Publications

September 1996 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Mobil USM&R (C): Lubricants Business Unit

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The general manager of a Lubricants Business Unit in Mobil's U.S. Marketing and Refining division launched a project to develop a Balanced Scorecard (BSC) for his unit. The purpose was to provide focus for all employees of the unit, enabling it to operate on an... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Employees; Customization and Personalization; Performance Evaluation; Measurement and Metrics; Management Teams; Projects; Energy Industry; Mining Industry; United States

March 1999 (Revised February 2001)
Background Note

New Product Development Imperative, The

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Edward T Smith

Introduces students to the best practices for managing new product development projects. Includes concepts and tools related to structuring teams consistent with the project objectives as well as concepts and processes for improving project execution. View Details

Keywords: Management Practices and Processes; Product Development; Performance Improvement; Problems and Challenges; Groups and Teams

Profile

Cathy Zhou

I had to stop amassing more skills and just make the leap to doing what I wanted to do. What have you most enjoyed about your career thus far? As a general manager at Uber, I love that the work my team and I... View Details

Keywords: Technology

January 2011
Supplement

Global Diversity and Inclusion at Royal Dutch Shell (B): The Impact of Restructuring

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Daniela Beyersdorfer

The (B) case describes the actions taken by Royal Dutch Shell's CEO and his management team to maintain their commitment to diversity and inclusion (D&I), as introduced in the (A) case, during a major restructuring of the whole organization. View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Human Resources; Diversity; Management Teams; Energy Industry; Netherlands

11 May 2009
Research & Ideas

The IT Leader’s Hero Quest

importance of including business-side managers in certain key decisions so that all are invested in a successful outcome. In other words: Successful IT strategy and management is now extremely dependent on... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Jeffrey T. Polzer

Jeff Polzer is the UPS Foundation Professor of Human Resource Management in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. He studies how people collaborate in teams and across organizational networks to accomplish their individual and collective... View Details

February 1994 (Revised November 1994)
Case

Brinkerhoff International, Inc. (A)

Presents a study of two oil rigs and their team relationships within a context of dissension in lower management ranks and a president who is trying to expand the business in a changing economy. View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Energy Sources; Mining Industry; Energy Industry

October 2016 (Revised January 2018)
Case

BlackRock (A): Selling the Systems?

By: Ranjay Gulati, Jan W. Rivkin and Kelly McNamara

As the case opens in 1999, several key leaders at BlackRock, Inc., then a relatively small asset management firm, are trying to convince CEO Larry Fink and others that the firm should begin to offer Aladdin—its proprietary analytics and trading platform—to other asset... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competition; Information Technology; Asset Management; Competitive Strategy; Financial Services Industry; United States

April 1992 (Revised February 1993)
Supplement

Otis South Africa (B)

By: Michael Beer

Covers a June 1990 Social Responsibility Conference held by George David to evaluate the progress of his new management team in increasing the pace of nonwhite advancement. The U.S. CEO and the managing director of Otis South Africa disagree over the suitability of... View Details

Keywords: Conflict Management; Race; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Management Teams; South Africa

Article

The Scandal Effect

By: Boris Groysberg, Eric Lin, George Serafeim and Robin Abrahams

Executives with scandal-tainted companies on their résumés pay a penalty on the job market, even if they clearly had nothing to do with the trouble. Because the scandal effect is lasting, a company you left long ago could have an impact on your current and future job... View Details

Keywords: Misconduct; Career; Career Management; Career Changes; Executive Leadership; Executive Development; Crime and Corruption; Executive Compensation; Personal Development and Career; Management Skills; Management Teams

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2012
Book

Teaming: How Organizations Learn, Innovate, and Compete in the Knowledge Economy

By: Amy C. Edmondson

Continuous improvement, understanding complex systems, and promoting innovation are all part of the landscape of learning challenges today's companies face. I show that organizations thrive, or fail to thrive, based on how well the small groups within those... View Details

Keywords: Change; Interpersonal Communication; Learning; Values and Beliefs; Innovation and Invention; Management; Performance Improvement; Groups and Teams; Research; Strategy; Complexity; Value

Working Paper

How Do Venture Capitalists Make Decisions?

By: Paul A. Gompers, William Gornall, Steven N. Kaplan and Ilya A. Strebulaev

We survey 885 institutional venture capitalists (VCs) at 681 firms to learn how they make decisions across eight areas: deal sourcing, investment selection, valuation, deal structure, post-investment value-added, exits, internal firm organization, and relationships... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Decision Choices and Conditions

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Jan W. Rivkin is a Professor in the Strategy Unit at Harvard Business School. In the past, he has served as Faculty Chair of the MBA Program, Senior Associate Dean for Research, and head of the Strategy Unit. His research, course development, and teaching focus on... View Details

Keywords: airline; computer; internet; music; transportation

January 1998 (Revised March 1998)
Case

Staples (C)

By: Myra M. Hart, Marco Iansiti and Barbara Feinberg

The search for appropriate hardware and software to support the launch of a new large-scale retail operation forces the management team to define their goals at a very detailed level and to make all underlying assumptions explicit. View Details

Keywords: Goals and Objectives; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Business Startups; Management Teams; Retail Industry

January 2021 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Carnival Corporation: Cruising Through COVID-19

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah Abbott

In March 2020, in response to the global pandemic, the cruise industry ceased operations. Carnival was the largest cruise line operator in the world, and CEO Arnold Donald and his management team worked to position the company to survive. They slashed operating... View Details

Keywords: Debt Issuance; Equity Issuances; Convertible Debt; Cruise Lines; Restructuring; Capital; Crisis Management; Cash Flow; Health Pandemics; Borrowing and Debt; Travel Industry; United States

Sara Torti is a senior product and operating executive who has focused extensively on creating and scaling technology-based businesses that require a combination of detailed execution, business insight and technical acumen. She has grown products... View Details

March 16, 2020
Article

15 Questions About Remote Work, Answered

By: Tsedal Neeley

How should corporate leaders, managers and individual workers shift to remote work in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic? Tsedal Neeley, a professor at Harvard Business School, has spent two decades helping companies learn how to manage dispersed teams. In this... View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus Pandemic; Remote Work; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Practices and Processes

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13 Mar 2023
Research & Ideas

The Power of Personal Connections: How Shared Experiences Boost Performance

do better.” Managers and policy makers should take care when setting up new team building programs to avoid seeming exploitive or manipulative, Pany says. People—whether they’re health care providers or any... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Health

February 2000 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Open Market, Inc.: The E-Commerce Wars

By: James I. Cash Jr., Janis Lee Gogan, Michael Haselkorn and Mani Subramani

Continues the story of Open Market, Inc., a company founded in 1994 to support electronic commerce on the Internet. Despite a very successful initial public offering, the firm had reached a growth plateau, and the management team was considering several strategic... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Product Development; Competitive Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Information Technology Industry; Web Services Industry