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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,193)
- People (2)
- News (371)
- Research (1,491)
- Events (18)
- Multimedia (2)
- Faculty Publications (705)
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- 2014
- Working Paper
The Effect of Management Control Elements on Coordination
By: Sara Bormann, Jan Bouwens and Christian Hofmann
This study examines how control elements of a firm affect coordination among profit centers. The firm operates a network of 59 profit centers. It uses a transfer-pricing system designed to account for interdependencies between profit centers and to induce coordination.... View Details
Bormann, Sara, Jan Bouwens, and Christian Hofmann. "The Effect of Management Control Elements on Coordination." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 14-092, March 2014.
- April 1998 (Revised May 2000)
- Case
Guidant Corporation: Shaping Culture Through Systems
By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila
Guidant is a successful IPO start-up selling pacemakers and defibrillators. The case describes how managers install systems to balance innovation and control. Three parts of a shareholder value strategy are described. Controls include incentive systems, beliefs... View Details
Keywords: Innovation Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Planning; Risk Management; Management Systems; Business Strategy; Value Creation; System; Service Industry; Financial Services Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry
Simons, Robert L., and Antonio Davila. "Guidant Corporation: Shaping Culture Through Systems." Harvard Business School Case 198-076, April 1998. (Revised May 2000.)
- 2022
- Working Paper
TalkToModel: Explaining Machine Learning Models with Interactive Natural Language Conversations
By: Dylan Slack, Satyapriya Krishna, Himabindu Lakkaraju and Sameer Singh
Practitioners increasingly use machine learning (ML) models, yet they have become more complex and harder to understand. To address this issue, researchers have proposed techniques to explain model predictions. However, practitioners struggle to use explainability... View Details
Slack, Dylan, Satyapriya Krishna, Himabindu Lakkaraju, and Sameer Singh. "TalkToModel: Explaining Machine Learning Models with Interactive Natural Language Conversations." Working Paper, 2022.
- July 1990
- Case
Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (B)
By: Kim B. Clark and Brent D. Barnett
Ceramics Process Systems (CPS) is an advanced ceramics company facing problems with lead time in product/process development, and late delivery of prototype parts to its customers. Engineering is confronted with difficult technical problems and multiple objectives... View Details
Keywords: Product Development; Business Processes; Management Practices and Processes; Supply Chain Management; Machinery and Machining; Goals and Objectives; Resource Allocation; Customer Satisfaction; Customer Value and Value Chain; Manufacturing Industry
Clark, Kim B., and Brent D. Barnett. "Ceramics Process Systems Corp. (B)." Harvard Business School Case 691-006, July 1990.
- March 2005 (Revised July 2007)
- Case
Capital Controls in Chile in the 1990s (A)
By: Laura Alfaro, Rafael M. Di Tella and Ingrid Vogel
In 1991, Chile adopted a framework of capital controls focused on reducing the massive flows of foreign investment coming into the country as international interest rates remained low. Capital inflows threatened the Central Bank's ability to manage the exchange rate... View Details
Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Economic Growth; Financial Crisis; Capital; Governance Controls; Business and Government Relations; Chile
Alfaro, Laura, Rafael M. Di Tella, and Ingrid Vogel. "Capital Controls in Chile in the 1990s (A)." Harvard Business School Case 705-031, March 2005. (Revised July 2007.)
- June 1998
- Article
Using Delegation and Control Systems to Mitigate the Trade-off between the Performance-Evaluation and Belief-Revision Uses of Accounting Standards
By: V.G. Narayanan and A. Davila
Narayanan, V.G., and A. Davila. "Using Delegation and Control Systems to Mitigate the Trade-off between the Performance-Evaluation and Belief-Revision Uses of Accounting Standards." Special Issue on Mastering Finance Series. Journal of Accounting & Economics 25, no. 3 (June 1998).
- February 1990 (Revised July 1990)
- Case
Internal Revenue Service: Automated Collection System
By: Nitin Nohria
Describes how the IRS's collection operations changed from a largely manual system (COF) to an automated system (ACS). A central aspect of ACS was the electronic scheduling and maintaining of work. While with ACS the IRS accomplished significant improvements in the... View Details
Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Revenue; Information Technology; Taxation; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Human Resources; Public Administration Industry; United States
Nohria, Nitin. "Internal Revenue Service: Automated Collection System." Harvard Business School Case 490-042, February 1990. (Revised July 1990.)
- May 2017 (Revised June 2017)
- Case
ATH Technologies (A): Making the Numbers
By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard
An exercise that takes students through five stages of growth in an entrepreneurial start-up in the medical devices industry: 1) founding, 2) growth, 3) push to profitability, 4) refocusing process, and 5) takeover by new management. At each stage, students must... View Details
Keywords: Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Balancing Innovation And Control; Performance Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Profit; Geographic Location; Governance Controls; Innovation and Invention; Management Succession; Performance Evaluation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry
Simons, Robert, and Jennifer Packard. "ATH Technologies (A): Making the Numbers." Harvard Business School Case 117-013, May 2017. (Revised June 2017.)
- March 2014
- Article
Choosing the Right Customer
By: Robert Simons
Companies that win in competitive markets identify a primary customer and dedicate maximum resources to meeting that customer's needs. This article will show you how to identify the best primary customer for your business by analyzing perspective, capabilities, and... View Details
Keywords: Strategy Execution; Customer Focus; Organization Design; Accountability; Management Control Systems; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Design
Simons, Robert. "Choosing the Right Customer." Harvard Business Review 92, no. 3 (March 2014): 48–55.
- September 2016
- Article
The Effect of Target Difficulty on Target Completion: The Case of Reducing Carbon Emissions
By: Ioannis Ioannou, Shelley Xin Li and George Serafeim
Targets are an integral component of management control systems and play a significant role in achieving desirable performance outcomes. We focus on a key environmental performance objective—reduction of carbon emissions—as a setting in which to examine how target... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Target-setting; Management Accounting; Management Accounting And Control Systems; Control Systems; Sustainable Development; Environment; Goals and Objectives; Climate Change; Management Systems; Accounting; Environmental Sustainability
Ioannou, Ioannis, Shelley Xin Li, and George Serafeim. "The Effect of Target Difficulty on Target Completion: The Case of Reducing Carbon Emissions." Accounting Review 91, no. 5 (September 2016): 1467–1492.
- August 2023
- Article
Explaining Machine Learning Models with Interactive Natural Language Conversations Using TalkToModel
By: Dylan Slack, Satyapriya Krishna, Himabindu Lakkaraju and Sameer Singh
Practitioners increasingly use machine learning (ML) models, yet models have become more complex and harder to understand. To understand complex models, researchers have proposed techniques to explain model predictions. However, practitioners struggle to use... View Details
Slack, Dylan, Satyapriya Krishna, Himabindu Lakkaraju, and Sameer Singh. "Explaining Machine Learning Models with Interactive Natural Language Conversations Using TalkToModel." Nature Machine Intelligence 5, no. 8 (August 2023): 873–883.
- 18 Apr 2012
- Research & Ideas
HBS Cases: Who Controls Water?
actual cost. Possible Solutions Reinhardt shifted the conversation to discussing solutions, such as assigning property rights to water. "In a way the history of Europeans and Asians on this continent has been the story of environmental abundance converted to... View Details
- 2023
- Working Paper
When Does Gamified Training Improve Performance? The Roles of Office and Leader Engagement
By: Ryan W. Buell, Wei Cai and Tatiana Sandino
Gamified training is a novel management control system in which companies use gamification
techniques to engage and motivate employees to learn. This study empirically examines the
performance consequences of gamified training using data from a natural field... View Details
Keywords: Gamified Training; Management Control Systems; Employee Engagement; Employees; Learning; Training; Motivation and Incentives; Performance
Buell, Ryan W., Wei Cai, and Tatiana Sandino. "When Does Gamified Training Improve Performance? The Roles of Office and Leader Engagement." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-101, March 2019. (Revised October 2023.)
- July 1987 (Revised October 1995)
- Case
Phillips 66: Controlling a Company Through Crisis
The downstream operations subsidiary of a major U.S. petroleum company is faced with major restructuring decisions and responds by developing an Executive Information System (EIS) which allows for increased responsiveness, wider span of control, and higher levels of... View Details
Keywords: Restructuring; Information Management; Governance Controls; Organizational Design; Crisis Management; Communication; Management Teams; Growth Management; Mining Industry; Energy Industry; United States
Applegate, Lynda M. "Phillips 66: Controlling a Company Through Crisis." Harvard Business School Case 189-006, July 1987. (Revised October 1995.)
- March 1999 (Revised March 2017)
- Teaching Note
J Boats, Inc.
By: Robert Simons
Teaching Note for J Boats (197-015) View Details
- September 2009
- Article
Spousal Control and Intra-Household Decision Making: An Experimental Study in the Philippines
By: Nava Ashraf
Using an experimental design I elicit causal effects of spousal observability and communication on financial choices of married individuals in the Philippines. Making choices public moves men from putting money into their own account to consumption; communication with... View Details
Keywords: Intra-household; Bargaining; Experiments; Economic Development; Saving; Governance Controls; Decision Choices and Conditions; Personal Finance; Family and Family Relationships; Household; Gender
Ashraf, Nava. "Spousal Control and Intra-Household Decision Making: An Experimental Study in the Philippines." American Economic Review 99, no. 4 (September 2009): 1245–1277. (Online Appendix.)
- May 2011 (Revised March 2013)
- Case
Marshall & Gordon: Designing an Effective Compensation System (A)
By: Heidi K. Gardner and Kerry Herman
CEO Kelly Browne wrestles with the design of a new compensation system to promote the collaboration and cross-selling necessary for supporting her firm's new strategy. Marshall Gordon International, a global public relations (PR) firm, has recently expanded its service... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Customer Relationship Management; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Growth and Development Strategy; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Partners and Partnerships; Motivation and Incentives; Alignment; Public Relations Industry
Gardner, Heidi K., and Kerry Herman. "Marshall & Gordon: Designing an Effective Compensation System (A)." Harvard Business School Case 411-038, May 2011. (Revised March 2013.)
- May 2017
- Case
ATH Technologies: Making the Numbers
By: Robert Simons and Jennifer Packard
An exercise that takes students through five stages of growth in an entrepreneurial start-up in the medical devices industry: 1) founding, 2) growth, 3) push to profitability, 4) relocation process, and 5) takeover by new management. At each stage, students must... View Details
Keywords: Balancing Innovation And Control; Performance Evaluation; Strategy And Execution; Management Control Systems; Risk Management; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Profit; Geographic Location; Governance Controls; Innovation and Invention; Management Succession; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry
Simons, Robert, and Jennifer Packard. "ATH Technologies: Making the Numbers." Harvard Business School Case 117-012, May 2017.
- August 2008 (Revised May 2009)
- Case
Consumer Payment Systems — Japan
By: Benjamin Edelman and Andrei Hagiu
In 2008, the Japanese consumer payments landscape featured ongoing widespread use of cash, limited use of credit cards and rapid rise of e-money systems based on contactless technology embedded in cards and especially mobile phones. The case details the alliances that... View Details
Keywords: Personal Finance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Digital Platforms; Alliances; Competitive Strategy; Information Infrastructure; Mobile and Wireless Technology; Japan
Edelman, Benjamin, and Andrei Hagiu. "Consumer Payment Systems — Japan." Harvard Business School Case 909-007, August 2008. (Revised May 2009.) (request a courtesy copy.)
- April 1991 (Revised May 2017)
- Teaching Note
Automatic Data Processing: The EFS Decision
By: Robert Simons
Teaching Note for (9-190-059). View Details