Publications

05 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

Corporate Leaders Need to Step Up on Climate Change

Green initiatives are ubiquitous these days, implemented with zeal at companies like Dupont, IBM, Walmart, and Walt Disney. The programs being rolled out—lighting retrofits, zero-waste factories, and carpool incentives—save money and provide a green glow. Most large... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler

04 Dec 2000
What Do You Think?

Have We Overdone Deregulation and Privatization?

Congress enacted legislation that had become known as "the Federal Express bill." It was designed to test the idea of deregulation by allowing air freight carriers to fly planes of any size on any routes, without federal price... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

Web

Buy Now, Pay Later: The Secondary Credit Market

industry association and trade publication, the Industrial Lenders News. The key was a new, higher lending rate. Economists and legislators realized that the bank rate of 6 percent was too low to allow small lenders even a modest profit,... View Details

01 Dec 2020
News

The Fine Print: Alumni Recommend Their Best Reads

(ranked choice voting, open primaries, legislative process reform). Very relevant this season. —Nathan Nemon (MBA 2020) The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies, by Erik Brynjolfsson and... View Details

February 2017 (Revised May 2018)
Case

The Flint, Michigan Sit-Down Strike

By: Tom Nicholas, Christopher T. Stanton and Matthew Preble

For roughly six weeks between late December 1936 and February 1937, a major strike at several critical General Motors (GM) plants in Flint, Michigan, essentially halted the corporation’s U.S. production and resulted in significant gains for the nascent United... View Details

October 2010 (Revised July 2013)
Case

AEP: Carbon Capture and Storage

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

By October 2010, American Electric Power, the largest coal-fired, electric utility in the United States, had been operating a carbon capture and sequestration pilot plant for one year. Using a proprietary, Alstom chilled ammonia technology, AEP was capturing and... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Government Legislation; Technological Innovation; Partners and Partnerships; Projects; Decision Choices and Conditions; Environmental Sustainability; Problems and Challenges; Utilities Industry; United States

11 Aug 2020
Blog Post

Supporting Independent Workers During COVID-19: One Phone Call at a Time

programs. “Our clients were relying on us to track legislative updates in these programs and it came down to Shrey and myself to stay up-to-date on these changes,” notes Chrys who is a licensed CPA and leaned on his past experience with... View Details

26 Nov 2013
First Look

First Look: November 26

find significant evidence for the idea that barriers to entry induce persistence in lobbying. The existence of these costs is further confirmed in studying how firms responded to a particular policy change: the expiration of legislation... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2003 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Multinational Corporations in Apartheid-era South Africa: The Issue of Reparations

By: Geoffrey Jones and Cate Reavis

Considers the lawsuits filed on behalf of victims of apartheid against multinationals who operated in South Africa prior to 1994. Reviews the debates about divestment from and sanctions against South Africa from the 1950s. Includes case studies of companies that... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Multinational Firms and Management; Government Legislation; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business and Government Relations; Prejudice and Bias; South Africa

07 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Three Steps for Crisis Prevention

accounting firms fiercely lobbied Congress to block new regulations that would have limited auditors' ability to provide consulting services. Appearing at congressional hearings in 2000, accounting firm CEOs assured legislators that no... View Details

Keywords: by Michael D. Watkins & Max H. Bazerman

05 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

Are Consumers the Cure for Broken Health Insurance?

patient-protection legislation promising to set off a round of expensive lawsuits, and costly genomic technologies on the horizon, the price of insurance is almost certain to continue its upward spiral in the years ahead. And what do... View Details

Keywords: by Regina E. Herzlinger

01 Dec 2005
News

Winning Legally

compliance with the law as only a baseline. Could you elaborate? In our society, most managers understand the importance of compliance, both because businesses have a responsibility to be good corporate citizens and because society has a way, through View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

February 1992 (Revised April 1993)
Case

Acid Rain: The Southern Co. (A)

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

The Southern Co., an electric utility, is planning its compliance with the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act. The Act established a system of tradeable permits for sulfur dioxide emissions. The company must decide whether to install pollution control equipment and... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Business Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Cost vs Benefits; Financial Management; Strategic Planning; Investment Return; Government Legislation; Wastes and Waste Processing; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; United States