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Technology & Operations Management Curriculum - Faculty & Research

contribution of a firm's operations to its competitive position. It helps them to understand the complex processes underlying the development and manufacture of products as well as the creation and delivery of services. Topics encompass:... View Details

24 Jan 2023
Research & Ideas

Passion at Work Is a Good Thing—But Only If Bosses Know How to Manage It

“motivated reasoning,” managers may also not realize a problem exists, or fail to seek out information that may disconfirm their positive view of passion. Both prevent the conflict from rising to the level of organizational concern,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

March 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Deepa Bachu (A): Design Thinking at Pensaar Design

By: Thomas Graeber, Joshua Schwartzstein and Amram Migdal

In this case, set in June 2019 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India, Deepa Bachu of Pensaar Design and her team work with client ITC Ltd. to use design thinking and behavioral experiments to improve workplace safety and strive toward the company’s zero-accident goal. The... View Details

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

12 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 12, 2008

309-003 The (B) case informs students of Fidelity's decision about pursuing a business process patent for its charitable gift fund and describes subsequent litigation and lawsuits filed by other companies... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

08 Aug 2005
Research & Ideas

Decision Rights: Who Gives the Green Light?

a decision-rights assignment problem, says Jensen. Occasionally, managers forget entirely to inform those to whom they have given decision authority. 4. Don't Confuse A Particular Outcome With The Process... View Details

Keywords: by Peter Jacobs

15 Jul 2013
Research & Ideas

Five Imperatives for Improving Health Care

when the information is so complex? The key is not just to get the information to the consumers but to help them process it." Decentralizing approaches to problem solving:... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Health

January 2019 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Liulishuo: AI English Teacher

By: John J-H Kim and Shu Lin

Educators and entrepreneurs alike are excited about the potential for artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning to change the way learning will look like in the future. There is a confluence of factors such as the availability of large sources of rich,... View Details

Keywords: AI; Artificial Intelligence; Education Technology; Information Technology; Education; Entrepreneurship; AI and Machine Learning; Education Industry; China

Web

2023 Reunion Presentations - Alumni

measure of company returns but are deeply flawed. We propose an alternative measure that isolates operational performance from financial engineering, titled Core Operating Shareholders Returns (COSRs). In the process of disentangling... View Details

October 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

AI and Brand Management: Promises and Perils

By: Julian De Freitas and Elie Ofek

As AI gains traction across industries, companies anticipate that AI will revolutionize both backend processes and customer-facing interactions—with brands eager to leverage AI for tailored marketing materials and automated consumer engagements. Yet, despite a dramatic... View Details

Keywords: AI and Machine Learning; Brands and Branding; Reputation; Technology Adoption; Competitive Advantage

2013
Dictionary Entry

Technology and Innovation Management

By: Elizabeth J. Altman, Frank Nagle and Michael L. Tushman

The goal of this annotated bibliography on technology and innovation is to organize and present the most important literature relevant to a scholar seeking to understand and advance the field. It includes articles that are highly-cited and foundational pieces, as well... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Technological Change; Innovation Streams; Organizational Evolution; Executive Leadership; Organizational Architecture; Information Technology; Technological Innovation; Innovation and Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership; Organizational Design

October 2018 (Revised May 2019)
Teaching Note

Intuit: Turbo Tax PersonalPro - A Tale of Two Entrepreneurs

By: Joseph Fuller, Shikhar Ghosh and Monica Baraldi

Teaching Note for HBS No. 816-048. The case tells the story of a product manager within Intuit who develops an idea for a new product that spans two of the company's existing business units—professional tax software, sold to accountants, and the consumer focused... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Business or Company Management; Applications and Software; Accounting; Product Development; Financial Services Industry

January 2018 (Revised May 2018)
Case

AT&T Managing Technological Change and the Future of Telephone Operators in the 20th Century

By: Daniel P. Gross and William R. Kerr

By the 1930s, AT&T dominated the American phone industry, serving 10 million telephones and employing over 100,000 switchboard operators. But beginning in the mid-1910s, the company began changing from manually operated switchboards to mechanical switching systems that... View Details

Keywords: AT＆T; Bell Telephone; Phone Lines; Phone Operators; Mechanical Switching; Layoffs; Technological Change; Transition; History; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Information Technology; Disruption; Change Management; Communications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States

May 2016
Article

Cooperation in Multicultural Negotiations: How the Cultures of People with Low and High Power Interact

By: Shirli Kopelman, Ashley E. Hardin, Christopher G. Myers and Leigh Plunkett Tost

This study examined whether the cultures of low- and high-power negotiators interact to influence cooperative behavior of low-power negotiators. Managers from four different cultural groups (Germany, Hong Kong, Israel, and the United States) negotiated face-to-face in... View Details

Keywords: Global Collaboration; Negotiations; Culture; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Participants; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Hong Kong; Germany; Israel; United States

Find at Harvard

April 2020
Teaching Note

Indigo Agriculture: Harnessing Nature

By: Michael W. Toffel and James Barnett

Teaching Note for HBS No. 620-024. Indigo Agriculture used a digital-enabled research and development (R&D) process to launch its initial product, microbial coatings for agricultural seeds, which increase crop yields while reducing the need for fertilizers. In doing... View Details

Keywords: Operations; Supply Chain; Social Enterprise; Product Development; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Digital Platforms; Science-Based Business; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts