Publications

May 1992 (Revised January 2000)
Supplement

ABB: Accountability Times Two (A)

By: Robert L. Simons

Describes the complexity of setting and reconciling performance targets in a global, matrix company. The president of the Finnish industry and rail transport company has received targets from two bosses--his regional superior and his business area superior. Each has... View Details

Keywords: Performance Expectations; Complexity; Multinational Firms and Management; Finland

August 1995 (Revised January 2007)
Case

The Schneider Building

By: William J. Poorvu and John H. Vogel Jr.

In May 1995, Jonathan Schneider, the president of the Schneider Co., is faced with several related problems. First, he needs to find a new facility that can accommodate his expanding business. Second, he needs to decide whether to lease or purchase this new facility.... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Property; Leasing; Expansion; Real Estate Industry

25 Nov 2015
News

How Black Friday Got Its Name — It's Not What You Think

06 Nov 2013
News

Six Ways to Save Obamacare

12 Apr 2021
News

The Answers Are Not Clear Yet on Semi Shortage: Willy Shih

30 Oct 2019
Video

María Emilia Correa

María Emilia Correa, co-founder of Sistema B, a Latin American organization promoting B Corporations and sustainability, discusses the impact of attending the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 on her... View Details

George Serafeim

George Serafeim is the Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He co-leads a Lab, within Harvard's Digital, Data, Design Institute, and serves on the faculty steering commitee of Harvard University's Salata Institute. He... View Details

Keywords: asset management; insurance industry; automobiles; industrial goods; fashion; food; green technology

April 2011
Supplement

Felipe Calderón: Leading with Light and Power (B)

By: J. Bruce Harreld and David Lane

This sequence of cases explores how leaders get their team focused on framing, analyzing, and ultimately acting upon complex decisions. The A case provides an inside look as President of Mexico, Felipe Calderon, works with his cabinet ministers to decide how to... View Details

Keywords: Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cases; Crime and Corruption; State Ownership; Business or Company Management; Economics; Risk and Uncertainty; Finance; Performance; Management Teams; Strategic Planning; Energy Industry; Mexico City

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October 2018 (Revised January 2019)
Case

The Financial Crisis: Hank Paulson in 2008

By: Adi Sunderam, Robin Greenwood, Sam Hanson and David Scharfstein

On the afternoon of Monday October 13, 2008, Hank Paulson Jr., the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, walked into the large conference room across the hall from his office in the Treasury Department. Joining him were Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke,... View Details

Keywords: Bailout; Regulation; Financial Crisis; History; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Decision Making; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; United States

April 2020
Case

Promoting Land and Nature Jerky

By: John A. Quelch and Katherine B. Hartman

Kathy Ayers, Vice President of Marketing and Communications for Land and Nature (L&N) Jerky Company, needs to make a recommendation about L&N's 2020 promotional spending. L&N's CEO, Tim Ryan, wants her to calculate different scenarios using historical data to determine... View Details

Keywords: Advertising; Spending; Marketing Communications; Marketing Strategy; Product Positioning; Food and Beverage Industry

25 Mar 2025
Other Presentation

Louis E. Caldera on the Panama Canal and DEI Under Trump's Administration

By: Louis Caldera and June Carolyn Erlick

Louis E. Caldera, a Senior Lecturer at Harvard Business School, chaired the Panama Canal Commission the year the Canal was returned to Panama, 1999. He was also the first (and only) Latino to serve as Secretary of the Army. He talks on issues ranging from President... View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; History; National Security; Diversity; Panama; United States

October 1995 (Revised January 1999)
Case

Western Chemical Corporation: Divisional Performance Measurement (A)

By: William J. Bruns Jr. and Roger Atherton

The president and controller of Western Chemical Corp. are discussing the best way to measure and report performance of foreign subsidiaries. One subsidiary is a joint venture with its own borrowing capacity; another is wholly owned; and a third is wholly owned and... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Financial Reporting; Performance Evaluation; Chemical Industry

December 2006 (Revised November 2008)
Case

West Wacker Drive: To Build or Not to Build?

In 1980, Thomas J. Klutznick, president of a Chicago-based development company, was considering whether he should build a Class A building on a second-rate site outside the Central Loop or not. He had a promising design, but the economic conditions, concurrent... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Interest Rates; Geographic Location; Risk Management; Urban Development; Construction Industry; Real Estate Industry; Chicago

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May 1988 (Revised March 1990)
Case

Matsushita Electric Industrial (MEI) in 1987

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Sumantra Ghoshal

Describes the development of Matsushita's international operations and the building of its dominant competitive position in the consumer electronics industry. Picks up the major challenges facing the company in 1987 as both its product focus and geographic posture are... View Details

Keywords: Global Strategy; Goods and Commodities; Product Positioning; Problems and Challenges; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Value; Electronics Industry