Systems Thinking - Publications - Faculty & Research

30 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

‘Intrinsic Joy’ Sparks Ideas Better than Cash

assistant professor Maria Roche and colleagues. Essentially, the authors write, payment killed the “intrinsic joy” developers felt, a motivation akin to scientists making a big discovery. “So often, money is the quick fix. Or you think it... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology

22 Feb 2024
Research & Ideas

How to Make AI 'Forget' All the Private Data It Shouldn't Have

training for various reasons.” Rachel Layne: What is machine “unlearning” and why is it important? Seth Neel: Before defining machine unlearning, maybe it's good to set a baseline of what machine learning is. Broadly, I view machine learning as using data to create... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

10 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

In Empowering Black Voters, Did a Landmark Law Stir White Angst?

states (the data excludes Texas) for 1956 through 1980. They use the information to create a database—the first time that such records have been systemically collected for this part US for the years covered by the study, they note. “One... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

12 Apr 2022
Book

Racism, Colonialism, and Britain's Legacy of Violence

sought to colonize—into a widespread system of subjugation. The book implicates the island nation for exporting and institutionalizing racially motivated violence, and covering it up as Britain lost its grip on imperial rule. Elkins, the... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

13 Nov 2006
Research & Ideas

Science Business: What Happened to Biotech?

lessons in your book for managers in industries outside biotech? A: While there is no one right answer for all companies, a few basic things might be helpful. One is rethinking alliances and the strategic purpose. As I argue in the book, too many organizations (both... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Biotechnology

03 Oct 2023
Research Event

Build the Life You Want: Arthur Brooks and Oprah Winfrey Share Happiness Tips

coauthor of the new book Build the Life You Want: The Art and Science of Getting Happier, for an intimate, powerful conversation that touches on: the mistake people make in thinking that money, power, and fame will bring them happiness;... View Details

Keywords: by HBS Staff

21 Dec 2009
Research & Ideas

Good Banks, Bad Banks, and Government’s Role as Fixer

[implicit federal guarantees] by that very process. Third, you're assuming that we can know in advance every institution that's systemically risky, but I don't think that's possible. Finally, why do we... View Details

Keywords: by Roger Thompson; Banking; Financial Services

12 Mar 2024
HBS Case

How Used Products Can Unlock New Markets: Lessons from Apple's Refurbished iPhones

Some of Apple’s most loyal customers think nothing of upgrading to the latest iPhone every time one comes out. But what about consumers who can’t splurge on a $1,000 iPhone 15 Pro? And what about the electronic waste that would accrue if people threw away functional... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Electronics; Information Technology

26 Sep 2023
Research & Ideas

Unpacking That Icky Feeling of 'Shopping' for Diverse Job Candidates

offers new insight into the fluid dynamics in the growing and important space of diversity, equity, and inclusion, known as DEI. “It can make you feel like it's objectifying the people who are involved or exploiting them. It can lead to concerns that people might View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz

Teaching Interest

Managing Human Capital: Keeping Hope Alive in Organizations (Not offered 2013-2014)

Managing Human Capital has been specifically designed to teach practical skills for the general manager who seeks to manage both other people and his or her own career with optimal effectiveness. Any and all students who believe they will need to effectively manage... View Details

06 Jun 2011
Research & Ideas

Why Leaders Lose Their Way

enable them to think clearly about work and personal issues. A System To Support Values-centered Leadership The reality is that people cannot stay grounded by themselves. Leaders depend on people closest to... View Details

Keywords: by Bill George

14 Mar 2011
Research & Ideas

Keeping Credit Flowing to Consumers in Need

families lost their homes, personal bankruptcies soared, and it seemed that every weekend one financial firm after another failed. There was substantial doubt about the ability of the financial system to return to any kind of... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services; Construction; Real Estate

2023
Working Paper

The Complexity of Economic Decisions

By: Xavier Gabaix and Thomas Graeber

We propose a theory of the complexity of economic decisions. Leveraging a macroeconomic framework of production functions, we conceptualize the mind as a cognitive economy, where a task’s complexity is determined by its composition of cognitive operations. Complexity... View Details

Keywords: Decisions; Complexity; Perception; Consumer Behavior; Production

Citation

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22 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 22

in the credit market that have deep roots in the system's structure, conduct, and regulation. The time has come for a clear-eyed assessment of what happened and how the system should be strengthened and restructured. Such reform will have... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

25 Jan 2021
Book

In a Nutshell, Why American Capitalism Succeeded

anticipated what Steve Jobs accomplished at Apple. Silverthorne: As an author, it’s often more challenging to write less about a subject than more. How did you go about organizing your task of covering four centuries of capitalist dynamism into just 150 pages?... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Manufacturing

19 Apr 2011
First Look

First Look: April 19

and operators with other clients. However, Emergia also needs to think about how Fonaveu will react and whether these tactics will endanger the collaborative relationship the couples have been working toward. Purchase this... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

07 Apr 2008
Research & Ideas

The Debate over Taxing Foreign Profits

Kerry blasted "Benedict Arnold CEOs" for using tax advantages to do exactly that. We asked Harvard Business School professor Mihir Desai, an expert on international and corporate finance, to guide us through the complicated U.S. tax law on foreign profits,... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

04 Jan 2017
What Do You Think?

How Much Bureaucracy is a Good Thing in Government and Business?

appropriate when addressing complex problems we have not encountered before. But both Systems 1 and 2 can lead to poor decisions both in terms of content and timing. Can we roughly equate bureaucracy to View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett

11 Apr 2024
In Practice

Why Progress on Immigration Might Soften Labor Pains

Almost one-third of Americans consider immigration the most important “problem” that the United States faces, according to a new Gallup poll. And yet, companies say they need far more workers than the current system allows. Some business... View Details