Publications

February 2003 (Revised March 2003)
Case

Large Scale Change at The WSSC

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Corey B. Hajim

Describes the organizational transformation occurring at the Washington Suburban Sanitary Commission (WSSC), a public utility. Faced with the possibility of privatization after decades of providing service in the absence of competition or performance pressures, the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Change Management; Restructuring; Privatization; Resignation and Termination; Utilities Industry

August 2009
Teaching Note

Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette (TN)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

Teaching Note for [309031]. View Details

Keywords: Leadership Style; Mergers and Acquisitions; Mission and Purpose; Value; Problems and Challenges; Integration; Success; Governance Controls; Consumer Products Industry

13 May 2014
Op-Ed

The Alibaba Effect

guessing among them and probably an eventual change in policies and views. Losing Alibaba really stung.) Alibaba was founded in 1999 in the city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province in eastern China. In those early days, it was a small, struggling startup with an opaque... View Details

Keywords: by Bill Kirby & Warren McFarlan; Retail

03 Feb 2003
What Do You Think?

Can Business Schools Teach the Craft of Getting Things Done?

judgement, and (4) internal competition that turns friends into enemies. A fifth item on their list is the substitution of several activities—talk, making presentations, preparing documents, developing mission statements, and planning—for... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

25 Sep 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Purpose and Firm Ownership

Keywords: by Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim

10 Nov 2014
HBS Case

How Restaurants in Lima and Copenhagen Became Best in the World

helped to popularize Peruvian cuisine throughout Latin America and increasingly the world. "The big mission is to use Peruvian food as an instrument to put our culture in the world," Gastón Acurio has said. Despite their... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Food & Beverage

September 2023
Article

Corporate Purpose in Public and Private Firms

By: Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim

Analyzing data from approximately 1.5 million employees across 1,108 established public and private US companies, we find that the strength of employee beliefs related to purpose is weaker in public companies. Among public companies, those beliefs are stronger for... View Details

Keywords: Purpose; Corporate Purpose; Culture; Corporate Culture; Public And Private Organizations; Hedge Fund; Executive Pay; Corporate Governance; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Employees; Attitudes; Executive Compensation; Ownership

August 2023
Technical Note

Two Ways of Pursuing a Calling

By: Leslie Perlow and Hannah Weisman

Work can be a means to a financial end, a stepping stone to higher-level jobs, or a meaningful end in itself: a calling. The technical note provides an overview of two different ways people can pursue a calling: with an internal focus or external focus. View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Job Search; Job Design and Levels; Happiness; Identity; Well-being; Motivation and Incentives; Human Needs; Satisfaction; Mission and Purpose; Health Industry; Music Industry; Education Industry; Fine Arts Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry

02 Feb 2007
What Do You Think?

Is There Too Little “Know Why” In Business?

"holy grail" as opposed to goals (often merely financial), missions or visions, or even a set of values. As Mourkogiannis puts it, "Let others play with 'strategy' and 'tactics' and 'management.' Purpose is the game of... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

04 Aug 2003
What Do You Think?

Are We Facing an Attitude Shortage?

behaviors they produce) that they need, typically because they haven't fully determined the desired mission and values that provide the context in which hiring for attitude can take place. These are all possible explanations for... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

October 2021 (Revised February 2022)
Case

Hospital 57357: Aligning Performance Towards a Vision of a Cancer-Free Childhood

By: Susanna Gallani and Youssef Abdel Aal

The case follows the Children Cancer Hospital in Egypt, also known as Hospital 57357, as it goes through the roll-out of a new performance management system, which Dr. Sherif Abouel Naga, founder and CEO of the hospital, had championed. This was a critical juncture as... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare; Performance Management; Performance Incentives; Strategic Alignment; Health Care and Treatment; Nonprofit Organizations; Strategy; Alignment; Performance Evaluation; Mission and Purpose; Change Management; Health Industry; Egypt; Middle East

March 2011
Teaching Note

Calveta Dining Services, Inc.: A Recipe for Growth? (Brief Case)

By: James L. Heskett and Patricia Girardi

Teaching Note for #4261. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Vision; Employee Empowerment; Service Management; Family Businesses; Growth Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Family Business; Employee Relationship Management; Communication; Organizational Structure; Operations; Growth and Development Strategy

December 2008
Supplement

Procter & Gamble in the 21st Century (B): Welcoming Gillette (Abridged)

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Matthew Bird

A.G. Lafley and P&G leaders decided to approach the Gillette integration differently from previous mergers. Using P&G's purpose, values, and principles (PVP) it treated the acquisition as a merger which sought to take the "best of both" from each company. In the... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Integration; Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation

August 1999
Teaching Note

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute: Development Strategy, The (TN)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan

Teaching Note for (9-599-104). View Details

Keywords: Revenue; Operations; Investment Funds; Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Financing and Loans; Programs; Value; Mission and Purpose; Health Industry

November 1995 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Massachusetts General Hospital: CABG Surgery (A)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and James Weber

A cross-functional team at Massachusetts General Hospital tries to reengineer the service delivery process (the "care path") for heart bypass surgery (CABG) in order to shorten hospital stays (and lower costs) while maintaining/enhancing the quality of care provided. View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Medical Specialties; Business Processes; Mission and Purpose; Product Positioning; Product Marketing; Management Practices and Processes; Customer Satisfaction; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Fair Value Accounting; Ethics; Pharmaceutical Industry; Health Industry; Massachusetts

October 1999 (Revised October 2000)
Case

Women's World Banking: Catalytic Change Through Networks

By: James E. Austin and Susan Hamerling

Describes the evolution of Women's World Banking, an international microfinance nonprofit promoting financial access for poor women. Explores the organization's development of different types of networks to achieve its mission. View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; History; Networks; Microfinance; Nonprofit Organizations; Gender; Growth and Development Strategy

September 2006
Tutorial

Management Control Process - Online Tutorial

By: David F. Hawkins

Introduces the Management Control Process by detailing its six components: 1) the management control environment, 2) organizational structure and responsibilities, 3) information and communication, 4) management control systems, 5) incentives, and 6) monitoring.... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Information; Business or Company Management; Management Practices and Processes; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; System

July–August 2019
Article

The Soul of a Startup

By: Ranjay Gulati

There’s an essential, intangible something in start-ups—an energy, a soul. It inspires enthusiasm and fosters a sense of deep connection and mutual purpose. While this spirit persists, engagement is high and businesses keep their edge.
But all too often,... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Mission and Purpose; Customer Focus and Relationships; Employees; Creativity; Business Growth and Maturation