Publications

September 1995 (Revised March 2023)
Background Note

Process Fundamentals

By: Ann E. Gray and James Leonard

This note provides an introduction for a course or module covering the basic elements of production or service operations and how processes are managed. Begins by discussing the activities that take place in a "process." Analysis tools such as the process flow diagram... View Details

Keywords: Service Operations; Operations; Management; Business Processes; Analysis

Switchback experiments, where a firm sequentially exposes an experimental unit to random treatments, are among the most prevalent designs used in the technology sector, with applications ranging from ride-hailing platforms to online marketplaces. Although... View Details

2023
Working Paper

Design-Based Inference for Multi-arm Bandits

By: Dae Woong Ham, Iavor I. Bojinov, Michael Lindon and Martin Tingley

Multi-arm bandits are gaining popularity as they enable real-world sequential decision-making across application areas, including clinical trials, recommender systems, and online decision-making. Consequently, there is an increased desire to use the available... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Mathematical Methods

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April 2010
Supplement

George Martin at The Boston Consulting Group (B)

By: Leslie A. Perlow and Kerry Herman

George Martin, managing partner at The Boston Consulting Group, is worried as some of his best performers have recently pulled him aside to discuss the challenges they face managing the demands of their work lives with their desire for more predictable time with their... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Work-Life Balance; Problems and Challenges; Consulting Industry

Robert S. Kaplan is Senior Fellow and Marvin Bower Professor of Leadership Development, Emeritus at the Harvard Business School. He joined the HBS faculty in 1984 after spending 16 years on the faculty of the business school at Carnegie-Mellon University, where he... View Details

Keywords: health care; nonprofit industry

January 2025
Technical Note

Skills-First Talent Management: Hiring

By: Boris Groysberg, Tom Quinn, Robin Abrahams and Katherine Connolly Baden

The first in a series of notes on how organizations manage skills-first talent-management chains, covering recruiting: the process of creating a job description, publicizing the job and attracting applicants, and assessing candidates. Other notes in this series include... View Details

September 2016 (Revised October 2018)
Case

Springfield Hospital

By: Susanna Gallani and Robert Kaplan

One of the key roles of costing systems is to support the evaluation of performance and facilitate appropriate resource allocations. Through participation in a comparative cost study, management at Springfield Hospital, known for its heavy focus on operational... View Details

Keywords: Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Variance Analysis; Activity Based Costing and Management; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry

June 2021
Case

Modern Endowment Management: Paula Volent and the Bowdoin Endowment

By: Luis M. Viceira, Emily R. McComb and Dean Xu

This case examines modern endowment investment management through the lens of a leadership transition between Chief Investment Officers (CIOs). In March 2021, Paula Volent is about to step down as the CIO of the endowment of Bowdoin College after twenty-one years, and... View Details

Keywords: Investment Portfolio; Investment Banking; Growth Management; Investment Return; Capital Markets; Interest Rates; Competition; Cost Management; Risk Management; Financial Liquidity; Performance Evaluation

May 2023
Article

Where Sales Technology (Really) Helps

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Interest in Sales Enablement (SE), the catch-all term for attempts to increase sales productivity with AI and other technologies, is driven by multiple factors. One is the declining costs of the tools. Also, selling is now data-hungry work and not just in tech sectors.... View Details

January 2003 (Revised June 2003)
Case

Adams Capital Management: March 2002

By: G. Felda Hardymon, Josh Lerner and Ann Leamon

In March 2002, the five partners of Adams Capital Management (ACM), a venture capital firm investing in information technology telecommunications with $700 million under management, gathered to discuss whether they should change their strategy in view of the prolonged... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Venture Capital; Investment Portfolio; Business or Company Management; Partners and Partnerships; Business Strategy; Financial Services Industry

28 Apr 2022
Research & Ideas

Can You Buy Creativity in the Gig Economy?

through a flat fee also propel them to produce more interesting content. The findings may prompt publishers to consider changing their pay structure in ways that reward writers for originality. Beyond publishing, the research sheds light on effective ways of tying pay... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

Research Summary

Overview

By: Hise O. Gibson

Professor Gibson's primary research interests encompass inclusive leadership, operational effectiveness, human capital development, leadership, leader development, leading change, and risk management especially during crisis. As part of his broader work to... View Details

Winter 2016
Article

Improving Store Liquidation

By: Nathan Craig and Ananth Raman

This paper introduces methods for increasing the efficiency of retail store liquidation, which we define as the time-constrained divestment of retail outlets through an in-store sale of inventory. The retail industry depends extensively on liquidation, not only as a... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Operations; Investment; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

The 15-module Strategy Execution series forms a complete course that teaches the latest techniques for using performance measurement and control systems to implement strategy. Module... View Details

March 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Boston Children's Hospital: Measuring Patient Costs

By: Robert S. Kaplan, Mary L. Witkowski and Jessica A. Hohman

The case describes two pilot projects on applying activity-based costing to measuring the cost of treating patients. It presents process maps and financial data relating to the processes used during (1) an office visit to a plastic surgeon for three different diagnoses... View Details

Keywords: Health Care; Time-Driven Activity-Based Costing; Costing; Hospitals; Activity Based Costing and Management; Mathematical Methods; Health Industry

August 1983
Background Note

Balance of Payments: Accounting and Presentation

By: David B. Yoffie

Provides an overview of balance of payments accounting and analytical presentation of balance of payments data. Includes sample transactions to illustrate the application of the basic accounting principles and definitions of the standard balances. View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Analytics and Data Science; Management; Standards; Mathematical Methods

July 1992
Case

Laura Wollen and ARPCO, Inc.

Laura Wollen, a group marketing director for ARPCO, Inc., must decide whether to recommend a high performance product manager for a choice position overseas. The supervisor overseas resists the hire because of the candidate's race and Wollen fears that insisting will... View Details

Keywords: Management; Decisions; Race

March 1994 (Revised August 1997)
Case

Raychem Corp.: Interconnection Systems Division

By: Clayton M. Christensen

Describes the highly successful efforts of a management team to turn around the performance of a $30 million Raychem division that manufactures electronic connectors. The original manufacturing system was a batch operation, with a broad product line, high inventories,... View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Time Management; Production; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Success; Performance; Strategy; Competitive Strategy; Electronics Industry