Publications

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2017
Interviews

Tina Opie

04 Apr 2011
HBS Case

Reinventing the National Geographic Society

emerging. Various units operated as independent fiefdoms. In 1998, Fahey was named CEO, and the task was clear: build an organization to thrive for the next 100 years. To do so, he "assembled a management team of diverse backgrounds... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Publishing

2017
Performance & Appearance

Hair Penalties and Other Organizational Sins: Racism Disguised as Professionalism

20 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

Language Wars Divide Global Companies

more efficient, the use of such a lingua franca can add layers of complication and delay. And instead of fostering collaboration, it can create cultural fissures between employees. “It's volcanic, waiting for something to ignite it, and... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

06 Mar 2012
News

Enhance Your Overseas Experience

16 May 2012
Research & Ideas

Can Decades of Military Overspending be Fixed?

States has often turned to cutting-edge technology solutions to solve strategic and operational challenges. “Costs tend to rise in all organizations unless managers and their staffs are skilled in industrial management and strongly... View Details

Keywords: by J. Ronald Fox; Service

December 2023
Case

TikTok: The Algorithm Will See You Now

By: Shikhar Ghosh and Shweta Bagai

In a world where attention is a scarce commodity, this case explores the meteoric rise of TikTok—an app that transformed from a niche platform for teens into the most visited domain by 2021—surpassing even Google. Its algorithm was a sophisticated mechanism for... View Details

Keywords: Social Media; Applications and Software; Disruptive Innovation; Business and Government Relations; International Relations; Cybersecurity; Culture; Technology Industry; China; United States; India

01 Sep 2021
What Do You Think?

Can We Train for Trust?

(Image credit: iStockphoto/jubaphoto) How many times have we discussed the contributions of employee engagement and the loyalty it produces to an organization’s performance? Trust is, as it is for many things in society, the bedrock for employee engagement. A View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

2015
Working Paper

The Challenges and Enhancing Opportunities of Global Project Management: Evidence from Chinese and Dutch Cross-Cultural Project Management

By: Ying Zhang, Christopher Marquis, Sergey Filippov, Henk-Jan Haasnoot and Martijn van der Steen

This study investigates the role of national and organisational culture in day-to-day activities of multinational project teams, specifically focusing on differences between Chinese and Dutch project managers. We rely on fieldwork observation and interviews with... View Details

Keywords: Management; Organizational Culture; Projects; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; China; Netherlands

SSRN

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September 2018 (Revised November 2018)
Case

From Beirut With Love (A)

By: Christina R. Wing, Esel Y. Cekin and Samer Al-Rachedy

This case describes how Robert Fadel, CEO and chairman of ABC, one of Lebanon’s leading retail and real estate groups, professionalized the family business. Robert was the second son of the company’s founder, Maurice Fadel, who had run it single-handedly. Concerned... View Details

01 Oct 2015
News

The Real Reason Men and Women Prefer Male Bosses

February 1999 (Revised August 2006)
Background Note

What Is an Organization's Culture?

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Kristin Shu

A synopsis of the writings of Edgar Schein, Modesto Maidique, and B.J. Zirger on what organizational culture is, where it comes from, how it can be changed, and how it inhibits change. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Business or Company Management; Organizational Culture

2001
Book

From Heresy to Dogma: An Institutional History of Corporate Environmentalism

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

This is a pathbreaking account of how the environmental movement has led to profound changes in the perceptions and practices of large-scale corporations, as shown here in the chemical and petroleum industries. The book traces how market, social, and political... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Environmental Sustainability; Public Opinion; Social Issues

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February 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Financial Reporting in the Catholic Church

The Catholic Church is a large and complex international organization with several layers of management spread across a diverse range of services and geographical areas. Creating a coherent and manageable communication strategy for is a challenging task that requires... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Disclosure; Religion; Financial Reporting; Organizational Culture; Communication Strategy

Find at Harvard

December 2010
Case

Leadership, Culture, and Transition at lululemon

By: Michael Tushman, Ruth Page and Tom Ryder

The case examines leadership and organizational change within a strong culture context through a multimedia study of lululemon, a specialty retailer of high-end athletic apparel. Video segments trace the company's history from its founding in 1998 as a single retail... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Transition; Growth Management; Management Teams; Organizational Structure; Governing and Advisory Boards; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Retail Industry; Vancouver; United States

14 Feb 2022
Research & Ideas

Curiosity, Not Coding: 6 Skills Leaders Need in the Digital Age

to share in decision-making and creating a culture that makes people feel safe enough to take risks and act on behalf of organizational interests. It’s also about earning trust from and offering trust to increasingly diverse stakeholders... View Details

Keywords: by Linda A. Hill, Ann Le Cam, Sunand Menon, and Emily Tedards; Technology

14 Sep 2012
News

Harvard Business School Faculty Get Immersed in China

September 2019 (Revised May 2021)
Case

pymetrics: Early Days

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

In 2013, CEO Frida Polli was contemplating the next steps for her start-up business, pymetrics. After receiving her PhD in neuropsychology and MBA from HBS, she was determined to put her scientific and academic knowledge to work to build a business solving real world... View Details

2011
Teaching Note

UFIDA (B) (TN)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Bin Yang and E. Chen

This case highlights the leadership, cultural and organizational structure dimensions of UFIDA. The case begins with Founder/Chairman Wang Wenjing's rags-to-riches story. Then UFIDA's senior and middle management of different backgrounds talk about their leader,... View Details

Keywords: Computer Software; Corporate Vision; Emerging Markets; Leadership; Organizational Structure; China; Applications and Software; China