Publications

April 2018 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Tesla's CEO Compensation Plan

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Sarah Mehta

Tesla’s board of directors proposed an unusual compensation plan for the company’s CEO Elon Musk. The plan payouts were entirely contingent on achieving very ambitious market value, sales, and EBIT targets over the next ten years. If all the targets were achieved,... View Details

Keywords: CEO Compensation; Compensation Committee; Corporate Governance; Executive Compensation; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Auto Industry; United States

November 2000
Background Note

Note on Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and Phantom Stock Plans

By: Dwight B. Crane and Indra Reinbergs

Provides a brief overview of employee stock ownership plans (ESOPs) and phantom stock plans for owners of closely held companies. ESOPs can be used as a tool of corporate financing, and can provide employees with ownership interests. Phantom stock plans can reward... View Details

Keywords: Financing and Loans; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Motivation and Incentives; Management Teams; Corporate Governance; Ownership Stake; Taxation

September 1984 (Revised March 1993)
Background Note

Marketing Planning and Organization

By: Robert J. Dolan

Presents guidelines for effective marketing planning. Provides a general outline of the contents of a typical marketing plan, the process by which the plan is developed, and considers the benefits successful firms reap from their planning efforts and the problems that... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Planning; Design

10 Aug 2009
News

Business planning

12 Dec 2018
News

Lesson Plan

Maybe it all begins at a dinner table in Beaverton, Oregon. It’s the late 1980s, at the height of the spotted owl controversy—a pitched battle between loggers and conservationists over whether preserving a bird’s habitat is more critical than saving jobs. A... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; photographed by Chris Sorensen

05 May 2022
News

Lesson Plans

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Dan Morrell: Founded in 2008 by Sal Khan (MBA 2003), Khan Academy is a nonprofit with a simple mission: to provide a free, world-class education to anyone, anywhere. Today, more than 135 million registered... View Details

November 2008 (Revised January 2011)
Exercise

Breaking Through Action Plan

By: David A. Thomas and Karen J. Watai

The "Breaking Through Action Plan" is a developmental tool based on the book, Breaking Through: The Making of Minority Executives in Corporate America by David A. Thomas and John J. Gabarro. The Action Plan was originally designed as part of a facilitated session but... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Personal Development and Career; Relationships; Power and Influence; Trust

February 1999 (Revised March 2003)
Background Note

Enterprise Resource Planning

Introduces the concepts and issues related to Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) technology. Begins with a stylized example of ERP in action. Aa brief history of the ERP industry is provided, with reference to major events and players. Additional case examples of... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Operations

September 2014 (Revised September 2015)
Exercise

Project Planning

By: Willy Shih, Pian Shu and Jill Avery

This exercise introduces the basic tools of project management: the project timeline, the task list, and the Gantt chart. It is an exercise for the FIELD 2 course. View Details

Keywords: Project Management; Management Practices and Processes; Manufacturing Industry; Service Industry; United States

January 2003 (Revised March 2005)
Supplement

Planning Exercise

By: Ashish Nanda

April 21, 2023
Article

When Scenario Planning Fails

By: Kalle Heikkinen, William R. Kerr, Mika Malin, Panu Routila and Eemil Rupponen

How can organizations perform scenario planning when they are hit by shocks outside of leaders’ field of vision? Interviews with Nordic executives, who experienced both the Covid-19 pandemic and were in close proximity to Russia as the country invaded Ukraine, can... View Details

Keywords: Planning; Crisis Management; Organizational Structure; Forecasting and Prediction; System Shocks; Organizational Change and Adaptation

Read Now

January 2025
Technical Note

Note on Estate Planning

By: Christina R. Wing, Maryann G Bell and Kara A Perusse

Crafting a comprehensive estate plan is not just about ensuring the smooth transfer of assets; it is about leaving a lasting legacy and protecting your loved ones from unnecessary stress and complications after you are gone. Estate planning is a particularly important... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Transition; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Planning

November 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Background Note

A Note on Scenario Planning

By: David A. Garvin and Lynne Levesque

Describes the process, components, and detailed action steps involved in using scenario planning in any organization. Provides detailed examples that use the process. View Details

Keywords: Planning

While facilitating a complex clinical approval process over the next two to three years for a family of new cancer drugs, Genentech must develop a long-term capacity plan for a major class of new cancer products. Adding to the complexity and uncertainty is the fact... View Details

01 Jun 2013
News

Lesson Plans

example of what can push the system to a new approach. Another example, which I plan to visit, is Rocketship Education, a charter school system where students spend the first few hours of the morning in a computer learning lab and the... View Details

Keywords: Educational Support Services; Educational Services; Elementary and Secondary Schools; Educational Services

01 Jun 2020
News

Meal Plan

Alive customers, who tend to have special dietary needs, to access the food they wanted. To address that, we created three- and five-day plans with ready-to-eat, portioned meals that you could just pull out of the refrigerator. That... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; restaurants; COVID-19; pandemic; recovery; Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

Research Summary

Supply Chain Inventory Planning

My work studies management decision-making in demand and supply planning contexts with a focus on forecasting and inventory planning decisions. I examine these decision-making processes from both a supply chain (i.e. across firm) and an... View Details

January 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Background Note

Evaluating an Action Plan

By: Linda A. Hill

Managers report that action planning to resolve interpersonal and organizational challenges is far more demanding than diagnosing them. Although there are many frameworks for evaluating their diagnoses, there are few for evaluating their action plans. Reviews the major... View Details

Keywords: Planning