Human Rights - Publications - Faculty & Research

28 Nov 2012
What Do You Think?

Should Pay-for-Performance Compensation be Replaced?

compensation. For example, awards can be made subject to performance, however it is measured, over longer periods of time. But what is the right length of time? How much of the total compensation should it involve? How is it explained... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

06 Oct 2003
What Do You Think?

Is “the Innovator’s Solution” to Sustained Corporate Growth an Unnatural Act?

Summing Up In the judgment of respondents to the October column, repeating the development of disruptive technologies is an admirable but elusive target. Respondents commonly asked whether it is a process disrupted by too many factors—some of them a product of View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

07 Aug 2012
Research & Ideas

Off and Running: Professors Comment on Olympics

more appealing since it comprises a higher-than-normal proportion of women (especially when gymnastics and swimming are featured) compared to typical sports programs. The TV tradition of "up-close-and-personal" human interest... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Sports

12 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 12, 2006

pharmaceutical companies, government regulators—can play a role in righting the industry. The payoff? Valuable improvements in health care and a shinier future for human well-being. Pre-order this book:... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

30 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Tuning Jobs to Fit Your Company

with economies of scale in merchandising, marketing, and distribution. To ensure standardization, Wal-Mart sets the span of control for store managers at the "narrow" end of the scale. Although they nominally control their stores, Wal-Mart site managers have... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

25 Oct 2006
Op-Ed

Fixing Executive Options: The Veil of Ignorance

the right thing to do is for shareholders as a whole. This uncertainty is a burden on managers and one that will force them not to choose investments, mergers, and accounting decisions based on the details of their contracts. Rather, they... View Details

Keywords: by Mihir Desai & Joshua Margolis

05 May 2010
What Do You Think?

Is Denial Endemic to Management?

Summing Up How best is denial managed? Denial is endemic to management. It is a natural part of human nature, closely related to the survival instinct. It can be useful or disastrous. And it can be managed. That sums up at least many of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

12 Sep 2005
Research & Ideas

The Broadband Explosion: Thinking About a Truly Interactive World

non-obvious, second-order effects—things we can't see clearly right now. The human tendency in trying to predict what will happen in the future is to extrapolate in a straight line from today. So we imagine... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Technology; Communications; Telecommunications

02 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Leading Professional Service Firms

It's a funny image that touches the underlying anxiety some firm leaders express about managing and maximizing human resources. When their people get on the elevator at night, there's no guarantee they'll be back the next day. More than... View Details

Keywords: Re: Jay W. Lorsch; Service; Consulting; Accounting

29 Oct 2000
Research & Ideas

Building a Powerful Prestige Brand

placing the Lauder counter close to and to the right of the entrance to keep the brand in consumers' line of vision. She spent a week at each store in which her line was introduced, devoting most of this time to working behind the... View Details

Keywords: by Nancy F. Koehn; Beauty & Cosmetics; Consumer Products; Retail

14 Aug 2007
First Look

First Look: August 14, 2007

Beers at the Millennium Harvard Business School Case 706-518 At the time of the millennium, diamond demand was threatened by an increasing awareness among jewelry customers that diamond production and trading in some countries was being linked to growing inequities and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

11 Mar 2008
First Look

First Look: March 11, 2008

Mexico's long history with authoritarian government shaped its judicial, taxation, and property rights institutions. These institutions, the authors argue, cannot be reformed with the stroke of a pen. Moreover, they represent powerful... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

03 Nov 2022
Op-Ed

Feeling Separation Anxiety at Your Startup? 5 Tips to Soothe These Growing Pains

was fair game to chat about. A typical chat might go: Full Stack Engineer: “I’m thinking of moving the ‘Learn More’ button to the bottom right of the home page.” CEO: “Sounds good. What do you think about what that potential customer said... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

08 Jan 2007
What Do You Think?

Neuro Economics: Science or Science Fiction?

made on the right side or the left side of the brain. But this will never lead to deciding by a mechanical means, nor in predicting a decision outcome." There was even concern expressed about the efficacy of MRI-based research on... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

13 Oct 2003
Research & Ideas

How to Pick Managers for Disruptive Growth

attempting to get the right people in the right positions at the right time.6 McCall asserts that the management skills and intuition that enable people to succeed in new... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Raynor

30 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Mapping Your Board’s Effectiveness

and shareholder expectations, and is investing well in its people and information resources. To help companies ensure that the board receives the right information about company strategy and performance, as well as feedback about the... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

09 Jul 2024
Research & Ideas

Are Management Consulting Firms Failing to Manage Themselves?

top-management counsel, hiring the most qualified staff, and an apprenticeship process that built excellence. For example, Marvin Bower, founder of McKinsey, preached that partners had to focus on serving the right senior clients on their... View Details

Keywords: by David Fubini; Consulting

31 Mar 2002
Research & Ideas

You’re Wasting Your Employees! What You Can Do About It

managerial attention—if that—is focused on the problems of employee capability and motivation. Somewhere between theory and practice, precious human capital is being misused, wasted, or lost. Having studied more than twenty companies in... View Details

Keywords: by Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal

13 Jun 2014
Op-Ed

World Cup Soccer: 770 Billion Minutes of Attention

stadiums, are borne by national and local governments. In terms of human capital costs, FIFA itself employs only 400 people, according to the organization's website. Even if each of its 209 country members employs another 50, that adds up... View Details

Keywords: by Thales Teixeira; Sports

13 Mar 2005
Research & Ideas

Reinforcing Values: A Public Dressing Down

performance to improve, only to be bitterly disappointed. For some reason, the right things still don't happen. Why is change so hard? First of all, most people are reluctant to alter their habits. What worked in the past is good enough;... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Garvin & Michael A. Roberto

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