Publications

March 2001 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, The

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Stacy McManus

In just seven days, the Ritz-Carlton transforms newly hired employees into "Ladies and Gentlemen Serving Ladies and Gentlemen." The case details a new hotel launch, focusing on the unique blend of leadership, quality processes, and values of self-respect and dignity,... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Status and Position; Culture; Value Creation; Accommodations Industry; Service Industry

26 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Why Japanese Businesses Are So Good at Surviving Crises

failed did not maintain that balance. Everyone is, first, a member of society before one of the company. Thinking only about the company will undoubtedly result in failure.” Companies in Japan think long-term Volatile periods present the... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

01 Dec 2006
What Do You Think?

How Important Is Quality of Labor? And How Is It Achieved?

that foreign companies employ 5.4 million in the United States. Clark is not optimistic about today's societies that have not had a long history of cultural foundations and functioning institutions that support the kind of formal and... View Details

Keywords: by by Jim Heskett

January 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Replika: Embodying AI

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Shweta Bagai and Marilyn Morgan Westner

Replika was a virtual AI companion that provided a way for people to process their emotions, build connections in a safe environment, and get through periods of loneliness. The chatbot fulfilled a user's need for a friend, romantic partner, or purely an emotional... View Details

Keywords: AI; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Human Needs; California

29 Oct 2012
Research & Ideas

Are You Paying a Tip--or a Bribe?

to leave payment for their hosts' servants at the end of their stay as a way of compensating for the extra work their visit created. Today, most people in Western societies draw a distinct line between tipping and bribery, and the fact... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

05 Jun 2023
What Do You Think?

Is the Anxious Achiever a Post-Pandemic Relic?

society This would go a long way to self-regulation " Other comments expressed a need for protections afforded by regulation, but were skeptical that they could be implemented. William Cottinger, based on his past experience with the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

19 Jul 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Government 'Nudges' Motivate Good Citizen Behavior

to do, like save for retirement—which are both for the good of society and for their own good. Here’s an example. On the first day of a new job, the paperwork is coming at you fast and furious, including a packet of information about how... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

March 2020 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Culture at Google

By: Nien-hê Hsieh, Amy Klopfenstein and Sarah Mehta

Beginning in 2017, technology (tech) company Google faced a series of employee-relations issues that threatened its unique culture of innovation and open communication. Issues included protests surrounding Google’s contracts with the U.S. government, restrictions of... View Details

03 Jun 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Inducement Prizes and Innovation

Keywords: by Liam Brunt, Josh Lerner & Tom Nicholas

2023
Case

Christiana Figueres and the Collaborative Approach to Negotiating Climate Action

By: James K. Sebenius, Laurence A. Green, Hannah Riley-Bowles, Lara SanPietro and Mina Subramanian

This case study centers on Harvard’s Program on Negotiation 2022 Great Negotiator, Christiana Figueres, and her efforts as Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to build momentum for, and ultimately pass, the 2015... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Negotiation; Environmental Regulation; International Relations; Leadership

Register to Read

19 Apr 2004
Research & Ideas

Birth of the American Salesman

his hometown, Zenith. He represented the aggressive, expansionist, and highly "American" way of doing business of the 1920s. Willy Loman was also a representative figure. But this time, the salesman seemed to capture the entire tragedy of commercial View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard

15 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Americans Voted for an Income Tax

most from our way of life can afford to give back a little bit more." Like FDR, Obama wants us to see taxes not as a burden to be lamented but as a fair payment for benefits received. And as our society has grown more complex, the... View Details

Keywords: by Matthew C. Weinzierl

16 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

Restaurant Revolution: How the Industry Is Fighting to Stay Alive

having a good time. It’s like the city is broken. Without restaurants, we are lacking a fundamental piece of what makes living in a society not just tolerable but enjoyable.” Kevin Brown commented, “It just makes me reflect on the value... View Details

Keywords: by Michael S. Kaufman, Lena G. Goldberg, and Jill Avery; Food & Beverage

2019
Book

Love Your Enemies: How Decent People Can Save America from the Culture of Contempt

By: Arthur C. Brooks

To get ahead today, you have to be a jerk, right?

Divisive politicians. Screaming heads on television. Angry campus activists. Twitter trolls. Today in America, there is an “outrage industrial complex” that prospers by setting American against... View Details

Keywords: Political Participation; Political Culture; Moral Sensibility; Government and Politics; Society; United States

Find at Harvard

25 Jan 2017
HBS Case

How Should Advertisers Respond to Consumer Demand for Whiter Skin?

explains, the prejudice seems to have a deeper impact on women, whose worth is more often judged by society on their appearance. (This is obvious from matrimonial ads that seek brides who are “fair and beautiful.”) Founders of Women of... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Beauty & Cosmetics

17 Apr 2022
Book

How to Avoid the 'Ethical Slide' That Leads Companies Astray

promotional talking points for companies. Rather, they’ve become crucial for a corporation’s success. As the authors write, “Organizations and societies with high ethical standards tend to flourish, while those with weak ethics often... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

April 2015
Case

Dutch Bros. Coffee: A Compelling Future

By: Joshua Margolis and Christine Snively

Travis Boersma, co-founder and President of the Dutch Bros. coffee chain, faces three operational decisions that will shape the company's growth trajectory and distinctive culture. First, should they offer a specialty coffee at a subset of their stores in one region... View Details

Keywords: Culture And Community; Service Management; Retail; Food; Managing Growth; Family Business; Small Business; Leadership; Culture; Food and Beverage Industry; Oregon

November 2021 (Revised January 2024)
Case

The Global Great Depression, 1929-1939

By: Alberto Cavallo, Sophus A. Reinert and Federica Gabrieli

The Great Depression was, by far, the worst economic contraction of the twentieth century, and some of the most important ideas about both fiscal and monetary policy in the second half of the century were developed in response to it. The economic collapse, which... View Details

Keywords: Great Depression; Economic Conditions; Unemployment; Homelessness; Financial Crisis; History; Economy; Policy; Poverty; Social Issues; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation

June 2009 (Revised June 2009)
Case

VidaGas: VillageReach - The Mozambican Foundation for Community Development Joint Venture

This case describes the evolution of a liquid petroleum gas (LPG) distributor start-up, incubated by two not-for-profit NGOs to help improve the vaccine cold chain in Northern Mozambique. These NGOs must face the decision whether and how to sell their participation in... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Supply Chain; Health Care and Treatment; Investment; Non-Governmental Organizations; Energy Sources; Energy Industry; Health Industry; Mozambique