Publications

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September 1996 (Revised December 1997)
Case

Cytec Industries' Spin-Off (A): Sink or Swim?

In the wake of market pressure to restructure, American Cyanamid spun off its poorly performing Chemicals Unit into a new publicly traded corporation, Cytec Industries. In addition to weak operations, Cytec inherited the bulk of Cyanamid's environmental and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Practices and Processes; Restructuring; Performance Improvement; Chemical Industry; United States

20 Dec 2022
Op-Ed

Employee Feedback: The Key to Retention During the Great Resignation

suspect—compensation. To those of us who have studied organizations up close for decades, none of this is surprising. But what can be done about it? “Companies with healthy, high-commitment, high-performance View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer

29 Sep 2014
Blog Post

Don’t leave this out of your job posting…

internship job postings: What makes your organization unique? In addition to your organization’s industry and mission, the company description section is a great opportunity to highlight what distinguishes your company from others in your... View Details

02 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Leading Professional Service Firms

resolve in order to create strong links between employees and the kinds of things that motivate them, the firm's strategy, and the way the firm is organized to deliver the strategy. EE: LPSF attracts participants from a range of... View Details

Keywords: Re: Jay W. Lorsch; Service; Consulting; Accounting

Web

Seminars & Conferences - Faculty & Research

Professor of Management & Organization in the Mendoza College of Business at the University of Notre Dame. She is an organizational theorist and economic sociologist who studies how social and cultural... View Details

September 2014 (Revised December 2014)
Case

The Ullens Center for Contemporary Art

By: Mukti Khaire and Nancy Hua Dai

Since its opening in Beijing in November 2007 as the first non-profit art center in China, UCCA had been operating with the mission to "promote the continued development of the Chinese art scene, foster international exchange, and showcase the latest in art and culture... View Details

Keywords: Art World; Art Gallery; Art Market; Arts; Nonprofit Organizations; Entrepreneurship; China

24 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

Passion at Work Is a Good Thing—But Only If Bosses Know How to Manage It

their ability to perform, particularly when they are unable to find a favorable resolution." Another wrinkle in the fabric of the passionate organization is that employees may find it challenging to speak up about issues they encounter.... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

June 2019 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Building a Meritocracy at Alghanim Industries

By: Paul M. Healy, Susanna Gallani and Esel Çekin

Building on his father’s legacy, Omar Alghanim (MBA 2002) had been working on strengthening a performance-driven culture based on meritocracy in the family business, Alghanim Industries. The task had been particularly challenging because of traditional Middle East... View Details

Keywords: Meritocracy; Social Norms; Family Business; Organizational Culture; Performance; Diversity; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Middle East; Kuwait

March 2023
Case

Woven Planet - Designing Software for the Car of the Future

By: Gary P. Pisano and Catherine Piner

Founded in 2021, Woven Planet Holdings—a subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corporation—was developing Arene, an automotive software platform consisting of an operating system, development and simulation tools, and a cloud-based service that could store and analyze vehicle... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Automated Driving; Innovation; Organizational Culture; Applications and Software; Safety; Product Launch; Product; Auto Industry; Technology Industry

30 Apr 2024
Book

When Managers Set Unrealistic Expectations, Employees Cut Ethical Corners

designed to boost responsibility, yet corporate misconduct has persisted—and in many ways worsened, often to the tune of billions of dollars in losses. Perhaps that’s because organizations are still failing to recognize that misconduct is... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

July 2024
Case

Living Up to Purpose and Performance at Parker Hannifin

By: Hubert Joly, Alicia Dadlani and Martha Hostetter

In 2019, Parker Hannifin, one of the world’s largest manufacturers of motion and control technologies, did something unusual for an industrial company: it created a purpose statement. Even though it already had a clear business strategy and longstanding culture of... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Manufacturing Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Cleveland; Ohio; United States

April 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Levels: The Remote, Asynchronous, Deep Work Management System

By: Joseph B. Fuller and George Gonzalez

Levels is a highly innovative startup in the health care space. They intend to revolutionize health by linking behavior—eating, exercise, sleeping, etc.—to changes in metabolism. They believe metabolic health can be managed through careful monitoring of changes in... View Details

Keywords: Applications and Software; Business Startups; Organizational Culture; Management Style; Technology Industry; United States

September 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Hot Wheels at Mattel: Reinventing the Wheel

By: Elie Ofek, Andres Terech and Nicole Tempest Keller

In 2017, Chris Down, Global Brand General Manager for Hot Wheels, and his team from the Advanced Play Group within Mattel, Inc., were considering which innovation path to pursue in order to "future proof" the Hot Wheels franchise going forward. Hot Wheels was the... View Details

Keywords: Toys; Industry Evolution; Innovation Strategy; Product Development; Growth and Development Strategy; Technological Innovation; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Decision Making; Digital Transformation

Fall 2021
Article

Strategy as a Way of Life: Businesses Must Root Strategy in Moral Purpose to Thrive in a Complex, Rapidly Changing World

By: Ikujiro Nonaka and Hirotaka Takeuchi

Doing the ordinary things in life a little bit better every day elevates individuals. All of us gained mother's wisdom by living with her, by watching her from behind her, by being scolded by her, and being told over and over again, to be honest, not to tell a lie or... View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Moral Sensibility; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation

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06 Mar 2020
News

‘Can everyone mute?’ Coronavirus means we must telecommute. We’re not ready

Christopher A. Bartlett

Professor Christopher A. Bartlett received an economics degree from the University of Queensland, Australia (1964), and both the masters and doctorate degrees in business administration from Harvard University (1971 and 1979).

As a practicing manager prior... View Details

Keywords: consulting; health care; management consulting; manufacturing; medical supplies; wine

July 2000
Case

Dawn Riley at America True (C1)

By: Linda A. Hill and Kristin Doughty

This version of the (C) case can be taught independently of the (A) and (B) cases. Dawn Riley, CEO/Captain of America True, the first coed syndicate to race for the America's Cup, is based in Auckland, New Zealand, where racing will begin in six weeks. Riley has built... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Leadership; Groups and Teams; Decision Making; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Gender; Management Teams; Sports; Business Startups; New Zealand; North and Central America

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January 2019 (Revised July 2022)
Case

Jain Irrigation Systems Limited: Continuing a Legacy

By: Forest Reinhardt, Gunnar Trumbull and Mahima Rao-Kachroo

Founded in 1963 by Bhavarlal Jain (Bhau), who believed in “providing solutions for every problem,” Jain Irrigation in 2018 had a global footprint and $1.1 billion in revenue. Bhau had insisted that his business add value to farmers' lives and promote sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Family Business; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; India

July 2001 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Recall 2000: Bridgestone Corp. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine

In September 2000, the president of Bridgestone-Firestone, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Bridgestone Corp., was invited to appear before a U.S. congressional subcommittee investigating the August 2000 recall of more than 6.5 million tires made by the subsidiary. The... View Details

Keywords: History; Crisis Management; Business Processes; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Rubber Industry; Japan; United States