Waste Management - Publications - Faculty & Research

16 Jul 2013
First Look

First Look: July 16

author cites a number of companies that have moved toward or into what he calls "the efficiency frontier." These include Sarvajal, in India, which saves money and eliminates waste by selling direct to customers through its... View Details

Keywords: Anna Secino

21 Aug 2013
Research & Ideas

What Went Wrong at J.C. Penney?

home goods. It was particularly well known for home goods and children's ware. And once the family went there, they also shopped for men's and women's apparel, which accounted for almost half of sales. They had a very strong private label program, and to their credit,... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Aisner; Retail

05 Oct 2020
Book

Want to Be Happier? Make More Free Time

socialize and exercise rather than work longer hours, add up to a lot of time. And our choices powerfully shape whether we’re happy or not.” Here, Whillans shares six research-based strategies for managing the minutes on the clock, all... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

22 Jul 2002
Research & Ideas

Is Performance-Based Pricing the Right Price for You?

successful deployment by credible players (e.g., EDS in systems integration and outsourcing, services such as waste cleanup and welfare recipient job placement for government agencies, and many advertisers and advertising agencies), it is... View Details

Keywords: by Benson Shapiro; Manufacturing

22 Oct 2007
Research & Ideas

Bringing ‘Lean’ Principles to Service Industries

the line, are not directly replicable in software as there is no line to stop. "What we hope to do," Upton says, "is to distill the relevant aspects of lean manufacturing so that managers can see how these tools were... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Computer

14 Feb 2012
First Look

First Look: February 14

creating psychological safety, and overcoming defensive interpersonal dynamics that inhibit the sharing of ideas. Further, they can use practical management strategies to help organizations realize the benefits inherent in both success... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

31 May 2004
Research & Ideas

How Team Leaders Show Support–or Not

not appropriate for the team member); not providing enough clarity about an assignment; changing assignments or objectives too frequently; giving assignments that conflict with other management instructions); and (3) dealing with problems... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

03 Oct 2005
Research & Ideas

The Truck Driver Who Reinvented Shipping

looking at a lot of wasted time and money. I watched them take each crate off the truck and slip it into a sling, which would then lift the crate into the hold of the ship." It would be nineteen years before McLean converted his... View Details

Keywords: by Anthony J. Mayo & Nitin Nohria; Manufacturing; Transportation; Aerospace

08 Feb 2023
Op-Ed

Building an Inclusive Workplace? Prepare to Shield It from Economic Fears

you’re not accustomed to reflection, it might feel weird, like you’re wasting time. But you would be wrong. In fact, reflection helps leaders make better decisions faster. Leaders must constantly assess a dynamic environment to gain... View Details

Keywords: by Hise O. Gibson and Nicole Gilmore

18 Nov 2002
Research & Ideas

Where Morals and Profits Meet: The Corporate Value Shift

ethics at its core is about excellence and high attainment rather than misdeeds and malfeasance. But we do pay attention to misconduct, and I have seen many types over the years—from the garden-variety deceptions and betrayals that sap morale and View Details

Keywords: by Carla Tishler

30 Apr 2020
Book

Fighting Climate Change Requires a New Capitalism

Rebecca Henderson spent her young adult years living two lives. At work, she preached the risks of resisting change to MBA students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, drawing on lessons she learned while watching factories close as a management consultant.... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Energy

28 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Investor Lawsuits Against Auditors Are Falling, and That's Bad News for Capital Markets

when big scandals happen, like Enron and WorldCom, the weak link often turns out to be auditors. Managers are mostly truth-tellers but have incentives to embellish and sometimes commit fraud. So we rely on auditors to mitigate that... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Financial Services; Accounting

27 Jun 2011
Research & Ideas

Recovering from the Need to Achieve

real sense of purpose and a "flatness"—in career and in life. They often go through patches of life without creating or enhancing meaningful relationships, and even lack strength to deal with life's failures. A former chief development officer and View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

31 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

American Idle: Workers Spend Too Much Time Waiting for Something to Do

example, at a call center in which the number of calls fluctuates. In other cases, however, managers may allocate work poorly, leaving employees with nothing to do, or equipment could malfunction or break down, leaving workers unable to... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

03 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 3

achieved something, however small. If the person drags out of the office disengaged and joyless, a setback is likely to blame. This progress principle suggests that managers have more influence than they may realize over employees'... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

26 May 2003
Research & Ideas

When Silence Spells Trouble at Work

every interaction, shut down creativity, and undermine productivity. Take the case of Jeff, a team leader at a Fortune 100 company who was working on a large, long-term, high-pressure project. Each Tuesday, Jeff and his peers had a project View Details

Keywords: by Leslie A. Perlow

15 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

GM: What Went Wrong and What’s Next

Much of the substance of 20th century management was worked out at GM. Let's hope that crisis will summon the will to make the changes that are needed. If not, the next Detroit may be in China, and sooner than we think. Joseph L. Bower,... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

10 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

The COVID Two-Step for Leaders: Protect and Pivot

[This is the fifth installment in a monthly series on management issues in the time of COVID-19.] We have asked approximately 600 CEOs to share with us the most pressing challenges that are keeping them awake at night in the midst of the... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Katherine Connolly Baden

24 Jul 2007
First Look

First Look: July 24, 2007

industrial ecology literature that highlights the environmental benefits of by-product synergy. By-product synergy is defined as the conversion of a firm's waste stream from a manufacturing process into valuable feedstock for another... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

28 Apr 2009
First Look

First Look: April 28, 2009

are discussed. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-080.pdf Turning Waste into By-Product (revised) Author:Deishin Lee Abstract We determine, in a competitive setting, the optimal operating regimes for a firm that... View Details