Publications

June 2001
Exercise

Strategic Human Resource Management Applications Exercise

By: Michael Beer

Overview of a method for diagnosing and developing an organization's capability to achieve its goals and implement its strategy, with exercises for application. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise. View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Design; Strategy

01 May 2013
News

Zameer Kassam, MBA 2007

“I found my passion at HBS. When Rob Kaplan challenged our Leadership and Organizational Behavior class to articulate our passion, I surprised myself by announcing, ‘I am passionate about jewelry.’ It was a powerful moment for me—to say... View Details

08 Aug 2006
First Look

First Look: August 8, 2006

Barron Abstract This study considers organizational artifacts as triggers of procedural justice expectations, showing the effects of one artifact—an organizational wait queue—on perceived procedural justice.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

June 2008
Case

Brigham and Women's Hospital: Shapiro Cardiovascular Center

By: Michael E. Porter, Robert S. Huckman and Jeremy Lance Friese

Considers the situation facing Gary Gottlieb, president of Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH), prior to the opening of BWH's integrated cardiovascular center. This case allows students to develop an appreciation of the strategic, financial, organizational, clinical,... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Service Delivery; Organizational Design; Integration; Health Industry

September 1999
Supplement

Jollibee Foods Corporation: International Expansion

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Presents interviews with CEO Tony Tan Caktiong and international division VP, Noli Tingzon, elaborating on issues and raising new issues on Jollibee's global strategy and organization. View Details

Keywords: Managerial Roles; Globalized Firms and Management; Global Strategy; Organizational Design; Expansion; Food and Beverage Industry

01 Dec 1996
News

Meditations on the Bottom Line

orchestrating major changes in organizational design and culture. Then, in 1995, feeling she had taken "values-based management" as far as she could within a large corporate environment, Bothwick began... View Details

November 1997 (Revised July 1999)
Case

Guidant: Cardiac Rhythm Management Business (A)

By: Steven C. Wheelwright and Mikelle Eastley

Examines the choices Guidant must make in research and development spending and new product development. More specifically, CEO Jay Graf considers the payoffs and tradeoffs of using product development skills that he learned in CPI's core business when applied to a... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Product Marketing; Product Development; Business or Company Management; Management Skills; Research and Development; Business Strategy; Communication; Product Design; Market Design; Organizational Design; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry

22 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 22

We then introduce a framework that provides a unified perspective on these research streams, thereby highlighting some important areas for future research and policy analysis in entrepreneurial finance. Organizational View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

27 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Manly Men, Oil Platforms, and Breaking Stereotypes

whom we traveled to reflect on their jobs and their lives with exceptional openness. Q: Could you describe the results of the study? A: Our study demonstrated how organizational features designed to enhance... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

August 2006 (Revised February 2021)
Case

Anthem, Inc.

By: Regina E. Herzlinger

Describes the U.S. Health Care industry and WellPoint's background, market growth strategies, and potential as an investment option. View Details

Keywords: Investment; Growth and Development Strategy; Health; Industry Structures; Organizational Design; Health Industry; United States

25 Mar 2021
Research & Ideas

Steer Clear of the Blind Spots That Derail Experiments

business moved on. Not aligning experiments to broader organizational goals. Failing to understand the end goal can lead to misguided decisions about when and how to run such tests. Experiments should answer clear questions that bring an... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

April 1987 (Revised April 1987)
Case

Tiberg Co.

By: Michael Beer and Daniel J. Isenberg

Describes the efforts of a vice president of purchasing to coordinate and centralize purchasing procedures in a multinational company. He encounters a lack of active cooperation. A rewritten version of an earlier case by G. Lombard. View Details

Keywords: Cost Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Governance Controls; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Power and Influence

August 1995
Case

Air Products and Chemicals, Inc.: IT Organization and Architecture Challenges

By: Richard L. Nolan

Presents the outcome of Air Products ICON decentralization projects. New issues are explored, including the challenges of having a decentralized MIS staff, global network, client/server architecture, new data center issues, outsourcing, a new highly strategic customer... View Details

Keywords: Information Technology; Information Infrastructure; Applications and Software; Organizational Design; Problems and Challenges

01 Oct 2000
News

After the Revolution: Putting the Internet in Perspective

Microsoft and Cisco, Nolan said the mature business model of a hierarchical organizational structure with a "make-and-sell" strategy can't be adapted to the virtual, information-enabled world of dot-coms. There, the real-time speed,... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

Web

Getting Involved - Institute For Strategy And Competitiveness

Strategy for Health Care Delivery course, which examines the high-level strategic and organizational challenges in implementing value-based care. This invitation-only program is designed for top management;... View Details

July 1987 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Phillips 66: Controlling a Company Through Crisis

By: Lynda M. Applegate

The downstream operations subsidiary of a major U.S. petroleum company is faced with major restructuring decisions and responds by developing an Executive Information System (EIS) which allows for increased responsiveness, wider span of control, and higher levels of... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Information Management; Governance Controls; Organizational Design; Crisis Management; Communication; Management Teams; Growth Management; Mining Industry; Energy Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

2019
Working Paper

Who Should Select New Employees, Headquarters or the Unit Manager? Consequences of Centralizing Hiring at a Retail Chain

By: Carolyn Deller and Tatiana Sandino

We examine how changing the allocation of hiring decision rights in a multiunit organization affects employee-firm match quality, contingent on a unit’s circumstances. Our research site, a US retail chain, switched from a decentralized hiring model (hiring by business... View Details

Keywords: Control; Selection; Decentralization; Company Values; Retail Chains; Decision Making; Economics; Geography; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Organizational Design; Situation or Environment; Retail Industry

SSRN

Read Now

June 2014
Supplement

Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (B)

By: Amy C. Edmondson, Bethany Gerstein and Melissa Valentine

In 2006, the leadership team at Merrimack Pharmaceuticals, Inc. had to decide whether to keep its R&D organization in functional departments or restructure it into interdisciplinary teams. This case follows the outcomes of this decision from 2006 to mid-2014, and... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Design; Groups and Teams; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Research and Development; Biotechnology Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry