Publications

November 1978 (Revised October 1989)
Case

Amicon Corp. (A)

Amicon holds a patent on a new process for the separation of blood plasma from whole blood. It has to decide whether to pursue a direct entry, joint venture, or licensing strategy. If it chooses licensing, there are many sub-issues to consider. View Details

Keywords: Technology; Patents; Commercialization; Health Care and Treatment; Biotechnology Industry

23 May 2019
News

Brandon Rapp Named Harvard Business School’s 2019 Student Class Day Speaker

13 May 2013
Blog Post

The Art of Naming a Start-up

approached the naming process eagerly at the beginning, since as an amateur writer I enjoy picking names for fictional characters and places. But there were rules to follow, as my cofounder pointed out when the three of us began... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship

2016
Working Paper

Algorithmic Foundations for Business Strategy

By: Mihnea Moldoveanu

I introduce algorithmic and meta-algorithmic models for the study of strategic problem solving, aimed at illuminating the processes and procedures by which strategic managers and firms deal with complex problems. These models allow us to explore the relationship... View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods; Business Strategy

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10 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

How to Look at Globalization Now

HBS professor Pankaj Ghemawat, a specialist in strategy and the dynamics of globalization, says that while market integration has made deep inroads in the last few decades, according to the evidence, it's still far short of what economic theory would call perfect... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

December 1994
Background Note

Cost System Analysis

By: Robert S. Kaplan

Describes six characteristics of cost systems: standard vs. actual costs; job-order vs. process costing; variable vs. full costs; disaggregate vs. aggregate cost accumulation; and specific vs. average rates for labor and overhead. A rewritten version of an earlier... View Details

Keywords: Cost; Analysis; System

July 2001
Supplement

Delamere Vineyard

Richard Richardson, owner and manager of Delamere Vineyard in Piper's River, Tasmania, Australia, tours his vineyard and explains the process of making wine. He also describes the feelings of satisfaction and accomplishment that come from producing a fine product. View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Production; Satisfaction; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Australia

Program

The Women's Leadership Forum

living group, and in the larger classroom, driven by the renowned HBS case method. Review Our Campus Health & Safety Protocols Admissions Criteria and Process We admit candidates to specific sessions on a rolling, space-available basis,... View Details

February 1985
Case

General Electric--Thermocouple Manufacturing (B)

By: David A. Garvin

Describes what has happened since the introduction of just-in-time production techniques were developed to reduce inventory. Reviews the progress to date in such areas as process rationalization; set-up reduction; quality improvement and leveling the scheduling; and... View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain; Logistics; Production; Business Processes; Technological Innovation; Quality; Performance Improvement; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Manufacturing Industry

Article

Why Leadership Training Fails—and What to Do about It

By: Michael Beer, Magnus Finnström and Derek Schrader

U.S. corporations spend enormous amounts of money—some $456 billion globally in 2015 alone—on employee training and education, but they aren't getting a good return on their investment. People soon revert to old ways of doing things, and company performance doesn't... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Development; Organizational Design; Employees; Business Processes; United States

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April 2021 (Revised December 2021)
Case

The Carlyle Group: Carving Out Atotech

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter

On January 31, 2017, The Carlyle Group ("Carlyle") closed its $3.2 billion acquisition of Atotech, an international Specialty Chemicals and Equipment company. In Carlyle's Washington, DC headquarters, the US-based deal team—Martin Sumner, Greg Nikodem, Tanaka Maswoswe... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Deal; International Acquisition; International; Acquisition; Negotiation Deal; Transformation; Chemicals; Chemical Industry; United States; Europe; Asia; Germany

October 2001
Supplement

BMW AG: The Digital Auto Project-An Interview With Chris Bangle, Head of Global Design

By: Stefan H. Thomke

Chris Bangle describes how BMW is trying to reduce its development time by half with the aid of computer-aided technologies. To leverage these technologies in the very competitive automotive industry, he talks about how BMW is faced with the challenges of changing its... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Management Practices and Processes; Time Management; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Competition; Information Technology; Auto Industry

May–June 2023
Article

A New Approach to Building Your Personal Brand: How to Communicate Your Value

By: Jill Avery and Rachel Greenwald

For better or worse, in today’s world everyone is a brand. Whether you’re applying for a job, asking for a promotion, or writing a dating profile, your success will depend on getting others to recognize your value. So you need to get comfortable marketing... View Details

Keywords: Personal Brand; Influencer Marketing; Leadership Development; Marketing; Brands and Branding; Identity; Reputation; Competency and Skills

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Career Coach

Lisa Li

Lisa is excited to help students who are navigating the consulting recruiting process as well as current consultants who may be looking for career transitions into investing or operating roles. She is most experienced in the biotech and... View Details

Web

Summer Venture in Management

learned that each person has a unique and valuable background to offer, and it is through the active process of sharing perspectives that allows the classroom to come alive. I was surprised by the extent of knowledge and confidence that I... View Details

May 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Supplement

The Freedom Fund (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

The Freedom Fund (B) case describes the management’s plan of how to use the windfall of $35 million granted by philanthropist Mackenzie Scott. The case also describes the process by which the decisions were arrived at. View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Spending; Decision Making

February 2003 (Revised November 2003)
Exercise

McDonald's: Super-Sized Troubles (B)

This case is the second of two cases that describe the situation and poor performance at McDonald's Corp. in early 2003. This exercise directs students to employ a structured problem-solving process to evaluate the McDonald's strategy. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

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February 2003 (Revised February 2003)
Exercise

McDonald's: Super-Sized Troubles (A)

This case is one of two cases that describe the situation and poor performance at McDonald's Corp. in early 2003. This exercise instructs students to employ an unstructured brainstorming process to develop strategic options for McDonald's. View Details

Keywords: Competitive Strategy; Decision Making; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry

February 2018
Supplement

People Analytics at Teach For America (B)

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Julia Kelley

This is a supplement to the People Analytics at Teach For America (A) case. In this supplement, Managing Director Michael Metzger must decide how to extend his team’s predictive analytics work using Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Forecasting and Prediction; Recruitment; Analysis