Publications

July 2012 (Revised July 2012)
Case

The Madera Ranch and Water Bank

By: Andre F. Perold and Geoffrey Bernstein

The protagonist is trying to decide whether to purchase and develop an aquifer lying beneath rural land near Fresno, California. The project could fill a void for local farmers as well as surrounding municipalities and a variety of other customers throughout... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Assets; Decision Making; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; California

May 18, 2012
Article

Randomized Government Safety Inspections Reduce Worker Injuries with No Detectable Job Loss

By: David I Levine, Michael W. Toffel and Matthew S. Johnson

Controversy surrounds occupational health and safety regulators, with some observers claiming that workplace regulations damage firms' competitiveness and destroy jobs and others arguing that they make workplaces safer at little cost to employers and employees. We... View Details

Keywords: Regulation; Occupational Safety; Evaluation; Regression; Matching; Difference In Differences; Safety; Health; Working Conditions; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competitive Advantage; Performance; Manufacturing Industry; California

2011
Chapter

Changing Identity, Changing Language

By: Kathleen L. McGinn and Jeffrey T. Polzer

Environmental jolts and shifting membership challenge a group's efficacy and survival. Group identity is critical for a shared interpretation of and response to these challenges, but external and internal changes may require corresponding changes in a group's... View Details

Keywords: Change; Spoken Communication; Performance Efficiency; Problems and Challenges; Safety; Identity; California

Find at Harvard

November 2011
Case

WrapItUp: Developing a New Compensation Plan

By: W. Earl Sasser Jr. and Rachel Shelton

A restaurant chain based in California offers made-to-order sandwich wraps using fresh, healthy ingredients. The founders of the company take a very active role in day-to-day business and tightly control every aspect of the restaurant operation from hiring store... View Details

Keywords: Empowerment; Middle Management; Human Resource Management; Compensation; Incentives; Motivation; Motivation and Incentives; Change Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Service Delivery; Entrepreneurship; Employees; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; California

October 2011 (Revised November 2011)
Case

Verengo Solar Plus!

By: William A. Sahlman, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Liz Kind

In the three years since Bishop and Button purchased Verengo in a leveraged buyout (LBO), the company had gone through dramatic changes. Initially a residential windows and insulation firm, after the economic recession of 2008 the company switched gears and began... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Private Equity; Growth Management; Restructuring; Renewable Energy; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Corporate Finance; Product Development; Energy Industry; California

August 2011
Teaching Note

Friend Bank: The Time for Hope (TN)

By: Clayton Rose and Sally Canter Ganzfried

Teaching Note for 310-070. View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Planning; Transformation; Business Offices; Financial Crisis; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Goals and Objectives; Competitive Strategy; Opportunities; Banking Industry; Alabama

February 2011 (Revised September 2016)
Case

Investcorp and the Moneybookers Bid

By: Matthew Rhodes-Kropf, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Nori Gerardo Lietz

In January 2007, Hazem Ben-Gacem, managing director and co-head of Investcorp Technology Partners (ITP), needs to decide what to bid at an auction for Moneybookers Limited, one of the top three e-payment solution providers in Europe. However, approximately 70% of... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Private Equity; Investment; Auctions; Bids and Bidding; Valuation; Europe; United States

September 2010 (Revised October 2010)
Case

HBS Class of 2009: All Talk As They Prepare to Walk?

By: Rakesh Khurana, Nitin Nohria and Dalia Rahman

Max Anderson, HBS Class of 2009, founded the MBA Oath Initiative. The oath was a voluntary pledge "to create value responsibly and ethically." Anderson and a team of students and faculty worked to launch the first MBA Oath Ceremony conducted on campus during Harvard... View Details

Keywords: Business Education; Higher Education; Values and Beliefs; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Value Creation; Education Industry; Massachusetts

April 1991 (Revised February 1992)
Teaching Note

Central Maine Power Co.: Goals and Objectives Program (A) and (B), Teaching Note

By: Robert L. Simons

Keywords: Programs; Goals and Objectives; Energy Industry; Maine

March 2010 (Revised May 2010)
Case

Design Creates Fortune: 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard

By: John D. Macomber and Griffin James

A real estate developer assesses its ability to capture the benefits of investing in LEED Platinum, Vedic Design, and EnergyStar components in new buildings. The building at 2000 Tower Oaks Boulevard in Rockville, Maryland is said to be the healthiest building in the... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Cost vs Benefits; Energy Conservation; Construction; Investment; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Leasing; Renting or Rental; Value Creation; Real Estate Industry; Maryland

February 2010
Case

Foxwoods: Turning Data into Insights in the Hospitality Industry

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Deborah L. Soule

This case describes how an IT director identified an opportunity and implemented an innovative business solution designed to enable line managers and executives to convert data to information to insights. The case also details how the company partnered with an emerging... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Partners and Partnerships; Information Technology; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Connecticut

September 2009 (Revised August 2011)
Case

Scooter Lindley: The Formation Call

By: Lena G. Goldberg

Factors affecting decision making about appropriate types of business entities are explored in the context of advising a prospective investor with particular emphasis on why LLCs are increasingly "go-to" entities. The potential effect of choice of organization on... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Decision Choices and Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Investment; Lawsuits and Litigation; Delaware

May 2009 (Revised October 2009)
Case

Newton-Wellesley Hospital

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer and Natalie Kindred

How will Newton-Wellesley Hospital (NWH) preserve its private practice tradition while remaining effective and competitive in a healthcare industry demanding increasing integration between physicians and hospitals? This is the decision facing Newton-Wellesley Hospital... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Profit; Health Care and Treatment; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Integration; Health Industry; Massachusetts

January 2009
Teaching Note

Commonwealth Care Alliance: Elderly and Disabled Care (TN)

By: Michael E. Porter and Jennifer F Baron

Teaching Note for [708502]. View Details

Keywords: Massachusetts

November 2008 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Youth Villages

By: Allen S. Grossman, Cathy Ross and William Foster

Tennessee-based nonprofit Youth Villages had an impressive record of serving emotionally and behaviorally troubled youth and their families, with higher success rates and lower costs than most child services providers. Yet expanding to offer its services on a broader... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Service Operations; Business and Government Relations; Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Tennessee

October 2008 (Revised August 2010)
Case

The Christmas Eve Closing

By: Peter Tufano

In 2002, two homeowners in Massachusetts are deciding whether to refinance their home less than two years after taking out an initial mortgage and a subsequent home equity line of credit. View Details

Keywords: Mortgages; Personal Finance; Consumer Behavior; Banking Industry; Massachusetts