Publications

Find at Harvard

Program

Advanced Management Program

financing, and outperforming the competition Deploy a broadly informed global perspective as you evaluate markets, analyze competitive forces, and establish corporate strategy Navigate the global financial system while capturing... View Details

02 Nov 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Managing Functional Biases in Organizational Forecasts: A Case Study of Consensus Forecasting in Supply Chain Planning

Keywords: by Rogelio Oliva & Noel H. Watson

September 1977 (Revised June 1984)
Case

Meeting of the Overhead Reduction Task Force

By: John J. Gabarro and James G. Clawson

Outlines events leading up to a meeting of a six-person task force which has been assigned to reduce overhead costs at a major manufacturing company. History of the company, and backgrounds of all the task force members are presented. Raises the following questions and... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Cost Management; Cooperation; Planning; Manufacturing Industry

October 2001
Case

Transforming Singapore's Public Libraries

By: Roger H. Hallowell, Neo Boon Siong and Carin-Isabel Knoop

The Singapore Public Library system was transformed from being mediocre at best to world class using information technology, progressive human resources management, and marketing approaches unusual for governmental agencies. View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Marketing Strategy; Information Technology; Transformation; Books; Human Resources; Government and Politics; Public Administration Industry; Singapore

Summer 2014
Article

Delegation in Multi‐Establishment Firms: Adaptation vs. Coordination in I.T. Purchasing Authority

By: Kristina Steffenson McElheran

This paper conducts one of the first large-scale, establishment-level empirical studies of delegation within firms. Recent contributions to a rapidly growing theory literature have focused on the tradeoff between adaptation and coordination in determining... View Details

Keywords: Integration; Leadership; Management Practices and Processes; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Adaptation

Find at Harvard

Read Now

August 2008
Supplement

Microsoft's Unlimited Potential (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Marie Madelene Bell

This short (B) case provides an update of how Microsoft organized its unlimited potential initiative. View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Business or Company Management; Information Technology Industry

18 Sep 2013
Research & Ideas

Unspoken Cues: Encouraging Morals Without Mandates

Many institutions promote and even mandate moral behavior and values among their members, but how they do it differs greatly. Some organizations such as religious groups may proscribe very specifically what is acceptable behavior—think... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Education

April 2013
Case

Managing with Analytics at Procter & Gamble

By: Thomas H. Davenport, Marco Iansiti and Alain Serels

Senior management at P&G has put a strong emphasis on using data to make "better, smarter, real-time business decisions." The Global Business Services (GBS) organization has developed tools, systems and processes to provide managers throughout P&G with direct access to... View Details

Keywords: Analytics; Data Management; Forecasting; Shared Services; Procter ＆ Gamble; Laundry Detergent; Information Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Information Technology; Mathematical Methods; Consumer Products Industry; North America

April 2005
Case

FBI: Mission Extended

Following the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, there was consensus that the FBI needed to make organizational changes. The FBI had long distinguished itself as the world's pre-eminent organization for conducting after-the-fact investigations that laid the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Law Enforcement; United States

December 2011 (Revised January 2015)
Background Note

The Product Manager

By: Jeffrey Bussgang, Thomas Eisenmann and Robert Go

Describes the role of product manager (PM) in technology companies, detailing 1) PMs' responsibilities; 2) different ways to organize the product management function; 3) how PMs interact with other functions within technology companies (e.g., engineering, product... View Details

Keywords: Product Marketing; Product Development; Product Design; Information Technology; Entrepreneurship

09 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Moving From Bean Counter to Game Changer

Buried in the middle layers of many organizations resides a strata of highly skilled experts, from HR managers to risk evaluators, whose collective wisdom and experience could prove invaluable in informing... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard; Banking

March 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Teaching Note

Ransomware Attack at Springhill Medical Center

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan (Jason) Ni

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 123-065. In July, 2019, Springhill Medical Center (“SMC”) in Mobile, Alabama fell prey to a malicious ransomware attack that crippled the hospital’s internal network systems and public-facing web page. While the hospital rushed to... View Details

December 1993 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Manville Corporation Fiber Glass Group (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Sarah Gant

Manville Corp.'s senior managers must decide how to respond to a new scientific study suggesting that fiberglass, the source of 75% of the company's profits, may be another asbestos and must act under conditions of great uncertainty. In particular, when should a... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Health Disorders; Risk Management; Marketing Communications; Product; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Safety; Consumer Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry

January 2013 (Revised March 2017)
Case

CloudFlare, Inc.: Running Hot?

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

In July 2012, the cofounders of CloudFlare, a Silicon Valley startup that protects websites and accelerates their traffic, are considering the implications of five employees' resignations over the prior three months. Was this natural attrition for a high-tech venture... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Internet and the Web; Entrepreneurship; Resignation and Termination; Business Startups; Information Technology Industry; Information Technology Industry; California

June 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Skandia AFS: Developing Intellectual Capital Globally

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Takia Mahmood

Focuses on the measurement and management of organizational knowledge as a strategic asset, and on the deployment of information technology, organizational structure, and processes in leveraging that asset. View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Knowledge Sharing; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Alliances; Competitive Advantage; Information Technology

Find at Harvard

October 2001
Background Note

A Note on Team Process

By: Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas

When tasks are highly complex, demand a diversity of skills, or require a commitment from the involved parties, teams are usually the most effective way to approach them. But a group of people working together does not automatically equally a team, and groups are often... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Decision Making; Management; Business Processes; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Efficiency; Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution

12 May 2023
Blog Post

Breaking Barriers and Building Community: Get to Know the HBS Women's Student Association (WSA)

What is the WSA? The WSA, or Women’s Student Association, is a student-led organization at Harvard Business School for anyone who identifies as a woman. We’re the largest student organization on campus. What... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

August 1998 (Revised March 2002)
Background Note

Overview of the Nonprofit Sector

By: James E. Austin and Elaine V. Backman

Provides brief background information to aid in understanding the U.S. and international nonprofit sectors. View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations