Publications

August 2006 (Revised November 2007)
Background Note

A Framework for Pursuing Diversity in the Workplace

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Michael Brookshire

Assesses the costs and benefits of pursuing diversity and pinpoints the primary barriers to creating diverse workplaces. It also proposes some options for advancing diversity in an organization. View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Diversity

June 2000 (Revised January 2003)
Case

Nissan Motor Company

By: Thomas R. Piper and Jeremy Cott

Senior executives of Nissan and Renault are considering a major investment in Nissan by Renault. An important consideration is whether a major restructuring of Nissan's operations will be possible, given the value placed on lifetime employment and the impact on... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Organizational Culture; Investment; Problems and Challenges; Equity

25 Sep 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Corporate Purpose and Firm Ownership

Keywords: by Claudine Gartenberg and George Serafeim

01 Dec 2004
News

A Case of Achievement

in different sorts of organizational cultures and situations produced many interesting insights and observations — and some disagreements — about how to handle the Parson matter. Panelists’ opinions ranged... View Details

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

01 Sep 2004
News

Elaine L. Chao (MBA 1979)

anticipation. We attended a reception at the Dean’s House and then enjoyed a wonderful dinner. When I got back to my room in Chase Hall that night, I found three cases in my mailbox. I stayed up half the night reading them. The culture... View Details

Keywords: Susan Young; Management, Scientific, and Technical Consulting Services; Professional Services

29 Jun 2022
Blog Post

Four Elements for Finding the Right Career Path

Community is: “What types of people and what organizational cultures will allow me to thrive and make my biggest contribution?” The third element is Necessity. It is indeed important to understand our... View Details

13 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

and are highly work-engaged. All of this suggests a multi-pronged solution to contagious presenteeism: Remove financial incentives for it by providing paid sick leave, audit work designs for features that evoke undue pressure for attendance, and champion an View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

01 Sep 2020
Blog Post

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

to contagious presenteeism: Remove financial incentives for it by providing paid sick leave, audit work designs for features that evoke undue pressure for attendance, and champion an organizational culture... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

01 Oct 1997
News

Short Takes

experiences: identity groups (i.e., race, cultural background, gender, age) and organization groups (defined by shared task roles and hierarchical position). From psychoana-lytic theory, the authors draw on elements that particularly help... View Details

04 Dec 2012
First Look

First Look: December 4

severity of the coordination problem faced by users. Read the paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=38648 The Costs of Ambient Cultural Disharmony: Indirect Intercultural Conflicts in Social Environment Undermine... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

July 2008 (Revised February 2011)
Supplement

Sanford C. Bernstein: The Fork in the Road (B)

By: Boris Groysberg and Geoff Eckman Marietta

Update on the (A) case. View Details

Keywords: Knowledge; Business or Company Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Competitive Advantage; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

Find at Harvard

January–February 2018
Article

More than a Paycheck: How to Create Good Blue-Collar Jobs in the Knowledge Economy

By: Dennis Campbell, John Case and Bill Fotsch

Fifty years ago a good blue-collar job was with a large manufacturer such as General Motors or Goodyear. Often unionized, it paid well, offered benefits, and was secure. But manufacturing employment has steadily declined, from about 25% of the U.S. labor force in 1970... View Details

Keywords: Jobs and Positions; Employee Ownership; Profit Sharing; Organizational Culture

Find at Harvard

Register to Read

winter 2009
Article

Creativity, Improvisation, and Organizations

By: Colin M. Fisher and Teresa M. Amabile

'Improvisational creativity' involves simultaneously identifying new challenges and generating responses, with little or no time to prepare. View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Management; Organizational Culture; Creativity; Theory; Performance

December 1995 (Revised October 1996)
Case

Maureen Frye at Quaker Steel and Alloy Corporation

By: John J. Gabarro

Maureen Frye, assistant product manager at Quaker Steel and Alloy Corp., is asked to implement an action plan for changing the call pattern of the salesforce. Currently the salesforce is spending too much time on small accounts. Earlier Frye attempted to change their... View Details

Keywords: Management Teams; Managerial Roles; Organizational Culture; Planning; Salesforce Management; Strategy; Steel Industry

September 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Case

BT Plc: The Broadband Revolution (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman, David Kiron and Adam M. Kleinbaum

In early 2003, CEO Ben Verwaayen and Chief Broadband Officer Alison Ritchie of BT Plc. are trying to transform the former British Telecom from a stodgy telephone company into a 21st century broadband company. Their efforts to focus the firm on broadband issues within... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Innovation and Management; Management Teams; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Behavior; Telecommunications Industry; United Kingdom

August 2002
Case

Trilogy University

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Michael Paley

In early 2001, Trilogy Software faced a slowdown in its business, a large number of unsuccessful customer deployments, and an overall weakening in the enterprise software market. In response, the company revamped its business model and restructured the organization.... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Design; Alignment; Restructuring; Organizational Structure; Change Management; Business Strategy; Economic Slowdown and Stagnation; Information Technology Industry

19 Apr 2016
Blog Post

First Minutes are Critical in New-Employee Orientation

focuses solely on corporate culture and identity of the new workplace. There's a lecture about the firm's history and another about standard operating procedures. There's a packet of information from human resources, emblazoned with the... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

October 2011
Supplement

An Interview with Ganesh Natarajan, CEO of Zensar

By: David A. Garvin

Zensar is a rapidly growing, mid-sized Indian IT services company with a collaborative management philosophy and innovative HR policies. One of its practices, Vision Communities, is an inclusive forum for innovation and strategy formulation. As the company grows,... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Human Resources; Employees; Leadership Style; Management; Organizational Culture; Information Technology Industry; India