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01 Jul 2014
First Look

First Look: July 1

how they would answer the question, "Can for-profit corporations be good citizens?" In reflecting on their answers, the chapter puts forward an account that grounds the purpose and responsibilities... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

Profile

Craig Baker

industries and environments across the globe.” The case-study experience, Craig says, has “made me more aware of the responsibilities I have running a business. It’s been eye-opening to see how difficult it is to make accountable... View Details

01 Sep 2020
News

Saving Grace

Illustration by Neil Webb About a year before he reached retirement, Frank Chapman started mapping out the travels he and his wife envisioned for their golden years. A career accountant for British telecom companies, he thought it best to... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

November 2021 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Hitting Home: Amazon and Mary's Place

By: Paul M. Healy, Debora L. Spar and Amy Klopfenstein

In 2020, Amazon, the $386 billion online retail behemoth, built an eight-story shelter for women and families experiencing homelessness on its expanding headquarters in Seattle, Washington. The shelter, operated in partnership with a non-profit organization known as... View Details

Keywords: Business Ethics; Homelessness; Business And Society; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Social Issues; Corporate Accountability; Urban Development; Society; Information Technology; Ethics; Technology Industry; Seattle; United States; North America

01 Mar 2009
News

Faculty Responds to Financial Crisis

and Global Financial Turmoil,” dealing with the U.S. system of financing homes; “Executive Pay and the Credit Crisis of 2008,” examining the impact of the financial crisis on executive pay; and “The Future of Financial Reporting,” a video case on mark-to-market View Details

Keywords: Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services

21 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 21, 2009

rated. We hypothesize that ratings are particularly likely to spur responses from firms that receive poor ratings, and especially those that face lower-cost opportunities to improve or that anticipate greater benefits from doing so. We test our hypotheses in the... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

23 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

COVID-19 Shines New Light on Working Conditions in Supply Chains

already-stressful situation—not only for factories, but for corporate offices, schools, and other organizations, Toffel says. “Why is it that every school system has had to develop their own standards and policies for masks, for... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Apparel & Accessories

06 Sep 2005
Research & Ideas

The Best Place for Retirement Funds

or an equity mutual fund that holds low-dividend stocks and passes through little in the way of realized capital gains. A high-tax asset might be a standard corporate bond, since the interest payments on a bond held in a taxable View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

May 1997
Case

Donna Karan International Inc.

By: Krishna G. Palepu and Sarayu Srinivasan

Designer Donna Karan takes her firm public. After eager anticipation from Wall Street, the stock loses 60% of its value. This case addresses the questions: Is Karan's company ready to undertake responsibilities of being public? Is the company's strategy sustainable?... View Details

Keywords: Public Equity; Stock Shares; Financial Strategy; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Outcome or Result; Going Public; Business Strategy; Valuation; Fashion Industry

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July 2003
Case

De La Salle Academy

By: Thomas J. DeLong and David Ager

Brother Brian Carty, headmaster and founder of De La Salle Academy, a private school for academically talented, economically disadvantaged children in grades six to eight in New York City, is scheduled to meet with the school's board of directors to discuss how the... View Details

Keywords: Middle School Education; Corporate Accountability; Governing and Advisory Boards; Organizational Design; Management Succession; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Community Relations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Education Industry

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July 2001 (Revised March 2002)
Case

Progressive Insurance: Disclosure Strategy

By: Amy P. Hutton and James Weber

Progressive Insurance had refused to play Wall Street's earning game. Progressive didn't manage reported earnings nor did management give guidance to analysts. Management then considered taking their unique disclosure strategy one step further to become the first to... View Details

Keywords: Earnings Management; Stocks; Corporate Disclosure; Insurance; Volatility; Insurance Industry; United States

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

PortageBay and ESG Analytics

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and Radhika Kak

In 2023, sustainable investors faced several challenges. The first was the lack of access to standardized and vetted environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data, and equally, the interpretation of this data into investment-useful insights. Reducing reliance on... View Details

Keywords: ESG Ratings; Investment Funds; Governance; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

15 Apr 2011
News

Students Hear Wall St. Critics

cited the FCIC’s January report that found failures in financial regulations and enforcement, corporate governance, risk management, and accountability and ethics at all levels. Overarching this, Angelides... View Details

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

July 2006 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Changan Automobile Co., Ltd.

By: Dennis Campbell and Donglin Xia

Chairman Yin Jiaxu must communicate that the company's extraordinary reported performance in 2002 reflects Changan's unique strategy within the competitive dynamics of China's automobile industry. Changan's 2002 annual report demonstrated an extraordinary level of... View Details

Keywords: Financial Reporting; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Media; Business and Shareholder Relations; Auto Industry; China

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06 Dec 2021
News

Truth Be Told

interesting to understand the other avenues of motivating employees to come forward. To do that, we would need to study to what extent the environment within a company or specific society plays a role. What elements of corporate culture... View Details

Keywords: April White; Corporate, Subsidiary, and Regional Managing Offices; Management

June 2008
Supplement

Xerox Corporation: Anne Mulcahy, Chairman & CEO - Video

By: William W. George and Andrew N. McLean

Anne Mulcahy describes the challenges she faced at Xerox during her last visit to HBS. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Accountability; Leadership; Operations; Personal Development and Career; Problems and Challenges

November 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Hewlett-Packard Company: The War Within

By: Krishna G. Palepu, Jay W. Lorsch, Carin-Isabel Knoop and Eliot Sherman

In September 2006 it was revealed that the Hewlett-Packard Company (HP) had been carrying out an extended investigation of its own employees, board members, and journalists outside the company. The investigation was launched in response to a series of leaks to the... View Details

Keywords: Problems and Challenges; Employee Relationship Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Communication Technology; Conflict and Resolution; Newspapers; Computer Industry; Information Technology Industry

November 2005 (Revised November 2007)
Case

Meisterchef.com

By: Henry B. Reiling

Two underperforming companies are seeking to combine on terms that will preserve the net operating loss of one for use against their combined future profits or at least against the future profits of the company that generated the losses. The questions are whether the... View Details

Keywords: Code Law; Corporate Governance; Mergers and Acquisitions; Cost Accounting; Taxation; Corporate Strategy; Profit; Crisis Management; Financial Management; Legal Services Industry; Service Industry; United States