Publications

Leonard A. Schlesinger is Baker Foundation Professor at the Harvard Business School where he serves as Chair of the School’s Practice based faculty and faculty Chair of the MBA Field Global Immersion program. He has served as a member of the HBS faculty from 1978 to... View Details

October 2000 (Revised October 2001)
Case

adM@rt(A)

By: F. Warren McFarlan, Carin-Isabel Knoop and David Lane

Describes the complex policy alternatives facing an online Hong Kong grocery company as it tries to apply Webvan-type concepts in the Hong Kong marketplace. Captures the extraordinary process of adaptation the company is going through as it tries to find the right... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Markets; Marketing; Business Strategy; Business Model; Decisions; Problems and Challenges; Retail Industry; Web Services Industry; Hong Kong

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Monique Burns Thompson is an accomplished social entrepreneur who returns to HBS (class of 1993) and brings her twenty years of successful start-up and organizational leadership experience to her research and teaching at HBS. She has led as a co-founder, President,... View Details

February 1990
Supplement

Ashland Oil, Inc.: Trouble at Floreffe (D)

Addresses repercussions of the accident on the company including ongoing clean-up efforts, litigation, and organizational changes. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Lawsuits and Litigation; Crisis Management

June 1992 (Revised March 2006)
Case

Concordia Casting Company

By: F. Warren McFarlan

Describes five years of development in a centralized data processing activity serving a highly decentralized corporation. Data processing manager discovers that a major software system conversion is a full year behind schedule, and subsequently makes several managerial... View Details

Keywords: Analytics and Data Science; Applications and Software; System; Information Technology; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leadership Style; Leading Change; Human Resources; Conflict and Resolution; Supply Chain Management; Accounting; Auto Industry

08 Feb 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Team Scaffolds: How Minimal In-Group Structures Support Fast-Paced Teaming

Keywords: by Melissa A. Valentine & Amy C. Edmondson

July 1997
Case

Allentown Materials Corporation: The Electronic Products Division (B)

By: Michael Beer

Focuses on the recommendations and implementation strategy made by the organizational development group to address the division's problems. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Electronics Industry; United States

25 Apr 2024
Blog Post

Climate Stories: Water Series - Episode #18: Tom Ferguson (MBA 2014) Venture Capitalist and Water Evangelist

said, “HBS changed my life. The Socratic method made so much sense to me and I married someone whom I met in analytics, so .” Anticipating his 10th HBS reunion, Tom has become an ardent evangelist for water... View Details

07 Jun 2011
First Look

First Look: June 7

operates. Through text narrative, cases, and readings, the authors skillfully examine the development of strategy, organizational capabilities, and management challenges for... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Teaching

Overview

Ryann has extensive teaching experience in varied instructional settings. She was appointed the Qualitative Advisor for the Harvard University Sociology Department senior thesis writers in 2015-2016, and supervised two senior thesis writers in prior years. She served... View Details

October 2020 (Revised December 2020)
Case

Investing at Pivotal Ventures

By: Emil N. Siriwardane, Emily R. McComb and Eren Kuzucu

Launched in 2015 by Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Pivotal Ventures is an investment and incubation company. The company aims to support and promote transformational ideas, people and organizations, and advance social progress for women... View Details

Keywords: Investment; Management; Mission and Purpose; Venture Capital

10 Jan 2023
Op-Ed

Time to Move On? Career Advice for Entrepreneurs Preparing for the Next Stage

it’s ending a relationship, changing a job or transitioning from a household of kids to an empty nest. When it comes to our employment, we have our last day at an old job on a Friday and start our new job on... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

January 1977 (Revised April 1983)
Case

Corning Glass Works: The Electronic Products Division (B)

By: Michael Beer

Focuses on the recommendations and implementation strategy made by the organizational development group for the electronic product division's problems. View Details

Keywords: Business Divisions; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Problems and Challenges; Adaptation

2018
Speaking truth: Mobilizing Change Through Artistic Expression

How I Found My Voice

April 2010 (Revised January 2013)
Case

Southwest Airlines: In a Different World

By: James L. Heskett and W. Earl Sasser Jr.

This is the fourth in a 35-year series of HBS cases on an organization that has changed the rules of the game globally for an entire industry by offering both differentiated and low-price service. The focus of the case is on whether Southwest Airlines should buy gates... View Details

Keywords: Decision Choices and Conditions; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Competitive Strategy; Air Transportation Industry; New York (city, NY)

March 2014
Article

Choosing the Right Customer

By: Robert Simons

Companies that win in competitive markets identify a primary customer and dedicate maximum resources to meeting that customer's needs. This article will show you how to identify the best primary customer for your business by analyzing perspective, capabilities, and... View Details

Keywords: Strategy Execution; Customer Focus; Organization Design; Accountability; Management Control Systems; Customer Relationship Management; Organizational Design

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January 2013 (Revised March 2013)
Supplement

MuMaté (B-1): Confidential for Maxwell

By: Thomas R. Eisenmann and Alex Godden

MuMaté, a fictional cult beverage company, requires capital to fund national expansion. Its cofounders, who have bootstrapped to this point, are now negotiating with venture capital firms to raise a $3 million funding round. The case describes MuMaté's inception, early... View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Expansion; Negotiation; Valuation; Entrepreneurship; Food and Beverage Industry