Structure - Publications - Faculty & Research

September 2002 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Siebel Systems: Organizing for the Customer

By: Robert Simons and Antonio Davila

Siebel Systems is one of the fastest growing companies in America. Tom Siebel, the company's founder, has organized the business to accommodate growth and focus on the customer. Innovative information technology systems and clear accountability prove to be essential to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Applications and Software; Business Growth and Maturation; Information Technology; Performance Evaluation; Performance Expectations; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Management Teams; Information Technology Industry; North and Central America

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12 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 12

become more fundamental as advertisers target their advertisements with greater precision. In the paper that follows, the author attempts to identify the circumstances that make advertisers most vulnerable, notes adjusted contract View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

22 Jul 2008
First Look

First Look: July 22, 2008

approach is the assumption that teams are stable in their membership and internal organization. In practice, however, such stability is rare, as the composition and structure of teams often changes over time or between projects. In this... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 2, 2007

unidimensional concept captured by the cumulative production volume or number of projects completed by a team. Implicit in this approach is the assumption that teams are stable in their membership and internal organization. In practice, however, such stability is rare,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

April 2022
Teaching Note

Tempur Sealy International (A, B & C)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Teaching Note for HBS Case Nos. 718-422, 718-423, and 718-424. The cases explore the long-term relationship between Tempur Sealy (TPX, a mattress manufacturer) and Mattress Firm (MFRM, a bedding retailer and TPX's largest customer). For almost 20 years, the firms... View Details

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September 2017 (Revised April 2022)
Supplement

Tempur Sealy International (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty

This case explores the long-term relationship between Tempur Sealy (TPX, a mattress manufacturer) and Mattress Firm (MFRM, a bedding retailer and TPX's largest customer). For almost 20 years, the firms enjoyed a mutually beneficial and commercially prosperous... View Details

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March 2011
Teaching Note

Calveta Dining Services, Inc.: A Recipe for Growth? (Brief Case)

By: James L. Heskett and Patricia Girardi

Teaching Note for #4261. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Vision; Employee Empowerment; Service Management; Family Businesses; Growth Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Family Business; Employee Relationship Management; Communication; Organizational Structure; Operations; Growth and Development Strategy

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August 2007
Case

Lightspeed Venture Partners -- International Expansion

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Looks at various international expansion models for a venture capital firm based in Silicon Valley. Lightspeed Venture Partners believed that India had tremendous potential for venture capital returns--the question was how best to tap into that potential while also... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Expansion; Investment Return; Global Strategy; Emerging Markets; Investment; International Finance; Organizational Structure; India; Israel

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December 2003
Teaching Note

Capital One Financial Corporation (TN)

By: Bharat N. Anand and Michael G. Rukstad

Teaching Note to (9-700-124). View Details

Keywords: Customization and Personalization; Industry Structures; Internet and the Web; Competitive Strategy; Information Management; Financial Services Industry

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June 1997 (Revised February 2012)
Case

The Union Carbide Deal (Abridged)

By: Thomas J. DeLong

On November 3, 1986, after a three-hour board of directors meeting, Union Carbide decided to accept First Boston's proposal to embark on a $2.5 billion recapitalization program. Jameson and his associates' efforts had paid off. Jameson had reason to be excited: He had... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Investment Banking; Financial Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Competition; Financial Services Industry

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July 1993 (Revised March 1995)
Case

Millipore Corporate Strategy

By: Nitin Nohria and V. Kasturi Rangan

Millipore, a $750 million (sales) company with three divisions, had been growing at a rate of 20% in the 1970s, but this growth rate had slowed considerably in the 1980s. CEO John Gilmartin was looking for ways to reenergize the organization and redirect its strategy... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Corporate Strategy; Restructuring; Growth and Development Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Business Processes; Organizational Structure

Citation

Find at Harvard

30 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 31, 2006

poor financial markets, b) increases in the share of FDI or the relative productivity of the foreign firm leads to higher additional growth in financially developed economies compared to those observed in financially under-developed ones, and c) other local conditions... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

04 Apr 2005
What Do You Think?

Can an Organization’s “Deep Smarts” Be Preserved?

military services begins in structuring leadership positions of 'executive officer' ... principal assistants to designated leaders having command responsibilities ... growth positions to enhance individuals' abilities." Francine... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

15 Dec 2009
First Look

First Look: Dec. 15, 2009

organized systems for improvement. Traditional structures and cultures within AHCs, although well suited to the tripartite missions of teaching, research, and clinical care, are not easily adaptable to the tasks of measuring, reporting,... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

24 Nov 2008
Research & Ideas

Harvard Business School Discusses Future of the MBA

Press, 2007). Within five years, business school faculties became specialized along traditional academic disciplines, with particular emphasis on economics and quantitative analysis. And that's largely where they remain today. At the time, it made sense to View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson & HBS Bulletin; Education

02 Jan 2019
What Do You Think?

SUMMING UP: Do We Need an Artificial Intelligence Czar?

application of their work. One could argue that a field of activity of this importance warrants a cabinet position alongside Transportation, Energy, Agriculture, and Commerce. Compare this to what appear to be faster-moving achievements in AI, particularly in the View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Technology

07 Apr 2011
What Do You Think?

When Should the Public Sector Take Over in a Meltdown?

Regardless of whether their problems were of their own making, there were those who argued that the immense health and pension obligations and non-competitive compensation structures of these companies represented a situation "out of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Energy; Utilities

11 Feb 2008
Research & Ideas

Does Democracy Need a Marketing Manager?

campaign tactics they drop out. There are structural reasons why we have arrived at this state of affairs, including "winner-takes-all" elections, a two-party system that offers limited choice, and the system of campaign... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

11 Mar 2001
Research & Ideas

Wired and Black: Focus on Careers

said minority-owned companies can make for a more comfortable work environment for professionals of color. "Unfortunately, there are not as many as we may like," he said. Smaller, friendlier, less structured companies can also... View Details

Keywords: by Carrie Levine