Publications

14 Aug 2019
Video

What difference will you make?

Video

Our Difference - Economics

01 Sep 2011
News

Making a Difference in the World

million would be saved in annual energy costs. If each household replaced its appliances with the most efficient available, $15 billion of savings in energy costs would result. The top 3,000 public companies... View Details

Keywords: Electric Power Generation, Transmission, Distribution; Utilities

November 2007
Case

Differences at Work: Erica (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Erica (A) HBS Case No. 9-408-015 Erica, a junior sales person, has just been offered the opportunity to attend an important client dinner. Later, Erica learns that she received the invitation because of her race. View Details

Keywords: Race; Employees

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Ben (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Ben (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-043 Ben shares his colleague's comment with another colleague who empathizes with Ben's discomfort but dismisses the remark as a joke, leaving Ben to decide whether he wants to confront his colleague. View Details

Keywords: Employees; Conflict and Resolution; Perception

November 2007
Case

Differences at Work: Emily (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Emily (A) HBS Case No. 9-408-014 Emily, a private equity analyst, reads disturbing, sexually focused emails written about her by work colleagues and acquaintances after they all attended a work-related social event. Emily debates what she should... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Gender

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Jason (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Jason (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-049 Jason decides that his firm should have a more articulated position that everyone in the firm understands about why diversity benefits the firm instead of pursing diversity because it feels like the “right” thing... View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Policy; Employees; Diversity

November 2007 (Revised October 2008)
Supplement

Differences at Work: Will (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Will (B), HBS Case No. 9-408-045, Will describes how decided to respond to the question so that his colleague could tell from his answer that Will was a gay man. View Details

Keywords: Attitudes; Diversity

01 Sep 2011
News

Making a Difference in the World

in the 9th century.15” “one useful way to think about cities ” McKinsey & Co. “What Matters” report, “When cities rule the world” by Parag Khanna 7 January 2011 p. 35 “Bloomberg intends ” see PlaNYC website p. 36 “These instant cities –... View Details

Keywords: Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

Video

Making a Difference in Health Care

September 2021
Article

Gender Stereotypes in Deliberation and Team Decisions

By: Katherine B. Coffman, Clio Bryant Flikkema and Olga Shurchkov

We explore how groups deliberate and decide on ideas in an experiment with communication. We find that gender biases play a significant role in which group members are chosen to answer on behalf of the group. Conditional on the quality of their ideas, individuals are... View Details

Keywords: Gender Differences; Stereotypes; Teams; Economic Experiments; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Groups and Teams; Perception

Find at Harvard

Read Now

November 2007 (Revised June 2016)
Background Note

Differences at Work: The Individual Experience

By: Sandra J. Sucher

This note presents some basic concepts and findings from social science research that can help you anticipate and manage some of the complexities of differences at work. View Details

Keywords: Demographics

2015
Working Paper

Misconduct in Financial Services: Differences across Organizations

By: Jennifer Brown and Dylan Minor

We examine misconduct in financial services. We propose a theory in which experts extract surplus based on the value of their firm's brand and their own skills. Using sales complaint data for insurance agents, we find that agents working exclusively for large branded... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Insurance; Sales; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry

SSRN

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November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Emily (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Emily (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-046 Emily considers whether to file a formal complaint with her Human Resources department about the emails but ultimately decides to confront the culprits herself, beginning by sending an email to one of her... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Interpersonal Communication; Employees; Conflict and Resolution; Communication

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Allie (C)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: (C) HBS Case No. 9-408-056 Allie decides not to pursue a sexual harassment charge and instead remedies the situation by transferring to the marketing division in her company. She reflects on how powerless the situation made her feel and how it... View Details

Keywords: Emotions; Ethics; Working Conditions; Rank and Position; Power and Influence

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Alex (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Alex (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-042 turns to his uncle, an employment lawyer, to discuss the situation. After receiving a matching offer from his current firm, Alex decides to stay with his firm but concedes that he did not have to make any hard... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Ethics; Job Offer; Compensation and Benefits

November 2008
Supplement

Differences at Work: Sameer (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Sameer (B) HBS Case No. 9-609-054, Sameer leaves the firm at the summer's end without confronting his employer about the jokes and wondering whether he made the right choice. Later Sameer's former employer calls him to apologize for their... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Moral Sensibility; Resignation and Termination; Working Conditions; Opportunities; Behavior

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Emily (C)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Emily (C) HBS Case No. 9-408-047 describes how the original email author apologizes to her acknowledging that his behavior was extremely inappropriate. While Emily accepts the apology, she still forwards the email on to her boss with a note... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Working Conditions; Employees; Interpersonal Communication; Resignation and Termination