Publications

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March 2003 (Revised April 2006)
Background Note

Scale and Scope in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda

This case discusses why economies (and diseconomies) of scale and scope exist in professional service firms (PSFs) and how they influence the amount and range of services that PSFs offer. It is distributed with a case that focuses on determining the optimal scale/scope... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Operations; Microeconomics; Service Industry

19 Nov 2019

Career and Professional Development Webinar

This webinar provides insight into the career and professional development opportunities for HBS students. This webinar will feature a discussion with the Managing Director of Careers and Professional... View Details

Apr 12 2017
Interview

The Future of Professional Service Firms

17 Dec 2012
Working Paper Summaries

An Outside-Inside Evolution in Gender and Professional Work

Keywords: by Lakshmi Ramarajan, Kathleen McGinn & Deborah Kolb

February 2003 (Revised August 2004)
Background Note

Note on Valuation-Compensation Tradeoff in Professional Service Firm Acquisitions

By: Ashish Nanda

This case highlights the tradeoff between valuation ascribed to professionals at the time of a professional services firm (PSF) acquisition and the postacquisition compensation of these professionals. It emphasizes how a high valuation at acquisition carries with it... View Details

Keywords: Valuation; Employees; Acquisition; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry

23 Oct 2014

HBS Career & Professional Development Webinar

Join Kristen Fitzpatrick, Senior Director of Career & Professional Development at HBS, for an overview of the career resources available to HBS students and career statistics on the Class of 2014. View Details

09 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Accounting Scholarship That Advances Professional Knowledge and Practice

Keywords: by Robert S. Kaplan; Education

April 2000 (Revised October 2002)
Background Note

Career Strategies and Tactics in Professional Service Firms

By: Ashish Nanda, Thomas J. DeLong and Scot H. Landry

Presents suggestions for ensuring a good start in a professional services career. View Details

Keywords: Personal Development and Career; Performance Expectations; Performance Effectiveness; Customization and Personalization; Practice; Valuation; Performance Evaluation; Business Startups; Competency and Skills; Learning; Talent and Talent Management; Management Skills; Consulting Industry

October 2006
Article

Finance for the Non-Finance Professional

By: Blythe J. McGarvie

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December 2010
Article

The Case for Professional Boards

By: Robert C. Pozen

When the world's largest financial institutions had to be rescued from insolvency in 2008, many experts laid the blame at the feet of corporate boards. But insufficient board oversight is a problem that had supposedly been solved in 2002. As the United States... View Details

Keywords: Financial Institutions; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Governing and Advisory Boards; Failure; Accounting Audits; Quality; Behavior; Legal Liability; Experience and Expertise; Corporate Governance; Governance Controls; Performance Effectiveness; United States

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1 Oct 2004
Lecture

Professional Roles, Responsibilities and Values

By: W. Carl Kester

Keywords: Values and Beliefs

November 1999
Case

SUPERVALU, Inc.: Professional Development Program

By: Francis Aguilar

SUPERVALU examines the creation and implementation of a training program for attracting and retaining college graduates for the nation's largest wholesale food distribution company. It addresses: 1) program design and 2) the management of the design effort and program... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Recruitment; Retention; Training; Organizational Culture; Design; Business or Company Management; Higher Education; Programs; Food and Beverage Industry; Distribution Industry

19 Nov 2014
News

Advancing opportunities for diverse professionals

Wall Street banker Sherrese Clarke Soares (MBA 2004) works with the Council for Urban Professionals to help minority professionals advance in their careers to the C-suite and corporate boards. (Published... View Details

10 May 2013
HBS Seminar

Roundtable Discussion on the Disruption of Professional Services

February 1986 (Revised September 1987)
Case

Anaquest: The Professional Services Project (A)

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December 2002 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Broken Trust: Role of Professionals in the Enron Debacle

By: Ashish Nanda

Discusses the role of professionals in the Enron debacle. Argues that professionals failed to prevent or predict Enron's collapse because of the conflicts of interest they faced. Concludes with observations on management and regulation of conflicts of interest facing... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Trust; Management Teams; Energy Industry

November 2013
Case

Ministry of Supply: Will Professionals Demand Its Performance?

By: Mukti Khaire and Hannah Catzen

Ministry of Supply is an entrepreneurial venture in the apparel sector. The firm focuses on a specific segment—'performance professional wear'—within the sector, specializing in clothes that use fabrics with high-tech performance features (such as moisture-wicking,... View Details

Keywords: Fashion And Creative Industries; Entrepreneurship; Fashion Industry