Publications

January 2013 (Revised August 2013)
Case

First Solar: CFRA's Accounting Quality Concerns

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Ian McKown Cornell

The case relates to accounting quality analysis conducted by the leading research firm Center for Financial Research and Analysis (CFRA) on companies in the solar industry with a focus on First Solar Inc. In 2009, CFRA was concerned that First Solar, like much of the... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Accounting Quality; Financial Accounting; Financial Statement Analysis; Accounting Fraud; Accounting Red Flags; Accounting Scandal; Risk and Uncertainty; Quality; Earnings Management; Valuation; Crime and Corruption; Financial Statements; Energy Sources; Green Technology Industry; Accounting Industry; Energy Industry

September 2006 (Revised January 2008)
Case

ABRY Partners and F+W Publications

After acquiring F+W Publications from a rival private equity firm, ABRY Partners became increasingly convinced that they had been deceived by the sellers about the profitability of the company. ABRY must determine whether they were deliberately misled, what courses of... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Private Equity; Negotiation Deal; Negotiation Preparation

January 1991 (Revised March 2010)
Supplement

Westchester Distributing, Inc. (B)

By: Robert L. Simons and Robert Boxwell

Describes the actions taken by the owner/president to resolve the dilemma. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Customers; Problems and Challenges; Governance Controls; Compensation and Benefits; Behavior; Distribution Industry

October 1993
Supplement

United Way of America: Governance in the Nonprofit Sector (B), Kenneth W. Dam Becomes Interim President

By: Jay W. Lorsch

Analyzes the measures taken by the United Way of America (UWA) and its board of governors in response to the 1992 Washington Post reports that lead to the UWA scandal. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Newspapers; Nonprofit Organizations; United States

Web

Power and Influence for Positive Impact - Course Catalog

This course also prepares you to use power responsibly, resist its corruptive perils, and exercise it to make the world a better place. As such, it will equip you to leverage power and influence not only for personal gain but also for the... View Details

01 Sep 2006
News

Private Sector and Public Interest Meet at Global Leadership Forum

taking on the public interest as an essential part of its agenda,” said HBS professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter in one of the many sessions led by the School’s faculty. Kanter explained that several trends are causing the private sector to get more involved: the perceived... View Details

04 Jun 2013
First Look

First Look: June 4

examination of i) the consequences of violating the trust of market participants; ii) cultural and leadership flaws at Barclays; iii) the challenge of effectively competing in a market where systemic, and widely understood, corruption is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

11 Jun 2012
Research & Ideas

When Business Competition Harms Society

Competition Corrupts Business Practices, suggests that many organizations in highly competitive markets are likely to bend the rules if doing so will keep their customers from leaving for a rival firm. "Competition is generally... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Auto

2013
Chapter

Privacy Breach Analysis in Social Networks

By: Frank Nagle

Over the past 5–10 years, online social networks have rapidly expanded, and as of March 2012 the largest online social network, Facebook, had over 901 million active members. The wealth of information users post in their social network profiles, as well as the... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Social and Collaborative Networks; Social Media; Cybersecurity; Analytics and Data Science

Find at Harvard

January 2004 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Crisis and Response: Sexual Abuse Allegations in the Boston Archdiocese (A)

By: Ashish Nanda

This case describes how the Boston archdiocese of the Roman Catholic Church handled allegations of clergy sexual abuse during the 1990s. In 2002, the archdiocese was confronted by public revelations of how the allegations were handled. Professional organizations first... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Crime and Corruption; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Religion; Crisis Management; Boston

March 2002 (Revised May 2002)
Case

Astel Manufacturing Company

By: Joseph L. Bower

The FBI indicates that three purchasing agents are suspected recipients of bribes. After an inconclusive investigation, the agents leave. The superiors are unsure what to do. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Problems and Challenges; Decision Choices and Conditions; Government and Politics; Resignation and Termination

October 2000 (Revised November 2000)
Case

New Economy Ethics: YouKnowIt.com

By: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr. and Kim Slack

Entrepreneur Janice Schwartz is hoping to grow her start-up company by creating a technical advisory board and compensating members with discounted company stock. Schwartz is considering six candidates that can help her online education company in a variety of ways: as... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Crime and Corruption; Customers; Entrepreneurship; Venture Capital; Governing and Advisory Boards; Media; Networks; Internet

01 Sep 2009
News

Heroines and Helping Hands

WuDunn Photo Courtesy Sheryl WuDunn Girls matter — we take that for granted here in the developed nations, and we all expect our daughters, sisters, and wives to make a difference in the world. But take a moment to think about another kind of girl, one who might live... View Details

Keywords: Sheryl WuDunn; Arts, Sports, Language, Driving, and Other Schools; Educational Services; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Personal Services

18 Aug 2009
First Look

First Look: August 18

these two relationships may operate in a circular fashion. Second, we consider whether advertising these benefits of charitable giving—asking people to give in order to be happy—may have the perverse consequence of decreasing charitable giving, crowding out intrinsic... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Sep 2006
News

Down the Memory Chute

put on a midnight stamp at 3 a.m. Corruption run rampant! Analyze This WAC student Bobbi Clarke (MBA ’72) It was rather obvious to female MBA students that we were not among the WAC readers’ favorite students. Clearly, a number of the WAC... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons

December 2021
Case

Slice Labs: Creating a Fraud-free Online Insurance Platform

By: Amit Goldenberg, Max Bazerman and Ruth Page

"Slice Labs: Creating a Fraud-Free Online Insurance Platform" engages students with the challenge of how to influence other parties to not engage in fraud in the context of digital insurance. The case is centered around Slice, a digital insurance company that was... View Details