Publications

David Thomas is H. Naylor Fitzhugh Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. His research addresses issues related to executive development, cultural diversity in organizations, leadership and organizational change. He recently served as a... View Details

Keywords: biotechnology; consulting; consumer products; education industry; financial services; media

August 2014
Case

Opening the Valve: From Software to Hardware (A)

By: Ethan Bernstein, Francesca Gino and Bradley Staats

Valve, one of the world's top video game software companies, has also 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... View Details

Profile

Jackie Burgos

major to take. I heard that accounting was the language of business, so when I got a scholarship to Pace, which has a great accounting program, I went.” There, Jackie distinguished herself, not just by her achievements in business courses, but through her View Details

Keywords: Entertainment / Media; Other Financial Services; Services

28 Apr 2015
First Look

First Look: April 28

Management: Can a Balanced Scorecard Change a Culture? By: Gibbons, Robert, and Robert S. Kaplan Abstract—Agency theorists, historically, have analyzed what kinds of performance measures should be used in formal incentive contracts. For... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

January 2015 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Mauboussin

By: Anat Keinan, Sandrine Crener and Audrey Azoulay

Mauboussin is a French jewelry brand founded in 1827 in Paris. In the 1920s, the company earned a huge notoriety for capturing the aesthetic and emotional dimension of the Art Deco movement in its design and gained a worldwide reputation for innovation and expertise in... View Details

January 2020
Case

Sunset Limited or Full Speed Ahead? Amtrak Talks to Congress

By: John D. Macomber

Richard Anderson took the helm of Amtrak in 2017 after leading a successful turnaround at Delta Airlines. Amtrak is a US state owned enterprise with about $3.5 bn in annual revenue (and a large operating loss) that is responsible for substantial segments of passenger... View Details

Keywords: Railroad; Passenger Transportation; Urbanization; Cities; U.S. Congress; Infrastructure; Transition; Transportation; Rail Transportation; Climate Change; Urban Scope; Strategic Planning; Business and Government Relations; Rail Industry; United States

Program

Leading Global Businesses

Summary In an increasingly complex and volatile global world, companies need capable leaders with a unique mix of global business knowledge and personal leadership strengths. In this global leadership... View Details

14 Jun 2023
Research & Ideas

Four Steps to Building the Psychological Safety That High-Performing Teams Need

If there’s no bad news, remind yourself: It’s not that it’s not there. It’s that you’re not hearing about it,” Edmondson says. You Might Also Like: How to Learn from the Big Mistake You Almost Make This Workplace Certification Made Already Safe Companies Even Safer To... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

04 Jan 2010
Research & Ideas

Best of HBS Working Knowledge 2009

Marketing: What Works? Purchase decisions are influenced differently in social networks than in the brick-and-mortar world, says Harvard Business School professor Sunil Gupta. The key: Marketers should tap into the networking aspect of sites such as Facebook.... View Details

Keywords: by Staff

Program

Private Equity and Venture Capital

and Venture Capital raises your level of investment expertise. As you examine the full range of industry models—from venture capital to growth equity to buyouts—you will learn how to build more effective investment strategies for your firm and adapt your approach to... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Finance

October 2018
Case

Zenefits Board of Directors (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

In early 2018, the time seemed right for Zenefits investor and director Lars Dalgaard to reflect on whether Zenefits had the right board of directors to shepherd the company through its next stages of growth. For the company whose name combined the words “benefits,”... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Business Model; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Corporate Governance; Crisis Management; Entrepreneurship; Human Resources; Leadership; Risk Management; Venture Capital; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Information Technology Industry; United States; California

August 1999
Case

Rob Waldron at SCORE! Educational Centers

Describes Rob Waldron's actions upon assuming leadership of SCORE! Educational Centers, an after-school tutoring enterprise. Examines the issue of acquiring and growing a small, self-owned company into a professional organization. Focuses on the steps Waldron takes to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Education

Find at Harvard

08 Oct 2012
News

Get employees behind your unified strategy

April 2023
Case

Twitter: The Freedom to Speak Freely and Be Heard

By: Randolph B. Cohen, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Mel Martin

In April 2022, serial entrepreneur Elon Musk announced that he would be interested in purchasing the social media site Twitter for $44 billion. With more than 100 million twitter followers, Musk had historically leveraged the site to engage with the customers of his... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Acquisition; Social Media; Power and Influence; Technology Industry; Communications Industry; Public Relations Industry; United States

January 31, 2019
Article

The Backlash to Larry Fink's Letter Shows How Far Business Has to Go on Social Responsibility

By: Mark R. Kramer

Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest investor with $6 trillion under management, evoked heated controversy with his remarks last week that his company would change its hiring and potentially its compensation structure to advance diversity and ensure that... View Details

Keywords: Diversity; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose