Cultural Change - Publications - Faculty & Research

December 2001 (Revised November 2002)
Case

John Smithers

By: Nitin Nohria and Todd Jick

Describes an ill-fated effort to institute a total quality program. Using the vantage point of one of the managers selected to be a quality instructor, the case traces the rise and fall of the quality effort during its very brief existence over the course of six... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Change Management; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Failure

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12 Dec 2019
Research & Ideas

How to Turn Down the Boil on Group Conflict

changed based on whether they think of them as individuals or groups. “How we attribute motives to other people becomes distorted when we stop thinking of them as individuals and instead move to a framework of ‘us versus them,’” Cikara... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

October 2000 (Revised July 2001)
Case

Avon Products (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Greg Rogers

The general manager of Avon Mexico, Fernando Lezama, must decide whether to promote a woman to the position of vice president of sales. If appointed, the candidate would be the first female in all of Latin America to hold an executive position and one of the first... View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Leading Change; Salesforce Management; Organizational Culture; Job Design and Levels; Gender; Management Teams; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Mexico

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05 Dec 2017
Research & Ideas

What We've Learned from 101 Entrepreneurs in Emerging Markets

interviews is a tiny step in that direction. "I think that in addition to the commonalities, the project sheds light on how business cultures differ in Latin America" Silverthorne: What were some of the major commonalities you... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

24 Jul 2000
Research & Ideas

Linking the Globe: The Role of Media and Communications

If proof was needed that change is afoot in the worldwide media industry, it came in the form of late alterations to a panel on the subject at the HBS Global Alumni Conference. CEOs Jean-Marie Messier of France's Vivendi and Thomas... View Details

Keywords: by Kenneth Liss; Information; Publishing; Journalism & News; Media & Broadcasting

07 Nov 2006
First Look

First Look: November 7, 2006

interconnected by different "gatekeepers," individuals who bridge one group with another. Historically, engineers and scientists tended to work within local clusters of collaboration that were isolated within a company. Recently, though, people have become... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

12 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Rocket Science Retailing: A Practical Guide

within stores. Align incentives within your organization and in the supply chain. Use technology judiciously and pay attention to emerging new technologies, whose value might still not be apparent. Explain the changes you are making to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Retail; Auto

20 Oct 2015
First Look

October 20, 2015

of the variation in industry imports from China and changes in federal spending) and two supply-side ones (TFP shocks and variation in knowledge/ideas coming from foreign patenting). In each case, we find substantial propagation of these... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Dec 2007
Research & Ideas

Authenticity over Exaggeration: The New Rule in Advertising

functionality and status. Cultural exchanges. While advertising has always been part of popular culture, technology has increased the rate of exchange and competition for buzz. In addition to Dove's campaign, Deighton cites BMW's... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Publishing; Advertising

23 Dec 2002
Research & Ideas

Setting the Stage: A Young Scholar at HBS

expanding involvement of households—both as savers and as borrowers—has had an enormous effect on the range of products and services offered. Important changes taking place at all of these levels—in household economic planning, in the... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard; Banking; Financial Services

18 Sep 2000
Research & Ideas

Getting It Done: Improving Nonprofit Performance

few years, venture philanthropy's overall impact is quite limited. On another front, The Pew Charitable Trusts undertook a new approach in 1997 by creating the Philadelphia Cultural Leadership Program, which demands accountability every... View Details

Keywords: by James E. Aisner

19 Jun 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, June 19, 2018

organizations as well as customer pressure from individual investors are critical in mitigating free-rider problems among asset managers and sustaining engagement practices. Finally, I explore the limits and anticompetitive concerns to the theory of View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

18 Nov 2002
Research & Ideas

Enterprising Women—a History

Museum of our National Heritage in Lexington, Massachusetts and to explore the question of how this exhibit changes our understanding of women's roles in American economic history. Virginia G. Drachman, a professor of history at Tufts... View Details

Keywords: by Laura Linard

04 Mar 2014
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Managing Innovation

workplace transparency can increase productivity. Do Creative Types Need To Be Managed Differently? Culture Changers: Managing High-Impact Entrepreneurs In her new Harvard Business School course, Creative High-Impact Ventures:... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty

11 Jan 2000
Lessons from the Classroom

New Game, New Rules: Developing Managers for a Competitive World

and organizations, strategic planning, and operations management as we have come to know them. Professor Christopher Bartlett is faculty chair of the Program for Global Leadership. Executive Education recently invited him to discuss his views on the impact our View Details

Keywords: by Staff

05 Sep 2007
First Look

First Look: September 5, 2007

initiative. Follows the company as these changes are driven through the business units, focusing on GE Transportation as it launches a series of groundbreaking, green products—from the Evolution Locomotive to the Hybrid Locomotive. The... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

04 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

Best of HBS Working Knowledge 2009

answered include: How do I get past a feeling of being stuck in life or work? Can I resist the temptations of success? Am I working too hard? Is there room for spirituality at the office? 10 Reasons to Design a Better Corporate Culture... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

13 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

workers to attend when sick, including work overload, lack of backup, and understaffing. Some occupational cultures have the same effect, glorifying “toughing it out” as an indicator of work commitment. Finally, we can’t discount the fact... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

23 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: ‘Talk, Inc.’

spatial—that would normally separate them from their employees. They do so by cultivating the art of listening to people at all levels of their organization, and by learning to talk with those people in ways that are personal, honest, and authentic. Conversational... View Details

Keywords: Re: Boris Groysberg

15 May 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, May 15, 2018

markets and ecosystems through their ability to transfer a package of financial, organizational, and cultural assets, skills, and ideologies across national borders. It argues such firms have been shapers of, as well as responders to,... View Details