Publications

May 2021
Case

Career at a Crossroads? (A)

By: James K. Sebenius and Alex Green

A career professional at a major consumer goods company, Kym Lew Nelson is hoping to negotiate a promotion to vice president, which would make her one of the senior-most African American women in the organization. But when Nelson’s white German boss arrives in the... View Details

Keywords: Culture; Negotiation; Race; Gender; Organizational Culture; Prejudice and Bias; United States

August 13, 2022
Article

A Historic Opportunity for Universal Health Coverage in India

By: Vikram Patel, Shubhangi Bhadada, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, Arnab Mukherji, Tarun Khanna and Gagandeep Kang

The milestone of India's 75th anniversary of independence on Aug 15, 2022, offers an opportunity to reassert the country's commitment to realising universal health coverage (UHC). The first such effort predates independence, with the 1946 Bhore Committee report.... View Details

Keywords: Universal Health Coverage; COVID-19 Pandemic; Health Care and Treatment; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Health Industry; India

Read Now

08 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

The Rise of Employee Analytics: Productivity Dream or Micromanagement Nightmare?

employee and customer data. And new laws may be on the horizon, shaping how organizations respond. “How you put this into practice,” Polzer says, “matters a lot.” You Might Also Like: When Bias Creeps into AI, Managers Can Stop It by... View Details

Keywords: by Ben Rand

February 1990 (Revised March 1990)
Case

Quantum Semiconductor, Inc.

By: Janice H. Hammond and Roy D. Shapiro

Quantum is faced with a difficult ethical dilemma--industry studies provide evidence that chemicals used in semiconductor manufacturing may cause women working in fabrication cleanrooms to suffer a higher likelihood of spontaneous abortions. The possibility of other... View Details

Keywords: Safety; Prejudice and Bias; Law; Equality and Inequality; Cost; Production; Ethics; Health; Gender; Semiconductor Industry

November 2007 (Revised July 2009)
Case

Differences at Work: Martin (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

Martin, a gay man who was not out at his Italian firm, witnesses his division manager deliver a homophobic comment to his boss. He wonders what he should do. View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Behavior; Managerial Roles; Ethics; Gender; Diversity; Power and Influence

December 2020
Supplement

Video Interview with Maxeme Tuchman

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Four diverse women entrepreneurs launched their ventures in a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that was part of a shift to a creative technology-driven economy for Miami. Although Miami was rated the #1 U.S. city for startups in 2017, the region contained structural... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Female Entrepreneur; Racism; Sexism; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Diversity; Gender; Race; Prejudice and Bias; City; Culture; Miami

November 2007 (Revised October 2008)
Case

Differences at Work: Will (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

A colleague makes a stereotypical remark about gays that Will, an out gay man, knows to be wrong. He struggles with how to correct the senior colleague. View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Behavior; Ethics; Employees; Gender; Diversity; Power and Influence

January 2021
Teaching Note

Shellye Archambeau: Becoming a CEO

By: Tsedal Neeley

Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 420-071 and 420-073. View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Race; Gender; Leadership Style; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Prejudice and Bias; Decision Making; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; California

26 Jul 2016
First Look

July 26, 2016

selfish intentions leading to desirable outcomes were presented jointly rather than separately (Experiment 1). Separate evaluation reduced the outcome bias even when participants were merely observers unaffected by the outcomes reached... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Dec 2016
First Look

December 13, 2016

racial, gender, and other forms of bias that affect the off-line world. And in the early days of Internet commerce, the relative anonymity of transactions did make it harder for participants to discriminate. But as listings began to... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

05 Feb 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Stereotypes and Belief Updating

Keywords: by Katherine B. Coffman, Manuela Collis, and Leena Kulkarni

June 2020 (Revised September 2020)
Case

Shellye Archambeau: Becoming a CEO (A)

By: Tsedal Neeley and John Masko

With the economy in a freefall, MetricStream is losing customers, hemorrhaging cash and struggling to make payroll. Several board members are threatening to quit. Others are pressing to sell the company even at dismally low valuations. It’s 2008 and lightning has... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Race; Gender; Leadership Style; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Prejudice and Bias; Decision Making; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; California

October 2020 (Revised April 2021)
Case

Women Entrepreneurs and Tech Ecosystems: One City, Two Realities, and Four Diverse Women

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Four diverse women entrepreneurs launched their ventures in a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that was part of a shift to a creative technology-driven economy for Miami. Although Miami was rated the #1 U.S. city for startups in 2017, the region contained structural... View Details

Keywords: Female Entrepreneur; Entrepreneurial Ecosystems; Inclusion; Innovation ＆ Entrepreneurship; Racism; Sexism; Start-up; Entrepreneurship; Business Startups; Diversity; Gender; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Innovation and Invention; City; Culture; Miami

29 Jan 2019
First Look

New Research and Ideas, January 29, 2019

the concept of sustainability itself. It appears that overcoming these roadblocks will require systematic interventions and alternative normative concepts. Download working paper: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55541 The Impact of Penalties for Wrong... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

Article

Racial Inequality in Organizations: A Systems Psychodynamic Perspective

By: Sanaz Mobasseri, William A. Kahn and Robin J. Ely

This paper uses systems psychodynamic concepts to develop theory about the persistence of racial inequality in U.S. organizations and to inform an approach for disrupting it. We treat White men as the dominant group and Black people as the archetypal subordinate group... View Details

Keywords: Equality and Inequality; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Organizational Culture; Gender; Power and Influence; Employees; Attitudes

December 2020 (Revised April 2021)
Teaching Note

Women Entrepreneurs and Tech Ecosystems: One City, Two Realities, and Four Diverse Women

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Joyce J. Kim

Four diverse women entrepreneurs launched their ventures in a thriving entrepreneurial ecosystem that was part of a shift to a creative technology-driven economy for Miami. Although Miami was rated the #1 U.S. city for startups in 2017, the region contained structural... View Details

Keywords: Women; Racism; Black Entrepreneurs; Entrepreneurship; Diversity; Gender; Race; Prejudice and Bias; Innovation and Invention; City; Culture; Miami

June 2020
Supplement

Shellye Archambeau: Becoming a CEO (B)

By: Tsedal Neeley and Briana Richardson

With the economy in a freefall, MetricStream is losing customers, hemorrhaging cash and struggling to make payroll. Several board members are threatening to quit. Others are pressing to sell the company even at dismally low valuations. It’s 2008 and lightning has... View Details

Keywords: Race; Gender; Leadership Style; Risk and Uncertainty; Change; Prejudice and Bias; Decision Making; Personal Development and Career; Technology Industry; California