Publications

21 Jul 2021
News

A Conversation on Organizational Trust With Punit Renjen

20 Oct 2017
News

At GE, A New Urgency To Return To Industrial Roots

April 2007 (Revised March 2008)
Case

Dr. Iqbal Survé at Sekunjalo Investment Group (A)

By: Linda A. Hill and Emily Stecker

Dr. Iqbal Surve, a self-described "medical doctor, philanthropist, and social entrepreneur," was born in 1963 and grew up in poverty, like virtually all non-white South Africans during apartheid. During the 1970s and 1980s, he served in leadership positions in the ANC,... View Details

Keywords: Crime and Corruption; Social Entrepreneurship; Investment; Leadership; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Partners and Partnerships; South Africa

March 2024 (Revised April 2024)
Case

Coursera's Foray into GenAI

By: Suraj Srinivasan, Michael Parzen and Radhika Kak

In early 2023, Maggioncalda, CEO of US EdTech firm Coursera, launched Project Genesis to develop a strategy for incorporating GenAI capabilities into the firm's offerings, asking his teams to focus on value to the firm and cost of implementation. The team identified... View Details

Keywords: Business Model; AI and Machine Learning; Brands and Branding; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Technological Innovation; Education Industry; Technology Industry; United States

Web

Live from Klarman Hall - Alumni

1:30–2:15 p.m. EST Faculty Moderator: Kristin Mugford , Melvin Tukman Senior Lecturer of Business Administration; Senior Associate Dean for Culture and Community Alumni Speakers: Beverly Anderson (MBA 1997) , CEO and President, BECU ;... View Details

30 Sep 2010
News

Harvard Business School Presents Alumni Achievement Awards

October 2022
Case

An Heir with No Spare: The Deitch Family Office

By: Lauren Cohen and Grace Headinger

Joe and Matt Deitch, father and son, knew it was time to start their own family office. Matthew had recently joined his father at the family’s three enterprises, and they both realized that their family’s needs had grown increasingly complex over the years. In search... View Details

August 1992
Case

Johnson & Johnson in the 1990s

Describes the major challenges facing Ralph Larsen, CEO of Johnson & Johnson since 1989, as he strives to maintain the company's decentralized management structure and at the same time keep the company competitive in the 1990s. View Details

Keywords: Business or Company Management; Organizational Structure; Consumer Products Industry

January 2021
Case

Egon Zehnder: Beyond Search?

By: Ashish Nanda and Margaret Cross

In 2019, Egon Zehnder chair Jill Ader and CEO Edilson Camara faced a critical question: how should the global executive search firm approach its burgeoning advisory service offering? Since 2003, the firm’s advisory practice had grown as a conglomeration of grassroots... View Details

Keywords: Professional Services Firms; Executive Search Firms; Professionalism; Partnership; Executive Coaching; Leadership Development; Expansion; Decision Making; Strategy; Switzerland; London

January 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Replika: Embodying AI

By: Shikhar Ghosh, Shweta Bagai and Marilyn Morgan Westner

Replika was a virtual AI companion that provided a way for people to process their emotions, build connections in a safe environment, and get through periods of loneliness. The chatbot fulfilled a user's need for a friend, romantic partner, or purely an emotional... View Details

Keywords: AI; AI and Machine Learning; Applications and Software; Human Needs; California

September 2015 (Revised September 2017)
Case

Pershing Square 2.0

By: Robin Greenwood, Samuel Hanson and David Biery

In June 2015 William A. Ackman, the CEO and founder of New York hedge fund Pershing Square Capital, reflects on the success of the fund he has spent over a decade building. Since its inception in 2004, Pershing Square's assets under management had grown from $500... View Details

Keywords: Activism; Value Investing; Portfolio Management; Management; Investment Portfolio; Investment Activism

November 2020
Case

Guild Education: Unlocking Opportunity for America's Workforce

By: William A. Sahlman, Michael D. Smith, Nicole Tempest Keller and Alpana Thapar

Founded in 2015, Guild Education is an education marketplace that connects employers and universities to provide employees with ‘education as a benefit.’ The Denver-based company is transforming traditional tuition assistance programs by facilitating direct payment by... View Details

Keywords: Education; Digital Platforms; Information Technology; Employees; Social Enterprise; Education Industry; Technology Industry; Colorado

April 2009
Case

Merck: Managing Vioxx (A)

By: Robert L. Simons, Kathryn Rosenberg and Natalie Kindred

This two-class case series allows students to stand in the shoes of CEO Ray Gilmartin during the unfolding stages of a reputational crisis. Merck's mission statement claims to "put patients first," but the company is widely criticized for putting profit before patient... View Details

Keywords: Ethics; Crisis Management; Reputation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Customers; Business or Company Management; Cost vs Benefits; Corporate Accountability; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Customer Focus and Relationships; Pharmaceutical Industry

13 Feb 2024
Cold Call Podcast

Apple’s Dilemma: Balancing Privacy and Safety Responsibilities

Keywords: Re: Nien-he Hsieh & Henry W. McGee

September 2017 (Revised January 2019)
Case

FJ Management Inc.

By: Lynda M. Applegate and Matthew G. Preble

In late 2015, Crystal Call Maggelet, president and CEO of FJ Management, is working with her investment committee to help set the company’s strategic direction. Maggelet, daughter of the company’s founder, has led FJ Management since 2009 when she stepped in as CEO... View Details

October 2000 (Revised June 2017)
Case

Vyaderm Pharmaceuticals: The EVA Decision

By: Robert Simons and Indra A. Reinbergs

In 2016, the new CEO of Vyaderm Pharmaceuticals introduces an Economic Value Added (EVA) program to focus the company on long-term shareholder value. The EVA program consists of three elements: EVA centers (business units), EVA drivers (operational practices that... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Employee Relationship Management; Economic Growth; Economic Systems; Management; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Performance Evaluation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Pharmaceutical Industry; Washington (state, US)

Winter 2022
Article

Courageous Leadership: Paul Polman’s Insights for the Next Generation of Business Managers

By: John Pontillo, Celia Bravard and Andrew J. Hoffman

In 2021, John Pontillo, Celia Bravard, and Andrew Hoffman conducted a series of interviews with Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever. They discussed how business managers and leaders can build a new model of capitalism that serves the needs of society. Here’s what they... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Social Issues

Read Now

June 2000 (Revised December 2000)
Case

Compensation and Performance Evaluation at Arrow Electronics

By: Brian J. Hall and Carleen Madigan

Describes a company's struggles in implementing a subjective performance rating system for its employees. In particular, it describes the difficulties faced by the CEO in getting managers to combat "ratings inflation"--that is, to produce numerical ratings that are... View Details

Keywords: Behavior; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Electronics Industry