Operations Improvement - Publications - Faculty & Research

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Matthew Sau | MBA

military faces today. This experience sparked my interest in the intersection of technology and business, as I saw the potential for innovative solutions to not only enhance military operations and improve... View Details

04 Oct 2004
Research & Ideas

Start to Measure Your E-commerce Success

payoffs of e-commerce operational and capital investments are necessary to demonstrate the value creation of e-commerce initiatives and to obtain additional resources for critical e-commerce projects. The measures are essential to monitor... View Details

Keywords: by Marc J. Epstein

08 Oct 2015
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: DaVita Healthcare Partners, Inc.

commitment to clinical excellence and improving patients' health and quality of life. DaVita focuses on setting worldwide standards for clinical, social, and operational practices in kidney care, with over... View Details

Keywords: Health Care

Blog

Inside the Learning: Sustainability—on Campus and Beyond

Harvard University has engaged its entire community in an effort to improve sustainability. Harvard Business School (HBS) is committed to Harvard's Sustainability and Climate Action Plan, which includes achieving a fossil fuel-free... View Details

Profile

Yubo Cui

market, then improve upon it. I wasn’t an engineer—my job was to be a bridge between the partners.” After the development phase, Yubo shifted gears to take on an even greater challenge: streamline operations... View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing/Energy

30 Jun 2003
Research & Ideas

Computer Security is For Managers, Too

the security bulletin? Because there was a problem in the distribution process. Toyota has found that the answers to the final questions almost always have to do with inadequacies in the design of a process, not with specific people, machines, or technologies. Using... View Details

Keywords: by Robert D. Austin & Christopher A.R. Darby

02 Nov 2020
News

The First Five Years: Julianne White (MBA 2017)

isn’t completely back to normal and our main focus is to ensure our food supply and inventory levels remain stable. “Longer-term, my goal is to better leverage data and technology to improve our operational... View Details

01 Mar 2013
News

Making Change

finding allies in several HBS professors bolstered my confidence to take the leap. When I graduated, I had nothing but a business plan and the $3,000 pitch prize. Then came the $25,000 HBS fellowship in 2009. Today, we are a $3 million View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley; housing; gay rights; diabesity; disability; Construction of Buildings; Construction; Educational Services; Social Assistance; Health, Social Assistance; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Real Estate

October 2010
Article

Organizational Designs and Innovation Streams

By: Michael Tushman, Wendy K. Smith, Robert Chapman Wood, George Westerman and Charles A. O'Reilly III

This article empirically explores the relations between alternative organizational designs and a firm's ability to explore as well as exploit. We operationalize exploitation and exploration in terms of innovation streams—incremental innovation in existing products as... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Innovation and Invention; Management Teams; Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Outcome or Result; Performance Improvement

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Blog

When Generations Learn Together

continues to give me new insights just from the way he views a case here at HBS and when we discuss deals and operating improvement opportunities in my business. It's also a huge benefit to learn from the... View Details

09 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Port Esbjerg: Deploying Offshore Wind

dramatically over the next decade, and Port Esbjerg plans to maintain its position as a key player in this growing industry. Seeing the components up close Our hosts at Port Esbjerg arranged an exciting afternoon for us to witness a wide variety of View Details

25 Aug 2014
News

The First Five Years: Raymond Hwang (MBA 2010)

people will experience significant spine-related symptoms at some point. The ability to improve the quality of many lives makes spine surgery relevant. Contemporary spine surgery is also heavily technology dependent, which makes for... View Details

Keywords: Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

Profile

Jason Flood

that he had. “I realized that my college education, my relatively high socio-economic status, and my employer-provided insurance were privileges most of America does not have access to.” Improving a flawed system from multiple angles... View Details

Keywords: Healthcare/Biotech; Tech

01 Sep 2008
News

Totting Up the Bill for the Iraq War

Linda J. Bilmes (MBA ’84), are the lost opportunities that the United States could have pursued: expanding services for its own citizens, offering crucially needed leadership on the world stage, and improving domestic security. The... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne; National Security and International Affairs; Government

13 Oct 2015
Research & Ideas

Does Business Get Done the Same Way in Emerging and Developed Countries?

can. It’s that people trust the name. In markets with significant scope for differentiation, it’s easier to join the leading companies that dominate world trade. But if you are in white goods, it is all incremental improvement and View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

13 Jan 2014
Research & Ideas

How Government Can Restore the Faith of Citizens

Congress and the streets getting fixed." “The sweet spot is where you are working hard, but also getting things done” In a new paper, Surfacing the Submerged State with Operational Transparency in Government Services, Norton worked... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

01 Mar 2014
News

Everything Old Is a New Opportunity

global organization whose mission is accelerating innovation to improve the lives of older adults. Much of their early work has been nurturing promising entrepreneurs through the aptly named Aging2.0 GENerator—which provides strategic... View Details

Keywords: Robert S. Benchley; Health, Social Assistance; Personal Services

October 1993 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Paragould City Cable

By: Willis M. Emmons III

Unhappy with the prices provided by the local, privately owned cable television operator, the city of Paragould, Arkansas constructs a competing municipally owned cable system. Once in operation, Paragould City Cable faces vigorous competition from the incumbent... View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Television Entertainment; Competitive Strategy; Distribution Channels; Media; Public Sector; Programs; Growth and Development Strategy; Cost; Performance Improvement; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Arkansas