Publications

09 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 9

extensive historical study: (1) link responsibility and control, (2) manage moral hazard, (3) pool risk in sound institutions, (4) adopt market conforming approaches to the extent possible, and (5) structure markets to promote safe... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 Dec 2008
Research & Ideas

The Surprisingly Successful Marriages of Multinationals and Social Brands

emphasize expanding sales, with profitability to follow with a lag—rather than having to produce high profitability along with rapid expansion from the start. And, finally, a key virtue of acquisition from the perspective of the mice is that it may, if View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Consumer Products; Food & Beverage

31 Jan 2011
Research & Ideas

Taking the Fear out of Diversity Policies

amount of anxiety for people," says Lakshmi Ramarajan, an assistant professor of organizational behavior at Harvard Business School. "A lot of times the context of the conversation is around diversity as a problem—isolation,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

01 Dec 2006
News

Forestalling Terror

Michael Roberto and published this year, is “Managing National Intelligence (A): Before 9/11.” The case plumbs the background of what will likely be remembered as one of the most tragic organizational failings in American history: the... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; Waleed Iskandar; Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

February 1975 (Revised April 2002)
Case

Elizabeth Best (A)

By: Wickham Skinner and Ardis Burst

New political appointee with years of volunteer experience takes over highly responsible job in state government and is met with bureaucratic resistance. View Details

Keywords: Government Administration; Organizational Structure; Attitudes; Groups and Teams; Human Resources; Jobs and Positions; Prejudice and Bias; Public Administration Industry

15 Nov 2016
First Look

November 15, 2016

efforts around diversity and inclusion. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/417037-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 417-038 Zurich Insurance: Global Job Structure and Data Analysis Zurich Insurance was... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

21 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: December 21

hospital, considers which organizational structure will help them adjust to the changing health sector environment. The move from global budget to activity-based funding has led his and many other public... View Details

18 Apr 2017
First Look

First Look at New Ideas, April 18

trend is the use of online tools to improve physical asset utilization in many traditional off-line businesses. This article discusses the water industry as an example, and the organizational changes and levers relevant to extracting... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

August 2001 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Shinsei Bank (A)

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Perry Fagan

In a deal marking the first acquisition of a domestic Japanese financial institution by foreigners, a consortium of Western investors purchased the assets of the Long Term Credit Bank (LTCB) of Japan in March 2000. The new management renames the bank Shinsei Bank,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Assets; Banks and Banking; Investment; Business or Company Management; Managerial Roles; Organizational Structure; Failure; Adaptation; Banking Industry; Japan

Web

Social Entrepreneurship and Systems Change (SESC) - Course Catalog

coherent systems strategy, collaborating with others, building power, and mobilizing change. Since the skills required to sustain effective engagement with social systems can differ subtly from the organizational management skills often... View Details

October 2007 (Revised May 2009)
Case

Offering the Right Service in the Right Place: Growing Orthopedics at the Brigham and Women's/Faulkner (BW/F) Hospitals

By: V.G. Narayanan, Michael G. Wilson and Rachel Gordon

After the merger of two local hospitals, hospital leaders much decide how to reorganize services to take advantage of newly created efficiencies. Focuses on the Orthopedics department at one of the hospitals. View Details

Keywords: Cost Accounting; Mergers and Acquisitions; Cost vs Benefits; Service Operations; Organizational Structure; Performance Efficiency; Competitive Advantage; Health Industry

June 2001
Teaching Note

Teaching IT Executive Education Courses TN

By: Richard L. Nolan

In the information age, it is important that IT be addressed in an effective way accessible to practicing executives. Teaching IT to executives continues to change in concepts and content as IT penetrates deeply into every area of business. Driven by Moore's Law, the... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Developing Countries and Economies; Business Education; Managerial Roles; Organizational Structure; Performance Effectiveness; Performance Improvement; Information Technology

April 2001 (Revised September 2001)
Case

Merloni Elettrodomestici: Building for a New Century

By: Joseph L. Bower

In 2001 a young new CEO has to develop a strategy to move his company beyond the hyper-competitive conditions of Western Europe. A major acquisition in Russia and a new Web-based service business provide interesting new directions. This case traces the development of... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Corporate Entrepreneurship; Multinational Firms and Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Web; Russia

December 1999
Case

Sun Microsystems, Inc. (A4): Sun Peak: Helen Yang and Mark Walden on "Running Sun on Sun"

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Jane Roessner

SunPeak was the largest project Sun Microsystems, Inc. had ever undertaken: shifting Sun's entire business transaction system from a mainframe-based enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to a Sun-based system. Making the shift would be complicated and financially... View Details

Keywords: Projects; Transformation; Organizational Structure; Business Strategy; Complexity; Risk and Uncertainty; Success; Information Technology; Internet and the Web; Technology Industry; Computer Industry

05 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 5

Research on Multiple Identities: Toward an Intrapersonal Network Approach By: Ramarajan, Lakshmi Abstract—Psychologists, sociologists, and philosophers have long recognized that people have multiple identities-based on attributes such as View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Do I Dare Say Something?

senior management, or even bosses all the way down. In contrast, context refers to organizational factors, outside the individual, that provide cues about how voice is likely to be received. Leader behavior is one such contextual cue.... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

October 1998 (Revised September 1999)
Case

Mercedes-Benz in Alabama: Lessons from the Field

By: William J. Bruns Jr., Carin-Isabel Knoop and Anthony St. George

Details the establishment of the Mercedes Benz M-Class plant in Vance, AL. The plant was established as an independent "teaching field" for parent company Daimler Benz. The case reviews the different lessons from the plant and looks at issues going forward,... View Details

Keywords: Mergers and Acquisitions; Banks and Banking; Integration; Horizontal Integration; Business Ventures; Teaching; Organizational Structure; Auto Industry; Alabama

Find at Harvard

January 2018 (Revised February 2025)
Teaching Note

Collage.com: Scaling a Distributed Organization

By: Christopher Stanton and Shikhar Ghosh

Teaching Note for HBS No. 817-038. View Details

Keywords: Internet and the Web; Organizational Structure; Competitive Strategy; Employees; Business Startups; Growth and Development Strategy