Publications

May 1990 (Revised April 1991)
Background Note

Dirty Hands

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

A one-paragraph excerpt from a play by Jean-Paul Sartre. Describes in the words of one character, the ethical problem of "dirty hands": the problem that doing the morally superior thing in some circumstances inevitably involves doing some things that are morally wrong.... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Management; Problems and Challenges; Personal Characteristics; Value

Find at Harvard

29 May 2001
Research & Ideas

How Technological Disruption Changes Everything

personal-care physicians, nurses, and even self-care practitioners with some level of training to do work once performed only by specialists. Disruptive innovation, in this way, always moves upmarket,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Health

27 Mar 2020
News

Lessons from Italy’s Response to Coronavirus

14 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The Surprising Right Fit for Software Testing

It is part of the same family of impairments as classic autism and Asperger syndrome. While psychological and medical experts do not agree on its precise contours, nor on how common it is in the general population, they recognize that... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Video Game; Web Services; Computer

October 2014 (Revised January 2016)
Case

IDEO: Human-Centered Service Design

By: Ryan W. Buell and Andrew Otazo

The case describes IDEO, one of the world's leading design firms, and its human-centered innovation culture and processes. It is an example of what managers can do to make their own organizations more innovative. In reaction to a rapidly changing competitive landscape,... View Details

Keywords: Design Thinking; Innovation; Service Management; Service; Design; Service Delivery; Innovation and Management; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Peru

02 Dec 2015
What Do You Think?

What Will It Take to Achieve Gender Equality in Leadership?

he said, “The very act of trying to attain gender equality portends to assume that is a positive goal. My concern is not equality but quality. Man or woman, we as individuals and organizations need to rip away all the barriers that lie within all of us and look toward... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

09 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

The UK Needs a Bold Strategy Around Competition to Survive Brexit

improving productivity is one of the few areas where pro- and anti-Brexit groups agree, how to do so is far from clear and not much discussed by either side “Our worry is that the UK remains mired in wishful... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 2014
Background Note

Leader-as-Architect: Alignment

By: Ethan Bernstein, Ryan Raffaelli and Joshua Margolis

Part of a leader's job is to equip the organization to transform inputs into outputs by defining organizational strategy, shaping organizational identity, and then managing four organizational components—formal organizational structure, culture, people, and critical... View Details

Keywords: Organization; Resource Management; Leadership; Business Processes; Design; Organizational Design; Identity; Strategy; Resource Allocation; Strategic Planning; Alignment

07 Jan 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Culture Changers: Managing High-Impact Entrepreneurs

European cuisine—American food was considered too rustic and parochial. Beard changed how the world thought about American food, in part by insisting on local ingredients and tapping into regional cuisines while exhorting other chefs to... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Beauty & Cosmetics; Food & Beverage; Entertainment & Recreation; Information; Publishing

December 1992 (Revised June 1993)
Case

ACTC Customer Service Department

Focuses on the young general manager of a new cable TV system and on its customer service department. Jeanne LaFrance, the general manager, has an uneasy feeling about the way in which the department is being managed. She sees symptoms of what she suspects are serious... View Details

Keywords: Management; Problems and Challenges; Planning; Customer Focus and Relationships; Performance Evaluation; Telecommunications Industry

September 1993 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Habitat for Humanity International

Habitat for Humanity, a not-for-profit, volunteer-based home builder, is coping with years of rapid growth and success. They now face a series of options to continue their successful course and must make corresponding organizational adjustments. Teaching objectives... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Nonprofit Organizations; Growth Management; Housing; Service Industry; United States