Publications

January 2009
Supplement

Yieldex (B)

Yieldex CEO Tom Shields was hired by the company's technical founder, Doug Cosman, in October 2007. One of Shields' top priorities is finding a vice president of engineering to manage the company's software development efforts. Shields and Costman disagree about the... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Applications and Software; Engineering; Decision Choices and Conditions; Product Development; Information Technology Industry

Sara Fleiss was the co-founder and co-portfolio manager of Emeth Partners, an emerging markets arbitrage hedge fund. Prior to founding Emeth, Sara was the lead analyst on the Emerging Markets Equities portfolio at Harvard Management Company (HMC). At HMC, Sara... View Details

March 2019 (Revised June 2021)
Case

HelloSelf: Foundation

By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock

On January 6, 2019, HelloSelf, a London-based “BrainTech” company, founded a year earlier by Charles Wells, soft launched. The proposition was simply to help its members “Be your Best Self.” The company provided its registered members with access to a clinical... View Details

September 2006 (Revised March 2012)
Case

Fritidsresor Under Pressure (A): The First 10 Hours

By: Joshua D. Margolis, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman

When a tsunami hit Southeast Asia on December 26, 2004, the leadership team at a Swedish tour company must manage a devastating crisis affecting thousands of its customers and employees in Thailand. Documents the challenges the company faced in the first ten hours of... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Leadership; Crisis Management; Natural Disasters; Tourism Industry; Thailand; Sweden

17 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Being the Boss

now-classic book is popular not just among newbies but also among leaders with decades of experience. “Unless you manage the context in which your team resides, there's no way that your View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

November 2016 (Revised August 2020)
Case

Improving Access at VA

By: Ryan W. Buell, Robert S. Huckman and Sam Travers

In 2015, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) ran the largest healthcare system in the United States, with over 1,700 sites of care that served nearly 9 million veterans. One year earlier, a scandal had erupted over a cover-up of the excessive wait times veterans... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Service Delivery; Social Issues; Health Care and Treatment; Government Administration; Performance Improvement; Public Administration Industry; Health Industry; United States

March 2010 (Revised August 2010)
Case

Systems Infrastructure at Google (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

This case describes how a senior vice president of engineering at Google, Bill Coughran, leads a high-performing engineering organization. The case focuses specifically on Coughran's encouraging two teams of engineers to develop competing solutions for application... View Details

Keywords: Independent Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Leadership Development; Product Design; Groups and Teams; Creativity; Motivation and Incentives; Competitive Strategy; Technology Industry; United States

November 1997
Case

Polygram Classics

There has been no growth in classical recorded music sales from 1991 to 1996. Polygram Classics, the market leader, has appointed a new management team to revive growth. All areas of marketing are analyzed as the basis for a new strategy. View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Music Entertainment; Global Strategy; Music Industry

Find at Harvard

August 1988 (Revised January 1992)
Supplement

Norton Group PLC: To Be or Not to Be in the Motorcycle Business (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Jon Skofic

Outlines the decisions taken by the company's management team in response to the challenges posed in Norton Group PLC (A). For each such decision, further data is provided for students to ponder the effectiveness of the action steps undertaken. View Details

Keywords: Motorcycle Industry

August 2002 (Revised August 2002)
Case

Raiser Senior Services--The Stratford (A)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Focuses on modifying operations to increase profitability at an upscale senior care facility in California. Jennifer Raiser, president of Raiser Senior Services, opened the Stratford in 1992 as a high-end, continuing-care retirement community. Ten years later, the... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Profit; Saving; Health Care and Treatment; Age; Management Teams; Problems and Challenges; Ethics; Legal Liability; Business Growth and Maturation; Health Industry; Service Industry; California

6 PM – 8 PM EST, 06 Nov 2014

New York City Alumni: Determining Your Career Elements & Connecting with HBS

Kristen Fitzpatrick, Managing Director of HBS Career and Professional Development, and other senior members of the CPD team will share with HBSCNY the resources available to you and guide you through a quick exercise to see what elements are most essential in your... View Details

Linda A. Hill

Linda A. Hill is the Wallace Brett Donham Professor of Business Administration at the Harvard Business School and Faculty Chair of the Leadership Initiative. Hill is regarded as one of the top experts on leadership and innovation. Hill is... View Details

2024
Working Paper

The Impact of Culture Consistency on Subunit Outcomes

By: Jasmijn Bol, Robert Grasser, Serena Loftus and Tatiana Sandino

We examine the association between subunit culture consistency—defined as the congruence between the organizational values espoused by top management and those perceived and practiced by subunit employees—and subunit outcomes. Using data from 235 subunits of a... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Employees; Creativity; Satisfaction