Publications

Research Summary

Overview

Dr. Burch’s research focuses on capitalism, work, and gender in the twentieth-century United States. Her work reinterprets the history of direct selling by placing it at the center, rather than on the margins, of narratives about advanced capitalism. Examining the... View Details

Keywords: Business History; Political Economy; Labor History; Gender; Marketing; Sales Force Management; Direct Sales; United States

December 2004 (Revised April 2006)
Case

Managing Diversity at Spencer Owens & Co.

By: Robin J. Ely and Ingrid Vargas

Spencer Owens & Co, a disguised consulting firm, focuses on domestic and international economic development. As an extension of the firm's commitment to social justice, 20 years ago, Spencer Owens management introduced an affirmative action hiring and promotion... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Selection and Staffing; Development Economics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Employees; Diversity; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Consulting Industry

TeachingInterests

Managing the Future of Work (MBA Education—Elective Curriculum)

By: Christopher T. Stanton

The nature and scope of work is changing rapidly, creating massive business challenges in the shadow of broader political and social shifts. HBS launched a major initiative in 2017 on Managing the Future of Work to define these workplace issues and... View Details

06 Feb 2015
News

Why Managers Are the New Trainers

18 May 2021
Panel Discussion

Lloyd's Register Supply Chain Webinar: What Trends Are Influencing the Future of Supply Chain Assurance?

By: Michael W. Toffel

Keywords: Auditing; Supply Chain; Labor Management; Working Conditions; Monitoring

May 1996
Background Note

The GM's Operational Challenge: Managing Through People

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Ashish Nanda

Highlights and explores how a general manager adds value to the firm at the operational level by managing through people. Discusses how assumptions about human motivation influence the employment contract that the general manager implicitly enters into with the workers... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Selection and Staffing; Contracts; Managerial Roles; Operations; Problems and Challenges; Labor and Management Relations; Motivation and Incentives; Value

Web

Podcasts - Managing the Future of Work

Deming on workforce shifts and the future of college 26 FEB 2025 | Managing the Future of Work AI's early impact on the labor market: Are claims of revolutionary change overblown? The Harvard economist... View Details

22 Feb 2016
News

Every Company Needs a Growth Manager

Article

Targeting Weather Insurance Markets

By: Anita Mukherjee, Shawn Cole and Jeremy Tobacman

The suitability of insurance products often depends greatly on individual circumstances. This paper examines the challenges of heterogeneity in a relatively new product, weather‐indexed insurance. This index insurance product has been launched in over a dozen... View Details

Keywords: Index Insurance; Labor Markets; Self-insurance; Self-protection; Weather; Insurance; Markets; Household; Risk Management

Find at Harvard

03 Oct 2016
News

How to Manage a Toxic Employee

2010
Module Note

Employee and Labour Welfare at the Tata Group Companies

By: Shashank Shah

Keywords: Labor And Management Relations; Human Resource Management; Tata Motors; Employee Engagement; India

Find at Harvard

May 2013
Case

Qantas Luxury: Grounded Flights, First-Class Pajamas and Twitter Hashtags (A)

By: Amy J.C. Cuddy, Cassandra L. Govan, David T. Neal and Anna M. Coster

Keywords: Air Transportation; Social Media; Labor Relations; Brand Management; Air Transportation Industry; Australia

May 2010
Teaching Note

Clayton Industries, Inc.: Peter Arnell, Country Manager for Italy (Brief Case)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Benjamin H. Barlow

Teaching Note for 4199. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; International Business; Subsidiaries, Leadership; Project Management; Multinational Corporations; Implementing Strategy; Management; International Finance; Leadership; Business Subsidiaries; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Labor Unions; Organizational Culture; Projects

20 Feb 2022
News

Hong Kong: A Case Study of Managing in Extreme Uncertainty

June 2010
Article

Quality Management and Job Quality: How the ISO 9001 Standard for Quality Management Systems Affects Employees and Employers

By: David I. Levine and Michael W. Toffel

Several studies have examined how the ISO 9001 Quality Management System standard predicts changes in organizational outcomes such as profits. This is the first large-scale study to explore how employee outcomes such as employment, earnings, and health and safety... View Details

Keywords: Quality; Management; Standards; Employees; Wages; Organizations; Profit; Safety; Health; Policy

Find at Harvard

Read Now

25 Nov 2013
News

Hiding From Managers Can Increase Your Productivity

14 May 2007
Research & Ideas

The Key to Managing Stars? Think Team

themselves as well as their managers believe that top performance in this industry is due to individual talent. This could be one reason that there is a great deal of mobility in this labor market. Stars are... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

January 2010 (Revised February 2010)
Case

IBM Retail Business Assessment at Dillard's, Inc.: Managing Staffing Levels to Improve Conversion

This case illustrates the challenges associated with matching staffing levels with variable workload in retail stores and highlights how decisions related to staffing and scheduling affect operational performance and the quality of labor at the stores. The case... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Employees; Market Transactions; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; Retail Industry