Publications

July 1996
Case

Buck & Pulleyn's Team Management

In 1993, the firm began to move from a traditional hierarchical structure to client-focused teams. The case describes the process and some consequences of this restructuring. Performance seems to be improving, but some employees preferred the structure certainty and... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Change Management; Organizational Structure; Groups and Teams

14 Nov 2011
Research & Ideas

Creating a Global Business Code

The turn of the 21st century has been laden with high-profile corporate scandals, prompting widespread concern about the standards of conduct followed by big business. Intrigued by the complexity View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

TeachingInterests

Executive Education - Owner/President Management Program

By: Martin A. Sinozich

Delivered in three units that span 24 months over three calendar years, the Owner/President Management (OPM) program is a transformative learning experience that boosts leadership skills and the value of participants’ enterprises. Sinozich teaches the Finance... View Details

04 May 2007
What Do You Think?

How Do Managers Think?

Summing Up Can managers acquire ways of thinking or ways of learning from doctors? Managers can learn from an understanding View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

May 1996 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Colliers International Property Consultants, Inc.: Managing a Virtual Organization

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In less than 20 years, the real estate firm Colliers International expanded into a federation of 180 offices with close to 4,500 professionals in over 30 countries. Because Colliers expanded by signing up existing firms strong in their local markets, its leaders had to... View Details

Keywords: Demand and Consumers; Globalized Firms and Management; Management Practices and Processes; Service Operations; Information Technology; Organizational Structure; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Strategy; Budgets and Budgeting; Real Estate Industry

Program

Leading Global Businesses

Summary In an increasingly complex and volatile global world, companies need capable leaders with a unique mix of global business knowledge and personal leadership strengths. In this global leadership... View Details

June 2007 (Revised July 2008)
Case

Kinder Morgan, Inc. - Management Buyout

Kinder Morgan, Inc., was a leader in the transportation and distribution of energy throughout North America, managing a master limited partnership with over $35 billion in infrastructure assets. In the summer of 2006, Richard Kinder, the founder and chairman of Kinder... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Fairness; Governing and Advisory Boards; Privatization; Partners and Partnerships; Conflict of Interests; North America

November 2009 (Revised January 2010)
Case

Zara: Managing Stores for Fast Fashion

By: Zeynep Ton, Elena Corsi and Vincent Marie Dessain

Pablo Isla, the CEO of Zara, wanted to improve operational efficiencies in managing its store network. In particular, he wanted to improve labor productivity at the stores. He considered outsourcing certain store operations to third parties, changing the way store... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Employees; Managerial Roles; Service Operations; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Efficiency; Performance Productivity; Retail Industry

01 Apr 1997
News

Management Update Launched

Managers trying to make sense out of a continuously changing business environment should check out the latest from Harvard Business School... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

June 1999 (Revised March 2001)
Case

New Business Investment Company: October 1997

By: Josh Lerner, Lee Branstetter and Takeshi Nakabayashi

A quasi-government organization seeks to stimulate entrepreneurship in Japan by making venture capital investments. The organization of the fund, identification of transactions, and oversight of portfolio firms pose considerable challenges. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Entrepreneurship; Government and Politics; Problems and Challenges; Financial Services Industry; Japan

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06 Apr 2021
News

Disrupting the Waste Management Industry with Technology

17 Dec 2015
News

Examining Global Workforce Management

“no-layoff” policies. In her research into how businesses are reinventing layoffs, Professor Sandra J. Sucher (MBA 1976) is examining the impact of layoffs and comparative approaches to workforce View Details

24 Apr 2006
Research & Ideas

Managing Alignment as a Process

corporate synergies should be defined at the top and realized in the business units. Just as the CFO coordinates the budgeting process, a senior executive should coordinate the alignment process—a responsibility for the Office View Details

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan & David P. Norton; Apparel & Accessories; Fashion; Consumer Products; Retail

February 2023 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Doing Business in Helsinki, Finland

By: Martin A. Sinozich, Lena Duchene, Tonia Labruyere and Daniela Beyersdorfer

This case examines the challenges and opportunities of doing business in Finland. It highlights Finland's economic transformation in the decades leading up to 2024 in the context of its history, culture, and politics. The case gives an overview of some of the main... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Research and Development; Foreign Direct Investment; Crisis Management; Culture; Environmental Sustainability; International Relations; Food and Beverage Industry; Finland; Europe

Article

Thin Political Markets: The Soft Underbelly of Capitalism

By: Karthik Ramanna

"Thin political markets" are the processes through which some of the most complex and critical institutions of our capitalist system are determined—e.g., our accounting-standards infrastructure. In thin political markets, corporate managers are largely... View Details

Keywords: Business And Society; Lobbying; Sustainability; Leadership; Economic Systems; Accounting; Business and Community Relations; Financial Institutions; Business and Government Relations

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June 2007 (Revised March 2010)
Case

Managing Orthopaedics at Rittenhouse Medical Center

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Robert S. Huckman, James Weber and Kevin J. Bozic

Considers the issues associated with running multiple business models–a private practice and an academic faculty practice--within the confines of the orthopaedics department of a single medical center. Students assume the role of Neela Wilson, Executive Director of... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Business Model; Health Care and Treatment; Service Operations; Conflict Management; Competition; Health Industry

April 2006
Background Note

Informing Service Management with Customer Data

By: Frances X. Frei and Dennis Campbell

Taught as the third module in a Harvard Business School course on Managing Service Operations. Explores the role of data analysis in ongoing service management. Describes how to realize the maximum amount of value from analyses and use this information in... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Design; Analytics and Data Science; Service Operations; Mathematical Methods; Value

June 1991 (Revised April 1997)
Background Note

Managing the Multibusiness Corporation

By: David J. Collis

Lays out some ideas on how to restructure a multibusiness corporation. Identifies sixteen elements of organization design, and then applies contingency theory to argue that these elements need to be aligned with the tasks the corporation uses to create value across its... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Alignment; Corporate Strategy; Theory; Value Creation