Publications

October 2001 (Revised December 2001)
Case

EU Takeover Directive

By: Guhan Subramanian and Michelle Kalka

The draft 13th Company Law Directive, originally written in the 1980s and first formally proposed in 1990, was intended to harmonize the takeover laws of the member states of the European Union (EU). From its inception, though, this bill was controversial. Nations... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Mergers and Acquisitions; Laws and Statutes; Policy; Problems and Challenges; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Germany; United Kingdom; European Union

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September 2014 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Turkcell

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee, Charles C.Y. Wang and Esel Cekin

This case centers around the shareholder dispute between three major shareholders of Turkcell, and how its management vied against increasing regulatory intervention and market competition in the absence of a fully-functioning board. The battle for control of the... View Details

Keywords: Financial Performance; Regulatory Environment; Telecommunications; Marketing; Value Added; Pricing; Shareholder; Boards Of Directors; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Conflict and Resolution; Business and Shareholder Relations; Telecommunications Industry; Turkey

November 2009
Case

Finance Myopia in a Systems Business

By: J. Bruce Harreld

This short case describes the tensions that often arise between finance executives attempting to curtail unproductive activities and strategy executives trying to optimize overall firm performance. View Details

Keywords: Finance; Managerial Roles; Performance Improvement; Performance Productivity; Conflict and Resolution; Strategy; Competition

December 2014
Supplement

Aspen Skiing Company Video Supplement

By: Michael W. Toffel

Having begun improving the environmental performance of its own operations, Aspen Skiing Company is considering "greening" its supply chain and lobbying for greenhouse gas regulations. A world renowned ski resort vulnerable to global climate change, Aspen's activities... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Climate Change; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Tourism Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Aspen

February 2009 (Revised October 2012)
Case

Tata Motors in Singur: Public Purpose and Private Property (B)

By: Laura Alfaro, Lakshmi Iyer and Namrata Arora

In October 2008, Tata Motors canceled their car manufacturing plant in West Bengal state, in the face of widespread farmer protests over land acquisition issues. This meant abandoning a project in which the company had invested $300 million and delaying the launch of... View Details

Keywords: Business Exit or Shutdown; Rights; Emerging Markets; Property; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry; West Bengal

2011
Working Paper

The Institutional Logic of Great Global Firms

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

Theories of the firm have been dominated by a legacy of ideas from early industrialization that pose zero-sum opposition between capital and labor (or capital and nearly everything else), differentiating the economy from society and often posing irreconcilable... View Details

Keywords: Economy; Capital; Globalized Firms and Management; Labor; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Practice; Conflict of Interests; Social Issues; Theory

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January 2008 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Mayhem on Madison (A)

By: A. Eugene Kohn and David Lane

In his first project, an aspiring property developer negotiates the development rights above a one-story bank branch in Manhattan's tony Carnegie Hill. Community resistance erupted immediately, spearheaded by celebrity and socialite residents. Facing rejection of his... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Development Economics; Business and Community Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Urban Development; Real Estate Industry; New York (city, NY)

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August 2007 (Revised September 2007)
Background Note

Negotiation Strategy: Pattern Recognition Game

By: Gregory M. Barron and Michael A. Wheeler

In negotiation, correctly identifying your counterpart's strategy is vital. Only then can you constructively influence their behavior-or adapt appropriately to what they are doing. This case-and its related computer-based exercise (Negotiation Strategy... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Behavior; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Strategy; Competition; Cooperation

December 1997
Case

American Cyanamid (A) & (B) (Combined)

American Home Products' (AHP) $9 billion hostile takeover of American Cyanamid (Cyanamid) was the largest merger-and-acquistion transaction in 1994, and made AHP the fourth largest pharmaceutical firm in the United States. At the time of AHP's offer, Cyanamid had... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Mergers and Acquisitions; Corporate Governance; Conflict and Resolution; Pharmaceutical Industry

April 1992
Case

Malaysia (A)

By: Bruce R. Scott

Riots in 1969 bring martial law and a new, more firmly Malay government which sets out to promote redistribution of opportunity, income, and wealth by race-based quotas. Dr. Mahatherl, a Malay nationalist says Malays have a non-competitive alliance which must be forced... View Details

Keywords: Wealth and Poverty; Change Management; Race; Conflict and Resolution; Power and Influence; Malaysia

2006
Working Paper

Future Lock-In: Future Implementation Increases Selection of 'Should' Choices

By: Todd Rogers and Max H. Bazerman

People often experience tension over certain choices (e.g., they should reduce their gas consumption or increase their savings, but they do not want to). Some posit that this tension arises from the competing interests of a deliberative "should" self and... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Attitudes; Conflict and Resolution; Cognition and Thinking

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June 2008 (Revised November 2010)
Supplement

Patient Flow at Brigham and Women's Hospital (B)

By: Anita L. Tucker and Jillian Alexandra Berry

The B Case is an email from the ED Director. He clarifies where the process deviations occurred. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Health Care and Treatment; Service Operations; Business Processes; Performance Productivity; Conflict and Resolution; Health Industry; Massachusetts

January 2006 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Wal-Mart's Business Environment

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

In 2004, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. proposed to build a new supercenter in Inglewood, a low-income community near Los Angeles. The proposal was a part of Wal-Mart's strategy to bring its supercenter format to California. Introduced in the late 1980s, supercenters added a... View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Expansion; Market Entry and Exit; Corporate Strategy; Labor Unions; Conflict and Resolution; Retail Industry; Los Angeles

17 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 17

illustrates Hindustan Unilever Limited's conflict resolution and people development policies using a "leading from the middle" example. The story centers on the challenges faced by an HR manager at... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

June 2008 (Revised October 2010)
Case

Patient Flow at Brigham and Women's Hospital (A)

By: Anita L. Tucker and Jillian Alexandra Berry

Brigham and Women's Hospital challenged a team of physicians to improve patient flow from the Emergency Department to Intensive Care Units (ICUs). One of the team members, Selwyn Rogers, Director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit (SICU) at Brigham and Women's... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Health Care and Treatment; Service Operations; Business Processes; Performance Productivity; Conflict and Resolution; Health Industry; Massachusetts

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Sam (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Sam (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-054 Sam receives an informal apology from Human Resources which leaves Sam feeling unsatisfied as it is not an official company response. Sam leaves the company for unrelated reasons shortly thereafter but still... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Human Resources; Social Psychology; Conflict and Resolution; Resignation and Termination; Employees; Policy

February 1997 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Walden Woods

By: William J. Poorvu and Arthur I Segel

In 1984, Mortimer Zuckerman and Ed Linde, through their firm, Boston Properties (BP), acquired land in Concord, MA to build a 147,000-square-foot, first-class suburban office building. BP proceeded to go through the permitting and approval process with the town and was... View Details

Keywords: Risk and Uncertainty; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Property; Environmental Sustainability; Conflict and Resolution; Real Estate Industry; Massachusetts

16 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

What Happens When Zambian Schoolgirls Receive Negotiation Training

MIT and a conflict resolution program at Mercy Corps), McGinn and her colleagues laid the foundation for Girls Arise, expanding and strengthening it through rigorous field testing. Once refined, project... View Details

Keywords: Re: Kathleen L. McGinn

February 2006 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Auctioning Morningstar

By: Malcolm P. Baker and James Quinn

Morningstar, a publisher of data and ratings for mutual fund investors, is considering an auction-based approach to the company's upcoming IPO, with management weighing the risks and benefits of the auction approach vs. a traditional underwritten offering. View Details

Keywords: Financial Strategy; Initial Public Offering; Stock Shares; Cost vs Benefits; Strategy; Auctions; Business or Company Management; Conflict of Interests; Publishing Industry