Performance Improvement - Publications - Faculty & Research

Article

Making a Difference: Developing Actionable Knowledge for Practice and Theory

There is a widely acknowledged gap between academic research and practice. While the field of organizational studies and development has had an impact on management practice in some organizations, it has had only a modest impact on widely accepted management practice... View Details

Keywords: Actionable Knowledge; Actionable Practice; Normal Science; Scholar-consultant; Management Practices and Processes; Theory; Innovation Leadership; Organizations; Performance Effectiveness

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Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

26 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Want to Leave a Lasting Impression on Customers? Don't Forget the (Proverbial) Fireworks

marketers think of the customer experience like a play in three acts—pre-purchase, purchase, and post-purchase. However, research by De Freitas and fellow researchers looked more holistically at the customer journey and found that most successful interactions steadily... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Entertainment & Recreation

17 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

What the Stockdale Paradox Tells Us About Crisis Leadership

all leaders, not only those in the C-suite, to understand the organization’s purpose, values, and how those connect to each day’s work. It has long been known that managers have at least as much impact on team morale and performance as... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Robin Abrahams

20 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Creating a Positive Professional Image

story of managing your professional image, says Roberts. You also belong to a social identity group—African American male, working mother—that brings its own stereotyping from the people you work with, especially in today's diverse workplaces. You can put on a suit and... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

21 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: Feb. 21

substantial variation in management practices across organizations in every country and every sector, mirroring the heterogeneity in the spread of performance in these sectors. One factor linked to this variation is ownership. Government,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Apr 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Bridge Building in Venture Capital-Backed Acquisitions

Keywords: by Paul A. Gompers & Yuhai Xuan

01 Oct 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Organizational Factors that Contribute to Operational Failures in Hospitals

Keywords: by Anita L. Tucker, W. Scott Heisler & Laura D. Janisse; Health

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Named Fellowship Funds - Alumni

Cathedral Foundation. He has served as a board member of the District of Columbia Building Industry Association and founding board member of the Washington Downtown Business Improvement District and Rosslyn Business View Details

December 13, 2022
Article

6 Ways Companies Fail to Help Workers Grow

By: Joseph Fuller, Matthew Sigelman and Nik Dawson

The authors recently studied Fortune 250 companies and ranked them based on the lived experience of three million of their U.S. workers. One of their key findings was that even top-ranked firms fail to deliver consistently on worker advancement. To understand why this... View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Training; Business Model; Outcome or Result; Performance Evaluation; Opportunities

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2012
Other Unpublished Work

Towards Efficiencies in Canadian Internet Traffic Exchange

By: Benjamin Edelman and Bill Woodcock

Canadian Internet access is heavily and unnecessarily dependent upon foreign infrastructure, especially U.S. infrastructure. This dependence imposes significant burdens upon Canadian Internet users:

* Service prices are higher than would be the case if... View Details

Keywords: Networks; Canada; Privacy; Technology Networks; Rights; Communication Technology; Internet; Ethics; Telecommunications Industry; Canada

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February 2009 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Investing in Early Learning as Economic Development at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank

By: Stacey M. Childress and Geoff Eckman Marietta

In his role as Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (Minneapolis Fed), Art Rolnick and his colleague, Rob Grunewald, had written "Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return." The... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Early Childhood Education; Investment Return; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Performance Effectiveness; Nonprofit Organizations; Minneapolis; Saint Paul

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28 Sep 2010
First Look

First Look: September 28, 2010

positively related to performance when teams are dispersed geographically, have less human capital, or are faced with particularly complex tasks. Our findings offer insight for theory and practice into how accessing stored organizational... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

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Publications - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Services (CMS) recently announced that it will be removing more than 250 musculoskeletal surgeries from its “inpatient-only list” in January 2022. An additional 1,500 surgeries will be eliminated in the following year. The change... 01 Feb 2021 Article Health Care... View Details

03 Mar 2008
Research & Ideas

Marketing Your Way Through a Recession

advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times. Uncertain... View Details

Keywords: by John Quelch

05 Aug 2022
Research & Ideas

Why People Crave Feedback—and Why We’re Afraid to Give It

Get the Best of You, Change the Narrative Related reading from the Working Knowledge Archives Reflecting on Work Improves Job Performance Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working Knowledge team at... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

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Podcast - Business & Environment

materials in grid-scale batteries. Logan explains Argonne’s research on improving energy storage solutions, why AI plays a critical role, and the partnerships between national labs and the industry. He also shares his outlook on the... View Details

2024
Working Paper

Greenlighting Innovative Projects: How Evaluation Format Shapes the Perceived Feasibility of Novel Ideas

By: Jacqueline N. Lane, Tianxi Cai, Michael Menietti, Griffin Weber and Eva C. Guinan

Evaluation of novel projects is essential for scientific and technological advancement. However, evaluator bias toward a project’s potential can obscure its limitations. This study investigates evaluation formats by contrasting combined assessments of novelty and... View Details

Keywords: Research; Performance Evaluation; Innovation and Invention; Prejudice and Bias

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FAQs - Alumni

reunion? HBS has always iterated and evolved its model for reunions—thoughtfully curating the content offered and continuously improving how we can best serve our alumni—as we understand more about our alumni's needs and desires, and... View Details

July 2003 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Starbucks: Delivering Customer Service

By: Youngme Moon and John Quelch

Starbucks, the dominant specialty-coffee brand in North America, must respond to recent market research indicating that the company is not meeting customer expectations in terms of service. To increase customer satisfaction, the company is debating a plan that would... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Satisfaction; Profit; Recruitment; Marketing Strategy; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; Planning; Food and Beverage Industry

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