Operational Focus - Publications - Faculty & Research

29 Jan 2019
News

Seth Klarman on the Critical Value of the Long View

amounts of greed and nothing good happens—which isn’t fair and isn’t true,” Klarman told the magazine. “I’m not on Wall Street, I’m in Boston, but you’re tarred with that brush.” The article notes Klarman’s displeasure in watching investors’ increased View Details

December 2005 (Revised July 2006)
Case

Bunge: Poised for Growth

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

As CEO of the world's largest oilseed processor, Alberto Weisser of Bunge must not only decide how quickly to expand in fast-growing markets of Eastern Europe and Asia, but also how best to leverage the firm's global footprint and leadership position. The firm is... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Trade; Global Strategy; Leadership; Growth Management; Management Style; Demand and Consumers; Supply Chain; Integration; Technology; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Asia; Europe

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May 1999 (Revised March 2001)
Case

Marshall Industries

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport

Confounding predictions that the Internet would "disintermediate" commerce, making "middle man" companies all but obsolete, Marshall Industries, a leading electronics distributor, used the Internet and digital technologies to reinvent itself. Marshall continued to sell... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Digital Platforms; Internet and the Web; Supply Chain; Emerging Markets; Customer Focus and Relationships; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry

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Field Course: Life Sciences Venture Creation - Course Catalog

HBS Course Catalog Field Course: Life Sciences Venture Creation Course Number 6756 Senior Lecturer Satish Tadikonda Fall; Q1Q2; 3.0 credits 12 Sessions Paper Enrollment is by application only Click here for Fall 2025 application Career View Details

14 Oct 2010
News

Jobs Bill Misses Mark

recent book, Boulevard of Broken Dreams, is the first in-depth examination of failed government efforts to support entrepreneurs. So what should government do? Lerner has this advice for policy makers. If you really want to create jobs, View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Administration of Economic Programs; Government

17 Jun 2014
News

Shedding light on business issues and opportunities in Asia

When Michael Shih-ta Chen (MBA 1972) attended HBS in the early 1970s, only a handful of case studies featured businesses in Asia. Now, some 25 cases a year focus on business issues in China, Korea, Australia, Southeast Asia, and other... View Details

Web

Industrial Life Photograph Collection - Photography Collections - Historical Collections

Baker Library During the Depression, Harvard colleagues Donald Davenport and Frank Ayres acquired photographs illustrating the interaction of worker and machine to supplement classroom instruction at the Harvard Business School, where there was an increasing View Details

25 Aug 2022
News

The Great Priority Reset

future, airlines will have to make some major operational moves, from reconfiguring cabins to examining the economics of certain routes. Those traveling for pleasure, meanwhile, aren’t waiting—and they are driving change at the airport.... View Details

01 Mar 2006
News

Faculty Books

operations covering widely recognized brands including Lipton, Hellmann’s, Birds Eye, Ben & Jerry’s, Dove, Sunsilk, and Pond’s. Taking advantage of full access to corporate archives and executives, Jones discusses Unilever’s strategies to... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

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Financial Management of Smaller Firms - Course Catalog

challenges encountered when acquiring a small business. We then learn about different ways to fund a search through five other acquisitions by HBS graduates. We then focus on the market for smaller firms including cases about private... View Details

19 Jan 2017
News

Finding Purpose in Profit

summit of every challenge they took on, a small market share was not in their plans, and they continued to push hard. In 2006, outdoor giant Timberland came knocking on their door, offering to buy and support the brand while letting Coupounas and her husband keep and... View Details

Keywords: Robert S. Benchley; B corporations

28 Sep 2015
Research & Ideas

Six Lessons from Mobile Money Ventures in Developing Countries

Lal says. “But 80 to 90 percent of mobile money operations are failures.” “If you don’t identify the right problem, the rest of it will not go anywhere” His research shows that companies are starting their market analyses in the wrong... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Financial Services; Telecommunications

08 Oct 2019
Blog Post

Balancing Act: Kate Eberle Walker’s Action Plan for C-suite Diversity

assigned to a team led by another woman, the experience was revelatory. “I could see myself in that more senior role,” she says. Still, Eberle Walker had never envisioned herself on the path to CEO. Her mentors were chief operating... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

01 Mar 2004
News

Harvard’s Future in Allston

collaborative themes; and to provide guidance to the planning of prospective new Allston-based campuses for the graduate schools of public health and education. The other task forces will focus on science and technology; culture, housing,... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

01 Dec 2010
News

Do Good: Eat Chocolate

chocoholics. “I felt like I needed to focus on a natural, organic, authentic food,” Endline says during an interview at sweetriot’s offices in New York’s SoHo neighborhood. “Chocolate has a rich history, and it comes from pods of the... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; candy; chocolate; Crop Production; Agriculture; Food Manufacturing; Manufacturing

07 Feb 2019
News

A Course Correction at Chris-Craft

Riva. The plan for Christ-Craft? Getting rid of generic model, and focusing on “watercraft that were high-quality and unusual in their focus on nautical beauty.” Stellican purchased the company in 2001, and sold it to Winnebago in June... View Details

23 Jun 2017
News

A 'Pillar' of Entrepreneurship

interview with VentureFizz, Wilcox discusses the bright future of the Boston startup scene, Pillar’s focus on machine intelligence and healthcare technology, and his own approach to investing. “Each meeting, I try to envision the founder... View Details

Keywords: Management of Companies and Enterprises; Management

19 Jul 2011
First Look

First Look: July 19

claims about the benefits of broader operational scope. The performance benefits of focus are typically attributed to reduced complexity, lower uncertainty, and the development of specialized expertise,... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Web

Matthew Sau | MBA

military faces today. This experience sparked my interest in the intersection of technology and business, as I saw the potential for innovative solutions to not only enhance military operations and improve the lives of service members but... View Details

05 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

Corporate Leaders Need to Step Up on Climate Change

Green initiatives are ubiquitous these days, implemented with zeal at companies like Dupont, IBM, Walmart, and Walt Disney. The programs being rolled out—lighting retrofits, zero-waste factories, and carpool incentives—save money and provide a green glow. Most large... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler

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