Problems and Challenges - Publications - Faculty & Research

06 Jun 2008
What Do You Think?

Why Don’t Managers Think Deeply?

the Zaltmans hit on a basic problem of leadership and management today? Are there appropriate responses other than the one that GE is pursuing? What is your organization doing to combat the absence of deep... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

Profile

Era Jain

Why did you choose this path at this point in time? I was seeking challenges that would help me grow across dimensions beyond software engineering. After seeing my sister go through her Founder journey, I was inspired to start my own... View Details

Web

Academics | Social Enterprise | Harvard Business School

Courses The first year Required Curriculum (RC) incorporates social enterprise cases and topics in several courses ranging from finance to entrepreneurship. In their second (EC) year, students choose from a range of Social Enterprise... View Details

November 2008 (Revised March 2011)
Case

a-connect: In Search of Talent Partners (A)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Dilyana Karadzhova

a-connect was started in 2002 by three former McKinsey partners who wanted to develop an alternative business model consulting firm, which they have positioned as a high-end staffing company. The company has been very successful, growing to revenues of CHF 30 million... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Decision Choices and Conditions; Initial Public Offering; Selection and Staffing; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketplace Matching; Expansion; Consulting Industry

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03 Dec 2021
Blog Post

Physicians Off the Beaten Path

happen and what the solution to their problem is. They could be right, they could be wrong, but you need to bring them along in the journey, you can’t just talk them out of it. It’s very difficult to have... View Details

2018
Chapter

Why Do So Many Chinese Students Come to the United States?

By: William C. Kirby

Many books offer information about China, but few make sense of what is truly at stake. The questions addressed in this unique volume provide a window onto the challenges China faces today and the uncertainties its meteoric ascent on the global horizon has provoked.... View Details

Keywords: Asia; China; Emerging Country; Students; Education; Higher Education; Globalization; International Relations; History; Society; Education Industry; Asia; China; United States

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01 Jun 2023
News

Buy Big, Sell Small

what is okay and what is not okay,” she says. Despite several well-funded competitors, Shruti is betting on ApnaKlub’s “human” approach in an increasingly automated world of customer service. “We stay close to our customers,” she... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; retail; supply chain management; entrepreneurship; leadership; innovation; Miscellaneous Store Retailers; Retail Trade

28 Apr 2022
Blog Post

Harvard Team Wins Second Place in MIINT Impact Investing Competition

solving critical challenges.” Katjana Kammin (MBA 2023) further highlighted the need for more students to focus on impact investing: “Especially in emerging markets, entrepreneurs face critical challenges that require patient capital... View Details

2020
Working Paper

Strategic Foresight as Dynamic Capability: A New Lens on Knightian Uncertainty

By: J. Peter Scoblic

This paper proposes to treat strategic foresight as a dynamic capability, providing a new theoretical lens on managerial judgment. Formulating strategy under uncertainty is a central challenge facing the modern firm. Analogy is thought to help managers make sense of... View Details

Keywords: Foresight; Dynamic Capabilities; Managerial Judgment; Risk and Uncertainty; Management; Strategy

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Profile

Madison McIlwain

contributed to your understanding of business concepts, leadership, and/or problem solving? The kaleidoscope of experiences within my section has challenged me to ask “Why?” more. In cases where the... View Details

01 Jun 2023
News

An Engine of Innovation

of an idea with the potential to solve a problem or address an unmet need and grow it into a purposeful entity. The i-lab, the original component of the now three-lab ecosystem, opened in 2011 in Batten Hall... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

Blog

Making the Decision to Attend: Our Participants Share Their Stories

right time? Many find it challenging to make time for education but, once they attend, they discover that for significant career development this time is important to reenergize and gain a broader... View Details

15 Jul 2019
Book

Many Executives Are Afraid of Finance. Here's How They Can Gain Confidence

results and interact with shareholders,” says Desai, who is also a Harvard Law School professor. “The problem is that people perceive finance to be this difficult building block. I want executives to have... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

February 2008 (Revised December 2011)
Case

Weber Shandwick: The Client Relationship Leader Program

By: Robert G. Eccles and Kerry Herman

In 2002 Weber Shandwick, a leading global public relations agency, instituted a Client Relationship Leader (CRL) Program for its top 32 global accounts. The purpose of the program is to ensure that all of the firm's resources across geographies, practice areas, and... View Details

Keywords: Blogs; Competency and Skills; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competitive Advantage; Public Relations Industry

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November 2015 (Revised February 2016)
Supplement

Allianz Turkey: Focus on the Customer (B)

By: W. Earl Sasser and Gamze Yucaoglu

At the age of 39, Solmaz Altın took over the helm at Allianz Turkey. Solmaz quickly realized that, although the insurance market was thinly penetrated in Turkey, the company was operating in a very competitive environment with pressure on prices and, hence, cost... View Details

Keywords: Service Excellence; Customer Experience; Customer Service; Emerging Market; Customer Focus; Net Promoter Score; Customer Relationship Management; Competition; Leading Change; Service Operations; Emerging Markets; Customer Satisfaction; Insurance Industry; Turkey

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10 Jan 2022
Research & Ideas

How to Get Companies to Make Investments That Benefit Everyone

incentives that encourage them to give back, as skepticism about corporate America remains high and the world faces widespread global challenges brought on by COVID-19 and... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

22 Jan 2016
Blog Post

Case Protagonists at HBS

The case method is a cornerstone of the HBS pedagogical method. During their time at HBS, students will step into the shoes of 500 different case protagonists – and learn how to make difficult, critical decisions with limited information.... View Details

16 May 2024
News

On the Job

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Dan Morrell: Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. We all have early memories of on-the-job learnings—those moments that had a lasting impact on how we see the world of work and our place in it. This... View Details

Keywords: first job; leadership; life experience; career lessons; Finance; Oil and Gas Extraction; Mining; Retail Trade

February 2015
Case

CLP: Powering Asia

By: George Serafeim, Rebecca Henderson and Dawn Lau

Richard Lancaster, taking over from Andrew Brandler, was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CLP Holdings Ltd., one of the leading power companies in Asia, with operations in China, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Australia, and India, and an energy portfolio spanning coal,... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Environmental Sustainability; Goals and Objectives; Values and Beliefs; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Energy Industry; Asia; India

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