Publications

10 Sep 2018
Research & Ideas

Celebrating 'The Men and Women of the Corporation' 40 Years Later

inequality in the workplace. In particular, the book makes clear how organizational roles and structures shape unequal access to opportunities, resources, and advancement. In a... View Details

Keywords: by Robin J. Ely

January 1995 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Charlotte Beers at Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide (A)

By: Herminia M. Ibarra and Nicole Sackley

Examines Beer's actions on assuming leadership of Ogilvy & Mather Worldwide, the world's sixth largest advertising agency, during a period of rapid industry change and organizational crisis. Focuses on how Beers, the first outsider CEO, engages and leads a senior team... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Advertising; Organizational Structure; Advertising Industry

June 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Suzhou Good-Ark Electronics: Creating and Implementing a Sage Culture

By: Sandra J. Sucher, Nien-he Hsieh, Susan J. Winterberg, Nancy Hua Dai and Shalene Gupta

Suzhou Good-Ark, a Chinese semiconductor implemented "Sage Culture" management based on traditional Chinese philosophy. Productivity doubled, turnover decreased, and employee satisfaction shot up. By 2015, more than 2,000 companies had toured Wu’s factories, and Wu had... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Philosophy; Leadership; Management Style; Organizational Culture; Transformation; Performance; Semiconductor Industry; China; Singapore

February 2010
Background Note

Millipore Background Note

By: Elie Ofek and Natalie Kindred

This note provides background on Millipore Corporation, a global provider of products and services used primarily in the discovery, development and production of therapeutic drugs. With a track record of quickly adapting to the evolving needs of its customers,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Customer Focus and Relationships; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

Find at Harvard

07 Jul 2011
What Do You Think?

So We Adapt. What’s the Downside?

to their book, Built to Last, advised us to "Preserve the core but stimulate progress." Phil Clark argued that commitment, embodied for him in habit, "gives us time to pay attention and think about what is happening around... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

January 2010
Case

Pratham - Every Child in School and Learning Well

By: Srikant M. Datar, Stacey M. Childress, Rachna Tahilyani and Anjali Raina

The case focuses on how Pratham, a non-governmental organization, provided quality education to underprivileged children in India by collaborating with the government. It focuses on the problem Madhav Chavan, the founder, is trying to solve, the contributing factors... View Details

Keywords: Non-Governmental Organizations; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Social and Collaborative Networks; Performance Evaluation; Change Management; Organizational Design; Early Childhood Education; Management Systems; Strategy; Quality; Education Industry; India

April 1985 (Revised November 1987)
Case

Lou Gerstner

By: John J. Kao

Describes Lou Gerstner and his approach to managing entrepreneurship and organizational change at American Express Travel Related Services Company. Mr. Gerstner is chairman and CEO of the firm. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry; Travel Industry

November 1998 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Spyder Active Sports, Inc. and CHB Capital Partners (B)

By: John A. Davis, Louis B. Barnes and Peter K. Botticelli

Supplements the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Equity; Family Business; Business Growth and Maturation; Entrepreneurship; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry

December 2020 (Revised January 2022)
Supplement

Michael Ku and Global Clinical Supply at Pfizer Inc.: Bringing Hope to Patients (B)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Tedards

In 2011, Michael Ku became Pfizer’s Vice President of Global Clinical Supply (GCS) after the company had undergone three large-scale mergers and acquisitions. As Ku and his new leadership team set out to build a proactive, end-to-end, digital and physical clinical... View Details

Keywords: Digital Technology; Customer-centricity; Innovation; Customer Focus; Talent; Talent Management; Leadership; Innovation and Invention; Transformation; Organizational Culture; Customer Focus and Relationships; Change Management; Talent and Talent Management; Supply Chain; Mission and Purpose

02 Jun 2010
What Do You Think?

How Do You Weigh Strategy, Execution, and Culture in an Organization’s Success?

thinking about D-Day in the context of your question . Even as many failures and unplanned events unfolded, the culture and training sustained the men to the ultimate execution of victory on that day."... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

April 2017
Teaching Note

Sesame Workshop: Bringing Big Bird Back to Health (Abridged)

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ryan Raffaelli, Ai-Ling Jamila Malone and Jonathan Cohen

Sesame Workshop was in the middle of a turnaround in 2016. CEO Jeff Dunn had reorganized and shifted the iconic institution to respond to digital disruption and a consensus culture. This Teaching Note helps instructors teach the abridged and full-length versions of... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; NGO; Non-profit; Organization Alignment; Managing Change; Philanthropy; Media; Television; Reorganization; Talent; Innovation; Risk Aversion; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Restructuring; Identity; Transformation; Media and Broadcasting Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

30 Oct 2017
Blog Post

How My Engineering and Manufacturing Background Prepared Me for an MBA

I graduated with a degree in Electrical Engineering in 2005 and started working in a chemical manufacturing plant that same year. On my first day on the job, with limited technical competence and View Details

01 Feb 1997
News

Leading the Way In Negotiation and Decision Making

organizational negotia- tions. To add realism, the unit's faculty has scrambled the sections for this course so that students encounter both familiar and unfamiliar faces across their classroom bargaining... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

07 Jul 2008
Research & Ideas

Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron

building on intense lobbying to encourage further domestic deregulation and limit federal oversight of the energy industry, Skilling encouraged Enron executives to exploit to the hilt recent Securities and... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Energy; Utilities

15 Nov 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for Paul Gompers and Josh Lerner

venture capitalists want more from their clients in terms of an ownership stake or in terms of meeting tougher performance benchmarks? Gompers and Lerner: Many of the changes in the venture capital industry... View Details

Keywords: by Carol Elsen; Financial Services

January 1971 (Revised August 1984)
Case

Dansk Designs Ltd.

Dansk Designs Ltd., a supplier of high quality, highly designed tableware products, plans to enter a new product area in housewares. Past growth and anticipated future expansion make organizational changes necessary. Overseas operations, design changes, supplier... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Expansion; Organizational Structure; Consumer Products Industry

May 2000 (Revised December 2018)
Case

SMA: Micro-Electronic Products Division (A)

By: Michael Beer and Michael Tushman

The Micro-Electronic Products Division of SMA has financial and organizational problems. Conflict and lack of coordination exist between functional groups. Employees do not have a sense of direction and morale is low. The cause of these problems is found in a change in... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Conflict and Resolution; Business Strategy