Publications

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September 2016 (Revised August 2018)
Case

State Street—The Development and Growth of SHE

By: Vikram Gandhi

State Street Global Advisors was the investment arm of State Street Corporation, one of the largest custodians and asset managers in the world with over $2.3 trillion in assets under management. Inspired by demand from a large pension fund client for better gender... View Details

Keywords: ETF; Asset Management; Financial Services Industry

November–December 2020
Article

Getting Serious About Diversity: Enough Already with the Business Case

By: Robin Ely and David A. Thomas

Leaders may mean well when they tout the economic payoffs of hiring more women and people of color, but there is no research support for the notion that diversifying the workforce automatically improves a company’s performance. This article critiques the popular... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Change; Trust

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23 Jun 2015
Blog Post

What is SVMP?

too far off, and campus springs back into life with the arrival of our SVMP students. Each summer we welcome a class of about 90 rising college seniors for the annual week-long Summer Venture in Management Program. The program was first launched back in 1983 with the... View Details

January 1994 (Revised April 1994)
Background Note

Intangible Assets Other Than Goodwill

By: David F. Hawkins

Discusses global accounting policies for intangible assets other than goodwill. How financial analysts deal with the diversity in these practices is also covered. View Details

Keywords: Assets

October 2001
Background Note

A Note on Team Process

By: Linda A. Hill and Maria Farkas

When tasks are highly complex, demand a diversity of skills, or require a commitment from the involved parties, teams are usually the most effective way to approach them. But a group of people working together does not automatically equally a team, and groups are often... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Decision Making; Management; Business Processes; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Efficiency; Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution

16 Sep 2024
Blog Post

Creating a Candidate-Centered Recruiting Process

Looking around a Harvard Business School classroom, you will find students who bring a diverse range of experiences, skills, and perspectives to the conversation. That can include diverse abilities; those... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

David A. Thomas

David Thomas is H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. His research addresses issues related to executive development, cultural diversity in organizations, leadership and organizational change. He recently served as a... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; consulting; consumer products; education industry; financial services; media

17 Dec 2020
Video

Eva Arias

Eva Arias, President of Compañía Minera Poderosa, explains her experience as a woman and leader in mining and emphasizes the importance of diverse perspectives. View Details

25 Sep 2020
News

Rethinking how things are done in the past can lead to solutions

March 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Akamai Technologies: Expanding the Talent Pipeline

By: Christopher Stanton, Lynda M. Applegate, Allison Ciechanover, Emily Grandjean and Sophie Beck

In 2022, senior executives of Cambridge, MA-based Akamai Technologies met to consider whether and how to scale a successful technical training program. The program, Akamai Technical Academy (ATA), was launched in 2016 to address a key challenge at Akamai and in the... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Diversity; Talent and Talent Management; Technology Industry; United States; Boston

27 Dec 2015
Research & Ideas

The Most Popular Stories and Research Papers of 2015

touched controversial issues including gender equality and the conflicting emotions experienced both by women who work and those who stay home to raise families. Other popular stories, listed below, looked at such diverse topics as the... View Details

August 2016 (Revised July 2017)
Background Note

Brand Portfolio Strategy and Brand Architecture

By: Jill Avery

While companies choose to brand their products and services in many different ways, there are some central tenets that help define an optimal brand portfolio and associated brand architecture. Brand portfolio strategy involves the design, deployment, and management of... View Details

Keywords: Brand Management; Brand Portfolio; Brand Extension; Brand Portfolio Strategy; Brand Architecture; Consumer Behavior; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Marketing Strategy

21 Nov 2022
Blog Post

HBS Student Club Spotlight: Sustainability Club

most diverse view of climate solutions – starting with energy, but also including other approaches like ocean-based solutions, heavy industry decarbonization, renewable materials, and more. What are your backgrounds, and why did you... View Details

28 Mar 2017
Video

A Mosaic of Perspectives

August 2003
Case

BRAC

By: John A. Quelch

BRAC is the world's largest NGO and has over the past 20 years experienced tremendous rates of growth. The case looks at diversity within the organization and the aspects of management that have made the organization so successful. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Diversity; Non-Governmental Organizations

Summer Jackson is an Assistant Professor of Management in the Organizational Behavior unit at Harvard Business School. She teaches LEAD in the MBA required curriculum.

Professor Jackson is an organizational ethnographer and field researcher... View Details

Article

Neurodiversity as a Competitive Advantage

By: Robert D. Austin and Gary P. Pisano

Many people with neurological conditions such as autism spectrum disorder and dyslexia have extraordinary skills, including those in pattern recognition, memory, and mathematics. Yet they often struggle to fit the profiles sought by employers. A growing number of... View Details

Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Diversity; Competency and Skills

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October 2003
Case

Henry Tam and the MGI Team

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Ingrid Vargas and Hillary Anger Elfenbein

Within a short time frame, seven diverse team members assemble to write a business plan for a new company and struggle to define their roles, make decisions together, and resolve conflict. Henry Tam, a second-year Harvard MBA student, who joins an aspiring start-up... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Business Plan; Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Jobs and Positions; Leadership Style; Human Resources; Management Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Diversity