Publications

As business leaders worry about the decline of American competitiveness, business schools are responding by changing their curriculums. But are the topics and approaches taught in today's business schools part of the solution or part of the problem? In this paper, I... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools; Purpose Of Business Schools; Management Education; Business School Curriculum; Strategy Execution; U.S. Competitiveness; Capitalism; Management Profession; Innovation; Competing To Win; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Trends; Customer Focus and Relationships; Decision Making; Design; Business Education; Curriculum and Courses; Innovation and Management

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Accounting & Management Awards & Honors - Faculty & Research

Management Review Citation of Excellence Award for "Corporate Social Responsibility and Access to Finance" with Beiting Cheng and Ioannis Ioannou ( Strategic Management Journal , 2014). Robert Simons :... View Details

09 Nov 2010
First Look

First Look: November 9, 2010

PublicationsDid Increased Competition Affect Credit Ratings? Authors:Bo Becker and Todd Milbourn Publication:Journal of Financial Economics (forthcoming) Abstract The credit rating industry has historically been dominated by just two... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

April 2012 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Dovernet

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case illustrates the implications of using stringent performance measurement systems to create performance pressure, motivate employee achievement, and sharpen a firm's competitiveness. It opens by describing the downsides of the ruthlessly competitive culture at... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; Vancouver

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Investors - Entrepreneurship

Hsiao Canvas Venture Fund MBA 2001 Tina Ju KPCB China MBA 1992 Samir Kaul Khosla Ventures MBA 2002 Patrick Kerins New Enterprise Associates MBA 1985 Bong Koh Venrock MBA 2004 Robert Kuhling ONSET Ventures MBA 1980 Ethan Kurzweil Bessemer... View Details

January 1991 (Revised March 1992)
Case

USA Today

By: Robert L. Simons

USA Today is a national newspaper struggling to achieve profitability. This case focuses on the use of management control systems to identify emerging opportunities and the formulation of new strategies. The interactive system used by top managers--the Friday... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Forecasting and Prediction; Growth and Development Strategy; Risk Management; Labor and Management Relations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Risk and Uncertainty; Journalism and News Industry; United States

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November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 13: Identifying Strategic Risk

This module reading begins by describing the three sources of strategic risk—operations risk, asset impairment risk, and competitive risk—and demonstrates how these risks can undermine an entire business. To assist in the identification of these risks, the risk... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Risk Assessment; Operational Control; Asset Impairment; Franchise Risk; Fraud; Strategy; Information Management

September 2016 (Revised March 2017)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 3: Using Information for Performance Measurement and Control

This module reading explains how managers use information to control critical business processes and outcomes. The analysis begins by illustrating how managers use information to communicate goals and track performance. Then the focus turns to the choices that managers... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Strategy Execution; Organization Process; Feedback Model; Innovation; Uses Of Information; Big Data; Benchmarking; Decision Making; Information; Performance Evaluation; Analytics and Data Science

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Press / Media

By: Gary P. Pisano

Thought Leader: Gary Pisano

by Amy Bernstein, strategy+business, Summer 2007

A leading student of the biotech business describes the problems holding the industry back, and how it can overcome... View Details

March 1999 (Revised April 2017)
Teaching Note

Citibank: Performance Evaluation

By: Robert Simons and Antonio Dávila

Teaching Note for (9-198-048). View Details

Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Performance Measures; Performance Evaluation; Balanced Scorecard; Banking Industry

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Leadership - Faculty & Research

Koehn See All HBS Working Knowlege 08 Nov 2024 What Wartime Service Taught These Historic Leaders Re: Robert Simons 17 Sep 2024 Fawn Weaver’s Entrepreneurial Journey as an Outsider in the Spirits Industry... View Details

09 Jan 2007
First Look

First Look: January 9, 2007

Authors:Benjamin Chiao, Josh Lerner, and Jean Tirole Publication:The RAND Journal of Economics (forthcoming). (Earlier version distributed as National Bureau of Economic Research Working Paper No. 11156.) Abstract This paper empirically explores the procedures employed... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 2013
Case

Altius Golf and the Fighter Brand

By: Robert J. Dolan and Sunru Yong

Altius Golf is the clear leader in the golf ball market despite a long-term decline in the number of golfers and a drop in sales following the financial crisis. The firm has maintained its position by introducing generations of advanced, super-premium golf balls that... View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Competitive Advantage; Decision Choices and Conditions; Distribution Channels; Sports; Financial Crisis; Brands and Branding; Segmentation; Sports Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

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2023 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

outdoor sculptures on view through the C. Ludens Ringnes Sculpture Collection. This walking tour will feature works by a diverse and international group of artists, including Marina Abramović, Shimon Attie, Melvin Edwards, View Details

March 2005 (Revised March 2006)
Background Note

Activity-Based Costing and Capacity

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Discusses the use of budgeted rather than historical data in an activity-based costing (ABC) model and argues for calculating rates using practical capacity, not actual utilization. An ABC model need not be limited to analysis of historical data. When cost driver rates... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Accounting Industry

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HBS - The year in Review

Class Day speaker Robert L. Ryan (MBA 1970). Reunions and commencements were also held for those in the Classes of 2020 and 2021, whose celebrations were virtual during the pandemic. Saturday saw receptions and reunion activities,... View Details

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About - Global

About Building upon a rich legacy of global engagement in business education. The Global Initiative is anchored by a team based in Boston with more than 65 staff sitting in key regions around the world to contribute to the school’s global... View Details

November 2018
Case

Swissgrid: Enterprise Risk Management in a Digital Age

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Anette Mikes

Kurt Meyer, chief risk officer of Swissgrid, the Swiss national electricity transmission system operator, reflects on the risk management system he installed after the deregulation and liberalization of the European energy market. With 41 connections to other European... View Details

Keywords: Enterprise Risk Management; Energy Transmission; Risk and Uncertainty; Risk Management; Energy; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; Switzerland

October 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 6: Evaluating Strategic Profit Performance

This module reading demonstrates how to calculate and analyze the profit generated by different business strategies. Formulas and examples are provided to calculate profit generated by changes in market share, revenue growth, efficiency improvements, and support costs.... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Evaluating Business Performance; Profitability Analysis; Variance Analysis; Measuring Effectiveness; Measuring Efficiency; Activity-Based Costing; Flexible Budget; Accounting; Strategy