Publications

January 2010 (Revised December 2012)
Case

Knight the King: The Founding of Nike

By: Noam Wasserman and Kyle Anderson

It had taken Phil Knight 16 long years to build Nike into the number one athletic-shoe company in the country. When Knight had first conceived of the company for an MBA class project, Adidas had had more than 80% market share, but Knight's marketing approach had... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Initial Public Offering; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Apparel and Accessories Industry

12 Mar 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Managing the Family Business: Firing the CEO

Even the stock market moves with changes in the leadership of a company. When the Japanese camera maker Olympus fired its CEO in 2011, its stock fell; when Air France-KLM indicated it would let its CEO go that same year, its stock rose.... View Details

29 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

How Organizations Create Social Value

companies, the researchers found that rich opportunities for mutual learning exist between the business world and nonprofits. They found that no matter what type of organization they were looking at, strategy and leadership were the two... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

Teaching by Heart: One Professor's Journey to Inspire

The best teachers are leaders, and the best leaders are teachers. Teaching by Heart summarizes the author's key insights gained from more than 40 years of teaching and managing. It illustrates how teachers can both lift people up and let them down. It proposes... View Details

Daniel M. Gilbane

Dan Gilbane is a Lecturer of Business Administration presently teaching Deal Making in Real Estate in the Finance Unit.

Dan is a 5th generation family leader of Gilbane, Inc., a construction and real estate development firms in the industry with a global... View Details

May 2010 (Revised May 2011)
Case

Kent Thiry: "Mayor" of DaVita

By: William W. George and Natalie Kindred

Kent Thiry, CEO of dialysis provider DaVita, is considering how to integrate employees from recently acquired Gambro Healthcare without damaging DaVita's robust, unconventional internal culture. When Thiry joined DaVita in 1999, breaking an important promise to his... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Experience and Expertise; Employee Relationship Management; Leadership Style; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Personal Development and Career; Integration; Health Industry

27 May 2015
Research & Ideas

Build 'Scaffolds' to Improve Performance of Temporary Teams

"Four minutes," a triumphant Amy C. Edmondson exclaims as she arrives at her Harvard Business School office, clutching a bike helmet and explaining that her commute is 10 minutes faster by bicycle than by car. Edmondson, the Novartis Professor of View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Health

Web

MBA Program - Alumni

and other planned gifts enable you to make philanthropy a part of your financial or estate planning. The HBS Fund Investors Society recognizes leadership annual donors. Learn More Donor Stories Kent Thiry & Denise O’Leary (both MBA 1983)... View Details

Profile

Sergio Velasquez-Terjesen

management while building relationships—and fashion is very much a relationship business." Despite the shifts in direction, one thing remains constant for Sergio: a passion for social justice. "The private sector can drive positive change through thought... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing/Energy; Consulting

January 2010 (Revised July 2011)
Case

Hindustan Unilever Limited

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Mona Srivastava

This case illustrates Hindustan Unilever Limited's conflict resolution and people development policies using a “leading from the middle” example. The story centers on the challenges faced by an HR manager at a factory who must meet organizational objectives while... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Labor Unions; Leadership; Goals and Objectives; Managerial Roles; Conflict Management; Food and Beverage Industry; India

October 2023
Case

Making Progress at Progress Software (A)

By: Katherine Coffman, Hannah Riley Bowles and Alexis Lefort

In this case, the Human Capital team at Progress Software has identified that some employees have a hard time understanding how to advance within Progress. This realization leads the team to develop several major people-process innovations: the introduction of... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Prejudice and Bias; Personal Development and Career; Human Capital; Employee Relationship Management; Technology Industry; Bulgaria

24 Jun 2021
Blog Post

Celebrating the Past, Crafting the Future Part 2: The First HBS/HKS Class

“professional people person,” his work involves leadership development; talent management; diversity, inclusion, and equity; and more in creating sustainable competitive advantage through human capital. “The relevance of human resources... View Details

February 2010
Case

Burt's Bees: Balancing Growth and Sustainability (Multimedia)

By: Christopher Marquis

The case examines sustainability initiatives at Burt's Bees, with video segments that detail the company's history, leadership, and implementation of ambitious 2020 sustainability goals. The company traces its roots to 1984, when Roxanne Quinby and Burt Schavitz teamed... View Details

Keywords: Balance and Stability; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Business or Company Management; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Mergers and Acquisitions; Social Enterprise; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Ethics