Publications

21 May 2024
Cold Call Podcast

The Importance of Trust for Managing through a Crisis

Keywords: Re: Sandra J. Sucher; Tourism

September 1993
Case

Daka International, Inc. (A)

Deals with an employee who contracts AIDS. The employer, a food-service proprietor, is threatened by an old and valued client with the loss of the account if they do not fire him. View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Decision Choices and Conditions

As organizations consider what a return to the office looks like, some employees say they would be willing to forgo traditional perks like health care and pay for access to office space. View Details

08 Jul 2014
Blog Post

Get First Year Students Excited About Your Company

Company Presentations are a great way to connect with students, to promote opportunities within your organization and to introduce your recruiting structure. According to students, the best presentations include senior level executive presenters as well as an View Details

Article

Big Ideas Feature: Time for Happiness: Why the Pursuit of Money Isn't Bringing You Joy—and What Will

By: A.V. Whillans

Adam (real story, fake name) was a good employee who was given a plum project he believed could get him a promotion and a raise. Taking it seemed like the proverbial no-brainer: Work hard, nail the assignment, get more pay. He knew he’d have to put in long days and... View Details

Keywords: Time; Privilege; Guilt; Money; Happiness; Work-Life Balance

Read Now

January 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

ZBJ: Building a Global Outsourcing Platform for Knowledge Workers (A)

By: Feng Zhu, Weiru Chen and Shirley Sun

ZBJ.com (ZBJ), an online platform that connects knowledge workers to small- and medium-sized enterprises, is China’s largest outsourcing platform. Founded by Mingyue Zhu in 2006, ZBJ had grown into a unicorn with 4,000 employees and a daily transaction volume of RMB15... View Details

Keywords: Outsourcing; Disintermediation; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Problems and Challenges; Global Strategy; Information Technology Industry; China

July 2012
Case

Show Me the Money (A)

By: Clayton Rose

A business unit leader faces a major decision when an employee critical to a high profile transaction asks for a unique compensation arrangement that has implications for the culture of the business. View Details

Keywords: Culture; Compensation; Leadership; Cost vs Benefits; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Culture; Compensation and Benefits

March 2000
Case

Lockheed Martin: The Employer of Choice Mission

By: Clayton M. Christensen and Michael D Overdorf

A Lockheed Martin manager is faced with the decision of where to focus the organization's resources in order to develop a world-class employee development system. The manager's recommendation will serve as the basis for the company's goal of becoming an Employer of... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Resource Allocation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Employees; Human Resources; Leadership Development; Cost Management; Organizational Design; Aerospace Industry

26 Mar 2024
Cold Call Podcast

How Do Great Leaders Overcome Adversity?

Keywords: Re: Anthony Mayo

March 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Arck Systems

By: Ian Larkin

The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Performance Effectiveness; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Software; Information Technology Industry

2021
Working Paper

Soliciting Advice Rather Than Feedback Yields More Developmental, Critical, and Actionable Input

By: Hayley Blunden, Jaewon Yoon, Ariella S. Kristal and Ashley V. Whillans

Asking for feedback is a popular way to solicit third-party input at work. However, feedback seeking is only weakly related to performance, and employees often report that the feedback that they receive is unhelpful. Addressing this discrepancy, across six studies... View Details

Keywords: Feedback; Advice; Personal Development; Future Focus; Evaluative Mindset; Performance; Personal Development and Career

Jaylon Sherrell is a doctoral student in the Micro Organizational Behavior unit at Harvard Business School.

Leveraging qualitative and quantitative approaches, Jaylon has gained experience working on multiple research projects, as well as... View Details

02 Dec 2022
Blog Post

Why Does Your Company Exist?

When was the last time you thought about your company's mission statement? Maybe it appears on a slide deck that employees see in their onboarding process, or spotlighted in the annual report. Or perhaps your company's website features... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

March 1999 (Revised August 1999)
Case

SCORE! Educational Centers (D)

Describes Rob Waldron's actions upon assuming leadership of SCORE! Educational Centers, an after-school tutoring enterprise. Examines the issue of acquiring and growing a small, self-owned company into a professional organization. Focuses on the steps Waldron takes to... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Business Growth and Maturation; Employee Relationship Management; Teaching; Recruitment; Education Industry; United States

April 2019 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Sears: The Demise of an American Icon

By: Kristin Mugford and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2019, ESL Investments’ $5.2 billion offer to purchase Sears Holdings out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was accepted, despite opposition from the company's unsecured creditors and other parties. ESL, which was led by Eddie Lampert, had acquired a stake in Sears following... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Reorganization; Bonds; Restructuring; Business Divisions; Transformation; Fairness; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry; United States

May 2004 (Revised July 2004)
Case

IBM On Demand Community

By: John A. Quelch

The vice-president of IBM Corporate Community Relations is developing the launch program for IBM On Demand Community, a suite of 140 technology tools designed to enable IBM employees to assist nonprofit community organizations and schools worldwide. View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Social Marketing; Computer Industry