Publications

February 2021 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Henry Ford: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Max Saffer

This case traces the rise of Henry Ford from a small farm in Michigan to the controlling shareholder of the Ford Motor Company. The case describes how Ford, as young man, acquired engineering skills and the risks he took as he built and marketed one of the first... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Entrepreneurship; Personal Characteristics; Business Startups; Management; Success; Values and Beliefs; Technological Innovation; Personal Development and Career; Auto Industry; United States; Michigan

April 2002 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Pension Plan of Bethlehem Steel, 2001, The

By: Peter Tufano

Bethlehem Steel's 2001 bankruptcy filing inspires an employee's daughter to evaluate her father's pension plan, weeks after September 11's tragedies exacerbated a weakening U.S. economy and just months before her father planned to retire. Battered equity markets and... View Details

Keywords: Asset Management; Financial Instruments; Retirement; Steel Industry; United States

Program

Strategic Negotiations

key issues, and develop the best process for each deal—all before the negotiations even start. This program is eligible for the Certificate of Management Excellence. Learn More Key Benefits The advanced View Details

September 2000 (Revised December 2020)
Background Note

Identifying and Developing Capable Leaders

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Morgan McCall Jr

Presents a synopsis of High Flyers, by Morgan McCall. Offers a method for identifying and training managers with potential--to build management bench strength. View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Human Resources; Talent and Talent Management

Web

Marketing - Doctoral

field-based methods, the curriculum enables students to master concepts and research skills directly relevant to business problems. Candidates must come to understand the point of view of practicing managers... View Details

April 2021
Case

Codecademy: Where to Next?

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Max Mailman and Sarah Ascherman

In March 2020, Zach Sims, co-founder and CEO of online education platform Codecademy, prepared for a meeting with his Chief of Staff Kunal Ahuja to discuss the company’s goals. Codecademy billed itself as the largest online resource for computer science literacy and... View Details

Keywords: Monetization Strategy; Business Model; Change Management; Venture Capital; Leading Change; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Teams; Marketing Channels; Product Marketing; Network Effects; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Strategic Planning; Internet and the Web; Digital Platforms; United States

September 1986 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Solagen: Process Improvement in the Manufacture of Gelatin at Kodak

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

Kodak must decide whether to make a major investment in a production facility designed around a new technique for producing the gelatin critical to so many film and paper products. Currently, gelatin making is an arcane art, unchanged in 150 years and heavily dependent... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Buildings and Facilities; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Experience and Expertise; Engineering; Investment; Time Management; Production; Research and Development; Semiconductor Industry

Person Page

Course Development

General Management: Processes and Action (GMPA) focuses on implementation and the way that general managers get things done. Typically, they work through processes—sequences of tasks and activities that unfold over time, like strategic planning,... View Details

26 Apr 2024
HBS Case

Deion Sanders' Prime Lessons for Leading a Team to Victory

subordinates feels micromanaged, which is bizarre.” It’s a leadership approach focused on self-discipline and personal accountability, one that might be considered refreshing in a business world often bogged down by managers who... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Sports

04 Mar 2024
What Do You Think?

Do People Want to Work Anymore?

organization than they did four years ago.” This raises the question of the degree to which management policies vs. employee attitudes toward work are to blame. Do people want to work anymore? What do you think? Share your thoughts in the... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

August 2001 (Revised October 2005)
Case

Sony AIBO: The World's First Entertainment Robot

By: Youngme E. Moon

The Sony AIBO is the world's first "entertainment" robot. Positioned as a household "companion," the $1,500 AIBO has become a smash hit in Japan, appealing to both the young and the old, including those with little technical expertise. In the United States, the AIBO is... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Entertainment; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Marketing Strategy; Technology; Technology Industry; Japan; United States

September 2024
Article

Sales Coaching and Value Creation

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Despite the prevalence of “coachability” in firms’ stated hiring criteria, managers over-estimate the amount of time they actually devote to coaching their people. For example, research indicates that only 15% of sales managers even spend as much as 25% of their time... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Employee Relationship Management; Management Practices and Processes

Read Now

20 Nov 2019
News

Factories without walls: How Autodesk is redesigning the work of architecture, construction, and manufacturing

April 2012
Article

Teamwork on the Fly

By: Amy C. Edmondson

In a fast-paced and ever-changing business environment, traditional teams aren't always practical. Instead, companies increasingly employ teaming: gathering experts in temporary groups to solve problems they may be encountering for the first and only time. This... View Details

Keywords: Teaming; Cross-functional Integration; Organizational Learning; Groups and Teams; Experience and Expertise; Interpersonal Communication; Projects; Social and Collaborative Networks; Competency and Skills; Learning

Read Now

01 Dec 2023
News

The Exchange: Help Wanted

Image by John Ritter The path to a job in the C-suite isn’t what it used to be. For many years, companies could lean on financial expertise and industry connections when recruiting candidates, but HBS professors Raffaella Sadun and Joseph Fuller say that so much has... View Details

Keywords: Business Schools & Computer & Management Training; Educational Services

January 1988 (Revised March 1995)
Supplement

Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (B2)

By: David A. Garvin

Should follow Digital Equipment Corp.: The Endpoint Model (B1). A new plant manager has been hired; the case describes her experience, management philosophy, goals in the plant, and handling of a production problem. View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Goals and Objectives; Production; Problems and Challenges; Technology Industry