Operational Focus - Publications - Faculty & Research

06 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

After Germanwings, More Attention Needed on Employee Mental Health

mental health issues that are entirely manageable, and by making it more costly for them to come forward. "You can imagine a fallout from this tragedy, subjecting everyone from crane operators to Uber drivers to random mental health... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Health; Air Transportation

19 Dec 2012
Research & Ideas

How to be Extremely Productive

project flopped, don't attack the person"). Deborah Blagg: Classic productivity books often focus on time management, but Extreme Productivity takes a much broader look. It reads more like a businessperson's handbook. Did you intend... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg

28 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Shareholders Key to Corporate Reform

adequacy of that framework in practice or its ability to support the kinds of changes that are being suggested. ... Righting The Imbalance The compromised boardroom climate is a serious obstacle to good governance. Proposals for reform that View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia A. Montgomery & Rhonda Kaufman

24 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

How To Be an Angel Investor

(reading the plan, talking to people they know ) and others granting a meeting without looking at the plan at all. Some angels rely on their intuition while others crunch a lot of numbers. Almost all angels source carefully, make good use of co-investors, and View Details

Keywords: by David Amis & Howard Stevenson

Profile

James Reinhart

Reinhart and his team shifted their focus to children’s clothing, they had an epiphany. “We started with men’s and women’s shirts,” Reinhart explained in a TechCrunch interview. “It was a great story but not a great... View Details

01 Dec 2010
News

Ilene Lang

since women control or influence a lion’s share of household buying decisions. That includes cars, vacations, electronics, health care, and more. We also see a lot in the media about work-life balance and the difficulties working mothers face. Catalyst seems to View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; interview; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

22 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 22

numbers that resulted from a series of choices. While there isn't a traditional case issue, the discussion should focus on the gap between theoretical process designs and the reality of practical implementations, with the impact of View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Dec 2008
News

Summit Sound Bites

Whitehead (MBA 11/’47), Chairman, AEA Investors, Inc.; Founder, HBS Social Enterprise Initiative “Focus has always been Job One in my success. Globalization goes against that. International operations can create a real lack of View Details

01 Jun 1997
News

Bruce Rauner (MBA '81) Endows New Professorship

initial venture fund of $60 million (at that point the largest private equity fund ever raised), the new firm began doing deals in a wide range of enterprises. But in the early 1980s, as the VC business became more and more competitive, GTCR decided to View Details

Keywords: James E. Aisner

01 Jun 1997
News

HBS Alumni Association Board of Directors: President's Report

see some of the traditional historic sites and provided a unique perspective on business issues. Our alumni had the opportunity, while in China, to participate in three case studies and to visit joint ventures between Western companies and their Chinese partners and... View Details

01 Dec 2020
News

The Camel and the Unicorn

superpower: Innovation. In this episode of Skydeck, we’re kicking off a three-part series called “Out of the Valley.” It will focus on the work of Alex Lazarow (MBA 2010), a venture capitalist and author of the book, Out-Innovate: How... View Details

01 Dec 2015
News

Research Brief: What Makes a Mobile Money Service Thrive in an Emerging Market?

Sachdev (MBA 2013) found that the companies that thrived shared five common traits. In a recent working paper, Lal and Sachdev lay out these best practices, which include an open and flexible regulatory structure, business models that View Details

Keywords: Erin Peterson

28 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Why Manufacturing Matters

that the country should focus on the brain. We also have to acknowledge our predecessors in the Technology and Operations Management Unit. For many years, people like Bob Hayes, Kim Clark, and Steven... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Manufacturing

30 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

Tuning Jobs to Fit Your Company

narrower span. She must focus on compliance with standard operating procedures, and she is monitored through detailed input and process measures. The span of influence. The third span corresponds to the... View Details

Keywords: by Robert Simons

January 2007
Case

AMD: A Customer-Centric Approach to Innovation

By: Elie Ofek and Lauren Barley

AMD's launch of the Opteron microprocessor in 2003 has allowed the company to make inroads into the lucrative server segment. A long-time follower to Intel, AMD management felt it was in a position to lead the microprocessor industry in new directions. However, in 2006... View Details

Keywords: Customer Focus and Relationships; Price; Leadership; Brands and Branding; Product Launch; Product Development; Competitive Strategy; Customization and Personalization; Semiconductor Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

01 Jun 1997
News

Short Takes

A summary of selected new research by HBS faculty. Diversification Best Bet in Emerging Markets In today's era of global competitiveness, companies in the industrialized world have slimmed down their operations in order to View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

Web

Field Course: Investing for Impact - Course Catalog

opportunity to understand the challenges and opportunities for community-based impact investing by conducting diligence on an operating company in the Boston area that is looking to access capital for growth. The View Details

15 Nov 2020
News

Exploring China’s Belt & Road Initiative

Cizik Professor of Management Practice in Business Administration, the course was designed to help students understand the BRI from both an operations and a political-economy perspective. “China’s global efforts, especially its overseas... View Details

September 2010 (Revised January 2012)
Case

Emergia: Driving Profitability on Help Desk Contracts

Emergia wants to keep its customer happy with its contact center service, but the margins on the help desk contract are dangerously low. Can Miguel Neira, the COO, increase margins while preserving the customer relationship? View Details

Keywords: Customer Relationship Management; Customer Satisfaction; Profit; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Service Operations; Performance Capacity; Performance Evaluation; Mathematical Methods; Service Industry

Citation

Educators

Purchase

February 1999
Case

Lifeline Systems, Inc. (B)

By: H. Kent Bowen and Marilyn Matis

In 1997, Lifeline Systems continues to grow its service business to $32 million, 56% of the company's total revenues. More local hospital Lifeline programs turn over their monitoring service to Lifeline Central, expanding the company's subscriber base by 30%. The... View Details