Publications

March 1981 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Hank Kolb, Director, Quality Assurance

By: Frank S. Leonard and W. Earl Sasser

Designed to introduce the systemic nature of product quality and the complexity of quality problems. Uses a new director, quality assurance, and the discovery of a quality problem. The new director has to decide if it is a real problem, what to do about it, and how to... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Product; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Attitudes; Complexity

December 1980 (Revised September 1985)
Case

British Steel Corporation: The Korf Contract

By: John P. Kotter and John M. Stengrevics

Traces a complex resource allocation decision facing British Steel in 1975. Students study the influences on the various managers involved in making the decision. View Details

Keywords: Resource Allocation; Decision Making; Management Teams; Metals and Minerals; Steel Industry; United Kingdom

1977
Working Paper

Mitigating Demographic Risk Through Social Insurance

By: Jerry R. Green

A two-period lifetime overlapping generations growth model is used to evaluate the possibility that social insurance can effectively offset economic risks associated with uncertainty about the rate of population growth. Crude measures of the seriousness of this type of... View Details

Keywords: Social Insurance; Econometric Models; Public Sector; Government Administration; Policy; Human Needs; Social Issues; Risk and Uncertainty

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September 1975
Case

British Leyland: The Cowley Complex

By: George C. Lodge

Keywords: Auto Industry; United Kingdom

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September 1971 (Revised September 1983)
Case

Gentle Electric Co.

By: W. Earl Sasser

Designed to illustrate various levels of complexity in determining optimum order sizes for a single item inventory policy. Students are asked to evaluate the impact of recent operational changes on the firm's ordering policy. Intended to follow the students' initial... View Details

Keywords: Change; Policy; Supply Chain; Complexity; Electronics Industry

Article

Needs and Need Satisfaction Among Clerical Workers in Complex and Routine Jobs

By: Michael Beer

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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

Teaching Interest

Agribusiness Seminar - Executive Education

By: David E. Bell

In the agribusiness industry, every year brings new trends and challenges. While demand continues to grow, consumer needs shift, production challenges increase, and evolving technology impacts every part of the value chain. The complex... View Details

Research Summary

Anonymity and Identity

By: John A. Deighton

In most consumer markets, consumers are accustomed to operating in relative anonymity. A complex social adjustment is occurring as people realize that anonymity is often no longer their default condition - it must be sought and in some cases bought. New conceptions of... View Details

Keywords: Privacy; Anonymity

Research Summary

Business Leaders and Corporate Responsibility

By: Thomas R. Piper

Thomas R. Piper is trying to establish an appropriate sense of ethics and corporate responsibility for future business leaders. Earlier research provided compelling evidence that many future leaders seriously doubt that their interpersonal ethics can be brought into... View Details

Teaching Interest

Changing the Game: Negotiation and Competitive Decision Making

By: Guhan Subramanian

High-stakes business negotiations challenge your wits, your confidence, and your capacity for clear reasoning under intense pressure. Changing the Game leverages the latest research to your advantage, helping you prepare for complex... View Details

Teaching Interest

Data Science and AI for Leaders

By: Dennis Campbell

Modern business increasingly relies... View Details

Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Data Science

2025
Article

Data-driven equation discovery reveals nonlinear reinforcement learning in humans

By: Kyle J. LaFollette, Janni Yuval, Roey Schurr, David Melnikoff and Amit Goldenberg

Computational models of reinforcement learning (RL) have significantly contributed to our understanding of human behavior and decision-making. Traditional RL models, however, often adopt a linear approach to updating reward expectations, potentially oversimplifying the... View Details

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