Publications

September 2001 (Revised August 2004)
Case

Rapid Rewards at Southwest Airlines

By: Frances X. Frei and Corey B. Hajim

Southwest Airlines is well known as the low-fare airline that has achieved ongoing financial success in one of the most financially troubled industries in the United States. Told from the perspectives of two Southwest customers--a frequent flier and a more typical... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Air Transportation; Service Operations; Service Delivery; Air Transportation Industry

March 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Supplement

Systems Infrastructure at Google (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

This case is a thick description of how a Senior Vice President of Engineering at Google, Bill Coughran, leads a high-performing engineering organization. The case focuses specifically on Coughran's use of encouraging two teams of engineers to develop competing... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Leadership; Infrastructure; Management Teams; Leadership Development; Information Technology Industry

September 2007 (Revised December 2008)
Case

Michael Fernandes at Nicholas Piramal

By: Michel Anteby and Nitin Nohria

Michael Fernandes, the Director of Custom Manufacturing Operations at the pharmaceutical company Nicholas Piramal India Limited (NPIL), schedules a meeting with three of his reports, whose interpersonal conflicts with one another are causing his business development... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Management Skills; Groups and Teams; Conflict Management; Cooperation; Pharmaceutical Industry; India; United Kingdom; Canada

15 Jul 2011
News

Bad News at News Corp.

April 2015 (Revised July 2015)
Case

Proxy Access at Whole Foods

By: Jay Lorsch and Emily McTague

Proxy access grants shareholders meeting certain ownership requirements the right to nominate directors for election to the board without going through a typical proxy contest. In August 2010 the SEC approved a rule granting proxy access for shareholders meeting... View Details

Keywords: Board Of Directors; Proxy Advisor; Shareholder Activism; Shareholder Voting; Shareholder Votes; Proxy Battle; Institutional Change; Institutional Investing; Business and Shareholder Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; North America

February 1998 (Revised July 1998)
Case

Rob Parson at Morgan Stanley (A)

Rob Parson was a star producer in Morgan Stanley's Capital Markets division. He had been recruited from a competitor the prior year and had generated substantial revenues since joining the firm. Unfortunately, Parson's reviews from the 360-degree performance evaluation... View Details

Keywords: Management; Personal Development and Career; Performance Evaluation; Financial Services Industry

30 Jun 2015
Blog Post

Unexpected Conversations at HBS

discussions in class and that certainly proved true, but what stands out even more for me were the encounters out on Spangler lawn, in the hallways between classes, or out at dinner where someone shared an idea or insight that challenged... View Details

28 Jul 2023
Blog Post

How I Landed My Manufacturing Internship at HBS

about potentially not finding an internship. As it turned out, I shouldn’t have worried so much. It’s completely possible to find a great internship if you’re proactive, thoughtful, and willing to trust the process. When I matriculated at... View Details

09 Oct 2019

Information Session at ITAM

Join us to learn more about Harvard Business School and the 2+2 admissions process to the MBA at HBS. The event will include a presentation about our college programs and an opportunity to ask questions with a member of the MBA Admissions... View Details

January 2009 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Design Thinking and Innovation at Apple

By: Stefan Thomke and Barbara Feinberg

Describes Apple's approach to innovation, management, and design thinking. For several years, Apple has been ranked as the most innovative company in the world, but how it has achieved such success remains mysterious because of the company's obsession with secrecy.... View Details

Keywords: Design; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Innovation and Management; Product Design; Product Development; Research and Development; Creativity; Technology Industry

Feb 2013
Survey

Competitiveness at a Crossroads

infrastructure, address distortions of the international trading system and craft a responsible framework for developing new energy sources. The competitiveness of the United States is at a crossroads. Can America muster the will to... View Details

01 Jun 2008
News

New Face at Facebook

Sandberg (MBA ’95), “one of Silicon Valley’s most prominent women executives, with a powerhouse résumé that includes a stint as chief of staff at the U.S. Treasury Department during the Clinton administration.” As vice president for... View Details

Keywords: News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

April 2021 (Revised August 2024)
Case

The Turnaround at Ford Motor Company

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Olivia Jung

This case describes the corporate turnaround of the Ford Motor Company under the charismatic leadership of Alan Mulally. Ford was in deep trouble in the early 2000s as its prices and debt ratings plummeted and employee morale suffered. In 2006, the company anticipated... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; Transformation; Restructuring; Organizational Culture; Leading Change; Performance Improvement; Auto Industry; North America

13 May 2013
Blog Post

Being Uncomfortable at HBS

I will reveal my vulnerabilities, but recognizing that the sincerity and honesty of the relationships will be worth the risk. This is how I will use the next two years at HBS. - Minh Chau, MBA 2015 View Details

July 2016
Case

Product Portfolio Management at Genentech

By: Kevin Schulman and Jamie Gresh

Genentech, long the darling of the biotechnology industry, was acquired by Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche in 2009. The combined company retains the name Genentech in the US, but must now move to achieve the promises made at the time of this merger—to build from... View Details

Keywords: Portfolio Management; Drug Development; Postmerger Integration; Marketing Strategy; Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; United States

June 2022 (Revised August 2022)
Case

Disrupting Defense at Anduril Industries

By: Rory McDonald, Timothy Buehn, Aditi Ghai and James Heffelfinger

September 1997 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Bankruptcy and Restructuring at Marvel Entertainment Group

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Jason Auerbach

Marvel Entertainment Group is the leading comic book publisher in the United States, with superheros like Spider-Man, the Incredible Hulk, the X-Men, and Captain America. It is also one of the leading manufacturers of sports and entertainment trading cards under the... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decision Choices and Conditions; Borrowing and Debt; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governance Controls; Courts and Trials; Planning; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

05 May 2016
Blog Post

Being a Student Mom at HBS

When I started my MBA, in August 2014, my son Francesco was 3 months old. When I started my last semester at HBS in my second (EC) year, my daughter Giulia Maria was 1 month old. It’s perhaps unsurprising that the topic of motherhood... View Details

February 2011 (Revised February 2012)
Case

Online Marketing at Big Skinny

By: Benjamin Edelman and Scott Duke Kominers

Describes a wallet maker's application of seven Internet marketing technologies: display ads, algorithmic search, sponsored search, social media, interactive content, online distributors, and A/B testing. Provides concise introductions to the key features of each... View Details

Keywords: Advertising Campaigns; Digital Marketing; Resource Allocation; Marketing Strategy; Performance Evaluation; Internet and the Web; Retail Industry