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February 2022 (Revised January 2024)
Supplement

Winning Business at Russell Reynolds (C)

By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco

In an effort to make compensation drive collaboration, Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) CEO Clarke Murphy sought to re-engineer the bonus system for his executive search consultants in 2016. As his HR analytics guru, Kelly Smith, points out, that risks upsetting—and... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Consulting Industry

January 2024
Supplement

Winning Business at Russell Reynolds

By: Ethan Bernstein and Cara Mazzucco

In an effort to make compensation drive collaboration, Russell Reynolds Associates’ (RRA) CEO Clarke Murphy sought to re-engineer the bonus system for his executive search consultants in 2016. As his HR analytics guru, Kelly Smith, points out, that risks upsetting—and... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Talent and Talent Management; Compensation and Benefits; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Consulting Industry

December 2012 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Rodan + Fields Dermatologists

By: Das Narayandas, Michael Roberts and Liz Kind

The case focuses on issues involved in managing the direct multilevel marketing sales consultants who sell R+F skin care products. The company is trying to better manage the inconsistent and highly variable recruitment behavior of the sales force i.e., the degree to... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Salesforce Management; Recruitment; Compensation and Benefits; Consumer Products Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; California

February 2003 (Revised May 2004)
Case

ENSR International

What is the best way to "sell" consulting services? Should the firm focus on key accounts? Should it have dedicated salespeople? How should the firm account for "selling" activities in its compensation plan? ENSR is an environmental consulting firm located in Westford,... View Details

Keywords: Sales; Consulting Industry; Massachusetts

01 Sep 2015
First Look

First Look -- September 1, 2015

across firms. Using information disclosed in proxy statements of publicly traded companies, I predict and find that firms connected through board interlocks or common compensation consultants display a... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

18 Nov 2015
Research & Ideas

Who Really Determines CEO Salary Packages?

contract cause: compensation consultation commonality. A compensation consultant is an independent advisor who helps shareholders decide what to... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Consulting

13 Sep 2006
Op-Ed

Rising CEO Pay: What Directors Should Do

pressure is the fear of losing an adequately performing CEO. To make sure this does not happen, compensation committees rely on surveys by compensation consultants about CEO... View Details

Keywords: by Jay W. Lorsch

January 1976 (Revised June 1984)
Case

Megalith, Inc. -- Hay Associates (A)

By: John P. Kotter

In 1969, Megalith centralized its financial and control functions. John Boyd, senior vice president for finance, hired four brilliant young managers to "bring the group out of the stone age." By 1975, this management team had created a near-perfect finance office of... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Problems and Challenges

November 2001 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Camp Dresser & McKee: Getting Incentives Right

By: Ashish Nanda

"If you try to use money to motivate behavior, you are in a powerful and dangerous place, especially with engineers and scientists," remarked Tom Furman, CEO of Camp Dresser & McKee, Inc. (CDM), a consulting environmental engineering firm. Historically, CDM had... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry

July 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

One Firm One Future at Davis Langdon (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Kaitlyn A. Simpson

Senior Partner Rob Smith just led construction consultancy firm Davis Langdon through a major organizational change in Europe and the Middle East. In the past, compensation arrangements had not incentivized partners to collaborate across the firm to serve clients'... View Details

Keywords: Profit Sharing; Global Strategy; Compensation and Benefits; Leading Change; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Partners and Partnerships; Cooperation; Expansion; Consulting Industry; Europe; Middle East

October 1995 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Booz.Allen & Hamilton: Vision 2000

In 1993, Booz.Allen & Hamilton forsook its previous, highly local organizational structure. It was motivated by a desire to serve multinational clients more effectively and to provide greater value to clients with more localized business by collecting best practices... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Organizational Structure; Global Strategy; Service Industry

01 Aug 2005
What Do You Think?

Is There an “Efficient Market” in CEO Compensation?

performance that raises the level of urgency to pay more to get the best. Thus, these situations force upward perturbations as well in the market value of CEOs in companies not facing such crises. The phenomenon would not be relevant if it were not for the role of... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

June 2019
Technical Note

Valuing Employee Equity at Early Stage Ventures

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Christopher Stanton and Sanchali Pal

The note introduces a framework to consider factors that influence the value of employee equity at early stage ventures. Valuing equity is complex, and it important to account for expected dilution, assess exit potential, and acknowledge the high rate of failure in... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Equity; Valuation; Business Startups

Research Summary

Overview

By: Tatiana Sandino

In studying management control systems, Professor Sandino aims to understand how different control mechanisms can help lead employees within an organization to achieve common goals. Her work builds on contingency theory by exploring environmental, strategic, and... View Details

July 1995 (Revised April 1996)
Case

Cambridge Technology Partners (A)

By: Teresa M. Amabile, George P. Baker III and Michael Beer

Cambridge Technology Partners uses a highly innovative product strategy, supported by a human resources strategy, that has been very successful. However, high growth rates jeopardize product quality while tension about relative compensation levels between sales and... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Compensation and Benefits; Organizational Culture; Quality; Human Resources; Relationships; Innovation and Invention; Consulting Industry; Massachusetts

17 Jul 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, July 17, 2018

suggest that valuing time over money facilitates social connection. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=54685 How Does Product Liability Risk Affect Innovation? Evidence from Medical Implants By: Galasso, Alberto, and Hong Luo... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

26 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 26

consultants than their traditional PR work. The CEO is pressured to find a compensation system that helps retain and motivate the firm's valued PR consultants, attract new talent, and get all professionals... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 2008 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Negotiating Equity Splits at UpDown

By: Noam Wasserman and Deepak Malhotra

Michael Reich is having severe doubts about how he split the equity with his co-founders two months ago, when they completed a one-page "November Agreement." Since then, Michael has found an angel investor and has worked non-stop on the business, while one co-founder... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Capital; Venture Capital; Equity; Compensation and Benefits; Negotiation; Partners and Partnerships