Publications

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June 2005
Tutorial

Prematriculation Financial Accounting Tutorial/Module

By: David F. Hawkins, Paul M. Healy and Ratna G. Sarkar

The Financial Accounting course is an introduction to the fundamental concepts of financial accounting in a management context. The course describes the business activities for Global Grocer, a small retail franchise specializing in gourmet foods and specialty kitchen... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Performance; Financial Statements

March 2017 (Revised March 2019)
Case

Ant Financial (A)

By: Feng Zhu, Ying Zhang, Krishna G. Palepu, Anthony K. Woo and Nancy Hua Dai

Headquartered in Hangzhou (China), Ant Financial has grown into a fintech “Unicorn.” The fintech empire that the company established spanned verticals such as mobile and online payment (Alipay), money market fund (Yu’e Bao), wealth management (Ant Fortune),... View Details

Keywords: Growth and Development Strategy; Global Strategy; Finance; Opportunities; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry

Article

Effect of Different Financial Incentive Structures on Promoting Physical Activity Among Adults: A Randomized Clinical Trial

By: Chethan Bachireddy, Andrew Joung, Leslie K. John, Francesca Gino, Bradford Tuckfield, Luca Foschini and Katherine L. Milkman

Importance: Few adults engage in recommended levels of physical activity. Financial incentives can promote physical activity, but little is known about how their structure influences their effectiveness; for example, whether incentives are more effective if they are... View Details

Keywords: Physical Activity; Financial Incentives; Motivation and Incentives; Money

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HBS - Financials | Supplemental Financial Information

distributed annually for operations and for one-time or time-limited strategic purposes. This rate applies to HBS and to all schools at Harvard. Endowment Distribution (in millions) 146 FY17 150 FY18 162 FY19 173 FY20 184 FY21 Endowment... View Details

December 2014 (Revised July 2021)
Case

Discovery Limited

By: Michael E. Porter, Mark R. Kramer and Aldo Sesia

Discovery Ltd. is a South Africa-based insurance company. Started in the early 1990s, Discovery used behavioral economics and data collection to innovate in the health care insurance industry. Its founder Adrian Gore believed that the company's products needed to not... View Details

Keywords: Shared Value; Health Care; Financial Services; Strategy; Value Creation; Health Care and Treatment; Insurance; Growth and Development Strategy; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; South Africa

September 2006 (Revised January 2008)
Case

Providian Financial Corporation

By: John R. Wells

On October 3, 2005, Washington Mutual acquired Providian Financial Corporation, the ninth-largest credit card issuer in the U.S., for $6.5 billion. At the time, Providian had approximately 10 million customer relationships and a balance of $18.6 billion. For some... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Restructuring; Customer Relationship Management; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Credit Cards; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Financial Services Industry; United States

December 2009 (Revised June 2010)
Case

Goldman Sachs: A Bank for All Seasons (A)

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Tiffany Lynne Obenchain

Facing the worldwide financial crisis, Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein considered his options including whether his company could avoid a forced marriage and what steps Goldman Sachs should take to try to restore confidence in financial services companies. View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Financial Crisis; Commercial Banking; Investment Banking; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Crisis Management; Business Strategy; Banking Industry

June 2004 (Revised July 2005)
Case

Procter & Gamble: Global Business Services

By: Thomas J. DeLong, Warren Brackin, Alex Cabanas, Phil Shellhammer and David L. Ager

Dave Walker, vice-president of business service opportunities and chairman of the governance team at Procter & Gamble, must decide what to do with P&G's 5,700 employee Global Business Services (GBS) group. GBS brought together internal services such as finance,... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Change Management; Decision Making; Globalized Firms and Management; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Organizational Design

February 2003 (Revised May 2003)
Case

Mobile Energy Services Company

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Aldo Sesia

When Al "Chainsaw" Dunlap became CEO of the Scott Paper Co., the company owned a large, vertically integrated production facility in Mobile, Alabama. Dunlap sold part of the production facility, a cogeneration power plant (later known as Mobile Energy Services Co.), to... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Risk and Uncertainty; Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Investment; Projects; Vertical Integration; Energy Sources; Bonds; Ownership; Restructuring; Energy Industry; Alabama

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January 2013 (Revised October 2014)
Case

Barclays and the LIBOR Scandal

By: Clayton S. Rose and Aldo Sesia

In June of 2012, Barclays plc admitted that it had manipulated LIBOR—a benchmark interest rate that was fundamental to the operation of international financial markets and that was the basis for trillions of dollars of financial transactions. Between 2005 and 2009... View Details

Keywords: Financial Systems; Financial Services; Corruption; Regulation; General Management; Management; Leadership; Economic Systems; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Culture; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom

Web

RCP Terms of Service - Research Computing Services

Usage and Policies RCP Terms of Service 5ms Please note that the RCS Terms of Service differ for internal (HBS) users and external (non-HBS) users, i.e., guests. Internal User Agreement for the HBS Research... View Details

Web

HBSGrid Terms of Service - Research Computing Services

Usage and Policies HBSGrid Terms of Service 5ms To obtain access to Harvard Business School’s technology resources through Research Computing Services (RCS), you must acknowledge this agreement either... View Details

01 Mar 2025
News

Venture: Time Heals All

and type of patients on the ward and the skills required to care for them, along with constraints on individual nurses, such as the number of consecutive hours they can safely work. All in all, building schedules can take a manager up to... View Details

Keywords: Amy Crawford; Illustration by Klaus Kremmerz; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Ambulatory Health Care Services

01 Jun 2011
News

All in Good Time

operations is in Marietta, Georgia.) “When I started in 2005,” she says, “I went through all the usual growing pains of hiring too many people and spending too much on marketing. But I was able to do everything that I needed to do at home... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; staffing agencies; parenthood; Accounting, Tax, Bookkeeping, Payroll Services; Accounting, Tax, Bookkeeping, Payroll Services

October 2021
Case

Financial Reporting at Mattel

By: Aiyesha Dey, Trung Nguyen, Marshal Herrmann and Julia Kelley

In September 2020, Diana Ferguson was nearing her first Audit Committee meeting as the newly appointed Audit Committee chair of Mattel, Inc. Mattel was just recovering from an accounting scandal which had revealed the company’s poor internal controls and weak board... View Details

12 Nov 2020
News

All in the Neighborhood

Photo courtesy of Angela Hicks Photo courtesy of Angela Hicks As native Hoosiers, Angie’s List cofounders Angela Hicks (MBA 2000) and Bill Oesterle (MBA 1992) knew they wanted to ground themselves in a community where their business could not only grow, but foster... View Details

Keywords: community; volunteer work; corporate social responsibility; entrepreneurship; leadership; Personal Services

March 1994
Case

Fremont Financial Corporation (A)

Fremont Financial is an asset-based lender to middle-market companies. This case considers two options for Fremont to raise capital to finance its loan portfolio. Fremont can: 1) extend its existing bank line of credit, or 2) issue commercial paper through a special... View Details

Keywords: Financial Markets; Capital; Corporate Finance; Financial Services Industry