Publications

January 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Jay Gould, 'The Most Hated Man in America'

By: Tom Nicholas, John Masko and Matthew G. Preble

Railroad magnate Jay Gould, a controversial figure in the history of U.S. capitalism, was a disruptive influence on an industry that had previously relied on formal and informal agreements to move traffic long distances across lines operated by different companies.... View Details

Keywords: Railroads; Gould; Vanderbilt; Rail Transportation; History; Consolidation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; Strategy; Rail Industry; United States

March 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Background Note

Fall Before Rising, A: The Story of Jai Jaikumar (B)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Richard Compton Squire, Sarah Patricia Vickers-Willis and Harry James Wilson

What is the relationship between good fortune, professional success, and a moral obligation to other people? Jai Jaikumar, who as a youth was saved by a shepherd woman after a tragic mountaineering accident in the Himalayas, and who later rose to the top of his... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Moral Sensibility; Motivation and Incentives

March 2000
Background Note

Fall Before Rising, A: The Story of Jai Jaikumar (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Richard Compton Squire, Sarah Patricia Vickers-Willis and Harry James Wilson

What is the relationship between good fortune, professional success, and a moral obligation to other people? Jai Jaikumar, who as a youth was saved by a shepherd woman after a tragic mountaineering accident in the Himalayas, and who later rose to the top of his... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; History; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Familiarity; Perception; Welfare

13 Sep 2006
Op-Ed

Rising CEO Pay: What Directors Should Do

long-term trend has been for CEO pay to rise along with the pay for other senior executives, and it is now twice as much as that of CEOs in major European countries, according to Towers Perrin, a global consultancy. A recent study published View Details

Keywords: by Jay W. Lorsch

11 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ’The Future of Boards’

more than timely that a book on the subject by one of the world's great experts on corporate governance, Harvard Business School Professor Jay Lorsch, will be published next week. The Future of Boards:... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Lorsch

13 May 2002
Op-Ed

A Cure for Enron-Style Audit Failures

efficient and cheaper methods that undermine quality audits. The audit committee must have the leadership, independence and information to oversee the auditors and their relationship with the management.— Jay Lorsch This race for... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Lorsch; Accounting

29 Sep 2008
Research & Ideas

Financial Crisis Caution Urged by Faculty Panel

Liquidity Dean Jay Light began his introductory remarks by characterizing the crisis and collapse of housing prices as a test that has exposed how fragile the recently evolved U.S. financial system is.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services

February 2010 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Local Motors: Designed by the Crowd, Built by the Customer

By: Michael I. Norton and Jeremy Dann

In the wake of the meltdown among U.S. auto manufacturers in 2009, Jay Rogers, CEO of Local Motors, has a new approach for the automotive industry: decide which models are produced through online design competitions, and then allow customers to "build their own cars"... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Focus and Relationships; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Product Design; Product Development; Creativity; Social and Collaborative Networks; Customization and Personalization; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

29 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Star Power! How to Win in Professional Services

corporations, the CEO is selected by a higher authority (the board of directors) acting on behalf of the shareholders, which gives him strong positional power to shape the company's direction, strategically and organizationally. The PSF... View Details

Keywords: by Jay W. Lorsch & Thomas J. Tierney

20 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Seven Things That Surprise New CEOs

released On Competition, Porter collects his most influential articles from HBR, and adds new work on health care, philanthropy, social responsibility, and leadership. This excerpt, coauthored with Harvard Business School professors Jay... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch & Nitin Nohria

14 Dec 2021
Op-Ed

To Change Your Company's Culture, Don't Start by Trying to Change the Culture

insulted and angry. But Twitter hasn’t backed down from the idea and has even promoted Davis. Employee dissatisfaction, the company said, is sometimes the cost of shaking things up. "Culture gets changed by doing real work in line with... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer

31 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

The New CEO’s Wrong Message

Bearing full responsibility for a company's success or failure, but being unable to control most of what will determine it. Having more authority than anyone else in the organization, but being unable to wield it without unhappy consequences. Sound like a tough job? It... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch & Nitin Nohria

09 Sep 2009
Working Paper Summaries

Perspectives from the Boardroom--2009

Keywords: by Jay W. Lorsch, Joseph L. Bower, Clayton S. Rose & Suraj Srinivasan

August 2003
Case

SEC Proposal for Nomination of Directors by Shareholders

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Ashley Robertson

Describes the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's 2003 proposal to allow shareholders to nominate a "short slate" of directors for the board of listed companies. Includes comment letters for and against the proposal. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations; United States

Article

Participation in a Voluntary Bundled Payment Program by Organizations Providing Care After an Acute Hospitalization

By: A Jay Holmgren, Julia Adler-Milstein and Lena M. Chen

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