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December 1999
Case

Agrochemicals at Ciba-Geigy AG (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman, Wendy Smith and Daniel Radov

After spending five years to develop a revolutionary product, the director of Ciba-Geigy's fungicide research department is handed an unfavorable market study. The case details the R&D process for the new product, including information on corporate partnerships,... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Research and Development; Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Product Launch; Marketing Channels; Change Management; Product Development; Business Processes; Organizational Structure; Corporate Accountability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

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2015
Working Paper

Making a Difference: Leader Evaluation, Selection, and Impact

By: Gautam Mukunda

The relationship between leader selection and impact is important to both researchers and practitioners. This paper introduces Leader Filtration Theory (LFT)—a theory from political science—to managerial audiences, applies it to organizations, and uses it to improve... View Details

Keywords: Leaders; Leader Selection; Individual Impact; Leadership; Selection and Staffing

27 Feb 2018
HBS Seminar

Lin William Cong, University of Chicago Booth School of Business

October 2003 (Revised January 2004)
Exercise

Electric Maze Exercise, The

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Hanna Rodriguez-Farrar

This team-based exercise uses an educational tool called "The Electric Maze," developed by Interel Corp., to teach insights about the social and psychological challenges facing employees who must engage in collaborative learning. The tool is a grid-patterned rug with... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Leadership; Learning; Groups and Teams; Risk and Uncertainty

Research Summary

The Ownership of Deep Metaphors

By: Gerald Zaltman

Deep metaphors are basic orienting structures of human thought. They guide in subtle and overt ways how customers and managers process information about any product, service, or activity and event. It is essential for a firm to understand deep metaphors as they are... View Details

07 Nov 2014
News

How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition

19 Oct 2021
News

“No-Code” Miracle for Startups

09 Jul 2020
Research & Ideas

It’s Time to Reset Decision-Making in Your Organization

insights and practices as pandemic recovery plans are developed. Consider these five elements of organizational decision-making: information gathering; strategy; combining long-term thinking with short-term actions; clear communication... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Sarah Abbott

December 1990
Case

Allen-Bradley's ICCG: Repositioning for the 1990s

By: Nitin Nohria

Allen-Bradley's Industrial Computer and Communication Group (ICCG) underwent a period of rapid transformation in the 1980s, instituting a wide array of innovations from product development to information systems. In 1990 the Ohio-based group announced a major... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Organizational Culture; Business Organization; Problems and Challenges; Information Technology Industry

January 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Jay Gould, 'The Most Hated Man in America'

By: Tom Nicholas, John Masko and Matthew G. Preble

Railroad magnate Jay Gould, a controversial figure in the history of U.S. capitalism, was a disruptive influence on an industry that had previously relied on formal and informal agreements to move traffic long distances across lines operated by different companies.... View Details

Keywords: Railroads; Gould; Vanderbilt; Rail Transportation; History; Consolidation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; Strategy; Rail Industry; United States

September 2006 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Arizona Department of Public Health: The Challenges of Preparing for a Public Health Emergency

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Ajay Vinze, T. S. Raghu and Minu Ipe

In the post-9/11 era information technology enablement for emergency preparedness and response have taken on increased significance. Public health organizations like ADHS play a critical role in any statewide preparation for large scale emergencies. With issues like... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Information Technology; Health Care and Treatment; Business Processes; Service Delivery; National Security; Health Industry; Public Administration Industry; Arizona

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04 Feb 2010
What Do You Think?

What’s the Best Way to Make Careful Decisions?

information available, history, experience, the number of deciders, and so forth. Nevertheless, several comments reflected an uneasy fondness for a good dose of intuition in the mix. Guy Gould-Davies' comment was particularly insightful:... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

April 1999 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Motive Communications

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Marco Iansiti, Myra M. Hart, William W Chan and Find Findsen

The founders of Motive Communications, Inc., a recent start-up dedicated to reinventing the support chain involved in the delivery of information technology support services, put in place a development process hinged on extensive customer feedback. As part of this, a... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Customer Relationship Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Information Technology Industry

September 2013
Exercise

An Exercise in Designing a Travel Coffee Mug

By: Elie Ofek and Michael Norris

In recent years design has emerged as a critical factor in the success of many new products. This case exercise provides a hands-on way to experience the design process and offers a structured approach for incorporating key considerations that can aid in effective... View Details

Keywords: New Product Development; Innovation; Market Research; Competitive Positioning; Design; Product Development; Consumer Products Industry

October 22, 2015
Article

The Mayo Clinic Model for Running a Value-Improvement Program

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Derek A. Haas, Richard A. Helmers, March Rucci and Meredith Brady

Applying time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) in health care cannot be delegated to the finance function. The most successful implementations have had strong executive support, exceptional clinical leaders, and dedicated, multi-disciplinary project teams. The... View Details

Keywords: Service Delivery; Activity Based Costing and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

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April 2020
Case

Ment.io: Knowledge Analytics for Team Decision Making

By: Yael Grushka-Cockayne, Jeffrey T. Polzer, Susie L. Ma and Shlomi Pasternak

Ment.io was a software platform that used proprietary data analytics technology to help organizations make informed and transparent decisions based on team input. Ment was born out of founder Joab Rosenberg’s frustration that, while organizations collected ever... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Information Technology; Knowledge; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Management; Operations; Information Management; Product; Product Development; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Information Industry; Information Industry; Information Industry; Information Industry; Middle East; Israel