Publications

February 2004 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Hewlett-Packard: Culture in Changing Times

By: Michael Beer, Rakesh Khurana and James Weber

HP had been a highly successful and respected company for decades. It was well known for its company culture and management practices--the HP way--which emphasized both profits and people. Changing markets, strong competitors, and the growth of its computer business,... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Decision Choices and Conditions; Human Resources; Leading Change; Managerial Roles; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Performance Effectiveness; Adoption; Competition

04 Nov 2002
Research & Ideas

From Lone Star to Team Player

When does a star performer become a corporate nightmare? And what can you do about it? HBS Working Knowledge's Mallory Stark conducted this e-mail interview with Morten Hansen.Stark: Can you describe what you mean by "lone... View Details

Keywords: by Mallory Stark

13 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

From Turf Wars to Learning Curves: How Hospitals Adopt New Technology

in many cases, perform identical procedures in two or more hospitals during the course of a given week. We have found that this movement has negative effects on the degree to which surgeons are able to... View Details

Keywords: by Sara Grant; Health

February 2003 (Revised April 2003)
Case

Roman Catholic Diocese of San Jose, The

By: Allen S. Grossman and Christina Darwall

Patrick J. McGrath, the bishop of the healthy and growing San Jose diocese, is pioneering the use of long-term, business-like strategic planning to better deliver on his churches' core mission. The adopted plan addresses issues at the heart of how the diocese is... View Details

Keywords: Financial Management; Innovation Strategy; Leadership; Growth Management; Success; Performance Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges

February 2003
Background Note

Identity Issues in Teams

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer and Hillary Anger Elfenbein

This note explains how identity dynamics underlie many of the observable interpersonal problems that team members encounter, ranging from lack of participation and low involvement to misunderstandings and dysfunctional emotional conflict. It provides a framework for... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Managerial Roles; Outcome or Result; Performance Effectiveness; Groups and Teams; Conflict and Resolution; Emotions; Identity

30 Jun 2009
First Look

First Look: June 30

to examine the effects of team familiarity and variation in experience on multiple measures of performance for software development projects. In most cases, we do not find evidence of a significant main... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

August 2006 (Revised May 2007)
Case

Management Levels at Staples (A): Company and Organization

By: David A. Garvin and Lynne Levesque

One of six cases that describe the roles and responsibilities of managers at each of the hierarchical levels of management within the U.S. Stores business unit of Staples, the world's largest office supply company. Together, the cases form a complete integrated... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Leadership; Management Practices and Processes; Managerial Roles; Operations; Performance Effectiveness; Strategic Planning; Perspective; Retail Industry

15 Oct 2001
Research & Ideas

Rethinking E-Leadership

you don't model the importance of sweating the details. Downturns expose the weaknesses in your internal systems, observes Chuang. Technical expertise—the ability to solve cash flow problems, interpret what customers are really saying, or set up View Details

Keywords: by Melissa Raffoni

03 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Who Guarantees Your Workplace Is Safe for Return?

As we start to think about returning to work, shopping, and recreation, there is much talk about transformed workplaces and innovative social distancing designs. But how will companies, workers, and customers have confidence that these new measures will actually be... View Details

Keywords: by John Macomber and Joseph Allen; Real Estate

14 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

New Agenda for Corporate Accountability Reporting

How do you measure corporate accountability? And can you do it credibly? Since the financial crisis of 2008-2009, for-profit corporations are facing greater demand to disclose more than revenues and expenses on annual financial reports. In response, some are pointing... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Accounting; Energy; Utilities

20 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: December 20

high degree of variance. These findings suggest that different cultural value orientations exert different patterns of effects on the performance of self-managing multicultural teams, depending on the stage... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

22 Mar 2017
Research & Ideas

What's the Ideal Frequency for a Sales Quota?

quota. This raises a key question for sales managers: What kind of quota is the most motivating? Could salesforce performance be kick-started if that quota incentive was delivered more frequently? The answer is contained in a new paper,... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

05 Jul 2016
First Look

July 5, 2016

and lowest quality. Our results underscore the importance of considering dynamic effects in the economic analysis of tort laws. Performance Feedback in Competitive Product Development By: Gross, Daniel P.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2009 (Revised September 2009)
Case

Investing in Early Learning as Economic Development at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank

By: Stacey M. Childress and Geoff Eckman Marietta

In his role as Senior Vice President and Director of Research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis (Minneapolis Fed), Art Rolnick and his colleague, Rob Grunewald, had written "Early Childhood Development: Economic Development with a High Public Return." The... View Details

Keywords: Development Economics; Early Childhood Education; Investment Return; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Performance Effectiveness; Nonprofit Organizations; Minneapolis; Saint Paul

Article

A Blueprint for Pharmacy Benefits Managers to Increase Value

By: William Shrank, Michael E. Porter, Sachin H. Jain and Niteesh K. Choudhary

Pharmacy benefits managers (PBMs) have a unique opportunity to promote public health and generate value in the healthcare system. However, PBMs are largely evaluated on their ability to control costs rather than improve health. PBMs should be evaluated along three... View Details

Keywords: Opportunities; Health; System; Cost Management; Partners and Partnerships; Motivation and Incentives; Value; Innovation and Invention; Performance Effectiveness; Health Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

Find at Harvard

May 1998 (Revised October 2001)
Case

Taco Bell Inc. (1983-1994)

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Leonard A. Schlesinger and Dave DeLong

Details the actions of John Martin, newly named CEO, as he leads Taco Bell through a decade of incremental and radical changes. By the end of the case, total system sales within Taco Bell, a Mexican style fast-food restaurant chain and a division of PepsiCo, have grown... View Details

Keywords: Business Subsidiaries; Transformation; Economic Growth; Food; Leadership Style; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Design; Performance Effectiveness; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry; Mexico