Publications

17 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Advice for the New CEO: Talk to Your Employees Early and Often

CEOs have never had so many ways to communicate with their employees. But despite the availability of Slack, internal newsletters, and virtual town hall meetings, organizations can still go quiet. One of the most common culprits: Major View Details

Keywords: by Ami Albernaz

October 2006 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Allianz AG: Becoming a European Company

By: Jay W. Lorsch and Alexis Chernak

Focuses on the decision made by leadership at Allianz AG, the German insurance and financial services company, to complete a cross-border merger with the Italian insurance and financial services company, RAS. Allianz, however, could not complete the cross-border merger... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Organization; Decision Choices and Conditions; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Governing and Advisory Boards; Laws and Statutes; European Union; Germany; Italy

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26 Aug 2020
Blog Post

Two sides, same coin: How I left the Bay Area as an operator and returned as an investor

leadership team for the Venture Capital and Private Equity Club and the Women in Investing Club. She will be returning to San Francisco after graduation to join Bessemer Venture Partners as a growth-stage investor. She hopes that sharing... View Details

11 May 2009
Research & Ideas

The IT Leader’s Hero Quest

and ultimately an excellent journey to learning effective leadership skills in The Adventures of an IT Leader (Harvard Business Press). According to the novel's creators, a fictional approach allowed them to blend real-life incidents they... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

Teaching Interest

Launching New Ventures—Jump-Starting Innovation for Entrepreneurs and Business Owners (Executive Education)

By: William R. Kerr

Starting up a new venture amid rapid change is fraught with challenges. Whether you are starting a new business, launching a new business line, or building an entrepreneurial culture within a small-to-midsize company, this program provides a new perspective and core... View Details

03 May 2010
Research & Ideas

What Is the Future of MBA Education?

changed, and with it the security that used to come almost automatically with an MBA degree. [ ] High-paying jobs are no longer guaranteed to graduates, and the opportunity costs of two years of training—especially for those who still hold jobs and are not looking to... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Education

November 2011 (Revised August 2012)
Case

Healthymagination at GE Healthcare Systems

By: Vineet Kumar and V. Kasturi Rangan

Jeff Immelt, the CEO of GE, introduced a new innovation strategy named "healthymagination" in 2009. With cost, quality, and access as its three pillars, healthymagination ensures a strong focus for new product introduction efforts all around GE. But will this focus... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Product Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Health Industry

July 1993 (Revised June 1994)
Case

Phil Knight Managing NIKE's Transformation

By: Hugo Uyterhoeven

Describes Nike's responses to market and competitive challenges as well as its attempts at an organizational transformation from unstructured entrepreneurial management to more formalized, professional management. Focuses on Phil Knight's leadership role. View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Leadership; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Competition

Karim R. Lakhani is the Dorothy & Michael Hintze Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School. He specializes in technology management, innovation, digital transformation and artificial... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; communications; computer; health care; high technology; information technology industry; internet; pharmaceuticals; software; video games

07 Dec 2022
Blog Post

2022 Climate Symposium: Tackling Climate Together

The theme of the 2022 Annual Climate Symposium was “Tackling Climate Together” with a focus on the intersectionality of climate change and the critical need for businesses, individuals, policy makers, and consumers to come together to... View Details

2023
Book

Move Fast and Fix Things: The Trusted Leader's Guide to Solving Hard Problems

By: Frances X. Frei and Anne Morriss

Speed has gotten a bad name in business, much of it deserved. When Facebook made "Move fast and break things" an informal company motto, it fueled a widely held belief that we can either make progress or take care of people, one or the other. That a certain amount of... View Details

Keywords: Leading Change; Performance Improvement; Problems and Challenges; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture

February 2003 (Revised July 2005)
Case

British Broadcasting Corporation (B): Making it Happen

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Douglas A Raymond

Greg Dyke, the new director general of the British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), has launched an ambitious change program, called Making It Happen, with the objective of unlocking creativity, building a sense of common purpose, and encouraging collaboration throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Media; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership Development; Competition; Creativity; Relationships; Media and Broadcasting Industry; United Kingdom

December 2010
Supplement

Rackspace Hosting (2000)

By: W. Earl Sasser, James L. Heskett and Tom Ryder

The leadership team of Rackspace, faced with accommodation of its service offering and dwindling financial reserves, decides to make customer focus the rallying cry of its new strategy. View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Planning; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Delivery; Strategy; Finance; Information Technology Industry

Web

Alumni

LOG IN For a more personalized visit Log in Keeping the Faith Keeping the Faith A new course investigates the powerful connections between belief, spirituality, and leadership For the Records In the midst of Austin’s buzzy music scene,... View Details

January 2004 (Revised June 2004)
Case

Citigroup 2003: Testing the Limits of Convergence (A)

By: Lynda M. Applegate

Examines Citigroup's strategic transition and highlights issues that its newly announced CEO Charles Prince will face as he assumes leadership of this global financial corporation upon the retirement of its charismatic CEO, Sandy Weill. View Details

Keywords: Business Model; Globalized Firms and Management; Management Succession; Transformation; Banks and Banking; Banking Industry; Financial Services Industry

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Professor Ramarajan is the Diane Doerge Wilson Professor of Business Administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at Harvard Business School. Her research examines the management and consequences of identities in organizations.

She teaches the... View Details

Keywords: nonprofit industry

October 1995
Case

DISC (A) (Abridged)

By: Nitin Nohria and Scott A. Snook

Follows the development and implementation of fundamental organizational change in a large government bureaucracy. The case is set in the Defense Industrial Supply Center (DISC) and follows two senior leaders as they grapple with issues of fundamental change in a... View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Restructuring; Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; National Security; Leadership Style

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April 1994 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Laura Ashley (A): A New CEO Takes Charge

By: Richard L. Nolan

In a turnaround situation, a new CEO must take actions in the short term to gain control and exercise executive leadership and lay groundwork to formulate a long-term strategy to rebuild a viable business. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Management Teams; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry