Publications

Teaching Interest

Overview

Professor Mukunda teaches Leadership and Organizational Behavior (LEAD.) This course focuses on how managers become effective leaders by addressing the human side of enterprise.

The first modules examine teams, individuals, and networks in the context... View Details

January 2022
Teaching Plan

Just Arrived: Integrating Refugees in Sweden

By: Brian Trelstad and Emilie Billaud

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 321-040. Just Arrived is an online platform that matches newly-arrived immigrants in Sweden with employment opportunities. As one of several for-profit and non-profit start-ups in Europe that is looking to address the refugee crisis, the... View Details

Keywords: Immigration; Refugees; Employment; Integration; Business Model; Social Entrepreneurship; Growth and Development Strategy; Employment Industry; Sweden; Italy; Germany

September 2019 (Revised September 2019)
Case

Facebook Fake News in the Post-Truth World

By: John R. Wells, Carole A. Winkler and Benjamin Weinstock

In August 2019, Mark Zuckerberg, founder and CEO of Facebook, was surrounded by controversy. The first major storm of protest followed the surprise election of Donald Trump as President of the United States on November 8, 2016; many put the blame at the door of fake... View Details

Keywords: Facebook; Fake News; Mark Zuckerberg; Donald Trump; Algorithms; Social Networks; Partisanship; Social Media; App Development; Instagram; WhatsApp; Smartphone; Silicon Valley; Office Space; Digital Strategy; Democracy; Entry Barriers; Online Platforms; Controversy; Tencent; Agility; Social Networking; Gaming; Gaming Industry; Computer Games; Mobile Gaming; Messaging; Monetization Strategy; Advertising; Digital Marketing; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Trends; Communication; Communication Technology; Forms of Communication; Interactive Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Talent and Talent Management; Crime and Corruption; Voting; Demographics; Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geography; Geographic Location; Global Range; Local Range; Country; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Globalized Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Government and Politics; International Relations; National Security; Political Elections; Business History; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Information Management; Information Publishing; News; Newspapers; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Dissemination; Human Capital; Law; Leadership Development; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Business or Company Management; Crisis Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Management Style; Management Systems; Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Marketing Channels; Social Marketing; Network Effects; Market Entry and Exit; Digital Platforms; Marketplace Matching; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Monopoly; Media; Product Development; Service Delivery; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Groups and Teams; Networks; Rank and Position; Opportunities; Behavior; Emotions; Identity; Power and Influence; Prejudice and Bias; Reputation; Social and Collaborative Networks; Status and Position; Trust; Society; Civil Society or Community; Culture; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Societal Protocols; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Commercialization; Competition; Competitive Advantage; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Segmentation; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Applications and Software; Information Infrastructure; Valuation; Advertising Industry; Communications Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Industry; Information Technology Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Service Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Video Game Industry; United States; California; Sunnyvale; Russia

September 2011 (Revised July 2012)
Case

Building Watson: Not So Elementary, My Dear!

By: Willy Shih

This case is set inside IBM Research's efforts to build a computer that can successfully take on human challengers playing the game show Jeopardy! It opens with the machine named Watson offering the incorrect answer "Toronto" to a seemingly simple question during the... View Details

Keywords: Technological Innovation; Standards; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mathematical Methods; Research and Development; Information Technology

July 2000 (Revised September 2005)
Case

Madison Avenue: Digital Media Services (A)

Introduces a "new-economy" company, Madison Avenue, facing challenges of mega-success. In the two years since its founding, the company's revenues have grown from zero to nearly $30 million, head count has swollen from the start-up handful to more than 200, and the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Online Advertising; Advertising Industry

Research Summary

Leveraging Knowledge for Performance

Morten Hansen is involved in research which examines how knowledge residing in different units in a company can be leveraged to improve performance in a specific unit. He has conducted several large studies of the use of knowledge in creating competitive performance,... View Details

2025
Working Paper

Training Within Firms

By: Brayan Diaz, Andrea Neyra-Nazarrett, Julian Ramirez, Raffaella Sadun and Jorge Tamayo

Training investments are essential for improving worker and firm productivity, yet their implementation is often hindered by low participation rates and insufficient worker engagement. This study uses data from three firms–a car manufacturer, a quick-service... View Details

Keywords: Productivity; Absenteeism; Middle Managers; Training; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Employees

SSRN

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June 2000 (Revised October 2017)
Case

IDEO

By: Stefan Thomke and Ashok Nimgade

Describes IDEO, the world's leading product design firm, and its innovation culture and process. Emphasis is placed on the important role of prototyping and experimentation in general, and in the design of the very successful Palm V handheld computer in particular. A... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Innovation Strategy; Business or Company Management; Time Management; Product Design; Product Development; Business Processes; Organizational Culture; Practice; Problems and Challenges; Creativity; Hardware

July 2000 (Revised February 2001)
Case

alphaWorks: IBM's Technology Talent Agents

AlphaWorks has catalyzed IBM researchers and offered them a new path to take technology to market. With success, though, comes new organizational challenges. Should John Wolpert extend alphaWorks to all IBM labs, refocus, or shut down its operations? View Details

Keywords: Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Research and Development

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September 1990 (Revised March 1993)
Case

General Electric Plastics: Organizing the Marketing Function

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Describes the rapid growth of General Electric Plastics for over the last decade to a $5 billion (sales) company. The accompanying organizational transitions are described. The task is to design a marketing organization for the coming decade given the anticipated... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Design; Growth and Development Strategy

12 Dec 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Bottlenecks, Modules and Dynamic Architectural Capabilities

Keywords: by Carliss Y. Baldwin

December 2000 (Revised March 2001)
Case

DoubleTwist, Inc.

By: Joseph L. Bower and Christina L. Darwall

John Couch, CEO of DoubleTwist, has transformed a software products company into an Internet application service provider, racing to provide databases and tools for those working to explore the human genome. Crafting strategy and building organizational capability are... View Details

Keywords: Growth Management; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Corporate Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Information Technology Industry

June 1992
Supplement

General Electric: Jack Welch's Second Wave (B)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

In the annual report, Welch indicates a new priority for the company--developing a cadre of managers who can lead GE in implementing its strategy in a new organizational context. The question facing Welch is whether his bold new human resource vision is realistic and... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Design; Competitive Strategy

1989
Article

The Creative Environment Scales: The Work Environment Inventory

By: T. M. Amabile and N. Gryskiewicz

The Creative Environment Scales Work Environment Inventory (WEI) is a new paper-and-pencil instrument designed to assess stimulants and obstacles to creativity in the work environment. Unlike many instruments that are designed as comprehensive descriptions of the work... View Details

Keywords: Creativity; Innovation and Invention; Working Conditions; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques

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Article

The Importance of Being Causal

By: Iavor I Bojinov, Albert Chen and Min Liu

Causal inference is the study of how actions, interventions, or treatments affect outcomes of interest. The methods that have received the lion’s share of attention in the data science literature for establishing causation are variations of randomized experiments.... View Details

Keywords: Causal Inference; Observational Studies; Cross-sectional Studies; Panel Studies; Interrupted Time-series; Instrumental Variables

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2013
Case

Ningbo FOTILE Kitchen Ware Co., Ltd.

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Zheng Xiaoming, Yuren Fang and Hong Zhang

Since 2008, FOTILE has actively introduced philosophies of the traditional Chinese culture—such as benevolence, justice, courtesy, wisdom and faith—into its management, which it believes to compensate for deficiencies in Western management concepts and creates a new... View Details

Keywords: Human Resource Management; China; Human Resources; Leadership; Management; Strategy; China