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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(3,768)
- People (11)
- News (1,203)
- Research (2,187)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (5)
- Faculty Publications (1,419)
- 30 Sep 2008
- First Look
First Look: September 30, 2008
and service quality. Using longitudinal data from stores of a large retailer, I find that increasing the amount of labor at a store is associated with an increase in profitability through its impact on conformance quality but not its... View Details
Keywords: Martha Lagace
- October 1976 (Revised April 1983)
- Case
Federal Express (A)
Federal Express is a small-package airline operating throughout the United States. After initial heavy losses it is now profitable. Management is examining the services offered by the firm and believes that there is great potential for "Courier Pak", an overnight... View Details
Lovelock, Christopher H. "Federal Express (A)." Harvard Business School Case 577-042, October 1976. (Revised April 1983.)
- March 1990
- Case
Lehrer McGovern Bovis, Inc. (Abridged)
Describes the growth of a construction management company and the operating problems it now encounters. Designed to introduce students to the value of competition in the construction industry, to show how the techniques of value analysis can be used to strategic... View Details
Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Operations; Construction; Growth Management; Quality; Competition; Problems and Challenges; Performance Productivity; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Construction Industry
Wheelwright, Steven C. "Lehrer McGovern Bovis, Inc. (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 690-074, March 1990.
- 19 Jul 2010
- Research & Ideas
How Mercadona Fixes Retail’s ’Last 10 Yards’ Problem
about how poor operational decisions create unnecessary complications that lead to quality problems and lower labor productivity and, in general, make life hard for retail employees." Ton is interested in demonstrating how View Details
Michael Montelongo
Michael Montelongo is a Lecturer of Business Administration in the Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School. He teaches Managing Service Operations in the MBA elective curriculum that shows how to effectively design, manage, and improve... View Details
- December 2002 (Revised October 2006)
- Case
Commerce Bank
By: Frances X. Frei and Corey B. Hajim
Commerce Bank has become one of the fastest growing banks in the country, despite having defied conventional wisdom about how to grow deposits. Banks historically have grown either by competing on deposit rates or through acquisitions that expand their deposit base.... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Design; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Competition; Banking Industry
Frei, Frances X., and Corey B. Hajim. "Commerce Bank." Harvard Business School Case 603-080, December 2002. (Revised October 2006.)
- 2008
- Working Paper
The Effect of Labor on Profitability: The Role of Quality
By: Zeynep Ton
Determining staffing levels is an important decision in retail operations. While the costs of increasing labor are obvious and easy to measure, the benefits are often indirect and not immediately felt. One benefit of increased labor is improved quality. The objective... View Details
Keywords: Profit; Selection and Staffing; Service Delivery; Business Processes; Quality; Retail Industry
Ton, Zeynep. "The Effect of Labor on Profitability: The Role of Quality." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 09-040, September 2008. (Revised July 2009.)
- January 2021
- Article
'Mobile'izing Agricultural Advice: Technology Adoption, Diffusion and Sustainability
By: Shawn A. Cole and A. Nilesh Fernando
We examine the role of management in agricultural productivity by evaluating a mobile-phone based agricultural advice service provided to farmers in India. Demand for advice is high, and advice changes practices, increasing yields in cumin (28%) and cotton (8.6% for a... View Details
Keywords: Agricultural Extension; Informational Inefficiencies; Technology Adoption; Agribusiness; Information; Mobile Technology; India
Cole, Shawn A., and A. Nilesh Fernando. "'Mobile'izing Agricultural Advice: Technology Adoption, Diffusion and Sustainability." Economic Journal 131, no. 633 (January 2021): 192–219.
- December 1980 (Revised February 1998)
- Case
McDonald's Corp. (Condensed)
By: W. Earl Sasser and David C. Rikert
Describes the operating system of McDonald's, the world's most successful fast food chain. The case does not have a decision focus; it is designed for use with Burger King Corp. Students are asked to compare the operating systems of these two fast food hamburger... View Details
Sasser, W. Earl, and David C. Rikert. "McDonald's Corp. (Condensed)." Harvard Business School Case 681-044, December 1980. (Revised February 1998.)
- 28 Feb 2022
- Research & Ideas
How Racial Bias Taints Customer Service: Evidence from 6,000 Hotels
Hotels, restaurants, and other businesses in the service industry often thrive or die depending on whether they provide exemplary customer service, but new research shows that the color of a customer’s skin can determine whether the... View Details
Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds
- July 2010 (Revised September 2011)
- Background Note
Hiring Professionals in China: A Practitioner's Guide
By: Heidi K. Gardner
This note outlines how leading professional service firms operating in China revise their standard hiring practices to fit local challenges and customs. Based on interviews with professionals in a number of established accounting, strategy consulting, and executive... View Details
Keywords: Talent and Talent Management; Globalized Firms and Management; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Service Industry; China
Gardner, Heidi K. "Hiring Professionals in China: A Practitioner's Guide." Harvard Business School Background Note 411-029, July 2010. (Revised September 2011.)
- 07 May 2014
- Video
Alvaro Rodriguez Arregui - Making A Difference
- May 2007 (Revised April 2009)
- Case
Netflix
By: Willy C. Shih, Stephen P. Kaufman and David Spinola
Reed Hastings founded Netflix with a vision to provide a home movie service that would do a better job satisfying customers than the traditional retail rental model. But as it encouraged challenges it underwent several major strategy shifts, ultimately developing a... View Details
Keywords: Business Model; Film Entertainment; Disruptive Innovation; Growth and Development Strategy; Distribution Channels; Service Delivery; Renting or Rental; Competitive Strategy; Motion Pictures and Video Industry
Shih, Willy C., Stephen P. Kaufman, and David Spinola. "Netflix." Harvard Business School Case 607-138, May 2007. (Revised April 2009.)
- September 2016
- Teaching Note
Apple Pay
By: Shelle Santana and Sunil Gupta
- September 2002 (Revised October 2002)
- Case
Bank of America (A)
By: Stefan H. Thomke and Ashok Nimgade
Describes how Bank of America is creating a system for product and service innovation in its retail banking business. Emphasis is placed on the role of experimentation in some two-dozen real-life "laboratories" that serve as fully operating banking branches and as... View Details
Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Problems and Challenges; Innovation and Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Failure; Banks and Banking; Learning; Banking Industry
Thomke, Stefan H., and Ashok Nimgade. "Bank of America (A)." Harvard Business School Case 603-022, September 2002. (Revised October 2002.)
- 01 Oct 2012
- News
Good News in Jobs: Ad-Supported Internet Economy Doubles
- September 2004 (Revised June 2005)
- Case
Otis Elevator: Accelerating Business Transformation with IT
By: F. Warren McFarlan and Brian DeLacey
Focuses on a major transformation of Otis Elevator's infrastructure. Led by the CEO, this transformation represents a remarkable long-term reengineering of all the processes of the firm to drive its operating costs down and service image up. The transformation is the... View Details
Keywords: Transformation; Cost Management; Infrastructure; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Information Technology
McFarlan, F. Warren, and Brian DeLacey. "Otis Elevator: Accelerating Business Transformation with IT." Harvard Business School Case 305-048, September 2004. (Revised June 2005.)
- 23 Sep 2016
- News
Will Yahoo hack trigger better security checks?
James L. Heskett
James L. Heskett is UPS Foundation Professor Emeritus at the Harvard Business School and author of his latest book, With From Within: Build Organizational Culture for Competitive... View Details
- January 2014 (Revised May 2014)
- Case
Tech Mahindra and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers (A)
By: Srikant M. Datar, Anjali Raina and Namrata Arora
Set in 2008, the case details Tech Mahindra, an information technology (IT) company within the Mahindra Group, an Indian multi-industry company with a diverse stable of businesses including automotives, farm equipment, and financial services, and its decision to... View Details
Datar, Srikant M., Anjali Raina, and Namrata Arora. "Tech Mahindra and the Acquisition of Satyam Computers (A)." Harvard Business School Case 114-049, January 2014. (Revised May 2014.)