Publications

January 2023
Case

Gerald Weiss (2023)

By: Brian J. Hall, Carleen Madigan, Andrew Wasynczuk and Caroline Witten

Gerald Weiss left Wall Street for the promise of a CFO position at a well-established corporation. He was given a 10-year options package with a guaranteed floor of $12 million and unlimited upside. To ensure the entire package would be worth at least $12 million after... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Resignation and Termination; Executive Compensation; Organizational Culture; Agreements and Arrangements; Stock Options; Conflict and Resolution; New York (city, NY)

12 Oct 2011
First Look

First Look: October 12

assured. The global financial meltdown of 2008 nearly triggered another Great Depression, economies in Europe are still teetering, and powerful forces-income inequality, resource depletion, and mass... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

20 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 20

value-relevant before disclosure, for negative earnings adjustments it is value-relevant only after disclosure. This finding is consistent with managers delaying the communication of bad news until IFRS compliance. A finer model shows... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

16 Jun 2020
Blog Post

Delivering Solutions During a Crisis with Hans Kristian Furuseth (MBA 2019)

learn more about leadership, managing human capital, and strategy to complement my analytical background,” Furuseth notes. “While at HBS I took as many courses as I could on leadership and organizational... View Details

October 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

McDonald's Board of Directors (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

In October 2019, the McDonald’s Corporation board of directors, chaired by Enrique Hernandez, Jr., gathered to learn the results of their outside counsel’s investigation into the conduct of the CEO. On the surface, the iconic fast-food chain was thriving as growing... View Details

April 2012 (Revised February 2017)
Case

Dovernet

By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred

This case illustrates the implications of using stringent performance measurement systems to create performance pressure, motivate employee achievement, and sharpen a firm's competitiveness. It opens by describing the downsides of the ruthlessly competitive culture at... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Information Technology; Competitive Advantage; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Culture; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Web Services Industry; Information Technology Industry; Vancouver

18 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Hazard Warning: The Unacceptable Cost of Toxic Workers

that included retail, financial services, and health care. Tip-offs to toxicity The data reveal three traits that indicate which would-be hire needs a warning label. Human resources View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

December 1986 (Revised November 1990)
Case

Club Med (B)

Highlights the issue of high employee turnover in a multi-site, international subsidiary of a large resort company. Also described are service-quality problems the company has because the amount of value added through employee interaction with customers is high.... View Details

Keywords: Globalized Firms and Management; Retention; Recruitment; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Tourism Industry; United States

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

2015
Working Paper

Discretion in Hiring

By: Mitchell Hoffman, Lisa B. Kahn and Danielle Li

Who should make hiring decisions? We propose an empirical test for assessing whether firms should rely on hard metrics such as job test scores or grant managers discretion in making hiring decisions. We implement our test in the context of the introduction of a... View Details

Keywords: Selection and Staffing; Management Practices and Processes

Read Now

July 2011 (Revised October 2011)
Case

Lady Gaga (A)

By: Anita Elberse and Michael Christensen

In September 2009, Troy Carter, manager of up-and-coming pop star Lady Gaga, has to decide on a new course of action now that his artist's planned co-headlining arena tour with hip-hop superstar Kanye West has been cancelled. Carter knows that continuing the tour, but... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Marketing Strategy; Product; Product Development; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Creativity; Music Industry

21 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 21, 2008

diversification into the technology intensive TFT-LCD flat panel display industry. Because the diversification is far away from its core competence in petrochemicals, it is an opportunity to examine how the firm was able to become a View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August, 2024
Article

Absenteeism, Productivity, and Relational Contracts Inside the Firm

By: Achyuta Adhvaryu, Jean-François Gauthier, Anant Nyshadham and Jorge Tamayo

We study relational contracts among managers using a unique dataset that tracks transfers of workers across teams in Indian ready-made garment factories. We focus on how relational contracts help managers cope with worker absenteeism shocks, which are frequent, often... View Details

Keywords: Implicit Contracts; Productivity; Misallocation; Absenteeism; Supervisors; Readymade Garments; Performance Productivity; Employees; Relationships; Fashion Industry; India

March 2014 (Revised September 2019)
Teaching Note

Say on Pay: Qualcomm, Inc. Shareholders Vote 'Maybe'

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Charles C.Y. Wang

This case centers around Qualcomm shareholders' 2012 Say-on-Pay vote and the dispute between the Institutional Shareholder Services and management regarding the appropriateness of the CEO's compensation plan. Was ISS right that Qualcomm CEO's pay was inflated and... View Details

Keywords: ISS; Proxy Advisor; Investor Communication; Investor Relations; Peers; Say-on-Pay; Benchmarking; Peer Group; Compensation Committee; Board Of Directors; Governing and Advisory Boards; Executive Compensation; Corporate Governance; Business and Shareholder Relations

03 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why a Failed Startup Might Be Good for Your Career After All

aspects of the firm: operations, marketing, finance, communications, and product development. Clearly, general management skills win the day, says one of the paper’s coauthors, Paul A. Gompers, who is the Eugene Holman Professor of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

Web

Community Values | About

leadership in a changing global society. Leadership and Organizational Behavior focuses on how managers become effective leaders by addressing the human side of enterprise.... View Details

September 2010 (Revised July 2012)
Supplement

Recruiting Andrew Yard (C)

By: Brian J. Hall, Nicole Shae Bennett and Sara del Nido

This case describes a compensation negotiation between a global HR director and a candidate for a high-level executive position. The situation becomes awkward when the candidate feels insulted because he is given a monetary incentive to join the company more quickly... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Recruitment; Negotiation Offer; Performance Effectiveness; Emotions; Strategy

November 2001
Supplement

Staples

By: Myra M. Hart

Provides information on the development of the office superstore concept, including building partnerships, creating the business plan, and recruiting a management team. View Details

Keywords: Business Plan; Recruitment; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Teams; Operations; Planning; Partners and Partnerships; Complexity; Retail Industry