Publications

September 2004 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Enterprise IT at Cisco (2004)

By: Andrew P. McAfee, F. Warren McFarlan and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld

Illustrates the challenges associated with centralizing IT decisions at Cisco after a decade of decentralized planning and project funding. When Brad Boston became Cisco's new CIO in 2001, he found that managers were starting to get frustrated with the results of their... View Details

Keywords: Management; Resource Allocation; Information Technology; Problems and Challenges; Business Ventures; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Projects; Planning; Corporate Finance; Information Technology Industry

July 1989 (Revised October 1992)
Case

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: MIS Reorganization (A)

As a part of the Management Information Services (MIS) Division's evolution, it was planned to distribute all systems development and applications (SD&S) activities and resources (assets and personnel) from the central MIS Division to the operating areas by October... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Decision Making

Find at Harvard

30 Sep 2002
Research & Ideas

Your Crisis Response Plan: The Ten Effective Elements

Organizations inevitably face crises, but few are well prepared to deal with them. The following elements summarize the findings of research and experience about what it takes to respond effectively in crisis situations. The accompanying... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Watkins

August 2015 (Revised June 2021)
Case

Amazon.com, 2021

By: John R. Wells, Benjamin Weinstock, Gabriel Ellsworth and Galen Danskin

In February 2021, Amazon announced 2020 operating profits of $22,899 million, up from $2,233 million in 2015, on sales of $386 billion, up from $107 billion five years earlier (see Exhibit 1). The shareholders expressed their satisfaction (see Exhibit 2), but not all... View Details

Keywords: Strategic Analysis; Retail; E-commerce; Amazon; Internet; Amazon.com; AmazonFresh; Jeff Bezos; Cloud Computing; Marketplaces; Streaming; E-reader Market; Digital Media; Mobile App; Online Retail; Shipping; Database; Tablet; Kindle; Kindle Fire; Smartphone; Delivery; Digital Platforms; Competition; Internet and the Web; Corporate Strategy; Digital Marketing; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Film Entertainment; Games, Gaming, and Gambling; Music Entertainment; Television Entertainment; Profit; Revenue; Global Strategy; Multinational Firms and Management; Taxation; Business History; Human Resources; Resignation and Termination; Books; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Management Practices and Processes; Industry Growth; Industry Structures; Media; Distribution; Distribution Channels; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Infrastructure; Logistics; Product Development; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Public Ownership; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Vertical Integration; Information Infrastructure; Information Technology; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Price; Applications and Software; Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Working Capital; Customer Focus and Relationships; Customer Value and Value Chain; Retail Industry; Advertising Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Motion Pictures and Video Industry; Music Industry; Publishing Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Video Game Industry; Web Services Industry; United States; Washington (state, US); Seattle

September 2001 (Revised October 2018)
Case

DIENA

By: Robert Simons and Indra Reinbergs

Requires students to draw a new organization structure diagram for a rapidly evolving business. A/S DIENA is a newspaper publisher founded during Latvia's 1990/91 struggle for independence from the USSR with a clear social mission to support democracy. With the help of... View Details

Keywords: Employee Ownership; Organizational Design; Marketing Strategy; Managerial Roles; Growth and Development; Economic Systems; Publishing Industry; Journalism and News Industry; Latvia

November 2003 (Revised July 2006)
Case

STAR 2003

By: Thomas R. Piper

A shift in strategy from broadcasting standardized programs throughout its footprint to localized programming necessitates a review of STAR's organizational structure. Growing complexity and a need for local responsiveness point toward adoption of a country-based... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Organizational Structure; Management Teams; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Design; Complexity; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Service Industry

19 Dec 2013
Working Paper Summaries

Innovating Without Information Constraints: Organizations, Communities, and Innovation When Information Costs Approach Zero

Keywords: by Elizabeth J. Altman, Frank Nagle & Michael L. Tushman

09 Dec 2014
Working Paper Summaries

Does Management Matter in Schools?

Keywords: by Nicholas Bloom, Renata Lemos, Raffaella Sadun & John Van Reenen; Education

20 Jan 2010
First Look

First Look: Jan. 20

Decentralize? Authors:Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen Abstract There is a widespread sense that over the last two decades firms have been decentralizing decisions to employees further down the managerial hierarchy.... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

02 Nov 2018
News

Hunting Big Game in Commercial Space

September 1989 (Revised July 1992)
Case

Pepsi-Cola U.S. Beverages (A)

Responding to changes in Pepsi-Cola's competitive environment, Roger Enrico, president and CEO of PepsiCo Worldwide Beverages, formed a task force to investigate a possible reorganization of Pepsi's domestic soft drink business. The task force recommends reorganizing... View Details

Keywords: Business Organization; Organizational Design; Food and Beverage Industry

12 Feb 2020
News

Michael Norton Explains 'Boaty McBoatface,’ And The Risks Of Consumer Voting

January 1983 (Revised May 1984)
Case

Beliefs of Borg-Warner

Shows how the Borg-Warner Corporation developed a statement of values and beliefs under the leadership of its chief executive officer, James F. Bere. The "Beliefs," a set of general principles intended to guide business behavior, now must be given operational meaning... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Business Processes

May 2005 (Revised April 2010)
Case

GlaxoSmithKline: Reorganizing Drug Discovery (A)

By: Robert S. Huckman and Eli Strick

Describes the reorganization of drug discovery at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) following the formation of GSK from the merger of Glaxo Wellcome and SmithKline Beecham. This reorganization placed nearly 2,000 research scientists into six centers of excellence in drug discovery... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Decision Choices and Conditions; Operations; Organizational Structure; Performance Improvement; Research and Development; Pharmaceutical Industry

December 2007 (Revised September 2011)
Case

Global Knowledge Management at Danone (A)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bertrand Moingeon, Vincent Marie Dessain and Ane Damgaard Jensen

This case explores French consumer goods company Danone's novel approach to knowledge management. In 2007, Human Resource Chief (Executive Vice President) Franck Mougin assesses the company's knowledge-sharing tools and considers his options going forward. Through... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Employee Relationship Management; Knowledge Management; Knowledge Sharing; Social and Collaborative Networks; Expansion; Consumer Products Industry; France

May 1994 (Revised November 1994)
Case

PepsiCo: A View from the Corporate Office

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Leonard A. Schlesinger

Describes the three business segments of PepsiCo (beverages, snack foods, and restaurants). It then explores the competitive environment within each segment and the response of PepsiCo's businesses. It seeks to show how PepsiCo CEO, D. Wayne Calloway, in a very... View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Change; Governance Controls; Management Style; Organizational Structure; Situation or Environment; Competitive Strategy; Value; Food and Beverage Industry

26 Apr 2022
Book

What Does Your Business Stand For? Why Building Trust Starts with Purpose

principles into every aspect of the organization. This purpose serves as a compass to guide all decisions, but also as an operating system that shapes all facets of the business, including its strategy, culture, and its public relations. It enables the View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati

02 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 2

Publications September 2014 Organization Science Social Comparisons and Deception Across Workplace Hierarchies: Field and Experimental Evidence By: Edelman, Benjamin, and Ian Larkin Abstract—We examine how unfavorable social comparisons... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

July 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Pacific Bell: Centrex Reengineering

Describes the redesign and rollout of the new order-fulfillment process for a flagship product at Pacific Bell. Pacific Bell is one of the Regional Bell Operating Companies comprised of seven regional business units. Rather than implement the new process, roles, and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Information Technology; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Telecommunications Industry