Publications

October 1978 (Revised November 1985)
Background Note

Managing Interpersonal Conflict

Discusses the nature and dynamics of interpersonal conflict and suggests how to diagnose and manage a conflict situation. The perspective employed is that of an interested third party who wishes to intervene in the conflict to resolve or control it. Focuses on how to... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management

April 1992 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Conoco's: "Green" Oil Strategy (A)

By: Malcolm S. Salter and Joseph L. Badaracco Jr.

Conoco faces challenges in formulating a proactive environmental strategy for its proposed oil development in Ecuador's pristine tropical rain forest region. The case outlines the innovative process in which Conoco collaborated with a wide range of often conflicting... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Ethics; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Outcome or Result; Problems and Challenges; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Conflict Management; Ecuador

22 Aug 2021
News

We Are Not Ready for the Asynchronous Future

May 1996 (Revised March 1998)
Case

SaleSoft, Inc. (A)

By: Das Narayandas

SaleSoft, a start-up firm, markets Comprehensive Sales Automation Solutions (CSAS) that automate a firm's sales, marketing, and service functions. Even though the product has received very favorable responses from prospects, product complexity and a long buying cycle... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Decisions; Revenue; Marketing Strategy; Product Launch; Sales; Opportunities; Information Technology; Technology Industry

May 1984 (Revised May 1989)
Case

Cleveland Twist Drill (B)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh

Describes events at Cleveland Twist Drill between April 1982 and February 1983. Jim Bartlett's approach to the union and the implementation of the "move strategy" are described. Students are asked to evaluate these actions and to develop plans for dealing with current... View Details

Keywords: History; Management Style; Leadership Style; Standards; Power and Influence

February 1998 (Revised September 1998)
Case

Insteel Wire Products: ABM at Andrews

By: V.G. Narayanan and Ratna G. Sarkar

Insteel implements an activity-based costing (ABC) system in 1996. It finds pallet nails to be its most profitable product and decides to expand the number of cells making pallet nails from two to four. A repeat of the ABC study in 1997 shows pallet nails have become... View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Expansion; Resource Allocation; Activity Based Costing and Management

December 2008 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Clutch Group - Should Abhi Shah Grab This Opportunity?

By: Daniel J. Isenberg

Abhi Shah ('06) co-founding CEO of Clutch Group in the US and Bangalore, must decide whether to risk a law suit by recruiting an entire legal services team from a large US corporation. His decision and how he implements it will have a dramatic impact on the legal... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business Startups; Legal Services Industry; Bangalore; United States

October 2002 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Intermountain Health Care

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Amy C. Edmondson and Laura Feldman

Intermountain Health Care (IHC), an integrated delivery system based in Utah, has adopted a new strategy for managing health care delivery. The approach focuses management attention not only on the facilities where care takes place but also on physician decision making... View Details

Keywords: Ethnicity; Innovation Strategy; Cost Management; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Technology Adoption; Performance Improvement; Problems and Challenges; Adoption; Change Management; Cost vs Benefits; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Utah

Research Summary

Corporate Risk Management

Traditionally companies have managed different kinds of risk individually: the corporate treasurer or finance director handles credit risk and foreign exchange risk, the human resources manager handles employment risk, and so on. Integrated risk management calls for... View Details

November 2004
Case

IBM's Diversity Strategy: Bridging the Workplace and the Marketplace

By: David A. Thomas and Ayesha Kanji

Explores how IBM incorporated diversity into its business strategy, making the case that workforce diversity is critical to marketing its products and services to its customers. In the early 1990s, Ted Childs, vice-president of Workforce Diversity, proposed to CEO Lou... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Diversification; Business Strategy; Integration; Global Strategy; Organizations; Markets; Information Technology Industry; United States

Teaching Interest

Families in Business

By: Christina R. Wing

Like every company, family businesses must strive for growth amidst fierce competition, an evolving marketplace, and demanding customers. But family businesses also face a unique set of challenges and opportunities. In this Executive Education program, participants... View Details

Research Summary

Building a Corporate Culture of Health

By: Robert S. Huckman

This stream of Professor Huckman's work involves developing and implementing a survey of U.S. corporations regarding their commitments to developing a “culture of health” aimed at improving well-being for employees, consumers, communities, and the environment. This... View Details

February 1993 (Revised March 1993)
Case

Frito-Lay, Inc.: A Strategic Transition (A) (Updated)

By: Lynda M. Applegate

The setting is a food manufacturing company that has stumbled in terms of its historic growth and profit achievements. In trying to recapture momentum, the president has used information technology as one element in his program of transition. The case focuses on the... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Information Technology; Growth and Development Strategy; Transition; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Food and Beverage Industry; Manufacturing Industry

Find at Harvard

April 2005
Case

Merrill Lynch in 2003: Sunny Skies Ahead?

By: Boris Groysberg, Paul M. Healy and David Kiron

Merrill Lynch (ML) is at a crossroads. Stan O'Neal became its CEO and implemented a radical cost-cutting program. In addition, the company dot-com continues to recover from the fallout from the Enron and dot-com scandals. What are the future prospects for ML? Can the... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Forecasting and Prediction; Financial Condition; Investment; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry; United States

01 Jan 2002
News

16 Jun 2022
News

Adam Grant's Seven Commandments for Successful Hybrid Work

Going Out or Opting Out? Capital, Political Vulnerability, and the State in China's Outward Investments

This article, in Comparative Politics (April 2022), explains patterns of China's outward investments in political terms. The Chinese party-state does not direct all Chinese companies in their outward investments, but rather pushes global investment through campaigns it... View Details

February 2022
Case

Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

In 2006, the Cleveland Clinic and Mubadala Investment Company partnered with a bold ambition to deliver world class healthcare in the United Arab Emirates. In 2015, after nearly a decade of planning and construction, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi opened its doors. By... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Culture; Alignment; Organizational Effectiveness; Purpose; Impact; Leadership Development; Diversity; Collaboration; Co-creation; Learning Organizations; Empowerment; Teams; Team Dynamics; Teamwork; Team Effectiveness; Trust; Talent; Talent Development And Retention; Psychological Safety; Organizational Evolution; Coaching; Board; Analytics; Innovation; Data; Data Visualization; Digital Technology; Digital; Customer Experience; Experimentation; Change Management; Data-driven Decision-making; Debates; Ecosystem; Partnership; Telemedicine; Sustainability; Global Organizations; Local; Hospital; Healthcare; United Arab Emirates; Health Care and Treatment; Partners and Partnerships; Globalization; Quality; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Innovation and Management; Information Technology; Joint Ventures; Leadership; Performance Effectiveness; Abu Dhabi; United Arab Emirates

2024
Working Paper

The Uneven Impact of Generative AI on Entrepreneurial Performance

By: Nicholas G. Otis, Rowan Clarke, Solène Delecourt, David Holtz and Rembrand Koning

Scalable and low-cost AI assistance has the potential to improve firm decision-making and economic performance. However, running a business involves a myriad of open-ended problems, making it difficult to know whether recent AI advances can help business owners make... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Performance Improvement; Small Business; Decision Choices and Conditions; Kenya