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Article

Inviting Consumers to Downsize Fast-Food Portions Significantly Reduces Calorie Consumption

By: Janet Schwartz, Jason Riis, Brian Elbel and Dan Ariely

Policies that mandate calorie labeling in fast-food and chain restaurants have had little or no observable impact on calorie consumption to date. In three field experiments, we tested an alternative approach: activating consumers' self-control by having servers ask... View Details

Keywords: Food; Labels; Consumer Behavior; Interpersonal Communication; Motivation and Incentives; Health Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

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

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

August 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Ramesh Patel at Aragon Entertainment Limited

By: Anthony J. Mayo and Joshua D. Margolis

Ramesh Patel, a high potential employee, was excited to be named to the company's New Horizons Board, a select team responsible for producing recommendations for new products or line extensions for Aragon Entertainment. Patel's co-worker and friend, Jeremy Gibson was... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Conflict Management; Interpersonal Communication; Spoken Communication; Communication Intention and Meaning; Jobs and Positions; Performance; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

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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August 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Michael Lester at Lachlan Consulting

By: Anthony J. Mayo and Joshua D. Margolis

Michael Lester, a consultant with Lachlan, was frustrated by his client's unwillingness to provide key data for an important presentation. Lester must decide how best to confront Nadine Robert, his client, knowing that his personal success and the reputation of his... View Details

Keywords: Outcome or Result; Training; Customer Focus and Relationships; Interpersonal Communication; Success; Reputation

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

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

April 2010
Case

George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (A)

By: Leslie A. Perlow and Kerry Herman

George Martin, managing partner at The Boston Consulting Group, is worried as some of his best performers have recently pulled him aside to discuss the challenges they face managing the demands of their work lives with their desire for more predictable time with their... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Work-Life Balance; Management Teams; Interpersonal Communication; Jobs and Positions; Employees; Consulting Industry; 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

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

2011
Book

True North Groups: A Powerful Path to Personal and Leadership Development

By: Bill George and Doug Baker

All too often, we find ourselves forced to confront life's challenges on our own. What we need is an intimate group with whom we can examine our beliefs and share our lives. For the past thirty-five years, Bill George and Doug Baker have found the answer in True North... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams; Opportunities; Personal Characteristics

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September 2008
Supplement

Adobe Systems: Working Towards a "Suite" Release (B)

By: David A. Thomas and Lauren Barley

The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to launch Creative Suite 3, the biggest software release in the company's 25-year history. The protagonist, Yvonne Murray, is a group program... View Details

Keywords: Change; Interpersonal Communication; Crisis Management; Product Launch; Projects; Conflict of Interests; Integration; Software

March 2022
Case

Tensions at SearchLight Cures

By: Laura Huang and Sarah Mehta

This general experience case tells the story of SearchLight Cures, a fictional biotechnology startup. Having discovered a new therapy for a rare disease, the company’s co-founders find themselves at an impasse over a pricing disagreement. View Details

Keywords: Business Ventures; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Values and Beliefs; Management; Negotiation; Relationships; Partners and Partnerships; Science; Biotechnology Industry; United States; California; San Francisco

24 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 24, 2018

visible intervention, like the innovation contest, has both benefits and risks. Our findings suggest benefits such as increased engagement with work and community as well as risks such as discontent that could arise if staff suggestions... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

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