Publications

12 Apr 2016
News

How Disney’s Alan Horn Manages the Movies

what is unique [about him] as an executive is that he is a storyteller and considers himself a filmmaker,” says Lucasfilm chief Kathleen Kennedy. “You don’t find that very often. That’s what creative people are always looking for —... View Details

July 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Heidrick & Struggles and Standard Chartered Bank: Managing Global Key Accounts

By: Robert G. Eccles and Kerry Herman

Daren Kemp, a partner at leadership consultancy and executive search firm Heidrick & Struggles, is responsible for the firm's relationship with Standard Chartered Bank (Standard Chartered). Standard Chartered is one of 94 companies in Heidrick's strategic partners... View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Service Delivery; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Consulting Industry; Employment Industry

June 2017
Teaching Note

Quiet Logistics (A) and (B)

By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard

Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 115-001 and 115-003. View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Five Forces; Risk; Adaptability; Distribution Industry; Technology Industry; United States

Web

General Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

General Management Overview Faculty Curriculum Awards & Honors Doctoral Students 2024 Arthur C. Brooks : Elected as a Member of the American Academy of Sciences & Letters in 2024. Leemore S. Dafny : Elected to the National Academy of... View Details

2011
Other Unpublished Work

Military Ties, New Ventures, and Political Risk Management in Emerging Economies

By: Shon R. Hiatt and Wesley Sine

New ventures in emerging economies face a number of challenges such as political instability, corruption, and uncertain property rights that can severely hinder their ability to grow and survive, yet little is known about how startups can mitigate such risk. Using data... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Business Startups; Government and Politics; Developing Countries and Economies; Latin America

2016
Working Paper

Innovation Adoption and Organizational Identity: Identity Dynamism as a Strategic Resource for Top Management Team Decision Making

By: Ryan Raffaelli, Mary Ann Glynn and Michael Tushman

Organizations continuously face decisions about whether to adopt radical innovations. We examine the relationship between innovation adoption and identity, linking identity with firm strategy to explain innovation adoption over time. We conceptualize identity as... View Details

Keywords: Dynamic Managerial Capabilities; Organizational Identity; Innovation Adoption; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Innovation and Invention; Adoption

May 2017
Case

ATH Technologies: Making the Numbers

By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard

An exercise that takes students through five stages of growth in an entrepreneurial start-up in the medical devices industry: 1) founding, 2) growth, 3) push to profitability, 4) relocation process, and 5) takeover by new management. At each stage, students must... View Details

Keywords: Balancing Innovation And Control; Performance Evaluation; Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Risk Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Profit; Geographic Location; Governance Controls; Innovation and Invention; Management Succession; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

2005
Working Paper

Can Mutual Fund Managers Pick Stocks? Evidence from Their Trades Prior to Earnings Announcements

By: Malcolm Baker, Lubomir Litov, Jessica Wachter and Jeffrey Wurgler

We consider measures of stock-picking skill of mutual fund managers based on the earnings announcement returns of the stocks that they hold and trade. Relative to standard approaches, this approach focuses on an especially informative subset of the returns data,... View Details

Keywords: Stocks; Asset Management; Business Earnings; Forecasting and Prediction; Competency and Skills

Read Now

May 2017
Supplement

ATH Technologies (E)

By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard

Supplements the (A) case. Designed as an in-class handout. View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Balancing Innovation And Control; Health Industry

January 2009 (Revised April 2017)
Teaching Note

American Cancer Society: Access to Care

By: Robert Simons

Teaching Note for [109015]. View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Strategy And Execution; Levers Of Control; Non-profit; Non-Governmental Organizations; Nonprofit Organizations

February 2012
Case

Henkel: Building a Winning Culture

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case illustrates a CEO-led organizational transformation driven by stretch goals, performance measurement, and accountability. When Kasper Rorsted became CEO of Henkel, a Germany-based producer of personal care, laundry, and adhesives products, in 2008, he was... View Details

Keywords: Performance Measurement; Performance Appraisals; Human Resource Management; Values; Organizational Transformations; Pay For Performance; Strategy Execution; Values and Beliefs; Work-Life Balance; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits

June 2005 (Revised March 2017)
Teaching Note

Siebel Systems: Organizing for the Customer

By: Robert Simons

Teaching Note to (103-014). The Siebel Systems case describes the unusual accountability and organizing choices made by managers of a successful, rapidly growing software development company. The case is set in 2002, but details the critical decisions made by founder... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Execution; Organization Design; Structure; Job Design; Diagnostic Control Systems; Customers; Strategy; Organizational Design

November 1997 (Revised April 2017)
Teaching Note

Compagnie du Froid, S.A.

By: Robert Simons, Antonio Dávila, Kathryn Rosenberg and Jennifer Packard

Teaching Note for (9-197-085). View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Strategy And Execution; Variance Analysis; Performance Measurement; Food and Beverage Industry; Europe

June 2012 (Revised February 2017)
Teaching Note

Henkel: Building a Winning Culture

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This is the teaching note for Henkel: Building a Winning Culture (HBS No. 112-060) View Details

Keywords: Execution; Management Control Systems; Performance Goals; Incentives; Levers Of Control; Strategy

03 Jun 2020
Blog Post

How to Thrive as a Remote Manager and Employee

they need to succeed by reviewing these tips and implementing what works for you and your company. Remote Work Management Practices: Weekly 1:1 meetings with your direct reports by video call Weekly group video calls with teams Optional... View Details

May 2021
Article

Making Doctors Effective Managers and Leaders: A Matter of Health and Well-Being

By: Lisa Rotenstein, Robert S. Huckman and Christine K. Cassel

The COVID-19 crisis has forced physicians to make daily decisions that require knowledge and skills they did not acquire as part of their biomedical training. Physicians are being called upon to be both managers—able to set processes and structures—and leaders—capable... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Management; Leadership; Health Pandemics; Health Industry

Find at Harvard

Article

Can Mutual Fund Managers Pick Stocks? Evidence from Their Trades Prior to Earnings Announcements

By: Malcolm Baker, Lubomir Litov, Jessica Wachter and Jeffrey Wurgler

We consider measures of stock-picking skill of mutual fund managers based on the earnings announcement returns of the stocks that they hold and trade. Relative to standard approaches, this approach focuses on an especially informative subset of the returns data,... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Stocks; Investment Return; Investment Funds; Earnings Management

Find at Harvard

Read Now

July 2012
Case

LEGO

By: Jan W. Rivkin, Stefan Thomke and Daniela Beyersdorfer

LEGO has emerged as one of the most successful companies in the toy industry. The case describes LEGO's gradual rise, rapid decline, and recent revitalization as it is keeping up with a changing market place. Central to LEGO's management model is the ability to find... View Details

Keywords: Innovation Management; Innovation; Operations Management; Organizational Change And Transformation; Operations; Competitive Strategy; Innovation and Management; Innovation Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Entertainment and Recreation Industry