Publications

04 Oct 2010
Research & Ideas

Introverts: The Best Leaders for Proactive Employees

study with professors Adam M. Grant of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School and David A. Hofmann of UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School. Their article, "Reversing the Extraverted Leadership... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

07 Nov 2017
Blog Post

Women and the MBA: 6 Important Aspects of the HBS Program

career in asset management and consulting. She is changing the funding landscape for social/public causes with the pay-for-success model, and... View Details

Web

Commodities, Currencies, and Balancing of the Trade Deficit - A Chronicle of the China Trade

porcelain. The British found they could address the growing trade deficit through opium from Bengal, India, where they owned plantations. Opium became more plentiful, and uses of the drug changed from... View Details

23 Jan 2023

2+2 Program and Admissions Virtual Info Session for Amherst College

Do you know where an MBA can take you? Open your mind to the breadth of career opportunities available in business and learn how an MBA in general management can open new doors for your professional View Details

January 2020 (Revised April 2020)
Teaching Note

Brandless: Disrupting Consumer Packaged Goods

By: Jill Avery

Brandless, an online direct-to-consumer seller of upscale private-label consumer packaged goods (CPG), offered consumers a limited assortment of values-conscious products delivered directly to their homes with the simplicity of one fixed $3.00 price point that promised... View Details

Keywords: Brand; Brand Management; DTC; Private Label; Groceries; Packaged Food; Personal Care; Startups; Retailing; Amazon; Brands and Branding; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Business Startups; Disruption; E-commerce; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry; United States

10 May 2022
News

The Digital Mindset: What It Really Takes to Thrive in the Age of Data, Algorithms, and AI

Article

Why Sexual Harassment Persists and What Organizations Can Do to Stop It

By: Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg

Long before the #MeToo movement, the insidious effects of harassment were well known to organizational researchers. Women who are harassed often leave their jobs, taking valuable relationships, and potential out the door with them and creating the costly need to hire... View Details

Keywords: Work Environment; Sexual Harassment; Harassment; Organizational Culture; Gender; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change

Find at Harvard

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Jeff Polzer is the UPS Foundation Professor of Human Resource Management in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. He studies how people collaborate in teams and across organizational networks to accomplish their individual and collective... View Details

15 May 2020
News

How To ‘Think Outside The Building’

December 1999 (Revised May 2000)
Case

Morgan Stanley: Becoming a "One-Firm Firm"

By: M. Diane Burton, Thomas J. DeLong and Katherine Lawrence

John Mack, the newly appointed president of Morgan Stanley, feels strongly that the firm needs to change in order to compete in a changing investment banking environment. Mack and his senior team undertake initiatives in order to transform the culture and working style... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Goals and Objectives; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Competitive Strategy

October 2009 (Revised August 2013)
Case

Carolina for Kibera

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Cailin B. Hammer

A growing NGO based in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya, is facing a complete change in leadership as the founders step back. At the same time, a $1 million grant presents new opportunities and challenges. View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Negotiation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Non-Governmental Organizations; Power and Influence; Nairobi; North Carolina

November 2005 (Revised December 2016)
Case

Bally Total Fitness (A): The Rise, 1962–2004

By: John R. Wells, Elizabeth A. Raabe and Gabriel Ellsworth

From a single, modest club in 1962, Bally Total Fitness had grown to become—in management’s words—the “largest and only nationwide commercial operator of fitness centers” in the United States in 2004. Bally had faced its share of challenges, but the last couple of... View Details

Keywords: Bally Total Fitness; Fitness; Gyms; Health Clubs; Chain; Securities And Exchange Commission; Paul Toback; Weight Loss; Exercise; Contracts; Personal Training; Retention; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Accrual Accounting; Finance; Advertising; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Customers; Customer Satisfaction; Public Equity; Financing and Loans; Revenue; Revenue Recognition; Geographic Scope; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Nutrition; Business History; Lawsuits and Litigation; Management; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Operations; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business Strategy; Competition; Corporate Strategy; Expansion; Segmentation; Trends; Cost Management; Profit; Growth and Development; Leadership Style; Five Forces Framework; Private Ownership; Opportunities; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Health Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago

05 Jul 2023
Cold Call Podcast

How Unilever Is Preparing for the Future of Work

Keywords: Re: William R. Kerr; Retail; Consumer Products

October 1984 (Revised July 1988)
Case

Mark Twain Bancshares, Inc.

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Describes the history, management, and organization of an extremely successful bank holding company. The company has had a very charismatic chairman, has made MBAs bank presidents at very early ages, and has a long record of innovation. Now deregulation and a coming... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Financial Services Industry

01 Dec 2017
News

2017 in Retail: Voice-Activated, One-Hour-Delivery Shopping

innovation is accelerating rapidly, and means big changes and challenges for the sector. We are seeing rapid changes both in traditional... View Details

Keywords: Ron Johnson (MBA 1984), founder and CEO, Enjoy

January 2017
Teaching Note

The Park Hotels: Revitalizing an Iconic Indian Brand

By: Jill Avery and Chekitan S. Dev

Priya Paul, chairwoman of The Park Hotels, an award-winning portfolio of thirteen boutique hotels scattered across India, was in the midst of a brand revitalization program. Landor Associates, a leading brand consultancy, had identified three areas of concern: the... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Brand Positioning; Brand Portfolio Strategy; Brand Architecture; Brand Repositioning; Target Market; Hospitality; Hotel Industry; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy; Service Delivery; Travel Industry; Service Industry; India; Asia