Publications

September 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Zurich Insurance: Global Job Structure and Data Analysis

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

Zurich Insurance was undergoing organizational change after implementing five new people practices focused on manager development, diversity and inclusion, job model and data analytics, recruitment, and talent pipeline. The case “Zurich Insurance: Fostering Key People... View Details

Keywords: Managing Change; Organizational Behavior; Organizational Architecture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Human Capital; Change Management; Organizational Structure; Insurance; Organizational Culture; Globalization; Human Resources; Insurance Industry

12 Nov 2021
News

Recruiting is Broken for Gen Z Tech Candidates. New Tools Give Managers Hope They can Fix It.

13 Nov 2000
Research & Ideas

Managing to Learn: How Companies Can Turn Knowledge into Action

Nike managers failed to pick up the relevant market signals and learn from them. It took them too long to figure out that consumers wanted something different from what Nike was offering at the time. Unfortunately, Garvin states, this is... View Details

Keywords: by Laurie Joan Aron

17 Nov 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Managing the Family Business: Are Optimists or Pessimists Better Leaders?

Editor's note: This is part of a series of occasional columns on managing the family business written by Senior Lecturer John A. Davis. Optimism and pessimism are strong, stable traits that reflect our coping strategies. We live in an... View Details

05 Mar 2001
What Do You Think?

Fine Coupling: Can Human Resource Management Learn from Supply Chain Management?

will be the next logical step [in managing human resources]. I think it is win/win for employers and employees to move in this direction. The hard question is not really how can we modularize people — this... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Article

Putting the 'Relationship' Back into CRM

By: Susan Fournier and Jill Avery

Many managers think that the way to capture value through relationship marketing is to focus on the 'good' customers and get rid of the 'bad' ones. But there is a lot more to best practice relationship management than maximizing revenues on individual customers and... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; CRM; Customer Relationship Management; Brand Building; Brand Management; Customer Lifetime Value; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Marketing Strategy; Brands and Branding; Consumer Products Industry

24 Feb 2023
Blog Post

My Classroom Experience During Harvard Business School’s Summer Venture in Management Program

When the email arrived – “HBS SVMP Decision Available Online” – it caught me by surprise. I took a breath and read the message: Accepted! As I planned my trip to attend HBS’s Summer Venture in Management Program, I saw scenes of Cambridge... View Details

June 2013 (Revised August 2017)
Case

Coupa

By: Michael Roberts and William Sahlman

The case describes the growth of Coupa, a software as a service platform for procurement / expense management. The issues in the case are around how fast to grow and how to finance that growth. The case includes a detailed financial model that will help students... View Details

Keywords: Managing Growth; Sales Force Management; Growth Management; Entrepreneurship; Salesforce Management

18 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

When Bias Creeps into AI, Managers Can Stop It by Asking the Right Questions

sociodemographic characteristics. HBS Working Knowledge spoke with Israeli, the Marvin Bower Associate Professor of Business Administration, and Ascarza, the Jakurski Family Associate Professor of Business Administration, about how View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

June 2018
Teaching Note

Zurich Insurance

By: Boris Groysberg, David Lane and Joni Coughlin

This teaching note addresses six cases in the Zurich Insurance series, the overview case (HBS No. 417-035) and five cases focused on particular change efforts (HBS Nos. 417-036 through 417-040).
Zurich Insurance was undergoing organizational change after... View Details

22 Feb 2011
Research & Ideas

The Most Important Management Trends of the (Still Young) Twenty-First Century

influence what will eventually happen in the boardroom. However, many open questions remain about the factors that enable even people with good intentions to commit unethical acts. What are the tools organizations and their View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

25 Apr 2014
News

Self-awareness is important if you want to be a good general manager

role that is part ambassador, part recruiter. “I will pay attention to job opportunities in the Greater China area,” he says, “and pass the information along to the club members and also coordinate when people from China come to campus,... View Details

16 May 2018
Research & Ideas

How Companies Managed Risk (and Even Benefitted) in World War Internment Camps

Prisoners were housed in old stone barracks and newly constructed huts made of corrugated iron. The researchers examined the corporate archives of three German multinationals that employed the largest number of people interned in India... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Manufacturing

August 2016 (Revised July 2018)
Case

Accenture Human Capital Strategy

By: Paula A. Price, V.G. Narayanan and James Weber

Accenture is a leading global consulting, technology, and outsourcing company. It has clients and its own operations throughout the world. This case describes the human resources and related activities necessary to deliver its services to clients. It allows students to... View Details

Keywords: Management Consulting; Technology Consulting; Outsourcing; Human Resources; Activity Based Costing and Management; Management Practices and Processes

January 2013 (Revised January 2013)
Course Overview Note

Running Small and Medium Size Enterprises (RSME) Winter Term 2013: Course Overview and Syllabus

Course Overview and Syllabus for RSME View Details

September 2016 (Revised May 2018)
Case

Zurich Insurance: Recruitment

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly

Zurich Insurance was undergoing organizational change after implementing five new people practices focused on manager development, diversity and inclusion, job model and data analytics, recruitment, and talent pipeline. The case “Zurich Insurance: Fostering Key People... View Details

Keywords: Managing Change; Leadership; Organization Change And Adaptation; Organizational Behavior; Recruiting; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Leadership Development; Human Capital; Human Resources; Insurance; Recruitment; Insurance Industry

2015
Chapter

Consuming Brands

By: Jill Avery and Anat Keinan

Traditional definitions of branding often underestimate the value a brand has for infusing a choice situation with meaning. This chapter explores how people consume brands and presents three perspectives on the meaning of brands that have diverse theoretical roots in... View Details

Keywords: Brand Building; Brand Management; Marketing; Brands and Branding

May 2020
Article

To Be or Not to Be Your Authentic Self? Catering to Others' Expectations and Interests Hinders Performance

By: Francesca Gino, Ovul Sezer and Laura Huang

When approaching interpersonal first meetings (e.g., job interviews), people often cater to the target’s interests and expectations to make a good impression and secure a positive outcome such as being offered the job (pilot study). This strategy is distinct from other... View Details

Keywords: Authenticity; Catering; Honesty; Selection; Impression Management; Interpersonal Communication; Behavior; Performance