Publications

Find at Harvard

William Kerr is the D’Arbeloff Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Bill is Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Research, co-director of Harvard’s Managing the Future of Work initiative, and faculty chair of the... View Details

Keywords: communications; computer; consulting; high technology; information technology industry; management consulting; manufacturing; telecommunications; venture capital industry

Nitin Nohria

Nitin Nohria served as the tenth dean of Harvard Business School from 2010-2020. He previously served as co-chair of the Leadership Initiative, Senior Associate Dean of Faculty Development, and Head of the Organizational Behavior unit.

As Dean, building on... View Details

August 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Supplement

Urban Water Partners (B)

By: Karthik Ramanna, George Serafeim and Aldo Sesia

The case explores a new business venture to bring clean water to residents of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, who otherwise cannot afford it. Management has enough money to get their company through August 2010, but needs more capital thereafter. An HBS alumnus is interested... View Details

Keywords: Human Needs; Accrual Accounting; Financial Statements; Health Industry; Utilities Industry; Dar es Salaam

November 2007 (Revised July 2010)
Background Note

China: The Political System

Offers a detailed overview of the structure and operation of the Chinese political system today. Key issues that are discussed include: 1) the relationship between the Communist Party of China and the state; 2) the relationship between central and local levels of... View Details

Keywords: Government and Politics; System; China

08 Apr 2015
News

3 key skills clinicians need in executive roles

March 1992 (Revised June 1992)
Case

Thermo Electron Corp.

By: Carliss Y. Baldwin

George Hatsopoulos, CEO at Thermo Electron Corp., is considering whether to issue shares in a subsidiary via an initial public offering (IPO). The company has developed an unusual corporate structure in which subsidiaries fund new ventures by raising debt and equity in... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Business Subsidiaries; Resource Allocation; Valuation; Organizational Structure; Business Headquarters; Initial Public Offering; Capital Structure; Capital Markets; Financial Strategy; Corporate Finance; Semiconductor Industry; Technology Industry

26 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

High-Stakes Decision Making: The Lessons of Mount Everest

organizational processes and performance. System complexity, team structure and beliefs, and cognitive limitations are not alternative explanations for failures, but rather complementary and mutually reinforcing concepts. View Details

Keywords: by Michael A. Roberto

June 2010 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Tennant Company: Innovating Within and Beyond the Core

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Toby E. Stuart and James Weber

Tennant, a leading producer of floor cleaning equipment, must determine the business model to use for its new chemical-free cleaning technology. In 2005, Tennant Company had developed an innovative, environmentally friendly cleaning technology that could potentially... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Business Startups; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Disruptive Innovation; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Value Creation; Consumer Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry

15 Sep 2016
News

US political system risks economic competitiveness, study finds

August 2013 (Revised November 2015)
Case

Prudential Financial - General Motors Pension Risk Transfer: Back to the Future?

By: Luis M. Viceira and Emily A. Chien

In November 2012, Prudential Financial and General Motors closed on a $25.1B pension risk transfer (PRT) transaction, the largest of its kind to date by an order of magnitude both in the U.S. market and globally. In exchange for an in-kind transfer of $25.1B in... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Asset Management; Insurance; Retirement; Financial Services Industry; Insurance Industry

05 Jun 2006
Research & Ideas

Using Competition to Reform Healthcare

In health care this is not the case, in part because of the way medicine has traditionally been structured and organized. Many hospitals, for example, see themselves in the "hospital" business or... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter; Health

Malcolm P. Baker

Malcolm Baker is the Robert G. Kirby Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School, where he teaches the required course in finance and a short immersive program on investing in life sciences.

His research is in the... View Details

Keywords: asset management; biotechnology; financial services; high technology; investment banking industry; pharmaceuticals; private equity (LBO funds); shipping; transportation

17 Jan 2023
In Practice

8 Trends to Watch in 2023

As 2023 begins, businesses and employees face an uncertain economy and labor market, as the twin dilemmas of inflation and interest rates weigh on forecasts. Harvard Business School faculty share the top trends that they believe will shape the workplace and markets... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

April 2010
Course Overview Note

Managing Human Capital

By: Boris Groysberg

Managing Human Capital, a second-year elective course at Harvard Business School, seeks to create business leaders who understand human resources practices essential to firm performance and who think strategically about managing their own careers. This Managing Human... View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Human Capital; Management; Outcome or Result; Personal Development and Career

August 2009
Case

SK Telecom: Pursuing Happiness through Corporate Social Responsibility

By: Christopher Marquis, Kwang Y. Ryu, Philip H. Mirvis and Bobbi Thomason

Since 2006, SK Telecom has worked to develop strategic corporate social responsibility (CSR) programs that are aligned with its business operations and corporate mission. The case tracks the original assessment process the company went through and successive... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Telecommunications Industry; South Korea

March 1983 (Revised January 1984)
Case

Merloni Group

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

The general manager of the recently-established French subsidiary of an Italian appliance company is in conflict with headquarters about unexpectedly poor financial performance. Headquarters management believes it should be able to exert more control over the... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Trade; Organizational Structure; Performance Evaluation; Power and Influence; France; Italy

Find at Harvard

September 2021 (Revised November 2022)
Case

MAYA Capital

By: Robert F. White, Carla Larangeira and Pedro Levindo

MAYA Capital co-founders Lara Lemann and Monica Saggioro raised $41.5 million through a series of closings for their early-stage Latin American venture capital fund. The two women had met for the first time in mid-2016 when Lemann was contemplating scaling her angel... View Details

Keywords: Early Stage; Portfolio Construction; Fund Management; Investment; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Strategy; Business Startups; Management; Investment Funds; Latin America

February 2008 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Enterprise Culture in Chinese History: Zhang Jian and the Dasheng Cotton Mills

By: Elisabeth Koll

This case focuses on the legal and managerial evolution of limited-liability firms in China, using the example of the Dasheng cotton mills in Nantong near Shanghai. Dasheng, one of the earliest and most successful industrial enterprises in pre-war China, was founded by... View Details

Keywords: History; Law; Organizational Culture; Family Ownership; State Ownership; Corporate Governance; Financial Crisis; Business and Government Relations; Entrepreneurship; Change; Manufacturing Industry; Shanghai; China

March 2007 (Revised October 2008)
Case

The New York Times Co.

The Sulzberger family owns 20% of the New York Times Co. (NYT) but controls 70% of the board through a dual-class share structure. At the company's April 2006 annual shareholder meeting, Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM) and other investors, holding 28% of... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Investment Activism; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Governing and Advisory Boards; Business and Shareholder Relations; Publishing Industry; New York (city, NY)