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September 2, 2020
Article

What Really Prevents Companies from Thriving in a Recession

By: Ranjay Gulati and Mark Wiedman

Even in the best of times, many companies fail to fund and staff new opportunities. As decades of research have shown, leaders fear threats to their status and power and so become attached to existing businesses and budgets, regarding them as entitlements and as a... View Details

Keywords: Recessions; Resource Allocation; Budgets and Budgeting

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March 2001 (Revised September 2002)
Case

Merck Latin America (A)

By: Michael Beer and James Weber

Introduces Grey Warner, the vice president of Merck's Latin America region, and his efforts to improve the organizational effectiveness of the region and to introduce a more global business culture and values. Discusses Merck's ethics and values, its Latin American... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Ethics; Business Processes; Strategic Planning; Change Management; Values and Beliefs; Globalized Firms and Management; Employee Relationship Management; Business Strategy; Government and Politics; Economy; Pharmaceutical Industry; Latin America

17 Oct 2016
HBS Case

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

As much as 40 percent of food grown in the United States for human consumption is wasted. Source: Eivaisla After decades of wasteful food practices, where perfectly good food is discarded even as poverty keeps many families hungry,... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

17 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Being the Boss

between management and leadership in the age of globalization and remote offices. Carmen Nobel: Your book discusses three imperatives for becoming a great leader: managing... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

2019
Working Paper

Golden Opportunity? Voluntary Sustainability Standards for Artisanal and Small-scale Gold Mining and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

By: Kristin Sippl

While much is known about voluntary sustainability standards' contributions to certain issues in certain sectors, less is known about their contributions to the realization of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This paper helps balance the... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability Standards; Gold; Certification; Eco-labeling; International Law; Extractive Industries; Fair Trade; United Nations; Sustainable Development; Environmental Sustainability; Standards; Adoption; Governance; Global Range; Luxury; Mining Industry

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18 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Industrial Decarbonization: Confronting the Hard Challenges of Cement

Cities like Cairo; Chongqing, China; Delhi; and Kinshasa, Congo are experiencing population explosions accompanied by unprecedented demand for homes, offices, factories, and infrastructure. In the United States, the Biden Administration’s policy-driven infrastructure... View Details

Keywords: by by Janelle Conaway; Green Technology; Energy; Industrial Products; Manufacturing

07 Nov 2017
First Look

New Research and Ideas: November 7, 2017

Bennett, Victor Manuel, Megan Lawrence, and Raffaella Sadun Abstract—We investigate the management practices adopted by firms where the founders are also the CEOs using data from the World Management Survey.... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

July–August 2014
Article

Sustainability in the Boardroom: Lessons from Nike's Playbook

By: Lynn S. Paine

One surprising role of Nike's corporate responsibility committee is to provide support for innovation. More and more companies recognize the importance of corporate responsibility to their long-term success—and yet the matter gets short shrift in most boardrooms,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry

2016
Chapter

Unpacking the Dynamics of Successful Change: Ten Insights from the Private Sector

By: Rebecca Henderson

Book Abstract: The aim of this book is to catalyze global interest in the pursuit of transformational changes in natural resource and environmental management. It is shown that transformational policy reforms involve fundamental shifts in strategy with far-reaching... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Transformation; Australia; New Zealand; China; United States; Europe; Southeast Asia

March 2000
Case

Lockheed Martin: The Employer of Choice Mission

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Michael D Overdorf

A Lockheed Martin manager is faced with the decision of where to focus the organization's resources in order to develop a world-class employee development system. The manager's recommendation will serve as the basis for the company's goal of becoming an Employer of... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Resource Allocation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Employees; Human Resources; Leadership Development; Cost Management; Organizational Design; Aerospace Industry

May 2011 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Redesigning a 401(k) Plan at Haley-Midland

By: Robert C. Pozen and Scott Eric Perl

Rose Adams, the CFO of Haley-Midland, Inc., dispensed with pleasantries and started right in on her questions for Jim Sweeney, the senior vice president of human resources, and Nancy Walters, Haley-Midland's vice president and treasurer, about the brewing crisis with... View Details

Keywords: Retirement; Crisis Management; Design; Planning; Human Resources

11 Oct 2010
Research & Ideas

It Pays to Hire Women in Countries That Won’t

Call it corporate alchemy. New research finds that multinational companies can spin gender bias into gold by recruiting and hiring well-educated female managers in countries that traditionally discriminate against women. Employing women... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

January 2009
Supplement

KPMG (B): Risk and Reform

By: Robert G. Eccles and Eliot Sherman

Under the leadership of Tim Flynn, Chairman and CEO of KPMG, the firm made a number of changes in compensation, governance, and culture in order to address the underlying reasons for actions that occurred prior to him becoming CEO that led to the accounting giant... View Details

Keywords: Communication Strategy; Ethics; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

January 1985 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Conex do Brasil

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and John Young

Describes interactions between Brazilian local, Latin American regional, and USA headquarters staff during the three years after establishing a manufacturing subsidiary in Sao Paulo. In a highly protected national environment, a market entry plan is developed to meet... View Details

Keywords: Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Resignation and Termination; Goals and Objectives; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Performance Expectations; Opportunities; Corporate Strategy; Latin America; United States; Brazil

21 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

Are You Sabotaging Your Own Company?

the General Management Program at HBS. In advising global firms, Thomke has seen that in many cases, a company’s biggest obstacle to success doesn’t necessarily come from competitors, the economy, or other... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

01 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

Good Leadership Is an Act of Kindness

the pandemic. But being kind might also involve taking an active role in offering mental health resources or creating a virtual support group or sounding board. ""How are you managing these days?" According... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Susan Seligson

September 2024
Technical Note

How to Pay Family Employees in a Family Business

By: Christina R. Wing, Maryann G Bell and Kara A Perusse

Family businesses play a pivotal role in global economies, contributing significantly to employment and wealth creation. However, managing compensation for family members within these enterprises can be complex. Family employees frequently intertwine their roles as... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Fairness; Compensation and Benefits; Business or Company Management

Forthcoming
Article

Subordinating Humanism: How Colliding Beliefs About a Living Wage Shape Personal Fulfillment and 'Professional-Class' Identities in Working-Class Jobs

By: Lumumba Seegars, Serenity S. Lee, Erin M. Reid and Lakshmi Ramarajan

In a society dominated by market-based ideology and management practices that prioritize financial considerations, some organizations are shifting toward humanistic ideology and practices that emphasize human welfare. To examine this transformation in pay-setting, we... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Moral Sensibility; Wages; Welfare; Performance Expectations; Identity; Employee Relationship Management; Management Practices and Processes

November 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Starbucks: Reaffirming Commitment to the Third Place Ideal

By: Francesca Gino, Katherine B. Coffman and Jeff Huizinga

On April 12, 2018, two African American entrepreneurs had scheduled a business meeting at a Starbucks in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. They sat without ordering, waiting for a local businessman to show up for the meeting. The store manager called 911... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Prejudice and Bias; Crisis Management; Employees; Training