Publications

October 2013 (Revised April 2016)
Case

StriveTogether: Reinventing the Local Education Ecosystem

By: Allen Grossman, Ann Lombard and Noah Fisher

StriveTogether aimed to improve education outcomes by coordinating the actions of diverse community stakeholders—nonprofit service providers, school districts, government, parents, businesses and others. StriveTogether had an intense focus on collective impact—"the... View Details

Keywords: Education Reform; Not For Profit; Communities; Collaboration; Collective Impact; Nonprofit Organizations; Education; Business and Community Relations; Education Industry; United States

February 1980 (Revised June 1984)
Case

Quaker Steel and Alloy Corp.

By: John J. Gabarro

Lower middle-level manager is faced with the need to bring about a change in the call patterns of the sales force selling her product. Based on an earlier case by P.R. Lawrence. View Details

Keywords: Change; Managerial Roles; Organizational Culture; Salesforce Management; Steel Industry

December 2021 (Revised September 2022)
Case

Moleskine: Daniela Riccardi Turns the Page

By: Ryan Raffaelli and Sarah Gulick

Newly appointed CEO Daniela Riccardi needed to develop and present an action plan to the board of the company that owned Moleskine. Riccardi was hired because Moleskine had recently overextended its reach and needed more focus and discipline. Having previously served... View Details

Keywords: Rebranding; Brands and Branding; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Operations; Planning; Retail Industry; Italy

February 2012 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Caijing Magazine (B)

By: Karthik Ramanna and G.A. Donovan

In late 2009, Wang Boming, publisher of Caijing Magazine, widely regarded as China's most independent newsmagazine, gathered his core team for an urgent meeting. His pioneering editor Hu Shuli, described for her fiercely independent journalism as "the most dangerous... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Corporate Accountability; Restructuring; Corporate Disclosure; Organizations; Publishing Industry; China

August 2002 (Revised December 2002)
Case

Quality Imaging Products (QIP)

Martin Stein, a recent business school graduate, is the new owner of Quality Imaging Products (QIP), a $10-million-a-year remanufacturer of printer and copier ink cartridges. Within weeks of buying the company, QIP's vp for finance, gives an ultimatum: a raise or he... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Organizational Culture; Crisis Management; Manufacturing Industry

November 1999 (Revised February 2002)
Case

Family Feud (A): Andersen v. Andersen

By: Ashish Nanda and Scot H. Landry

Traces the history and development of consulting within Andersen and the history of the schism between Arthur Andersen and Andersen Consulting. Ends with the two units seeking external arbitration of their dispute. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Corporate Governance; Conflict and Resolution; Consulting Industry

September 1983 (Revised October 1984)
Case

Syntex Laboratories (A)

A consulting project involving a mathematical model of the sales force indicates that Syntex Labs should nearly double the size of their sales force and drastically alter their allocation of sales effort to the product line and physician specialties. The questions are... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Salesforce Management; Pharmaceutical Industry

16 Sep 2008
First Look

First Look: September 16, 2008

right industry and time to start new ventures. Entrepreneurs with demonstrated market timing skill are also more likely to outperform industry peers in their subsequent ventures. This is consistent with the... View Details

07 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Three Steps for Crisis Prevention

industry practices, which the press juxtaposed against the grim realities of AIDS in southern Africa. In response, governmental and nongovernmental organizations formed a coalition that ultimately won big... View Details

Keywords: by Michael D. Watkins & Max H. Bazerman

22 Jul 2020
Blog Post

Why We Started the HBS Black Investment Club

Hedge funds are no different. Despite recent evidence showing hedge funds led by females or minorities performed better than their non-minority counterparts, the industry still suffers from a severe lack of diversity in ownership.... View Details

01 Jan 2004
News

Donald P. Nielsen, MBA 1963

entrepreneurship that has led me to identify and pursue a wide range of opportunities throughout my career." ADVICE TO CURRENT STUDENTS "No matter what kind of organization you lead, remember that you can't do everything yourself. Your... View Details

September 2002
Case

Seattle Public Schools, 1995-2002 (A): The Freedom Agenda

Describes efforts in Seattle Public Schools, under the leadership of Superintendent Joseph Olchefske, to replace the district's centralized budgeting process with school-level budgets. Olchefske's decentralization effort, referred to locally as the Freedom Agenda,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Practices and Processes; Operations; Education; Education Industry; Seattle

Find at Harvard

April 1984
Supplement

Johnson & Johnson (B): Hospital Services, James Burke, Video

By: Francis Aguilar

James Burke, chairman and CEO of Johnson & Johnson, discusses the decision to establish a hospital services company. The problem is that this new unit, created to serve 14 Johnson & Johnson companies, runs counter to the corporate culture where autonomy and... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Health Industry

December 1992
Exercise

Negotiation Exercise on Tradeable Pollution Allowances: Group B, Utility #2

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Describes the position of Utility #2 in negotiating Group B with respect to 1) its SO emissions reduction requirements; 2) the costs of its alternative compliance strategies; and 3) the nature of its state regulatory environment. View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Pollutants; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governance Compliance; Utilities Industry

June 1991 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Railroads and the Beginnings of Modern Management (Abridged)

By: Thomas K. McCraw

Consists of three selections by the most innovative of the early American railroad managers describing the organizational structures and control systems they created. Questions to be asked are: why and how such managerial techniques were created, how well they worked,... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Rail Transportation; Organizational Structure; Management Systems; Rail Industry; United States