Publications

Research Summary

Cost Management and Management Control Systems in Hospitals

By: V.G. Narayanan

Hospitals tend not to have very good cost accounting and control systems. More broadly, there is enormous opportunity for managing costs and aligning incentives in the health care industry. I am studying how cost accounting methods can be used to... View Details

06 Apr 2023
Blog Post

Bringing Music to the HBS Classroom: My Journey as a Nontraditional Student in the Summer Venture in Management Program

that my skill set was not aligned with the demands of business school, let alone a highly-acclaimed institution like Harvard. My undergraduate experience was predominantly made up of developing in-depth technical and lyrical proficiency... View Details

October 2011 (Revised July 2013)
Case

Delta/Signal Corp.

By: V.G. Narayanan, Lisa Brem and Matthew Packard

This auto parts company has just ousted its longtime CEO and founder, and the new, professional CEO is badly in need of a coherent strategy, clear objectives and metrics, and initiatives that are aligned with the strategy and objectives. Will the balanced scorecard... View Details

Keywords: Balanced Scorecard; Business Strategy; Financial Reporting; Leading Change; Performance Evaluation; Growth and Development Strategy; Web Services Industry; Auto Industry

17 Jul 2017
Blog Post

HBS Summer Interns: Discover Their Career Passions

Meet four Class of 2018 students who share the career criteria that drove their internship searches, and how their respective organizations aligned with their passions. Accepting a summer internship at Nike, Ross Galloway wanted to... View Details

Keywords: Consulting; Technology; Manufacturing; Consumer Products / Retail

08 Oct 2012
News

Get employees behind your unified strategy

10 Feb 2015
News

Firms need a formal code of conduct

01 May 2025
Blog Post

HBS Career Journeys | Katie Kochert (MBA 2024)

Katie Kochert (MBA 2024) reflects on her transition from the military to business school, leveraging CPD coaching and 12twenty to navigate offer negotiations and secure a role aligned with her goals. View Details

01 Mar 2018
News

New Marketplace Survey: Payers and Providers Remain Far Apart

17 Jul 2017
Video

HBS Summer Interns: Discover Their Career Passions

February 2017 (Revised February 2022)
Background Note

Creating and Sustaining Competitive Advantage

By: Eric Van den Steen

This note gives students a systematic and comprehensive framework for analyzing and developing competitive advantage. It pays explicit attention to both creating and sustaining advantage and considers both alignment and assets as sources of advantage. View Details

Keywords: Scope; Scale; Competitive Dynamics; Value Proposition; Bargaining Power; Competitive Advantage; Assets; Alignment; Business Strategy; Design

07 Jun 2014
Video

Aamir Rehman - Making A Difference

12 Apr 2022
Blog Post

The Many Languages of Medicine to Impact Care Delivery

decision. On the other hand, at the Harvard Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology department, we interrogate scientific papers and consider the business case for the commercialization of cutting-edge science. Both programs surgically align... View Details

February 2012
Case

Kent Chemical: Organizing for International Growth

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Laura Winig

In July 2008, Luis Morales, president of Kent Chemical International, is proposing a third reorganization effort after two failed attempts to better align his business with its U.S.-based parent company. With a global expansion strategy placing increasing demands on... View Details

Keywords: International Business; Organizational Change; Multinational Corporations; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Multinational Firms and Management; Organizational Design; Management Practices and Processes; Organizational Structure; Corporate Strategy; Organizational Culture; Global Strategy; Chemical Industry; United States

Article

Employee Selection as a Control System

By: Dennis Campbell

Theories from the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study... View Details

Keywords: Management Systems; Governance Controls; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Motivation and Incentives; Decision Making; Business Model

Find at Harvard

15 Nov 2010
Lessons from the Classroom

Connecting Goals and Go-To-Market Initiatives

In some respects, developing strategy is the easy part. Executing that strategy in alignment with strategic priorities is where real mastery of management takes place. We asked Harvard Business School senior lecturer Frank V. Cespedes,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

2010
Working Paper

Employee Selection as a Control System

By: Dennis Campbell

Theories from the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Decision Making; Governance Controls; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Management Systems; Financial Services Industry