Publications

October 2013 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Carbon Engineering

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Sid Misra

Dr. David Keith, President of Carbon Engineering, a company based in Calgary, Alberta, is commercializing a technology to capture carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. The company plans to market the captured CO2 to produce low carbon transportation fuels in... View Details

15 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

Calderón: Economic Arguments Needed to Fight Climate Change

What do Chinese coal plants and the American legislative branch have in common? They are both major adversaries in the fight against climate change, according to former President of Mexico Felipe Calderón. "The most serious problem... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Manufacturing

November 2007 (Revised March 2009)
Case

Allston: Brand vs. Architecture

By: Andre F. Perold, Arthur I Segel and Christopher M. Gordon

Harvard President Lawrence Summers had presided over the final interviews of world-renowned architects being considered for the science complex planned for Harvard's expanded campus in Allston. The selection process had absorbed nine months in 2005 and amplified the... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Brands and Branding; Design; Urban Development; Selection and Staffing; Construction Industry; Boston

02 Mar 2018
Op-Ed

Op-Ed: Trump’s Tariffs Could Harm Allies as Much as Opponents

After many on and off signals, President Donald Trump pulled the trigger March 1 and announced he would slap long-term duties on steel (25 percent) and aluminum (10 percent) imports next week. The last imposition of tariffs on steel by... View Details

Keywords: by Dante Roscini; Steel; Manufacturing

September 2001 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Ocean Carriers

By: Erik Stafford, Angela Chao and Kathleen Luchs

In January 2001, Mary Linn, vice president of finance for Ocean Carriers, a shipping company with offices in New York and Hong Kong, was evaluating a proposed lease of a ship for a three-year period, beginning in early 2003. The customer was eager to finalize the... View Details

Keywords: Cash Flow; Forecasting and Prediction; Cost of Capital; Leasing; Corporate Strategy; Valuation; Shipping Industry; New York (city, NY); Hong Kong

June 2007 (Revised September 2021)
Case

Thomas J. Watson, IBM and Nazi Germany

By: Geoffrey Jones, Grace Ballor and Adrian Brown

Considers the strategy of U.S.-owned IBM, then a manufacturer of punch cards, in Nazi Germany before 1937. Opens with IBM CEO Thomas J. Watson meeting Adolf Hitler in his capacity as President of the International Chamber of Commerce. IBM had acquired a German company... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Values and Beliefs; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Investment; Business and Government Relations; Germany; United States

20 May 2013
Op-Ed

Making America an Industrial Powerhouse Again

As part of his administration's strategy to rejuvenate American manufacturing, President Obama has called for the creation of a National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) to advance and diffuse novel manufacturing technologies.... View Details

Keywords: by Gary Pisano; Manufacturing

August 2011 (Revised November 2012)
Case

Mary Griffin at Derby Foods

By: Anthony J. Mayo and Joshua D. Margolis

Mary Griffin, Vice President of Consumer Products, must provide feedback to one of her direct reports, Simon York. York is a strong performer, but he has displayed some poor interpersonal skills in the manner in which he interacts with his team and the production... View Details

Keywords: Outcome or Result; Training; Interpersonal Communication; Labor and Management Relations; Management Skills; Management Style; Management Teams; Managerial Roles

February 2016 (Revised August 2021)
Case

Martin Luther King and the Struggle for Black Voting Rights

By: David Moss and Dean Grodzins

In January 1965, Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., the most prominent leader of the civil rights movement in the United States, launched a campaign of civil disobedience in Selma, Alabama, to bring national attention to disenfranchisement of black voters in the South. On... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Voting; Race; Government and Politics; Conflict and Resolution; Leadership; History; Alabama

November 1985 (Revised July 1989)
Supplement

Signode Industries, Inc. (D)

Signode's packaging division president makes a final decision on the price-flex policy. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Price; Policy; Steel Industry

April 2019 (Revised April 2020)
Case

Reaganomics: Impact and Legacy

By: Tom Nicholas, John Masko and Matthew G. Preble

During the 1980s, President Ronald Reagan and his administration instituted several far-reaching economic policies that had both near- and long-term impacts on such aspects of the U.S. economy as monetary policy, inflation, the tax structure, and the role of... View Details

Keywords: Wealth and Poverty; Business and Government Relations; Leadership; Taxation; Government Administration; Government Legislation; Inflation and Deflation; Money; Economy; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Economic Growth; Equality and Inequality; United States

April 2004 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Real Madrid Club de Futbol

By: John Quelch, Jose Luis Nueno and Carin-Isabel Knoop

In June 2004, Florentino Perez, a well-known Spanish businessman, was elected president of Real Madrid, one of the world's top soccer clubs. In his campaign, Perez had promised to turn around the club's finances, bring in world-class talent, and expand the club's brand... View Details

Keywords: Risk Management; Change Management; Expansion; Marketing Channels; Sports; Management Teams; Trends; Brands and Branding; Sports Industry; Spain

March 2001 (Revised August 2003)
Case

Wilkerson Company

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The president of Wilkerson, faced with declining profits, is struggling to understand why the company is encountering severe price competition on one product line while able to raise prices without competitive response on another product line. The controller proposes... View Details

Keywords: Activity Based Costing and Management; Competition; Profit; Product; Consumer Products Industry

October 2020 (Revised March 2022)
Case

Automercados Plaza's: Surviving Venezuela's Hyperinflation

By: Alberto Cavallo, Mariana Cal and Carla Larangeira

Under the rule of presidents Hugo Chávez and Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela experienced one of the worst economic and political meltdowns in modern history, culminating with a massive hyperinflation. Remarkably, during this dramatic times Automercados Plaza's had grown to... View Details

Keywords: Hyperinflation; Populism; Inflation and Deflation; Macroeconomics; Management; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Business and Government Relations; Retail Industry; South America; Venezuela

September 1985
Supplement

Richardson Hindustan Ltd.: Gurcharan Das, Video

By: Francis Aguilar

Presents Gurcharan Das, president of Richardson Hindustan, in a question and answer session with participants in Harvard's Program for Management Development. View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Strategy; Business and Government Relations; India

January 2021 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Dwight D. Eisenhower: Changing the World

By: Robert Simons and Shirley Sun

This case describes the rise of Dwight (Ike) Eisenhower from a small town in Kansas to the pinnacle of power on the world stage. During his life, Eisenhower was leader of the Allied Forces in World War II, president of Columbia University, head of NATO, and president... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Development; Leadership; Values and Beliefs; Personal Characteristics; Leadership Style; Success; Work-Life Balance; Power and Influence

April 2002
Supplement

Grey Warner, Merck Latin America

By: Michael Beer

Grey Warner, the vice president of Merck's Latin America region, discusses the challenges raised in the case and the lessons learned. View Details

Keywords: Strategic Planning; Values and Beliefs; Change Management; Problems and Challenges; Management Teams; Pharmaceutical Industry; Latin America