Publications

19 Mar 2006
Research & Ideas

Do I Dare Say Something?

as the degree to which an organization is hierarchical or egalitarian, or has explicit mechanisms for inviting upward input (e.g., suggestion boxes, regularly-scheduled meetings, surveys). Our research adds the finding that specific... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

01 Dec 2018
News

A Force for Good

Photo courtesy of Ananth Kasturiraman Photo courtesy of Ananth Kasturiraman There is no shortage of evidence demonstrating that the hiring process is one of the ways in which economic inequalities are perpetuated. Take, for example, the... View Details

March 16, 2020
Article

15 Questions About Remote Work, Answered

By: Tsedal Neeley

How should corporate leaders, managers and individual workers shift to remote work in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic? Tsedal Neeley, a professor at Harvard Business School, has spent two decades helping companies learn how to manage dispersed teams. In this... View Details

Keywords: Coronavirus Pandemic; Remote Work; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Management Practices and Processes

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June 2016
Case

Macy's Reinvents Its Millennial Business

By: Boris Groysberg and Sarah L. Abbott

Molly Langenstein, Macy’s executive vice president for fashion and new business development, and members of Macy’s senior team were rethinking the company’s approach to serving millennial customers, customers born between the years of 1980 and 2000. To tackle this... View Details

Keywords: Marketing; Marketing Strategy; Age; Organizational Structure; Organizational Culture; Business Processes; Fashion Industry; Retail Industry

01 Mar 2005
News

One-on-One with Edwin Reed

application process is open, and qualified buyers are selected on the basis of lotteries and other methods. Our projects attract and retain people in the neighborhood, which contributes to stability, further investment, and a broader tax... View Details

Keywords: Mary Ellen Gardner; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations

April 2011 (Revised January 2019)
Case

Talismark

By: Richard S. Ruback and Royce Yudkoff

Talismark, which helped its customers manage their waste, was considering re-engineering its business fundamentals to dramatically increase profitability by changing its sales and information processes. Implementing the changes would be expensive and would interrupt... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Business Processes; Information Management; Sales; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Wastes and Waste Processing

01 Jun 2010
News

Get Well Soon

story as well, because the senior team is tackling important problems and engaging people throughout the organization in solving them.” One of the key players is Dr. Uma Kotagal, a neonatologist with a deep-seated passion for improving... View Details

Keywords: Julia Hanna; Ambulatory Health Care Services; Health, Social Assistance

June 2008 (Revised January 2012)
Background Note

Solving a Problem or Sounding the Alarm? Guidelines on Blowing the Whistle

By: Lynn S. Paine and Lara Adamsons

Many of us will at some point in our professional lives encounter situations involving what we believe to be wrongful or injurious activities that may cause harm to innocent parties, our company, or the public. It may be necessary to bring the matter to the attention... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Business Processes; Behavior

August 2009 (Revised February 2011)
Background Note

Managing Organizational Human Capital: Research Resources

By: Boris Groysberg and Ann Cullen

This technical note provides a list of library resources for researching various aspects of managing human capital within organizations. View Details

Keywords: Human Resources; Human Capital; Management Practices and Processes; Organizations; Research

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1999
Chapter

Effective Oversight: A Guide for Nonprofit Directors?

By: R. E. Herzlinger

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Management Skills; Management Practices and Processes

02 Jul 2010
What Do You Think?

Is Profit as a “Direct Goal” Overrated?

discussed earlier in this column, of George Ackerlof and Dan Ariely? What do you think? Original Article H.L. Mencken once said, "For every problem there is a solution that is simple, direct and wrong." This brings to mind experiences with leaders of the most... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

February 1999 (Revised April 1999)
Case

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC Nigeria (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Hal Hogan

Fola Adeola, the CEO of Nigeria's Guaranty Trust Bank and one of its founders in 1991, is considering what should be done to maintain the bank's original vision and vitality in the face of its rapid growth and success in the marketplace. Known for its high ethical... View Details

Keywords: Banks and Banking; Organizational Culture; Ethics; Planning; Expansion; Business Processes; Law; Banking Industry; Nigeria

23 May 2000
Research & Ideas

Minding the Muse: The Impact of Downsizing on Corporate Creativity

challenging assignments, adequate resources, supportive work groups, management that places a premium on creativity, and project leaders who understand the creative process and have strong communications skills. At the other end of the... View Details

Keywords: by Peter K. Jacobs

01 Feb 2002
News

Church on Sunday, Work on Monday

than more, engagement of the institutional church in economics," note Nash and McLennan. "But we do argue that the church should help businesspeople develop a process for personally engaging their faith in the management arena." The book... View Details

Keywords: Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations; Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations

February 2017 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Sarah Powers at Automated Precision Products

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Michael Norris, Julia Kelley and Kristina Tobio

In 2017, Sarah Powers, VP of Sales at an automation hardware firm, is trying to understand why some members of her sales team have been underperforming. She is tasked with analyzing her firm’s email and calendar data to try to find relationships between communications... View Details

Keywords: People Analytics; Sales Attainment; Communication Networks; Data; Human Resources; Business Processes; Sales; Communication; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

08 Oct 2010
What Do You Think?

Will Transparency in CEO Compensation Have Unintended Consequences?

Often the CEO is portrayed as 'the only person in the world who could do this job' You can thank the financial press for this mystique." In pointing out the futility of the effort, Rebecca West commented that "the current exclusionary View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

July 2001 (Revised February 2003)
Case

Recall 2000: Bridgestone Corp. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine

In September 2000, the president of Bridgestone-Firestone, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Bridgestone Corp., was invited to appear before a U.S. congressional subcommittee investigating the August 2000 recall of more than 6.5 million tires made by the subsidiary. The... View Details

Keywords: History; Crisis Management; Business Processes; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry; Rubber Industry; Japan; United States