Publications

July 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Progressive Insurance: Disclosure Strategy

By: Amy P. Hutton and James Weber

Progressive Insurance had refused to play Wall Street's earning game. Progressive didn't manage reported earnings nor did management give guidance to analysts. Management then considered taking their unique disclosure strategy one step further to become the first to... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Stocks; Corporate Disclosure; Insurance; Volatility; Insurance Industry; United States

Educators

02 Jan 2024
What Do You Think?

Do Boomerang CEOs Get a Bad Rap?

Schultz at Starbucks, Ron Shaich at Panera Bread, and Charles Schwab. Those who oppose the idea characterize the decision as a board’s way of taking the easy path, not doing its primary job of managing CEO succession adequately. They... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

28 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

Forget Cash. Here Are Better Ways to Motivate Employees

rewarded, despite the fact that US companies are spending more than a fifth of their budgets on wages. What employees crave even more is to feel that their managers appreciate them and aren’t afraid to show it, not only in paycheck terms,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

January 1996 (Revised October 1997)
Case

Americhem: The Gaylord Division (A)

By: David A. Garvin

The Gaylord Division of Americhem, a large chemical company, is in the midst of the first use of a new zero-base budgeting system. The general manager of the division leading the process is experiencing disagreement and conflict among the members of the senior... View Details

Keywords: Budgets and Budgeting; Leadership; Management Practices and Processes; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges

January 1995
Supplement

Germany 1995: The Consensus Holds

By: George C. Lodge

Designed to follow Germany in the 1990s: Managing Reunification. View Details

Keywords: Germany; Italy; United Kingdom; Europe

2025
Working Paper

Performance Capital Flows in DC Pensions

By: Bryan Gutierrez Cortez, Victoria Ivashina and Juliana Salomao

Are defined contribution (DC) pension funds' capital flows sensitive to performance? We examine pressures from individual account holders who can switch their pension managers. Using novel data on retirement accounts for nearly 10 million individuals, we analyze... View Details

Keywords: Investment Funds; Retirement; Risk and Uncertainty; Financial Management; Investment Portfolio; Financial Services Industry

Register to Read

15 May 2018
News

Harvard researchers say fixing food safety inspectors’ schedules could end many violations

November 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Votorantim: Uniting Family and Business Across Generations

By: Christina R. Wing, Carla Larangeira and Pedro Levindo

Over a 105-year span, the Ermírio de Moraes family built Votorantim, one of Latin America’s largest industrial conglomerates, and among Brazil’s topmost businesses, also credited for helping “build” the country over decades. By early 2023, Votorantim included... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Family Ownership; Business and Shareholder Relations; Family and Family Relationships; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Chemical Industry; Mining Industry; Financial Services Industry; Latin America

Educators

February 2009
Article

Goals Gone Wild: The Systematic Side Effects of Over-Prescribing Goal Setting

By: Lisa D. Ordonez, Maurice E. Schweitzer, Adam D. Galinsky and Max H. Bazerman

Goal setting is one of the most replicated and influential paradigms in the management literature. Hundreds of studies conducted in numerous countries and contexts have consistently demonstrated that setting specific, challenging goals can powerfully drive behavior and... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives

Program

Driving Nonprofit Performance and Innovation—Virtual

presented jointly by the HBS Social Enterprise Initiative and The Hauser Institute for Civil Society at Harvard University. Key Benefits With a stronger performance management strategy in place, your organization will be better positioned... View Details

March 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Merck Latin America (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Introduces Grey Warner, the vice president of Merck's Latin America region, and his efforts to improve the organizational effectiveness of the region and to introduce a more global business culture and values. Discusses Merck's ethics and values, its Latin American... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Ethics; Business Processes; Strategic Planning; Change Management; Values and Beliefs; Globalized Firms and Management; Employee Relationship Management; Business Strategy; Government and Politics; Economy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Latin America

Educators

December 2003 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Camilla Denison (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Bryce LaPierre and Virginia Fuller

Follows a successful manager as she takes on challenging assignments to lead manufacturing and development organizations. Details many experiences that influenced her character and attitudes from her youth to her graduate education and first jobs. Students discover the... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Success; Management Skills; Experience and Expertise

19 Feb 2007
Research & Ideas

Inexperienced Investors and Market Bubbles

joining a bubble. In the recent paper, "Inexperienced Investors and Bubbles," Harvard Business School's Robin Greenwood and Stanford's Stefan Nagel compared the returns of young and older mutual fund managers during and after... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services

Web

Program Requirements - Doctoral

Accounting & Management Program Requirements Below please find the program requirements for students in Accounting & Management . Students in Accounting and Management... View Details

Web

Hire Talent

depends on intentionally managing technology, routines, and communication. The HBS Career & Professional Development (CPD) office shares practical tips to help you and your team thrive. Whether you work from home full-time or split your... View Details

September 2008
Supplement

Adobe Systems: Working Towards a "Suite" Release (B)

By: David A. Thomas and Lauren Barley

The case examines the tools a manager can use to keep her project on track and manage conflict and tension as Adobe prepares to launch Creative Suite 3, the biggest software release in the company's 25-year history. The protagonist, Yvonne Murray, is a group program... View Details

Keywords: Change; Interpersonal Communication; Crisis Management; Product Launch; Projects; Conflict of Interests; Integration; Software