Publications

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June 2015 (Revised November 2016)
Case

2012 Obama Campaign: Learning in the Field

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and Jason Gray

The development and utilization of an intentional Field learning strategy developed for the Obama for President campaign in 2012 following an after action Review calling for it after the 2008 elections View Details

Keywords: Training; Political Campaigns; Learning Organizations; Learning; Political Elections; Organizational Change and Adaptation; United States

September 2002
Case

Seattle Public Schools, 1995-2002 (A): The Freedom Agenda

Describes efforts in Seattle Public Schools, under the leadership of Superintendent Joseph Olchefske, to replace the district's centralized budgeting process with school-level budgets. Olchefske's decentralization effort, referred to locally as the Freedom Agenda,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Practices and Processes; Operations; Education; Education Industry; Seattle

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May 2002
Case

Aspen Financial

By: Arthur I Segel and Melissa Yin-Yin Lam

Jack and Bruce Aspen must decide how they want to grow their commercial real estate finance company during a time of tremendous change in the industry. View Details

Keywords: History; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Growth and Development; Real Estate Industry

01 Oct 2003
Conference Presentation

Flexibility in New Product Development: Evidence, Insights and Obstacles from the Field

By: Alan MacCormack

Keywords: Product Development; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges

August 1993
Case

Nestle S.A.: International Marketing (B)

By: John A. Quelch

Describes organization changes announced by Nestle's chariman in 1991 and updates the description of Nestle's marketing organization. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Structure; Globalization; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Switzerland

January 1995
Case

3M: Profile of an Innovating Company

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Afroze A Mohammed

Traces the birth and development of 3M Corp., focusing in particular on the origins of its entrepreneurially-based ability to innovate. In particular, it highlights the role of CEO William L. McKnight in creating a unique set of values, policies, and structures to... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Advantage; Organizational Culture

07 Aug 2018
News

DreamBox Learning Breaks New Ground

popular adaptive learning companies, specializing in math .Across the U.S., Mexico, and Canada, DreamBox serves nearly 3 million students and 120,000 teachers. Today, the company is announcing $130 million in growth equity funding from... View Details

07 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

Negotiation and All That Jazz

change and adapt to the situation," Brahimi advised. "Don't ask reality to conform to your blueprint, but transform your blueprint to adapt to reality." The biggest barrier to developing that mindfulness is... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

22 Aug 2020
News

Bluemercury’s Marla Beck on How Covid-19 Is Changing the Beauty Business

Marla Beck (MBA 1998) Marla Beck (MBA 1998) Bluemercury cofounder and CEO Marla Beck (MBA 1998) recently spoke to the Wall Street Journal’s Secrets of Wealthy Women podcast about how her company has adapted during the pandemic. One of... View Details

June 1992 (Revised May 1996)
Case

Xerox Corp.: Leadership Through Quality (B)

Provides an evaluation of the "Leadership Through Quality" effort at Xerox. The assessment includes both negative and positive factors based on extensive interviews and surveys. Based on this assessment, a plan of action is determined and presented which was endorsed... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Quality; Service Industry; Electronics Industry

01 Sep 2011
News

Faculty Research Online

HBS Cases: KFC’s Explosive Growth in China In China, Yum! Brands is opening a KFC store every day. But this is not the KFC known in America. A recent case study written by Professor David Bell and Agribusiness Program director Mary Shelman (MBA ’87) reveals how the... View Details

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

25 Mar 2019
News

Rent The Runway Joins the Unicorn Club

milestone, CEO Jennifer Hyman (MBA 2009), told Forbes that the company “has created a new consumer behavior of dynamic ownership and clothing rental has become an essential utility in our members’ lives.” Hyman goes on to say that RTR is meeting the market’s changing... View Details

Keywords: Clothing and Clothing Accessories Stores; Retail Trade

15 Nov 2016
News

Classroom Lessons Put Into Practice Abroad

accessible to new audiences, adapting company goals to accommodate consumer behavior. They outfitted a test truck and spread the word about its location via social media. The idea was enthusiastically embraced by customers and by Rita de... View Details

Keywords: Food Services and Drinking Places; Hospitality

01 Sep 2004
News

Elaine L. Chao (MBA 1979)

The eldest in a family of six daughters (four of whom attended HBS), Elaine L. Chao came to New York City from Taiwan at the age of eight. She adapted to her new home quickly, learning English and excelling academically. Since attending... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

April 2017
Teaching Note

Sesame Workshop: Bringing Big Bird Back to Health (Abridged)

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Ryan Raffaelli, Ai-Ling Jamila Malone and Jonathan Cohen

Sesame Workshop was in the middle of a turnaround in 2016. CEO Jeff Dunn had reorganized and shifted the iconic institution to respond to digital disruption and a consensus culture. This Teaching Note helps instructors teach the abridged and full-length versions of... View Details

Keywords: Turnaround; NGO; Non-profit; Organization Alignment; Managing Change; Philanthropy; Media; Television; Reorganization; Talent; Innovation; Risk Aversion; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Restructuring; Identity; Transformation; Education Industry; Media and Broadcasting Industry

February 2001 (Revised November 2009)
Case

Amazon.com (D)

By: Jeffrey F. Rayport, Dickson Louie and William A. Sahlman

At the end of 1999, Amazon.com founder and CEO Jeff Bezos--just named Time Magazine's Man of the Year--ponders the next moves for his company. Having expanded into numerous categories in 1999, ranging from Z-shops to Auctions to E-cards as well as increasing the number... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Competitive Advantage; Expansion; Online Technology; Retail Industry

February 1999 (Revised March 2000)
Case

Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center: Coordinating Patient Care

External cost pressures are motivating the adoption of case management (CM) at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), but several of the organization's key professional groups are working against it. President and CEO David Dolins must decide whether CM is... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Health Care and Treatment; Health Industry; Boston