Publications

26 May 2003
Research & Ideas

Corporate Transparency Improves For Foreign Firms in U.S. Markets

capital markets is highlighted by our study.— Suraj Srinivasan We find that companies that have business operations in the U.S.; U.S. listing, and international equity ownership follow disclosure practices that are similar to those of... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia Churchwell

Article

Reengineering Channel Reordering Processes to Improve Total Supply-Chain Performance

By: Janice H. Hammond and T. H. Clark

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Performance

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March 2022
Article

How to Prioritize the Improvement of Open-Source Software Security

By: Frank Nagle

Keywords: Open Source Distribution; Cybersecurity; Applications and Software

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January 1997 (Revised September 1997)
Case

Improving the Product Development Process at Kirkham Instruments Corp.

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Describes the efforts of a manufacturer of scientific instruments to implement new methods of managing new product development, which its executives had learned in a Harvard Business School seminar. The executives left the seminar excited to implement a new way of... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Product Launch; Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; United States

05 Jan 2021
News

Using Behavioral Science to Improve Well-Being for Social Workers

24 Apr 2014
News

Improving the lives of underprivileged children in rural India

groups, has interests in telecom, agribusiness, retail, and financial services. The group’s flagship company, Bharti Airtel, ranks as the world’s fourth-largest mobile operator in terms of subscribers. In 2006, the Bharti Foundation... View Details

August 2018 (Revised July 2019)
Background Note

Conducting a Kaizen

By: Willy Shih

Kaizen, meaning change for the better in Japanese, is a set of activities directed at improving standardized work, equipment, and procedures for carrying out daily production or other business operations. It was popularized by Toyota as an integral part of its Toyota... View Details

Keywords: Best Practices; Continuous Improvement; Kaizen; Process Improvement; 5S; Muda; Toyota Production System; Production; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; North and Central America; Asia; Japan

January 2015 (Revised October 2015)
Case

Trouble at Tessei

By: Ethan Bernstein and Ryan W. Buell

In 2005, Teruo Yabe is asked to revive Tessei, the 669-person JR-East subsidiary responsible for cleaning its Shinkansen ("bullet") trains. Operational mistakes, customer complaints, safety issues, and employee turnover are at or near all-time highs, even as the... View Details

Keywords: Service Management; Employee Engagement; Employee Motivation; Leadership And Managing People; Quality Improvement; Efficiency; Japan; Operational Transparency; Employee Coordination; Transparency; Leadership; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Employees; Quality; Transportation Industry; Japan

October 1995
Teaching Note

Procter & Gamble: Improving Consumer Value Through Process Design TN

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Teaching Note for (9-195-126). View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Customer Focus and Relationships; Distribution Channels; Information Technology; Value Creation; Logistics; Management Practices and Processes; Consumer Products Industry

Article

Social Technology: An Interdisciplinary Approach to Improving Care for Older Adults

By: Arthur Kleinman, Hongtu Chen, Sue E. Levkoff, Ann Forsyth, David E. Bloom, Winnie Yip, Tarun Khanna, Conor J. Walsh, David Perry, Ellen W. Seely, Anne S. Kleinman, Yan Zhang, Yuan Wang, Jun Jing, Tianshu Pan, Ning An, Zhenggang Bai, Jiexiu Wang, Qing Liu and Fawwaz Habbal

Population aging is a defining demographic reality of our era. It is associated with an increase in the societal burden of delivering care to older adults with chronic conditions or frailty. How to integrate global population aging and technology development to help... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Age; Service Delivery; Information Technology; Collaborative Innovation and Invention

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18 Jul 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Beyond Symbolic Responses to Private Politics: Examining Labor Standards Improvement in Global Supply Chains

Keywords: by Andrea R. Hugill, Jodi L. Short, and Michael W. Toffel; Manufacturing

20 Jul 2012
News

Use Social Media to Partner with Customers and Improve Service

November 2015 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Mission Impossible? Yummy77 Delivers Groceries within the Hour

By: Benjamin Edelman

Yummy77 considers alternative operational models to reduce cost, improve speed, and increase appeal. Can one of these approaches succeed where others have failed? View Details

Keywords: Grocery Delivery; Operations; Platforms; Logistics; Distribution; Food; Food and Beverage Industry; Retail Industry; China

June 2010 (Revised September 2010)
Case

Atlantis Paradise Island Resort & Casino: Improving Performance with a New Vision and Mission

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Gabriele Piccoli

Atlantis Paradise Island adopted a new vision and mission to provide its guests and employees an enhanced brand experience. The dilemma Atlantis faced was how to integrate the new vision and mission into all the brand touch points in order to improve customer... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Customer Satisfaction; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Employee Relationship Management; Brands and Branding; Service Delivery; Mission and Purpose; Performance Improvement; Accommodations Industry

02 Oct 2015
News

The Harvard Contest That's Trying to Improve Health Care Delivery

Keywords: healthcare; innovation; entrepreneurship; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

09 May 2018
Research & Ideas

A Simple Way for Restaurant Inspectors to Improve Food Safety

Technology and Operations Management Unit at Harvard Business School, and Mike Toffel, the Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management at HBS, experts in scheduling and in inspections, respectively. “The more inspections you... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Food & Beverage; Service

06 Sep 2006
Working Paper Summaries

Cross Functional Alignment in Supply Chain Planning: A Case Study of Sales & Operations Planning

Keywords: by Rogelio Oliva & Noel Watson

January 2010 (Revised February 2010)
Case

IBM Retail Business Assessment at Dillard's, Inc.: Managing Staffing Levels to Improve Conversion

This case illustrates the challenges associated with matching staffing levels with variable workload in retail stores and highlights how decisions related to staffing and scheduling affect operational performance and the quality of labor at the stores. The case... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Employees; Market Transactions; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; Retail Industry

September 1986 (Revised February 2007)
Case

Solagen: Process Improvement in the Manufacture of Gelatin at Kodak

By: Dorothy A. Leonard and Brian DeLacey

Kodak must decide whether to make a major investment in a production facility designed around a new technique for producing the gelatin critical to so many film and paper products. Currently, gelatin making is an arcane art, unchanged in 150 years and heavily dependent... View Details

Keywords: Arts; Buildings and Facilities; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Experience and Expertise; Engineering; Investment; Time Management; Production; Research and Development; Semiconductor Industry