Publications

Web

Great American Business Leaders of the 20th Century - Leadership

Industries, 1955–1993 Mark H. McCormack International Management Group, 1960–2003 Cyrus H. McCormick, Jr. International Harvester Corporation, 1902–1918 Fowler McCormick International Harvester Corporation, 1941–1951 Robert R. McCormick... View Details

Web

Finance Curriculum - Faculty & Research

of material: Advanced valuation—valuation of levered firms and projects. Advanced valuations—options as a metaphor for flexibility. Financial choices of firms—financing, distributing funds to shareholders, managing risk. Integrated... View Details

11 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

Mixing Open Source and Proprietary Software Strategies

approaching it product by product.” Their findings highlight the complexities managers face in navigating an increasingly competitive industry. But if there's no easy recipe for software firms, even in the seemingly ideal balance of mixed... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Web Services

23 Jun 2015
First Look

First Look: June 23, 2015

and patenting data for 1,315 employees at the Indian R&D center of a Fortune 500 technology firm, I exploit a natural experiment where the assignment of managers for newly hired college graduates is mandated by rigid HR rules and is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 1993
Case

National Youth Association

One division questions the prices for services provided by other divisions which are higher than bids received from outside contractors. The issue is submitted to senior management for resolution. View Details

Keywords: Operations; Conflict and Resolution

Find at Harvard

August 1997 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Unilever's Butter-Beater: Innovation for Global Diversity

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Jorg Zobel

Unilever, one of the world's largest food product manufacturers, has achieved impressive growth in Europe, primarily by acquiring local food companies. Initially Unilever allowed each acquired company to manage its own product development in a way that was tailored to... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Brands and Branding; Product Development; Mergers and Acquisitions; Local Range; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Marketing Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Innovation and Management; Food; Conflict Management; Food and Beverage Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Europe

16 May 2023
HBS Case

How KKR Got More by Giving Ownership to the Factory Floor: ‘My Kids Are Going to College!’

Instead, when the company wouldn’t pay them for their lunch hour, they intentionally scheduled deliveries to show up midday, when there wasn’t anyone working to receive them, sabotaging the project. “Top management have to be willing to... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

November 2012
Case

Edison Schools, Inc.

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Lauren Barley

Edison Schools, Inc., a pioneer in the for-profit management of public schools, demonstrates the challenges and opportunities related to private sector involvement in the delivery of a public good. Follows the organization from its start-up through its initial public... View Details

Keywords: Charter Schools; Conflict of Interests; Initial Public Offering; For-Profit Firms; Public Sector; Market Entry and Exit; Education; Business Startups; Education Industry

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

of the Climate Rising series on climate resilience, features Sarah Russell, General Manager of Project Bellwether at X, The Moonshot Factory at Alphabet (formerly Google X). Sarah shares how geospatial data and artificial intelligence can... View Details

April 1999 (Revised May 2000)
Case

Pilgrim Drug Company

David Thomas takes his first sales management assignment and is faced with a sales rep revolt because of a possible territory reorganization. In addition, his sales division is performing well below the national average. Rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Salesforce Management; Performance; Pharmaceutical Industry

January 2017 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Sales Razor Technologies

By: Paul Gompers and Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board of directors, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry

13 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

as their mental well-being—a forthcoming article in American Psychologist examines current organizational psychology research to help business leaders manage COVID-related fallout in the workplace and develop solutions to ease the stress... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

February 2004 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Ockham Technologies: Living on the Razor's Edge

By: Noam T. Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-CEO regarding building a board of directors, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing system development work. View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Conflict Management; Governing and Advisory Boards; Employees; Management Teams; Product Development; Technology Industry

December 2001
Case

Cybersettle

By: Michael A. Wheeler and Gillian Morris

Cybersettle's management faced a dilemma: How could they turn their company, which provided confidential online settlement services for insurance claims, into a profitable enterprise? Having started during the heady days of Internet "dot-com fever," the company now had... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Bids and Bidding; Negotiation Process; Conflict and Resolution; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Internet; Insurance Industry