by Robert Gibbons - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Sep 2004
News

One-on-One with Robert McNamara

McNamara Illustration by Zak Pullen For a man who once commanded huge organizations and made decisions affecting the lives of millions, Robert S. McNamara (MBA 1939) is mostly on his own these days. Dressed... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

Robert W. Johnson, Jr.

Johnson established J&J management policies, including the “credo,” which still exists today. He decentralized the company during the 1930s by dividing it into a number of small divisions, each responsible for a few products. As part... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare

22 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better Execution

Business leaders can't develop and execute effective strategy without first gathering the right information, says Harvard Business School professor Robert Simons. In his new book, Seven Strategy Questions: A Simple Approach for Better... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

09 Jan 2006
Research & Ideas

When Benchmarks Don’t Work

that internal support or shared services groups provide, such straight-across cost or numeric comparisons become meaningless. Today's successful support unit earns its keep by being a trusted partner to the business units it serves. So,... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan; Service

25 Jul 2005
Research & Ideas

An Organization Your Customers Understand

subordinate to the functions? Maybe you should organize by product, with separate units set up to serve specific markets. You play with the different combinations in your hands. How to decide ... This is the most obvious—and... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

20 May 2024
Blog Post

Get to Know Class Day Student Speaker Erik Roberts

View Video Erik Roberts (MBA 2024) often pauses for quite some time before answering questions. He laughs and says he can be verbose—that he needs a moment because he wants to answer succinctly and thoughtfully. For someone who wants to... View Details

Robert T. B. Stevens

In response to the changing nature of the textile industry and to the growing inefficiencies in the company, Stevens merged the manufacturing and selling sides of the business and took the new entity public to raise much needed funds. The new structural change was... View Details

Keywords: Fabric & Apparel

30 Aug 2004
Research & Ideas

Mapping Your Board’s Effectiveness

corporate strategy—create value by becoming known for better governance and greater transparency to external providers? Can they lower their cost of capital and perhaps get a valuation premium based on the reputation and performance of... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

2006
Book Review

Book Review of 'What Price the Moral High Ground? Ethical Dilemmas in Competitive Environments' by Robert Frank

By: Nien-he Hsieh

Citation

Find at Harvard

17 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

New Treasury Rules Help Long-Retirement Planning

longevity annuity should appeal to workers who believe they have enough retirement savings to last for one or two decades, although they just don't know what would happen if they lived to age 90 or 100. In the past, longevity annuities with late-starting payments were... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Pozen; Financial Services

05 Jul 2004
Research & Ideas

Radical Change, Entrepreneurial Opportunity

firm, how do you adapt to this really new technology? And as an established firm, how can you influence the perspective of others and ultimately the industry's evolution? In attempting to adapt, firms are constrained by their prior... View Details

Keywords: by Michael J. Roberts; Technology

13 Aug 2014
Lessons from the Classroom

Managing the Family Business: Entrepreneurs Needed for Long-Run Success

generations of the family are supposed to take care of and grow the founder's creation; they are not expected to be entrepreneurs themselves. Even attempting to reinvent the family company can be seen as disloyal by the family. This... View Details

Keywords: by Michael J. Roberts

08 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

A Balanced Scorecard Approach To Measure Customer Profitability

When the customer says "jump," they ask "how high?" They offer additional product features and services to their customers, but fail to receive prices that cover the costs for these additional features and services. How can companies avoid this... View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan

03 Nov 2012
News

Q&A with Robert C. Pozen, author of ‘Extreme Productivity’

08 Jan 2009
News

Harvard Professor Robert C. Merton to Receive MIT’s Muh Award

29 Mar 2023
News

Robert Kraft Launches Campaign to Combat Antisemitism

Photo courtesy New England Patriots Photo courtesy New England Patriots New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft (MBA 1965) launched a $25 million "Stand Up to Jewish Hate" campaign last week, which is "aiming to raise awareness nationwide... View Details

2012
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Richard Fahey and Robert Saudek (A): Lighting Liberia

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Anne Arlinghaus

After successful careers as lawyers Richard Fahey and Robert Saudek set out to tackle a large-scale infrastructure challenge in a complex environment by increasing Liberian citizens’ access to lighting solutions. They developed the Liberian Energy Network, which aimed... View Details