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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,081)
- People (1)
- News (176)
- Research (688)
- Events (14)
- Multimedia (4)
- Faculty Publications (300)
- August 2013
- Technical Note
Raising the Level of Abstraction
By: Willy Shih
This technical note discusses abstraction as a way of generalizing a process or component for wider application. By hiding complexity inside a module, abstraction enables system designers to think at a higher level. This lowers entry barriers to using (and reusing) a... View Details
Keywords: Abstraction; Modularity; Commercialization; Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Applications and Software; Digital Platforms; United States; Asia; Europe
Shih, Willy. "Raising the Level of Abstraction." Harvard Business School Technical Note 614-019, August 2013.
- Article
How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition
By: Michael E. Porter and James E. Heppelmann
Information technology is revolutionizing products. Once composed solely of mechanical and electrical parts, products have become complex systems that combine hardware, sensors, data storage, microprocessors, software, and connectivity in myriad ways. These "smart,... View Details
Keywords: Strategy; Competition; Information Technology; Transformation; Information Technology Industry
Porter, Michael E., and James E. Heppelmann. "How Smart, Connected Products Are Transforming Competition." Harvard Business Review 92, no. 11 (November 2014): 64–88.
- November 2004 (Revised June 2005)
- Background Note
Designing Products and Processes: Aligning Hierarchical Problem Levels with Problem-Solving Team Forms
All complex systems have four distinct hierarchical design levels: system objectives, architecture, interfaces, and components. Each level has a distinct design question associated with it. Distinguishing among these levels and understanding the questions associated... View Details
Spear, Steven J. "Designing Products and Processes: Aligning Hierarchical Problem Levels with Problem-Solving Team Forms." Harvard Business School Background Note 605-039, November 2004. (Revised June 2005.)
- 2015
- Chapter
Modularity and Organizations
Modularity describes the degree to which a complex system can be broken apart into subunits (modules) that can be recombined in various ways. Modularity is important for organizations and the economy because the boundaries of organizational units and corporations are... View Details
Baldwin, Carliss Y. "Modularity and Organizations." In International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences. 2nd ed. Edited by James D. Wright, 718–723. Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2015.
- 14 Apr 2015
- News
How crowdsourcing could help simplify America’s tax code
- 2012
- Chapter
Pursuing Public Value: Frameworks for Strategic Analysis and Action
By: Herman B. Leonard and Mark H. Moore
Features Harvard Kennedy School scholars who focus diverse conceptual lenses on a single high-stakes management task—enhancing port security across the United States. This title considers the challenge of driving change in a complex system involving hundreds of private... View Details
Leonard, Herman B., and Mark H. Moore. "Pursuing Public Value: Frameworks for Strategic Analysis and Action." Chap. 5 in Ports in a Storm: Public Management in a Turbulent World, edited by John D. Donahue and Mark H. Moore, 84–115. Innovative Governance in the 21st Century. Washington, DC: Brookings Institution Press, 2012.
- TeachingInterests
Leading Innovation and Change
This portion of a doctoral seminar at the Harvard Graduate School of Education explores the relationship between innovation, organization design, and leadership in complex educational environments. We pay particular attention to leading large system change. View Details
- Research Summary
Distributed Innovation in Open Systems—The Role of Modularity
Distributed innovation in open systems is an important trend in the modern global economy. As education levels rise and communication costs fall, more people have the means and motivation to innovate. Supply chains now stretch around the world as firms outsource... View Details
- 13 Feb 2015
- Working Paper Summaries
A Methodology for Operationalizing Enterprise Architecture and Evaluating Enterprise IT Flexibility
- March 1981 (Revised February 1993)
- Case
Hank Kolb, Director, Quality Assurance
By: Frank S. Leonard and W. Earl Sasser
Designed to introduce the systemic nature of product quality and the complexity of quality problems. Uses a new director, quality assurance, and the discovery of a quality problem. The new director has to decide if it is a real problem, what to do about it, and how to... View Details
Keywords: Leadership; Product; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Attitudes; Complexity
Leonard, Frank S., and W. Earl Sasser. "Hank Kolb, Director, Quality Assurance." Harvard Business School Case 681-083, March 1981. (Revised February 1993.)
- October 2006 (Revised July 2007)
- Case
China Resources Corporation (A): 6S Management
By: Dennis Campbell and David Lane
In 2006, Jiang Wei, CFO of China Resources Corporation, was seeking to implement a variety of new management control systems in a complex diversified corporation during a period of rapid economic expansion in mainland China. Instilling efficiency, productivity,... View Details
Keywords: Accounting; Business Conglomerates; Governance Controls; Balanced Scorecard; Management Systems; Performance Improvement; Business Strategy; China
Campbell, Dennis, and David Lane. "China Resources Corporation (A): 6S Management." Harvard Business School Case 107-013, October 2006. (Revised July 2007.)
- November 2003 (Revised July 2006)
- Case
STAR 2003
By: Thomas R. Piper
A shift in strategy from broadcasting standardized programs throughout its footprint to localized programming necessitates a review of STAR's organizational structure. Growing complexity and a need for local responsiveness point toward adoption of a country-based... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Organizational Structure; Management Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Design; Complexity; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Service Industry
Piper, Thomas R. "STAR 2003." Harvard Business School Case 204-014, November 2003. (Revised July 2006.)
- 2023
- Working Paper
Coordinated R&D Programs and the Creation of New Industries
By: Daniel P. Gross and Maria P. Roche
Complex systems technologies—including “deep tech”—are prone to numerous frictions that stymie commercial development. Yet technologies with these features underpin some of the most valuable industries of the past century. We examine how large, mission-oriented... View Details
Keywords: Research and Development; Policy; Business and Government Relations; Technological Innovation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention
Gross, Daniel P., and Maria P. Roche. "Coordinated R&D Programs and the Creation of New Industries." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-027, April 2023. (Revised October 2024.)
- 13 Mar 2025
- HBS Seminar
Sonny Tambe, Wharton
- 06 Jun 2011
- Research & Ideas
Why Leaders Lose Their Way
enable them to think clearly about work and personal issues. A System To Support Values-centered Leadership The reality is that people cannot stay grounded by themselves. Leaders depend on people closest to them to stay centered. They... View Details
Keywords: by Bill George
- October 2009 (Revised April 2010)
- Case
Societe Generale (A): The Jerome Kerviel Affair
By: Francois Brochet
This case illustrates the tension/balance that firms with complex and risky business models must consider in designing their internal controls. It describes the environment in which a derivatives trader engaged in massive directional positions on major European stocks... View Details
Keywords: Risk Management; Problems and Challenges; Complexity; Cost Management; Balance and Stability; Business Model; Design; Stocks; Crisis Management; Financial Markets; Consulting Industry; Europe
Brochet, Francois. "Societe Generale (A): The Jerome Kerviel Affair." Harvard Business School Case 110-029, October 2009. (Revised April 2010.)
- August 2023
- Article
Explaining Machine Learning Models with Interactive Natural Language Conversations Using TalkToModel
By: Dylan Slack, Satyapriya Krishna, Himabindu Lakkaraju and Sameer Singh
Practitioners increasingly use machine learning (ML) models, yet models have become more complex and harder to understand. To understand complex models, researchers have proposed techniques to explain model predictions. However, practitioners struggle to use... View Details
Slack, Dylan, Satyapriya Krishna, Himabindu Lakkaraju, and Sameer Singh. "Explaining Machine Learning Models with Interactive Natural Language Conversations Using TalkToModel." Nature Machine Intelligence 5, no. 8 (August 2023): 873–883.
- July 2006
- Case
Paul Chesler, Director, Quality Assurance
Introduces the systemic nature of product quality and the complexity of quality problems. A new director of quality assurance discovers an apparent quality problem. The actions of different departments and functions contribute to the problem. The new director must... View Details
Leonard, Frank S. "Paul Chesler, Director, Quality Assurance." Harvard Business School Case 607-002, July 2006.