challenges - Publications - Faculty & Research

06 Aug 2014
Research & Ideas

Climbing Down from the Ivory Tower

throughout the country, which was suffering from a severe lack of health care providers. The goal was to employ 5,000 new community health workers by 2015. The challenge was figuring out how to recruit a talented, dedicated cadre of... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Education; Health

01 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: Judgment Calls

particular challenge the company faced was about selling its line of prestigious, professional beauty tools to chain drugstores—risking dilution of the brand, losing existing core customers, and taking on financial commitments way beyond... View Details

Keywords: by Thomas H. Davenport & Brook Manville; Consumer Products

26 Aug 2024
Research & Ideas

Can AI Match Human Ingenuity in Creative Problem-Solving?

When ChatGPT and other large language models began entering the mainstream two years ago, it quickly became apparent the technology could excel at certain business functions, yet it was less clear how well artificial intelligence could handle more creative tasks. Sure,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Information Technology; Information; Technology

June 2011
Article

The BP Oil Spill as a Cultural Anomaly?: Institutional Context, Conflict, and Change

By: Andrew J. Hoffman and P. Devereaux Jennings

This article argues that the BP Oil Spill is, potentially, a “cultural anomaly” for institutional changes in environmental management and fossil fuel production. The problem as defined by the spill’s context, the potential solutions provided by the competing logics in... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Environmental Management; Pollutants; Energy Industry

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December 2008 (Revised May 2009)
Background Note

Corporate Governance in China: Current Practice, Key Problems

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Joanne Xu and Tracy Manty

This note introduces the current corporate governance system in China, identifies its key problems and assesses recent improvements and future challenges. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Practice; Problems and Challenges; China

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March 2000 (Revised May 2000)
Background Note

Diagnosing and Overcoming Barriers to Agreement

Synthesizes and extends work on barriers to negotiated agreement. Five key types of barriers are described--structural, strategic, psychological, institutional, and cultural. Approaches to overcoming these barriers are discussed. View Details

Keywords: Agreements and Arrangements; Problems and Challenges

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January 1999 (Revised March 1999)
Case

Currency Crises

Briefly describes six historical currency crises. Presents actual data on 11 disguised countries and asks students to consider which is most likely to experience a crisis. View Details

Keywords: Currency; Problems and Challenges; Macroeconomics

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11 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating When the Rules Suddenly Change

How can you negotiate when the rules suddenly change, and no one knows whether your particular market is headed up or down? Regrouping from the cancellation of the 2004-2005 season due to failed labor negotiations, National Hockey League (NHL) teams and players faced... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler; Sports

10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Reinventing the Industrial Giant

create a customized car if they could not find what they were looking for on the Web site. However, GMBuyPower.com faces significant challenges. First, there are many people who believe that the public may want to buy computers online, but not cars. 80 Another View Details

Keywords: by Nitin Nohria, Davis Dyer & Frederick Dalzell; Manufacturing

09 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

The Unconscious Executive

What strategy do you use when making complex decisions? Do you burn the midnight oil to carefully weigh the pros and cons of each alternative? Or do you take your mind off the decision and follow the age-old wisdom of "sleeping on it"? “Careful consideration... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

November 1983
Article

On the Problems of Applying Ramsey Pricing to the Railroad Industry with Uncertain Demand Elasticities

By: William B. Tye and Dutch Leonard

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Price; Risk and Uncertainty; Rail Industry

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15 Sep 2003
Lessons from the Classroom

HBS Cases: Developing the Courage to Act

case method was originally designed for—receive much less time and attention. The challenge is compounded by the continued influx of Ph.D.s with backgrounds in economics, political science, psychology, and sociology into business-school... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Garvin

19 Apr 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Top Executive Background and Financial Reporting Choice: The Case of Goodwill Impairment

Keywords: by Francois Brochet & Kyle Welch; Accounting

02 Nov 2010
Working Paper Summaries

Making the Numbers? ‘Short Termism’ & the Puzzle of Only Occasional Disaster

Keywords: by Nelson P. Repenning & Rebecca M. Henderson

16 Oct 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Making the Gambler’s Fallacy Disappear: The Role of Experience

Keywords: by Gregory M. Barron & Stephen Leider

25 Aug 2008
Research & Ideas

HBS Cases: Walking Away from a $3 Billion Deal

It's no secret that private equity firms have enjoyed massive profits in recent years. In Private Equity Finance, a course in the second-year MBA elective curriculum, students follow the life cycle of a deal in order to learn more about the complexities and conflicts... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Financial Services