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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(5,355)
- People (2)
- News (1,577)
- Research (3,191)
- Events (17)
- Multimedia (123)
- Faculty Publications (1,865)
- May 2022
- Article
Variance Analysis: New Insights from Health Care Applications
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Susanna Gallani
We use a health care application to illustrate how variance analysis can be used to benchmark costs across similar service delivery sites. Variances for personnel costs, typically the largest cost component in service organizations, are calculated for price, quantity,... View Details
Keywords: Variance Analysis; Benchmarking; Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Health Care; Activity Based Costing and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Service Delivery; Service Industry
Kaplan, Robert S., and Susanna Gallani. "Variance Analysis: New Insights from Health Care Applications." Issues in Accounting Education 37, no. 2 (May 2022): 27–36.
- April 2025
- Technical Note
Skills-First Talent Management: Engagement and Retention
By: Boris Groysberg, Nicole Zelazko, Robin Abrahams and Katherine Connolly Baden
The third in a series, this note describes the significance of employee engagement and retention, explores the relationship between these two pillars and skills-first talent management, and covers the major drivers of engagement and retention. The other two notes are:... View Details
- July 2012
- Case
Performance Management at Vitality Health Enterprises, Inc.
By: John Bingham and Michael Beer
Vitality Health Enterprises, a medium-sized firm that manufactures health and personal care products, has experienced six straight quarters of strong revenue growth. James Hoffman, the new Senior Vice President of Human Resources, fears that the chain of success is... View Details
Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Talent and Talent Management; Health Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States
Bingham, John, and Michael Beer. "Performance Management at Vitality Health Enterprises, Inc." Harvard Business School Brief Case 913-501, July 2012.
- 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
Zhu, Feng, Weiru Chen, and Shirley Sun. "ZBJ: Building a Global Outsourcing Platform for Knowledge Workers (A)." Harvard Business School Case 618-044, January 2018. (Revised October 2019.)
- 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
Rose, Clayton. "Show Me the Money (A)." Harvard Business School Case 313-002, July 2012.
- 25 Mar 2014
- News
Privacy and Productivity
- 28 Feb 2021
- Working Paper Summaries
Measuring Employment Impact: Applications and Cases
Keywords: by Katie Panella and George Serafeim
- February 2024
- Case
SundaySky: Changing Customer Experiences through Personalized Video
By: David C. Edelman and James Barnett
In June 2023, SundaySky CEO Jim Dicso considers growth strategies. The software-as-a-service company provided software to create advertising videos, customer service videos, and other videos, like employee training modules, and had begun to pilot a new generative... View Details
Keywords: Advertising; Strategy; Technology Adoption; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Growth and Development Strategy; Advertising Industry; Technology Industry; United States
Edelman, David C., and James Barnett. "SundaySky: Changing Customer Experiences through Personalized Video." Harvard Business School Case 524-013, February 2024.
- 04 Sep 2015
- News
The Dawning of the Age of Flex Labor
- 24 Oct 2011
- News
Top 'Innovators' Rank Low in R&D Spending
- Article
Enfranchisement of Service Workers
By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Heskett
Enfranchisement is achieved through an integration of empowerment with methods of pay for performance. Evidence from Ito Yokado Group in Japan and Nordstrom in the US demonstrates the positive effects of enfranchisement. Successful efforts to enfranchise employees: 1.... View Details
Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Franchise Ownership; Employees; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry; Japan; United States
Schlesinger, Leonard A., and James Heskett. "Enfranchisement of Service Workers." California Management Review 33, no. 4 (Summer 1991).
- 2011
- Working Paper
Managerial Practices That Promote Voice and Taking Charge among Frontline Workers
By: Julia Adler-Milstein, Sara J. Singer and Michael W. Toffel
Process-improvement ideas often come from frontline workers who speak up by voicing concerns about problems and by taking charge to resolve them. We hypothesize that organization-wide process-improvement campaigns encourage both forms of speaking up, especially voicing... View Details
Keywords: Communication; Employees; Knowledge Sharing; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Management Practices and Processes; Operations; Business Processes; Performance Improvement
Adler-Milstein, Julia, Sara J. Singer, and Michael W. Toffel. "Managerial Practices That Promote Voice and Taking Charge among Frontline Workers." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 11-005, July 2010. (Revised Sept. 2011. Best Theory-to-Practice Paper Award by Academy of Management's Health Care Management Division. Selected for Best Paper Proceedings of the 2011 Academy of Management Meeting.)
- 21 May 2024
- Cold Call Podcast
The Importance of Trust for Managing through a Crisis
- 2023
- Working Paper
The Impact of Unionization on Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality: Evidence from Starbucks
By: Isamar Troncoso, Minkyung Kim, Ishita Chakraborty and SooHyun Kim
The US has seen a rise in union movements, but their effects on service industry marketing outcomes like customer satisfaction and perceptions of service quality remain understudied. In this paper, we empirically study the impact on customer satisfaction and... View Details
Keywords: Labor Unions; Customer Satisfaction; Perception; Public Opinion; Employees; Food and Beverage Industry
Troncoso, Isamar, Minkyung Kim, Ishita Chakraborty, and SooHyun Kim. "The Impact of Unionization on Consumer Perceptions of Service Quality: Evidence from Starbucks." Working Paper, 2023.
- November 15, 2019
- Editorial
Getting Your Team to Do More Than Meet Deadlines
By: Laura M. Giurge, Charlotte Blank, Laurel Newman and A.V. Whillans
When it comes to our to-do lists, many of us prioritize checking off tasks that are easiest to complete or are due first, regardless of importance—a phenomenon that scholars describe as the “mere urgency” effect. This tendency becomes stronger the busier we are. But... View Details
Giurge, Laura M., Charlotte Blank, Laurel Newman, and A.V. Whillans. "Getting Your Team to Do More Than Meet Deadlines." Harvard Business Review (website) (November 15, 2019). (Shared Authorship.)
- 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
Whillans, A.V. "Big Ideas Feature: Time for Happiness: Why the Pursuit of Money Isn't Bringing You Joy—and What Will." Special Issue on HBR Big Idea: Time Poor and Unhappy. Harvard Business Review (website) (January 29, 2019).
- 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
- 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
Burton, M. Diane, Jeffrey L. Bradach, and Naomi Atkins. "SCORE! Educational Centers (D)." Harvard Business School Case 499-059, March 1999. (Revised August 1999.)
- 19 Jul 2010
- Research & Ideas
How Mercadona Fixes Retail’s ’Last 10 Yards’ Problem
Imagine a retail chain that offers customers not only the lowest prices but also personalized customer service. Employees receive above-average wages and 20 times more training than the average American retailer. Sounds like a recipe for... View Details