Publications

June 2021
Case

One Family Textiles: Stepping Back to Move Forward?

By: V.G. Narayanan, Alpana Thapar and Fares Khrais

This case explores how a family business builds a board that includes independent directors that helps to professionalize and strengthen governance in the company. The case relates to One Family Textiles, an Abu Dhabi-headquartered manufacturer of garments. The company... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Growth and Development Strategy; Operations; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business History; Decision Making; Accounting

Archie Jones is a Senior Lecturer in the Entrepreneurial Management Unit at the Harvard Business School, where he currently teaches Venture Capital and Private Equity, Field... View Details

March 2009
Case

Baosteel Group: Governance with Chinese Characteristics

By: Lynn S. Paine and G.A. Donovan

The new outsider-dominated board of directors of China's state-owned Baosteel Group must decide whether to modify the Group's structure. With the completion of a pending acquisition, the Group will control four publicly listed steel-producing subsidiaries, and board... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; State Ownership; China

October 6, 2020
Article

Test Your Board's Readiness for the Post-COVID Era

By: Lynn S. Paine

Research suggests that well-run boards take the process of self-evaluation quite seriously, often using a combination of director surveys and personal interviews to assess the functioning and effectiveness of the board, its committees, and its individual members. As... View Details

Keywords: Health Pandemics; Governing and Advisory Boards; Performance Evaluation

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September 1997
Case

Tri Valley Growers: A New Age Co-op

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Mollie H. Carter

Tri Valley Growers is a dominant co-operative in its industry and, yet, still suffers from poor returns. The board of directors worked with the new CEO to change the product, market, and financing focus of the co-op to assure a long and profitable future for its... View Details

Keywords: Capital; Profit; Goods and Commodities; Product Marketing; Cooperative Ownership

Srikant M. Datar became the eleventh dean of Harvard Business School on 1 January 2021. During his tenure as a faculty member, he served as Senior Associate Dean for University Affairs (including Faculty Chair of the Harvard Innovation Lab), for Research, for... View Details

Keywords: accounting industry; airline; automobiles; banking; biotechnology; communications; consumer products; e-commerce industry; health care; high technology; investment banking industry; management consulting; manufacturing; pharmaceuticals; venture capital industry

December 1981 (Revised September 1986)
Case

Marriott Corp.

By: Thomas R. Piper

Marriott is considering the repurchase of ten million shares. This is apparently at odds with the financial policies that the Board of Directors passed two years earlier. Students must discuss why the policies were passed and why changes are now necessary. Includes a... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Policy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Change; Financial Strategy; Valuation

Research Summary

Overview

By: Paul M. Healy

My current research examines the role that boards of directors and senior management play in governing an organization. My interests focus on two areas. First, I examine factors that increase the effectiveness of board governance. And second, I explore how leadership... View Details

15 Mar 2022
News

AI Chip Startups Pull In Funding as They Navigate Supply Constraints

Article

Is This the Right C-Suite Role?

By: Anne Donnellon, Joshua D. Margolis and Amy Gallo

A Harvard Business School Case Study is presented which asks "Is This the Right C-Suite Role?" Experts Rakefet Russak Aminoach, managing partner at venture capital firm TeamB, and Nadia Rawlinson, chief people officer at Slack and a board director at Vail Resorts and... View Details

Keywords: Executives; Women Executives; Office Politics; Management Teams; Personal Development and Career

April 2008 (Revised September 2008)
Case

Shareholder Activists at Friendly Ice Cream (A)

By: Fabrizio Ferri, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Two activist investors, one a founder and one a hedge-fund manager, seek to improve board oversight at a chain restaurant company. Prestley Blake founded Friendly Ice Cream in 1935 with his brother, and the two created a chain of full-service restaurants. In 1979 they... View Details

Keywords: Investment Activism; Governing and Advisory Boards; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Business and Shareholder Relations; Conflict of Interests; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

February 2015
Case

Sarah Sullivan at Greater Marketing Solutions (GMS)

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Paul McKinnon and Rebecca McCue

Sarah Sullivan, the new Managing Director of Greater Marketing Solutions, faces the difficult challenge of letting seven professionals go within a short span of time. In doing so she faces two greater challenges: figuring out which individuals to let go and getting her... View Details

Keywords: Stack Ranking; Management; Performance Evaluation

October 2008
Article

Evaluating the CEO

By: Stephen P. Kaufman

This article includes a one-page preview that quickly summarizes the key ideas and provides an overview of how the concepts work in practice along with suggestions for further reading. After Kaufman became a CEO, he was struck by how perfunctory the board was in its... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Governing and Advisory Boards; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives

18 Nov 2013
Video

Investing in Change

24 Sep 2018
Blog Post

Working to Keep Pirates At-Bay: My Summer in Cyber Security

After spending three years working in consulting before coming to HBS, I knew I wanted to use my summer to expand beyond the world of Board of Directors advisory and multi-national company strategic planning... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

George A. Riedel

George A. Riedel is the Henry B. Arthur Fellow and Senior Lecturer in the General Management Unit, where he currently teaches TEM (The Entrepreneurial Manager) and acts as a Section Chair in the Required Curriculum (RC). He has also taught TOM (Technology and... View Details

December 1961 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Plowman Poultry Farm

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

A poultry farmer wanted to expand production greatly and sought a large extension of his line of credit from his bank in addition to his existing loan on which he had not made payment. The Board of Directors must review a detailed account of events leading to this... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Commercial Banking; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry