Publications

October 1979 (Revised January 1983)
Background Note

IBM Corp., Background Note

Describes some aspects of how the senior managers of IBM conducted its affairs. Much of this note is a factual description of the design of the organization and of the formal process by which members of the organization worked together. Also contains excerpts from... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Management Teams; Computer Industry; United States

Find at Harvard

December 2010
Teaching Note

The Export-Import Bank of the United States (TN)

By: C. Fritz Foley and Matthew Johnson

Teaching Note for 211032. View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Financing and Loans; Sales; Problems and Challenges; Credit; Markets; Innovation and Invention; Organizational Structure; Value; Banking Industry; Banking Industry; United States; United Arab Emirates

January 2011 (Revised July 2019)
Case

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

By: Stuart C. Gilson and Sarah L. Abbott

One of the leading publishers of textbooks and other educational materials for the U.S. K-12 educational instruction market has suffered a dramatic decline in sales and profits in the wake of the 2008-2009 financial market crisis and economic recession, and is now... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Capital Structure; Financial Crisis; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Decision Choices and Conditions; Publishing Industry; Massachusetts

27 May 2014
First Look

First Look: May 27

http://bit.ly/BuySocialzStrategyBook August 2013 Marketing Letters Structural Models of Complementary Choices By: Berry, Steven, Ahmed Khwaja, Vineet Kumar, Andres Musalem, Kenneth C. Wilbur, Greg Allenby, Bharat Anand, et al.... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2019 (Revised February 2025)
Case

A Conversation with Ellen J. Kullman, Chairman & CEO of DuPont, 2009-2015

By: Lynn S. Paine and Will Hurwitz

Ellen J. Kullman, the retired Chairman and CEO of DuPont, describes how she guided the storied science and technology company through a contentious proxy battle with activist investor Trian Partners, which acquired DuPont shares in 2013 and sought to break up the... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Capital Structure; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Institutional Investing; Leadership; Leadership Style; Management; Transformation; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Chemical Industry; United States

11 Oct 2016
First Look

October 11, 2016

behavior; (3) a top-down or laissez-faire style by the leader, which prevents honest conversation about problems; (4) a lack of coordination across businesses, functions, or regions due to poor organizational design; (5) inadequate... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

19 Mar 2013
First Look

First Look: March 19

depending on the characteristics of the applications market. Second, giving open access to one side in a proprietary platform may lead to fewer users and developers and to lower investment, relative to a platform with closed access to both sides. Third, the View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

August 1993
Case

Nestle S.A.: International Marketing (B)

By: John A. Quelch

Describes organization changes announced by Nestle's chariman in 1991 and updates the description of Nestle's marketing organization. View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Marketing Strategy; Organizational Structure; Globalization; Consumer Products Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Switzerland

September 2012
Case

Ringier - Building a Digital-Age Media Company

By: Felix Oberholzer-Gee

Overview of the strategic re-orientation and diversification of Ringier, a Swiss based media company, as they confront the challenges of staying competitive and profitable in the new and increasingly digital media landscape. View Details

Keywords: Media And Publishing; Publishing; Media; Organizational Structure; Strategy; Diversification; Publishing Industry; Publishing Industry; Switzerland

15 May 2012
Panel Discussion

Capitalism at Risk

By: Lynn S. Paine and Joseph L. Bower

Keywords: Capital Markets; Innovation; Capital Structure; Innovation Leadership; Consumer Products Industry

28 Oct 2008
First Look

First Look: October 28, 2008

important predictor of product performance, product variety, process flexibility and industry evolution. We explore this relationship in the software industry by use of a technique called Design View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

May 1993 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Connor Formed Metal Products

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Donna B. Stoddard and Melinda Conrad

Connor Formed Metal Products was a small, privately owned manufacturer of custom metal springs and stampings. Since becoming president in 1984, Bob Sloss had implemented many changes to the company's organizational structure, management control systems, and information... View Details

Keywords: Private Ownership; Organizational Structure; Production; Change; Governance Controls; Information Technology; Manufacturing Industry

June 2011
Case

Changes to Harvard University's Governing Board

By: Rakesh Khurana and Eric Baldwin

This case examines the decision made by the governing board of Harvard University, known as the Harvard Corporation, to alter its size and operations. The case provides background on Harvard's history, its existing governance structure, and some of the issues that... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Change Management; Decisions; Education Industry

March 2011
Teaching Note

First Boston's Union Carbide Deal: Acquiring a New Client (TN)

By: Robert G. Eccles and Penny Rossano

Teaching Note for 897201. View Details

Keywords: Governing and Advisory Boards; Negotiation Offer; Investment Banking; Relationships; Revenue; Capital Structure; Chemical Industry

08 Apr 2009
Research & Ideas

Clayton Christensen on Disrupting Health Care

coordinated change. Who is responsible for leading the way? A: We hope policymakers in Washington will give our approach consideration, but to transform a complicated industry like this, you need buy-in from... View Details

Keywords: by Deborah Blagg; Health

July 1995 (Revised May 1997)
Case

Nutra Foods

By: David F. Hawkins

An investor reviews his equity investment and asks for help in understanding how the stock splits and dividends impact his investment and the company's stockholders' equity portion of the balance sheet. View Details

Keywords: History; Financial Management; Private Equity; Capital Structure; Valuation; Investment Return; Business and Shareholder Relations; Financial Services Industry; Financial Services Industry