Publications

06 Jan 2012
Op-Ed

Where Green Corporate Ratings Fail

News Corporation—a multinational media conglomerate that includes BSKYB, Dow Jones, Fox News, 20th Century Fox and Star, among other units—announced earlier this year that it has become climate neutral, meaning that its operations have no net impact on global climate... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler; Information; Publishing

February 1996 (Revised November 1996)
Case

Wainwright Industries (A): Beyond the Baldrige

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Norman Klein

Traces the growth of Wainwright, a small automotive supply company, focusing on its commitment to quality in 1981 and the evolution of its quality culture. Breakthrough programs that stress "trust and belief" in the workforce and commitment to customers result in... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Relationship Management; Ethics; Business or Company Management; Standards; Machinery and Machining; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Auto Industry; Missouri

03 Jul 2012
Research & Ideas

HBS Faculty on Supreme Court Health Care Ruling

take greater responsibility for maintaining their health. In the future they will have a health score, much like their credit score, that is based on well-established metrics that will motivate them to improve their health. Inevitably,... View Details

Keywords: Re: Multiple Faculty; Health

30 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Tuning Jobs to Fit Your Company

has to know the answer to four basic questions. Your setting for this span is determined by the kind of behavior you want to see. To ensure compliance with detailed directives, hold managers to narrow measures. To encourage creative thinking, make them responsible for... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

12 Nov 2024
HBS Case

Inside One Startup's Journey to Break Down Hiring (and Funding) Barriers

societal problems. Identify the metrics that are a measure of success and compensate on those,” says Gompers. Keep an open mind when building a team. “For someone like me, we need to pull in people with complementary skills who know... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman; Employment

January 2011 (Revised January 2015)
Case

Matrix Capital Management (A)

By: Malcolm P. Baker and David Lane

Ben Balbale, a partner at hedge fund Matrix Capital, must decide whether to exit their investment in Rovi Corporation, a company with a diverse portfolio of patents used primarily for digital interactive guides. Rovi's shares are up over 50% from the time Balbale... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Asset Management; Cash Flow; Stock Shares; Financial Markets; Investment Funds; Measurement and Metrics; Mathematical Methods; Strategy; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

March 1990 (Revised June 1993)
Case

Analog Devices, Inc.: The Half-Life System

By: Robert S. Kaplan

The company has committed to major improvements in quality, cost, and on-time delivery performance. Despite strong senior management support, however, the actual rate of improvement was disappointing until a new measurement philosophy was introduced. The new approach... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Performance Improvement; Earnings Management; Financial Reporting; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance Productivity; Business or Company Management; Cost Management; Measurement and Metrics; Management Teams; Semiconductor Industry

14 Sep 2021
Blog Post

How to Support Your Employees’ Career Development

Establish Transparent Paths to Success Another strategy Fitzpatrick recommends for employers is to be transparent around the skills employees need to progress. During her time managing teams at a leading multinational manufacturing corporation, Fitzpatrick recalled... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

14 Sep 2021
Blog Post

How to Support Your Employees' Career Development

Establish Transparent Paths to Success Another strategy Fitzpatrick recommends for employers is to be transparent around the skills employees need to progress. During her time managing teams at a leading multinational manufacturing corporation, Fitzpatrick recalled... View Details

2012
Chapter

Mental Health in the Aftermath of Conflict

By: Quy-Toan Do and Lakshmi Iyer

We survey the recent literature on the mental health effects of conflict. We highlight the methodological challenges faced in this literature, which include the lack of validated mental health scales in a survey context, the difficulties in measuring individual... View Details

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Measurement and Metrics; Surveys; Analytics and Data Science; Ethnicity; War; Health Disorders; Body of Literature; Problems and Challenges; Bosnia and Hercegovina

Read Now

2011
Article

Group Size and Incentives to Contribute: A Natural Experiment at Chinese Wikipedia

By: Michael Zhang and Feng Zhu

In this paper, we examine the causal relationship between group size and incentives to contribute in the setting of Chinese Wikipedia, the Chinese language version of an online encyclopedia that relies entirely on voluntary contributions. The group at Chinese Wikipedia... View Details

Keywords: Rights; Motivation and Incentives; Internet and the Web; Valuation; Groups and Teams; Knowledge Sharing; Behavior; Satisfaction; Size; Government and Politics; Economics; Information Technology Industry; Hong Kong; Taiwan; Singapore

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11 Sep 2006
Research & Ideas

Negotiating When the Rules Suddenly Change

judgment or tactical execution. Having a metric in place that rates your priorities and weighs tradeoffs will enable you to make good decisions on the fly. Axiom #3: Learn And Adapt Bolstering your capacity to sense and respond is key to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Wheeler; Sports

17 Feb 2015
News

The First Five Years: Justin Pasquariello (MBA 2010)

they themselves have accomplished). “I think knowing exactly what I want has enabled me to have my own framework for personal success—which reduces the inclination to benchmark myself against other students/alumni by other metrics (like... View Details

Keywords: Health, Social Assistance

14 Nov 2019
Book

Lifting the Lid on Turkey's Hidden Business History

Turkey’s economic development story has always been something of a black box for scholars to understand, perhaps in part because many of the most successful business enterprises there have been in family hands and largely closed to public scrutiny. The authors of a new... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

25 Nov 2008
First Look

First Look: November 25, 2008

sales, retail metrics for multiproduct settings, and shelf space constraints. Purchase this case: http://harvardbusinessonline.hbsp.harvard.edu/ b01/en/common/item_detail.jhtml?id=606023 Publications Technology and Industry Evolution... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

Strategic Financial Analysis Online Course | HBS Online

Will Benefit Senior Managers and Consultants Analysts Aspiring Finance Professionals Use financial tools and metrics to inform strategic decision-making and drive business performance. The program expertly leads you through progressively... View Details

Article

Values, Purpose, Meaning, and Expectations: Why Culture and Context Matter

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter

The "rational person" standard, based on assumptions of economic self-interest, has long prevailed in legal reasoning. But understanding of decision making, behavioral choices, and possibilities for action must be enlarged to include a variety of factors that give... View Details

Keywords: Standards; Interests; Decision Making; Behavior; Value; Groups and Teams; Performance Expectations; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Business Cycles; Forecasting and Prediction; Motivation and Incentives

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May 2004
Background Note

56K Modem Battle

By: David B. Yoffie and Deborah Freier

Examines the battle to set the standard for the 56K modem. Set in 1996, this case looks at how computers accessed the Internet via a telephone line, or dial-up connection, and a hardware modem. In 1995, there were 18.6 million total modem unit shipments, with market... View Details

Keywords: Announcements; Revenue; Patents; Product Launch; Network Effects; Standards; Competition; Information Infrastructure; Internet and the Web; Technology Industry; Illinois

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September 2011
Supplement

TopCoder (B)

By: Karim R. Lakhani, Eric Lonstein and Stephanie Pokrywa

Metrology plays a key role in the manufacture of mechanical components. Traditionally it is used extensively in a pre-process stage where a manufacturer does process planning, design, and ramp-up, and in post-process off-line inspection to establish proof of quality.... View Details

Keywords: Industry Growth; Forecasting and Prediction; Change Management; Production; Machinery and Machining; Planning; Quality; Competition; Diversification; Technology Adoption; Measurement and Metrics; Product Design; Manufacturing Industry