Publications

July 2005
Article

Price Improvement in Dealership Markets

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf

Price improvement refers to the practice whereby dealers order executions that improve on quoted prices. Why are these improvements given? Standard thinking is that competition causes dealers to give better prices to customers with less information. This paper... View Details

Keywords: Price; Markets; Competition; Information; Customers; Negotiation; Mission and Purpose; Practice; Theory; Performance Improvement; Bids and Bidding; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms

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January 2008
Article

Putting Leadership Back into Strategy

By: Cynthia A. Montgomery

In recent decades an infusion of economics has lent the study of strategy much needed theory and empirical evidence. Strategy consultants, armed with frameworks and techniques, have stepped forward to help managers analyze their industries and position their companies... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Managerial Roles; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Creativity; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage

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September 1987 (Revised October 1987)
Background Note

The Job of the General Manager

By: James L. Heskett

Describes elements of the job of the general manager that are addressed in the Management Policy and Practice course at the Harvard Business School. These include: 1) establishing strategic direction, 2) setting goals and managing standards of performance, 3)... View Details

Keywords: Experience and Expertise; Policy; Recruitment; Working Conditions; Managerial Roles; Resource Allocation; Mission and Purpose; Performance Evaluation; Strategy; Value

21 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

What Health Care Managers Need to Know--and How to Teach Them

cost-controlled. This mission also requires resources. Development of faculty and curricular material such as case studies is very expensive." The conference is envisioned as the first of a series. Future events will monitor the... View Details

Keywords: by Paul Guttry; Health; Education

06 Mar 2007
First Look

First Look: March 6, 2007

http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=907011 Opportunity International: Measurement and Mission Harvard Business School Case 307-067 After a "first career" in business, HBS graduate Christopher Crane... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

03 Oct 2006
First Look

First Look: October 3, 2006

ABC provides a simpler and more powerful method. Purchase this note: http://www.hbsp.harvard.edu/b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=106068 Dana Hall: Funding a Mission (A) Harvard Business School Case 306-090 Dana Hall is a private... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

17 Apr 2017
HBS Case

This Turkish Debt Collector Is Customer-friendly

experience with a debt collector, it reduces the risk of regulatory scrutiny and may incline them more toward doing business with the bank again in the future. Lastly, Turkasset’s methods are better for employees, as well, who see themselves as performing a View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Financial Services

29 May 2007
First Look

First Look: May 29, 2007

needs of the "poorest of the poor," who cannot even repay loans and therefore do not qualify as Habitat beneficiaries? How can Makar continue to innovate to achieve the greatest mission impact while maintaining funding and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

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

April 2025
Case

Thrivent: From Insurance Agents to Financial Advisors

By: Hubert Joly, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Tom Quinn

Thrivent, a midwestern financial services company with a centuries-long history rooted in Lutheranism, had reached $10 billion in revenue mostly by selling life insurance. In the 2020s, however, CEO Terry Rasmussen began a transformation process centered around the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Transformation; Talent and Talent Management; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Forecasting and Prediction; Employee Relationship Management; Retention; Selection and Staffing; Job Design and Levels; Human Capital; Leading Change; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Insurance Industry; Financial Services Industry; United States; Minneapolis

17 Jun 2016
Op-Ed

Companies Need to Start Marketing Security to Customers

Recent events in Orlando underscore an important marketing truth: consumer safety and security are mission critical. A popular nightclub, Pulse, known as a safe place for the LGBT community, is put out of business at least temporarily by... View Details

Keywords: by John A. Quelch; Entertainment & Recreation

24 Nov 2008
Research & Ideas

Harvard Business School Discusses Future of the MBA

the value of business school research. Henry Mintzberg of McGill University in Montreal devoted a book to his contention that "conventional MBA programs train the wrong people in the wrong ways with the wrong consequences." Leadership, central to the View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson & HBS Bulletin; Education

07 Oct 2014
First Look

First Look: October 7

research; Giusti worried if charging for some of its functions would be at odds with its mission and historical practices. She worked with her executive team to examine potential sources of revenue and to decide if this was the right... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

27 Sep 2004
Research & Ideas

IBM Finds Profit in Diversity

were short, only six months (the groups are still active today), and their mission was clear: to explore the issues, opportunities, and strategies affecting their constituencies and customers. Once this work was done, it fell to the... View Details

Keywords: by David A. Thomas

June 2020
Case

Career Karma: Growth in a Time of Global Uncertainty (A)

By: Laura Huang, Elizabeth Jiang and Brandon Yu

Career Karma is a startup focused on helping individuals looking to transition careers into computer engineering roles or similar fields by preparing them for formal technical training programs, or “coding bootcamps,” that would lead to a successful career pivot upon... View Details

July 2021 (Revised August 2021)
Supplement

Airbnb Emerges from the Pandemic: Lessons for Stakeholder Governance (B)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Allison M. Ciechanover

As the COVID pandemic spread in early 2020, global travel ground to a halt. For Airbnb, the San Francisco-based platform for renting accommodations, the impact was both swift and severe as revenues plummeted more than 70% over the prior year. Responding to the sudden... View Details

Keywords: Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Leadership; Two-Sided Platforms; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Value Creation; Decision Making; Goals and Objectives; Travel Industry; Tourism Industry; Service Industry; United States