Publications

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17 Nov 2011
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Organizational Design

organization? What Are The Best Techniques For Fostering Innovation In Multicultural Teams? Innovating at the World's Crossroads: How Multicultural Networks Promote Creativity HBS professor Roy Y.J. Chua proposes that cultivating a culturally diverse View Details

Keywords: Re: Ranjay Gulati & Raffaella Sadun

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Emily (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Emily (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-046 Emily considers whether to file a formal complaint with her Human Resources department about the emails but ultimately decides to confront the culprits herself, beginning by sending an email to one of her... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Interpersonal Communication; Employees; Conflict and Resolution; Communication

21 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Fighting the COVID Blues: Advice from Business Research

Life was hard enough for the one-third of Americans who had wrestled with anxiety prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, the disease that has killed almost 100,000 in the United States, left millions unemployed, and socially distanced many... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman and Danielle Kost

23 Jan 2018
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, January 23, 2018

Psychology The Downside of Downtime: The Prevalence and Work Pacing Consequences of Idle Time at Work By: Brodsky, Andrew, and Teresa M. Amabile Abstract—Although both media commentary and academic research have focused much attention on the dilemma of View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2020
Case

MOD Pizza: A Winning Recipe? (Abridged)

By: Boris Groysberg, John D. Vaughan and Matthew Preble

This is an abridged version of “MOD Pizza: A Winning Recipe?” HBS Case No. 416-004. Scott and Ally Svenson, the founders of MOD Pizza, had to make a number of decisions in planning how to scale their small company. They wanted to grow MOD from 45 stores as of May 2015... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Selection and Staffing; Leadership; Growth and Development Strategy; Marketing; Service Delivery; Organizational Culture; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Service Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; United States

September 1992 (Revised March 2007)
Case

Kaiser Steel Corporation, 1987

By: Timothy A. Luehrman

Kaiser Steel entered Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in early 1987. Nine months later it still faces several difficult obstacles to reorganization, including litigation, environmental liabilities, and pension and medical benefits for retired employees. Students are... View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Employee Relationship Management; Resource Allocation; Opportunities; Conflict and Resolution; Steel Industry; United States

24 May 2004
Research & Ideas

The Watsons: IBM’s Troubled Legacy

using the fair to tell the world that he and IBM—the two were inseparable in his mind—mattered. On May 2, IBM held a huge meeting at the fair, with 2,200 employees in attendance. Watson told the listening throng that he wanted to keep the... View Details

Keywords: by Richard S. Tedlow

2022
White Paper

Building from the Bottom Up: What Business Can Do to Strengthen the Bottom Line by Investing in Front-line Workers

By: Joseph B. Fuller and Manjari Raman

A significant number of American workers—44%—are employed in low wage jobs at the front line of industries. Despite undertaking some of the most tedious, dirtiest, and most dangerous jobs, low-wage workers are—and have long been—the most likely to be overlooked by... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19; Labor Market; Low-wage Workers; Worker Welfare; Churn/retention; Morale; Jobs and Positions; Employees; Wages; Retention; Well-being; Human Resources

Read Now

13 Nov 2007
Research & Ideas

Six Steps for Reinvigorating America

Motivates values-based capitalism and drives companies to contribute to solving social and environmental problems while also providing employees stimulating and satisfying work. Restores trust by committing... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

13 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

Small Businesses Are Worse Off Than We Thought

firms are temporarily closed and 40 percent of the workforce, on average, has been laid off or furloughed since late January. Retail, entertainment, food services, hospitality, and personal services industries have been hit hardest as View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Financial Services

June 2010 (Revised October 2011)
Case

ProPublica

By: Michel Anteby, Philippe Bertreau and Charlotte Newman

Stephen Engelberg, ProPublica's managing editor, entered the organization's newsroom located in lower Manhattan on September 16, 2008. He knew a historical financial debacle was happening at his doorstep, yet none of his journalists were covering that beat. It would... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Leadership; Leading Change; Resource Allocation; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Journalism and News Industry; Publishing Industry; New York (city, NY)

13 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Ignore This Advice at Your Own Peril

Employees regularly turn to managers and other higher-level co-workers to seek advice about job-related issues and next steps for their careers. Yet people don’t always take the advice they receive; they may accept some suggestions and... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

November 2007
Supplement

Differences at Work: Ben (B)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Ben (B) HBS Case No. 9-408-043 Ben shares his colleague's comment with another colleague who empathizes with Ben's discomfort but dismisses the remark as a joke, leaving Ben to decide whether he wants to confront his colleague. View Details

Keywords: Employees; Conflict and Resolution; Perception

23 Mar 2021
Book

Succeeding in the New Work-from-Anywhere World

When the pandemic forced employees to flee offices and work from home in droves last year, many business leaders worried that productivity might take a dive. Would remote workers be too tempted by the lures of Netflix or too distracted by... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

27 Mar 2012
First Look

First Look: March 27

enculturating new employees such that they develop pride in their new organization and internalize its values. Drawing on authenticity research, we propose that socialization leads to more effective... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

March 1987 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Au Bon Pain: The French Bakery Cafe, The Partner/Manager Program

By: W. Earl Sasser

In recent years, Au Bon Pain (ABP), a chain of upscale French bakeries/sandwich cafes based in Boston, confronted a set of human resource problems endemic to the fast food industry (i.e., a labor shortage which made it difficult to attract and maintain quality crew... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Managerial Roles; Retention; Employees; Performance Improvement; Recruitment; Problems and Challenges; Compensation and Benefits; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry; Boston