Publications

08 Oct 2010
What Do You Think?

Will Transparency in CEO Compensation Have Unintended Consequences?

Often the CEO is portrayed as 'the only person in the world who could do this job' You can thank the financial press for this mystique." In pointing out the futility of the effort, Rebecca West commented that "the current exclusionary process of creating CEOs... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

2020
Working Paper

Performance Hacking: The Contagious Business Practice that Corrodes Corporate Culture, Undermines Core Values, and Damages Great Companies

By: Robert D. Austin and Richard L. Nolan

August 7, 1955 is an important date in commercial aviation history. You could say it began the jet airliner age, though other dates might also qualify. Jet engines had proven successful in military aircraft. But no one knew then whether members of the general public... View Details

Keywords: Performance; Organizational Culture; Values and Beliefs

SSRN

Read Now

January 1982 (Revised July 2007)
Case

Jody McVay

A Harvard MBA '78 has been successful at getting things done in a consumer products company with an "entrenched" culture. She has also handled issues women face in a "male culture" rather well. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Gender; Management Skills; Consumer Products Industry; Retail Industry

Find at Harvard

September 1960 (Revised August 1995)
Case

Slade Co., The

Describes a conflict between the values and norms of a segment of an internal social system and those of management and the wider culture. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Conflict and Resolution

10 Jan 2007
HBS Case

The Challenge of Managing National Security

most tragic organizational failings in American history: the inability of the country's government and its relevant agencies to forestall the deadliest attack ever on U.S. soil. The case is dedicated to Waleed Iskandar (MBA '93), a... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Service

2011
Case

UFIDA (A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Bin Yang and E. Chen

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Leadership Style

2011
Case

UFIDA (D)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Ping He, Xiohua Wu and Lijuan Liu

Keywords: Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Leadership Style

01 Dec 2011
News

At Your Service

managers would probably admit to being better at some aspects of their jobs than others, but to be clear, our research is aimed at the organizational level. And in that context, the idea of tradeoffs is nothing new. Peter Drucker and... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg; customer service; Hospitals; Health, Social Assistance; Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing; Manufacturing; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services; Air Transportation; Transportation

Web

2017 Symposium - Race, Gender & Equity

Cultural Identity Expression: Expectations and Willingness to Express" at the 2017 Gender and Work Symposium. Rachel Arnett, Ph.D. candidate in Organizational Behavior at Harvard Business School, presents... View Details

April 2008 (Revised July 2011)
Module Note

Strategic Renewal

By: David J. Collis and Jan W. Rivkin

While it is relatively easy to identify why strategies fail, it is much harder to explain how to fix a failing strategy or build an organization that can continuously renew its strategy. This note identifies some patterns that distinguish companies whose renewal... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Failure; Strategy

Web

2017 Symposium - Race, Gender & Equity

Conformity and Nonconformity Peter Glick , Lawrence University Organizational Culture as Masculinity Contest: Developing and Validating a Climate Measure Kortney Ziegler , Founder of Trans*H4CK Making Trans... View Details

01 Dec 2006
News

Stuart Wins Award

HBS professor Toby Stuart, an expert in the field of organizational psychology, has won the 2007 Ewing Marion Kauffman Prize Medal for Distinguished Research in Entrepreneurship. The medal, which includes a $50,000 cash award, is given... View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

November 2019
Case

The Boss Has the Wrong Idea: Confidential Role Material for Lee Clancy

By: Katherine Coffman, Kathleen McGinn, Judith A. Clair and Katherine Chen

“The Boss Has the Wrong Idea” is a two-person conversation exercise in which an MBA student seeks advice from a mentor in her field about how to handle an incident of workplace sexual harassment. The case consists of two confidential role materials: a role for the... View Details

Keywords: Sexual Harassment; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Culture

November 2019
Case

The Boss Has the Wrong Idea: Confidential Role Material for Julia Smith

By: Katherine Coffman, Kathleen McGinn, Judith A. Clair and Katherine Chen

“The Boss Has the Wrong Idea” is a two-person conversation exercise in which an MBA student seeks advice from a mentor in her field about how to handle an incident of workplace sexual harassment. The case consists of two confidential role materials: a role for the... View Details

Keywords: Sexual Harassment; Interpersonal Communication; Organizational Culture

01 Nov 2010
Research & Ideas

How IT Shapes Top-Down and Bottom-Up Decision Making

technology side, they also have to think about the organizational side," she says. "Traditionally, technology is thought of as a tool that enables empowerment, but that's not always the case." Sadun discusses the issue in... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

November 22, 2023
Article

Unifying Your Company Around a Moral Goal

By: Ranjay Gulati

In turbulent times, companies need a reliable anchor to guide decision-making. When organizations become moral communities, underpinned by purpose, they provide that stability for stakeholders as well as a reassuring sense of hope, solidarity, agency, and meaning.... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Corporate Strategy; Leadership

July 2020
Case

The Second City: The Future of ‘Yes, and…’

By: Francesca Gino and Jeff Huizinga

Leaders from The Second City, the legendary Improv comedy company, reflect on its broad portfolio of activities through the lens of future opportunities and growth. In particular, they discuss ways in which Second City can further invest in its professional arm, Second... View Details

Keywords: Workplace; Collaboration; Growth and Development; Opportunities; Communication; Organizational Culture

November 1995
Case

Transformation of Pratt & Whitney North Haven (D)

By: H. Kent Bowen, Linda A. Hill, Andrew P. Burtis, Sylvie Ryckebusch and John Schiavone

Because of conflicts between the vapor coat and pack coat cells over the decision to purchase new grit blast equipment, Business Unit Manager Tom Hutton has decided to form a second capital purchase team that will represent the pack coat cell. Meanwhile, the first... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Capital; Employees; Organizational Culture

June 1999
Case

NovaCare, Inc. - Helping Make Life a Little Better

NovaCare, a rehabilitation and employee-services comapny, has evolved over a 15-year period. Senior management believes that its success is largely due to its core values, which are shared on a daily basis and drive decisions. Operational and structural changes have... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Growth Management; Organizational Culture; Service Industry