Publications

August 2020
Case

This Old House of Worship: St. Anthony Shrine (A)

By: Ryan Raffaelli

This multimedia case asks students to consider how leaders of non-profit organizations manage difficult financial, operational, and cultural turnarounds. Since its founding in 1947, St. Anthony Shrine had been a central partner in serving the Downtown Boston community.... View Details

Keywords: Leadership And Change Management; Turnarounds; Non-profit Management; Leadership; Change Management; Nonprofit Organizations; Management; Religion; Mission and Purpose; Transformation; Organizational Culture; United States

October 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Habitat for Humanity-Egypt

By: Jane Wei-Skillern and Kerry Herman

Habitat for Humanity--Egypt (HFHE), has grown in just seven years to become one of the most successful Habitat programs worldwide. The organization is at a crossroads as it attempts to reach the ambitious goal of serving 10% of the 20 million Egyptians living in... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Construction; Social Issues; Social and Collaborative Networks; Non-Governmental Organizations; Construction Industry; Egypt

May–June 2018
Article

Structure That's Not Stifling: How to Give Your People Essential Direction—Without Shutting Them Down

By: Ranjay Gulati

Most leaders view employee freedoms and operational controls as antagonists in a tug-of-war. They tend to focus on regulating workers’ behavior, often putting a damper on commitment, innovation, and performance without realizing it. But freedom and control aren’t zero... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Mission and Purpose; Framework; Employee Relationship Management; Performance Effectiveness

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April 2018
Case

Globalizing Japan's Dream Machine: Recruit Holdings Co., Ltd.

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta

Recruit Holdings, an advertising media, staffing, and business support conglomerate was founded in 1960 by Hiromasa Ezoe. Recruit was built on the principle that the company should add value to society. To do this, it hired young and talented employees and created a... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Culture; Crime and Corruption; Transition; Globalization; Japan

04 Jan 2016
News

Taking Time Out for a Challenge

After living in Sierra Leone from 2006 to 2010, where she worked as a founding board member of the Welbodi Partnership, which supports the country’s health system in delivering essential services to women and children, HBS doctoral student Ryann Manning was moved into... View Details

Keywords: ebola; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

August 2024
Case

Ashesi University: The Journey from Vision to Reality

By: Ranjay Gulati and Caroline de Lacvivier

In 1997, Patrick Awuah had a dream: to bring liberal arts education to Ghana. Amid the country’s declining economy and pervasive corruption problems, Awuah saw education as an opportunity to reverse its fortunes by investing in the next generation of African leaders.... View Details

Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Higher Education; Entrepreneurship; Leadership Development; Growth Management; Mission and Purpose; Private Ownership; Education Industry; Ghana

November 1996 (Revised February 1997)
Case

Historical Society of Pennsylvania, The

By: Stephen A. Greyser and Stephanie L. Woerner

The Historical Society of Pennsylvania (HSP) runs one of the nation's most important research libraries and a museum focusing on colonial history. Financial analysis shows that the society has absorbed increased costs of operation over the past decade through slow but... View Details

Keywords: Finance; Cost; Human Resources; Leadership Style; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Managerial Roles; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Strategy; Pennsylvania

January 2024
Case

Flashfood: The Magic of Commitment

By: Reza Satchu and Patrick Sanguineti

Josh Domingues had accomplished what countless young entrepreneurs long to achieve: founding a promising company that aspires to make the world a tangibly better place. Shocked to learn that international food waste cumulatively amounted to the world’s third largest... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Founder; Startup; Business Model; Business Startups; Food; Applications and Software; Mission and Purpose; Environmental Sustainability; Canada

07 Mar 2014
Blog Post

Let’s Go! Highlights from the Dynamic Women in Business Conference

equality issues have been generating an enormous amount of dialogue in the past few years, and the purpose of this year’s conference was to leverage the positive wellspring from this discourse toward action. With the theme "Let’s... View Details

01 Jun 1998
News

Devtosh Khare

broad perspective on the world, but it has also left him with a strong desire to reestablish his Indian roots. "I have a commitment to India," he explains. "I want to start my own business there - something that will have an impact on people's lives." Such clarity of... View Details

Keywords: Orna Feldman photograph by Webb Chappell

Web

HBSGrid Terms of Service - Research Computing Services

properly protected. Please review the full list of policies at http://security.harvard.edu (Click “Policy” in the banner). These requirements include Use strong passwords and do not share account credentials Use HBS confidential information only for work‐related View Details

Mar 2012
Article

How to Make Finance Work

Once a sleepy old boys' club, the U.S. financial sector is now a dynamic and growing business that attracts the best and the brightest. It is tempting to declare the industry a roaring success. But its purpose is to serve the needs of... View Details

03 Dec 2024
News

From One to Many

my research,” Ferrazzi recently wrote in Forbes online. “Work today happens fluidly in networked teams, and the performance of these teams is powered by purposeful relationships.” That realization powers Ferrazzi’s recently published... View Details

02 Sep 2015
News

Voting for Optimism in Baltimore

able to do that, especially from places like Baltimore. In Authentic Leadership Development, I realized my purpose is to bring realistic optimism to worthy causes. And if I’m going to do that, I have to start in my own home and my own... View Details

Keywords: April White; Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities; Government

01 Dec 2019
News

Organic Matter

above: Neil Black (left) and N. Ross Buckenham at a California Bioenergy partner dairy in Bakersfield, California (photo by Christina Gandolfo) Cars and coal—not cows—are most frequently cited as drivers of climate change. But bovine burps and manure are also... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; green business; agriculture; alternative energy; Agriculture

21 Aug 2006
Research & Ideas

How Europe Wrote the Rules of Global Finance

and prudential regulations, careful sequencing, and caution. The proposal to amend the IMF's Articles of Agreement to give the organization jurisdiction over the capital account policies of members and endow it with the purpose of... View Details

Keywords: by Ann Cullen

November 2024
Background Note

Nonprofit Governance: Some Basics

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

This background note discusses basics about the prevalence, purpose, and unique legal, governance and regulatory dynamics of nonprofits and their boards of directors. The note describes both similarities and differences between for-profit and non-profit governance,... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Leadership; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Governing and Advisory Boards; United States

May–June 2023
Article

Should Your Start-up Be For-profit or Nonprofit?: A Guide for Social Entrepreneurs

By: Cait Brumme and Brian Trelstad

Years ago the line between nonprofit and for-profit enterprises was clear, but that has changed. Nonprofits now offer products that compete with those of the best for-profits, and for-profits can deliver as much social value as charities. Despite the blurred... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Social Entrepreneurship; Mission and Purpose; Nonprofit Organizations; For-Profit Firms; Decision Choices and Conditions