Publications

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October 1997
Case

Planned Parenthood Federation of America (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Elaine V. Backman

Outlines the process of strategy reinvention adopted by Planned Parenthood. It lays out the new strategic proposals, and the reactions of the various constituencies to those proposals. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Framework; Core Relationships; Risk and Uncertainty; Adaptation; Health Industry

Article

Soul and Machine (Learning)

By: Davide Proserpio, John R. Hauser, Xiao Liu, Tomomichi Amano, Burnap Alex, Tong Guo, Dokyun (DK) Lee, Randall Lewis, Kanishka Misra, Eric Schwarz, Artem Timoshenko, Lilei Xu and Hema Yoganarasimhan

Machine learning is bringing us self-driving cars, medical diagnoses, and language translation, but how can machine learning help marketers improve marketing decisions? Machine learning models predict extremely well, are scalable to “big data,” and are a natural fit to... View Details

Keywords: Machine Learning; Marketing Applications; Knowledge; Technological Innovation; Core Relationships; Marketing; Applications and Software

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May 1990 (Revised October 1993)
Case

Cooper Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

By: Frank V. Cespedes

Traces the 12-year career of a pharmaceutical salesperson, Bob Marsh, from recruitment to termination. Mr. Marsh has had an uneven career with Cooper Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (CPI) and, after a probationary period, is asked to resign. Following his termination, a number... View Details

Keywords: Decision Making; Resignation and Termination; Personal Development and Career; Problems and Challenges; Core Relationships

February 1979
Background Note

Note on the Theory of Optimal Capital Structure

By: William E. Fruhan Jr.

Examines the interrelationship between the maximization of the share value of a firm's common stock and the minimization of the firm's weighted average cost of capital. Presents a revised version of a case by J.W. Mullins, Jr. View Details

Keywords: Capital Structure; Cost of Capital; Stock Shares; Core Relationships; Value

January 2011
Supplement

ISS A/S (D): Goldman's 2011 Business Standards Report

By: Clayton S. Rose

The (D) case describes aspects of the Jan 2011 report by the Goldman Sach's Business Standards Committee on how the firm might strengthen its practices with respect to clients and other stakeholders. View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Financial Crisis; Corporate Governance; Management; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Core Relationships

March 2018
Case

TrustSphere: Building a Market for Relationship Analytics

By: Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

Manish Goel was the CEO of TrustSphere, a seven-year-old company in the data analytics industry that focused squarely on relationship analytics, a space in which TrustSphere was pioneering a unique technology and solutions in the areas of sales, risk, and people... View Details

Keywords: Data Analytics; People Analytics; Talent Management; Human Resources; Networks; Relationships; Analysis; Employee Relationship Management; Core Relationships; Applications and Software; Communication; Technology Industry; Singapore

13 Mar 2019
Research & Ideas

Ignore This Advice at Your Own Peril

Employees regularly turn to managers and other higher-level co-workers to seek advice about job-related issues and next steps for their careers. Yet people don’t always take the advice they receive; they may accept some suggestions and ignore others. Here’s a word of... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

February 1996 (Revised March 1996)
Case

Harvey Golub: Recharging American Express

By: David A. Garvin and Artemis March

Harvey Golub, CEO American Express, initiated and led a large-scale change process. The case describes the organization he inherited, two successive waves of reengineering, his "principles-driven" approach to decision making, and his goal of converting American Express... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Engineering; Leadership Style; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Core Relationships; Integration; Value

December 2007
Background Note

Tools and Tactics for Transformation: Three "Whats" and Three "Hows"

By: James K. Sebenius and Stephen Friedman

Important transformation at Goldman Sachs, where one of the authors was Chairman, required analysis, political leadership, and management in order to fundamentally shift the strategy, people, and culture on a sustainable basis. After describing the actions needed to... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation Tactics; Business Strategy; Organizational Culture; Transition; Strategic Planning; Core Relationships; Multinational Firms and Management; Leadership Style; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Private Equity

Web

Policy Changes: Deferrals & Withdrawals | HBS Online

of four times. After the enrollment deadline passes, prospective participants will need to initiate instant enrollment in a future cohort. If you have been admitted to take CORe with the undergraduate credit option and wish to defer, or... View Details

Research Summary

Mastering Strategy Execution

By: Robert Simons

Professor Robert Simons’ research encompasses three areas of management accountability that are the foundation for successful strategy execution: organization design, performance measurement and control, and risk management. In addition, Simons is interested in the... View Details

22 Dec 2015
Blog Post

HBS Takes Business Education Online

Last year, HBS replaced its previous week-long residential pre-MBA program, Analytics, with HBX’s Credential of Readiness (CORe) program, an online primer on the fundamentals of business that is open to learners around the world. While some incoming students are... View Details

Web

Institutional Voice | About

evidence.” The report concludes that the University and its leaders should not issue official statements about public matters that do not directly affect its core function as an academic institution. The University’s View Details

February 2003 (Revised October 2003)
Case

Versity.com

By: Leslie A. Perlow

Versity.com has grown from four college students working out of a dorm to a $125 million venture capital-backed company. The young founders and new professional managers struggle to create a company vision and grapple with the question of whether to acquire another... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Growth and Development; Organizational Design; Mission and Purpose; Strategic Planning; Conflict and Resolution; Mergers and Acquisitions; Management Teams; Core Relationships