Publications

2009
Article

The Harvard Economic Service and the Problems of Forecasting

By: Walter Friedman

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Higher Education; Problems and Challenges; Economics

January 2006
Case

Negotiating for the Motion Picture Association of America and the Motion Picture Association: Jack Valenti (A)

By: James K. Sebenius, Ellen Knebel and Erin Egan

Summarizes the background and career highlights of Jack Valenti, longtime head of the Motion Picture Association of America and the Motion Picture Association. Sets up three difficult negotiation challenges facing Valenti over a rating system for movies, the financial... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Film Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Negotiation; Problems and Challenges; United States

July 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Pfizer's Virtual CIO (Abridged)

By: F. Warren McFarlan and Brian DeLacey

Discusses the IT organization and IT strategy issues facing Pfizer, one of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies. Managing over $1 billion of IT expense, the company has a committee approach for handling all critical IT decisions, an approach that is consistent... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Cost Management; Organizational Culture; Strategy; Information Technology; Pharmaceutical Industry

December 2001 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Poland's A2 Motorway

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Michael Kane

Autostrada Wielkopolska S.A. (AWSA) is a consortium of 18 firms that won a concession to build and operate Poland's first private toll road. In June 2000, AWSA's chief financial officer, Wojciech Gebicki, is preparing for a meeting with the projects' lead bankers to... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Cost vs Benefits; Project Finance; Projects; Construction Industry; Transportation Industry; Poland

February 2006
Article

Mixed Motives and Racial Bias: The Impact of Legitimate and Illegitimate Criteria on Decision-making.

By: Michael I. Norton, Samuel R. Sommers, Joseph A. Vandello and John M. Darley

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Prejudice and Bias; Decision Making

Read Now

01 Mar 2008
News

Sarah Talley’s Key Negotiation Principles

When you have a problem, when there’s something you engage in with Wal-Mart that requires agreement so that it becomes a negotiation, the first advice is to think in partnership terms, really focus on a common goal, of getting costs out, for example, and ask questions.... View Details

Keywords: General Merchandise Stores; Retail Trade

15 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 15, 2006

joint decision of holding sovereign debt and reserves, we construct a stochastic dynamic equilibrium model calibrated to a sample of emerging markets. We obtain that the optimal policy is not to hold reserves at all. This finding is... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Feb 2004
What Do You Think?

Leadership: A Matter of Sustaining or Eliminating Groupthink?

down to being an approachable leader." But "once a decision is made ... public criticism of that particular decision should be actively discouraged ... ." As Ina Ferber put it, "… it... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

07 Sep 2021
News

Summer Fellowship Recipient is a Changemaker in Tanzania

heart of public services decision making.” That’s why DeBere and Helga Mutasingwa, a doctor and public health professional based in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, cofounded Afya Pamoja in that country in 2020 with Patrick Anyanga and Robert... View Details

Keywords: April White

November 2023
Case

Open Source Machine Learning at Google

By: Shane Greenstein, Martin Wattenberg, Fernanda B. Viégas, Daniel Yue and James Barnett

Set in early 2023, the case exposes students to the challenges of managing open source software at Google. The case focuses on the challenges for Alex Spinelli, Vice President of Product Management for Core Machine Learning. He must set priorities for Google’s efforts... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Technological Innovation; Open Source Distribution; Strategy; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Technology Industry; United States

December 1961 (Revised January 1994)
Case

Plowman Poultry Farm

By: Samuel L. Hayes III

A poultry farmer wanted to expand production greatly and sought a large extension of his line of credit from his bank in addition to his existing loan on which he had not made payment. The Board of Directors must review a detailed account of events leading to this... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Expansion; Decision Choices and Conditions; Financing and Loans; Commercial Banking; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

March 2011
Case

Grand Circle Travel: Where Risk Comes with the Territory

By: Herman B. Leonard

A worldwide travel company is intrinsically exposed to risks of natural and man-made disasters. How do you organize a business for success when it must on a nearly daily basis cope with hazards ranging from minor mishaps to large-scale catastrophes? Alan and Harriet... View Details

Keywords: Crisis Management; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Transportation; Organizational Design; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Structure; Mission and Purpose; Competitive Advantage; Travel Industry

October 2008 (Revised December 2008)
Supplement

Gillette Company (E): Procter & Gamble

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

After arriving in 2001 as the first outsider Chairman and CEO in Gillette history, Jim Kilts led a remarkable turnaround. But by late 2004 he had to make a difficult decision. To better position the 104-year-old, Boston-based company, he opted to sell it to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation

July 2001 (Revised February 2004)
Case

Gerdau (A)

By: Joseph L. Bower, Luiz Felipe Monteiro and Sonja Ellingson Hout

Gerdau Group is a family-controlled Brazilian manufacturer and distributor of long steel products. Describes the evolution of the company's strategy, organization, and smart management, making it the No. 2 steel producer in Brazil. The company must decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Family Business; Decision Choices and Conditions; Developing Countries and Economies; Globalization; Competitive Strategy; Steel Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Brazil; United States

01 Jun 2015
News

The Military and the MBA: Chris Howard (MBA 2003)

“Yes, sir. No, sir. No excuse, sir.” —A case study in responsibility—in business or the military Chris Howard (MBA 2003) served in the Air Force in Afghanistan, for which he was awarded a Bronze Star; he retired from the reserve in 2013 as a lieutenant colonel. He is... View Details

Keywords: National Security and International Affairs; Government

01 Dec 2012
News

From Where We Stand

Cynthia King Vance (MBA 1985), director, Advanced Strategies, New York, New York Follow your instincts. Looking back, the decisions I made along the way make more sense now than they did back then. There are common threads that reflected... View Details

October 2024
Teaching Plan

Teamworks: Tackling a Forecasting Fumble

By: Lou Shipley and Stacy Straaberg

In late March 2018, Teamworks CEO Zach Maurides learned Q1 2018 sales were at risk for a large forecasting miss. Founded in 2004, Teamworks’s software application assisted support staff in messaging, scheduling, and sharing documents with collegiate and professional... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Communication Strategy; Decisions; Forecasting and Prediction; Business Cycles; Technological Innovation; Sports; Growth and Development Strategy; Resource Allocation; Marketing; Sales; Business Strategy; Expansion; Sports Industry; Technology Industry; United States; North Carolina