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October 1980 (Revised December 1986)
Case

Ernie Budding (A)

Details an instructor's attempt to motivate his section to raise its classroom performance standards. Outlines the situation when the section was performing well, the decline in standards, the action the professor took to revise the situation, and the final outcome. View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Performance Improvement; Outcome or Result; Standards; Education Industry

05 Jan 2014
News

You Can’t Take It With You, but You Still Want More

July 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

Formosa Plastics Group: Business Continuity Forever

Wang Yung-ching, legendary Taiwanese businessman and philanthropist, passed away in 2008. He left behind an estate worth US $5.5 billion, but did not leave a will. The case discusses the potential motivation for Wang, and uses it to study succession planning for family... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Governance Controls; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Chemical Industry; Taiwan

Video

Matt Segneri

22 Sep 2021
Blog Post

Student Spotlight: Jesse Lou (MBA 2022) – Working to Change the Food System

Jesse Lou (MBA 2022) reflects on his decision to come to HBS, what motivates him to make a difference in the world by using technology to build a more sustainable food system, and how he has utilized resources at HBS to make this happen.... View Details

June 2001
Teaching Note

Retail Operations TN

By: Ananth Raman

Describes the teaching objectives and content of the Retail Operations Module in the Coordinating and Managing Supply Chains elective course at HBS. First describes the motivation for developing a module on retail operations in a supply chain course and then addresses... View Details

Keywords: Curriculum and Courses; Operations; Supply Chain Management; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry

18 Apr 2016
News

Embracing Agile

06 Mar 2014
News

At Family Firms, Do CEOs Work Fewer Hours?

Article

Friends or Foes? Examining Platform Owners' Entry into Complementors' Spaces

By: Feng Zhu

As platform owners continue to expand their ecosystems, many of them have started to provide consumers with their own complementary applications. These moves position the platform owners as direct competitors to their complementors. This paper surveys empirical studies... View Details

Keywords: Platform; Complementors; Digital Platforms; Market Entry and Exit; Competition

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October 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Lanco Medical Group: Fostering Happiness for Growth

By: Susanna Gallani, Jenyfeer Martínez Buitrago and Katherine Sonnefeldt

This case describes how Lanco Medical Group, a fast-growing pharmaceutical distributor serving Latin America, approached the design of their employee benefits and incentives program. After learning about gaps between what leadership believed motivated employees and... View Details

Keywords: Fairness; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Growth Management; Motivation and Incentives; Expansion; Pharmaceutical Industry; Latin America

February 1989 (Revised August 1989)
Case

Portman Hotel Co.

A brand new hotel has opened with a new service strategy: import to America Asian-style service using a butler-like employee group called the personal valets. To achieve this high level of service, the hotel has paid great attention to its human resource policies,... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Service Delivery; Employees; Accommodations Industry; Asia; North America

10 Jan 2022
News

The Secret Ingredient of Thriving Companies? Human Magic.

03 Oct 2010
News

Echoes of Bell in CEO pay

February 2000 (Revised August 2000)
Case

Microsoft Latin America

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Alberto Ballve and Antonio Davila

Mauricio Santillan, regional vice president for the Latin American division of Microsoft, has introduced a new performance measurement system to help his country managers formulate and control strategy. Microsoft Latin America's priorities are rolling out of an... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Applications and Software; Emerging Markets; Crime and Corruption; Motivation and Incentives; Management Skills; Global Strategy; Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Latin America

Research Summary

Overview

Professor Ashraf's research applies insights from psychology, sociology, and economics to understand and affect behavior in development. Her current research interests fall into three broad categories: technology adoption, motivation and incentive design, and... View Details

Keywords: Health; Microfinance; Agriculture; Women's Empowerment

March 2024
Article

When Are Social Protests Effective?

By: Eric Shuman, Amit Goldenberg, Tamar Saguy, Eran Halperin and Martijn van Zomeren

Around the world, people engage in social protests aimed at addressing major societal problems. Certain protests have led to significant progress, yet other protests have resulted in little demonstrable change. We introduce a framework for evaluating the effectiveness... View Details

Keywords: Protests; Social Issues; Outcome or Result; Measurement and Metrics; Power and Influence; Motivation and Incentives