Publications

December 1998 (Revised May 1999)
Case

Specialty Medical Chemicals

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Lucinda Doran

A new general manager is supposed to rekindle growth. Seven months later, he questions the abilities of his direct reports. An organizational psychologist is brought in to assess his people. The general manager now has to decide who to keep and how to structure his... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Employees; Leadership Development; Management Teams; Organizational Structure; Cognition and Thinking

23 Sep 2014
First Look

First Look: September 23

become an iconic example of an organization with virtually no hierarchy. A 400-person organization, Valve's unique organizational form (described in detail in the case and accompanying employee handbook) includes 100% self-allocated time, no View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 2003 (Revised April 2005)
Case

Old Tex College

By: Regina E. Herzlinger and Ray Herschman

Requires student to choose among the following health insurance options for employers: number of plans offered, managed care and consumer-driven options, and self-funding vs. full insurance. Teaching purpose: To Understand the design of health insurance. Includes color... View Details

Keywords: Insurance; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Compensation and Benefits; Employees

Find at Harvard

Web

Podcast - Business & Environment

AI-powered waste stream analysis and autonomous electronics disassembly that are accelerating progress. She closes with advice and resources for students and professionals interested in careers at the intersection of circular economy,... View Details

05 Dec 2022
Research & Ideas

5 Companies Where Employees Move Up the Ladder Fast

scorecard’s authors. “All employers are not created equal in terms of the type of springboard they provide for advancement,” says Fuller, who co-leads the Managing the Future of Work project at HBS. “And that's something that workers and... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

12 Feb 2008
First Look

First Look: February 12, 2007

Human Resource Management (HRM). Written by an international team of academics from universities in the UK, the US, Australia and New Zealand, it examines the problems and... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

Web

MBA Experience - Leadership

on how managers become effective leaders by addressing the human side of enterprise. The first modules examine teams, individuals, and networks in the context of: The determinants of group culture. View Details

19 Jun 2007
First Look

First Look: June 19, 2007

the sophisticated human resource levers his predecessors left him. Immelt questions whether the changes in place will foster the development of the next generation of GE growth leaders. Purchase this case:... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2010 (Revised November 2011)
Case

MindTree: A Community of Communities

By: David A. Garvin and Rachna Tahilyani

MindTree is a mid-sized Indian IT services company known for its knowledge management practices, its collaborative communities, and its strong culture and values. The CEO has set a goal of becoming a $1 billion company by 2014; to reach that goal, employees must create... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Employee Relationship Management; Innovation and Invention; Knowledge Management; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Social and Collaborative Networks; Information Technology Industry; India

August 2011
Case

Ockham Technologies (A): Building the Team

By: Noam Wasserman

Describes the issues facing a founder-ceo regarding building a board, assembling an executive team, managing tension between co-founders, and outsourcing development work. View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Recruitment; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Teams; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Information Technology

January 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Cisco Systems (2001): Building and Sustaining a Customer-Centric Culture

By: Ranjay Gulati

Customer centricity has been an important part of the culture at Cisco Systems since its inception. While part of this is attributable to values put in place by the founders and retained by subsequent management, it is also closely interwoven with its organizational... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Organizational Culture; Research and Development; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Employees; Brands and Branding; Customer Relationship Management; Business Units

March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Purity Steel Corporation, 2012

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Judgments; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Efficiency; Compensation and Benefits; Salesforce Management; Performance Consistency; Performance Productivity; Steel Industry

06 Jul 2009
Research & Ideas

Conducting Layoffs: ’Necessary Evils’ at Work

effectively. In contrast, a scripted response to a necessary evil is a critical resource for someone who is unable to manage his or her emotional reactions and who would become overwhelmed without a routine.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

30 Jun 2019
Working Paper Summaries

The Comprehensive Effects of Sales Force Management: A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Selection, Compensation, and Training

Keywords: by Doug J. Chung, Byungyeon Kim, and Byoung G. Park

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

The Best Person to Lead Your Company Doesn't Work There—Yet

isn’t necessary when looking for the right top executive; industry expertise often counts more. Many of these leaders have previous public-company management experience, and they deliver outsized returns for themselves and the PE-backed... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Financial Services

March 2023
Case

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth about $4.4 million at the time) in... View Details

2020
Working Paper

No Line Left Behind: Assortative Matching Inside the Firm

By: Achyuta Adhvaryu, Vittorio Bassi, Anant Nyshadham and Jorge Tamayo

How do firms pair workers with managers, and which constraints affect the allocation of labor within the firm? We characterize the sorting pattern of managers to workers in a large readymade garment manufacturer in India and then explore potential drivers of the... View Details

Keywords: Assortative Matching; Productivity; Global Buyers; Readymade Garments; Management; Employees; Performance Productivity