Publications

26 Jun 2020
Working Paper Summaries

Weak Credit Covenants

Keywords: by Victoria Ivashina and Boris Vallée; Financial Services

November 2000 (Revised May 2001)
Case

State of South Carolina, The

By: Randolph B. Cohen

This case presents the managerial dilemma faced by the treasurer of South Carolina in 1998. Until last year, the South Carolina state pension fund (with over $17 billion in assets) was barred by the state constitution from investing in equities. After the constitution... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Capital Markets; Investment Return; Public Administration Industry; South Carolina

December 1994 (Revised January 1996)
Case

Constructing a Nation: The United States and Their Constitution, 1763-1792

By: David A. Moss

Examines the founding of the United States of America during the second half of the eighteenth century. Focuses on: 1) the reasons why the American colonists rebelled against Britain (1763-1774); 2) the problems the new nation confronted during the War of Independence... View Details

Keywords: History; Economic Systems; Laws and Statutes; Property; Government Administration; United States

May 1997
Teaching Note

Product Development Performance, Instructor's Note

By: Marco Iansiti

Focuses on what constitutes product development performance and how it is assessed. Performance, as explained in both the note and in the materials for this three-session module, refers to the performance of both the product and the organizational process producing it.... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Infrastructure; Product Development; Production; Performance Evaluation

November 2001
Background Note

Sexual Harassment Law and Policy

By: Michael A. Wheeler, Georgia Levenson and Arturo Corso

Outlines the recent development of legal principles regarding sexual harassment, including procedures in the United States and state courts, what circumstances constitute harassment, the resolution of these conflicts and the resulting consequences for the individuals... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Policy; Working Conditions; Code Law; Outcome or Result; Conflict and Resolution; United States

15 Jul 2010
News

Bombmakers bombarded

February 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Case

Race, Justice, and the Jury System in Postbellum Virginia

By: David Moss and Dean Grodzins

In December 1877, an all-white grand jury in Patrick County, Virginia, indicted two black teenagers, Lee and Burwell Reynolds, for killing a white man. After a series of trials, an all-white trial jury convicted Lee of second-degree murder and sentenced him to prison.... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Courts and Trials; Fairness; Race; Government and Politics; History; Virginia

26 Mar 2015
News

A wake-up call for tomorrow's top 1 percent: rebuild America's middle class

September 2014 (Revised November 2017)
Case

Sustainability at IKEA Group

By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael W. Toffel, Vincent Dessain and Jerome Lenhardt

By 2014, IKEA Group was the largest home furnishing company, with EUR28.5 billion of sales, and planned to reach EUR50 billion by 2020, mainly from emerging markets. At the same time, IKEA Group had adopted in 2012 a new sustainability strategy that focused the... View Details

Keywords: Furnishing; Sustainability; Supply Chain; Wood; Customer Value and Value Chain; Supply Chain Management; Environmental Sustainability; Growth and Development Strategy; Consumer Products Industry

19 May 2012
News

Speaking out against the marriage amendment

July 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Supplement

Executive Pay and the Credit Crisis of 2008 (B)

By: V.G. Narayanan and Lisa Brem

As the recession lingered on into 2009, the U.S. government sought to limit executive pay and excessive risk. The debate raged over what constituted excessive risk and how best to mitigate it. This case describes the government restrictions on executive pay for TARP... View Details

Keywords: Financial Crisis; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government Legislation; Executive Compensation; Risk Management; Business and Government Relations; Motivation and Incentives; United States

08 Aug 2011
News

Economics Journal: Women in Local Politics Offer Biggest Benefit

September 1984 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Higgins v. Commissioner

By: Henry B. Reiling

Discusses the issue of whether an activity is a trade or business. The Court held that the taxpayer's very substantial stock and bond portfolio management activities were not a trade or business, whereas the taxpayer's real estate activities did constitute a trade or... View Details

Keywords: Taxation; Courts and Trials; Investment Portfolio; Property; United States

Find at Harvard

28 Feb 2022
News

What Obligations Do Public Companies Like Spotify Have to Correct False Information?

17 Sep 2021
News

Christmas Toys Shortage Fears As Pandemic Disrupts Global Supply

10 Jul 2015
News

Entrepreneurship: Getting the basics right and the road ahead

2016
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Alberto Mora and the Costs and Consequences of Torture

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Benjamin Summers

Alberto Mora's time as General Counsel of the Navy from 2001–2006 greatly influenced his mission to illuminate the policy consequences of torture. Mora's drive to restore the nation's awareness and conscience against torture was gaining traction. Prominent... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Skills; Torture; Costs And Consequences; Humane; Restraint; Human Dignity; Treatment Of Prisoners; Prison; Repression; Opposition; Revolution; Democracy; Communism; International Affairs; Public Service; September 11; War On Terror; Operation Enduring Freedom; Guantanamo; Cuba; Coalition; Working Group; Cruelty; Interrogation; Memorandum; American Law; Authority; Authoritative; Quadrennial Defense Review; National Defense Authorization Act; Public Engagement; Advocacy; Law; Accountability; Center For The Victims Of Torture; Human Rights; Public Policy; Legality; Morality; Legal System; Tactical Military Operations; West Point; NGO; Human Rights First; American Civil Liberties Union; Human Rights Watch; Amnesty International; Constitution Project; Center For Constitutional Rights; Strategic Military Effect; National Security; Weapon; Terrorism; Prisoners Of War; Abu Ghraib; Pentagon; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Leadership; Rights; Policy; Public Opinion; United States

November 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Background Note

Merton's Ethos of Science: Excerpts and Summaries

Robert K. Merton wrote a series of papers on the sociology of science in the 1940s and 1950s and is commonly recognized as the founder of the field. Merton laid out four norms that constitute the "ethos" of science: community-wide fundamentals that he proposed were... View Details

Keywords: Science; Ethics

February 2021
Tutorial

What are Agile Teams?

By: Tsedal Neeley

This video explores the elements that constitute agile teams. From its history in the "Agile Manifesto," this philosophy for organizational behavior prioritizes working software over comprehensive documentation, customer collaboration over contract negotiation, and... View Details

Keywords: Agile Practices; Organization Behavior; Priorities; Groups and Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions; Values and Beliefs