at Clever

By: Ethan Bernstein and Om Lala

Clever, a high-growth EdTech company based in San Francisco, had grown quickly in market share and headcount. As with many high-growth companies, however, early employees (many of whom had never managed people before) had been given the opportunity to manage teams, and... View Details