Publications

December 2009 (Revised January 2024)
Case

A Letter from Prison

By: Eugene Soltes

Stephen Richards, the former global head of sales at Computer Associates, Inc. (CA), is serving a seven-year prison sentence for financial fraud. In the case, Richards responds to a number of questions about managerial responsibility and the manipulation of financial... View Details

Keywords: Accounting; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Corporate Accountability; Managerial Roles

31 May 2023
HBS Case

From Prison Cell to Nike’s C-Suite: The Journey of Larry Miller

street, his past continued to haunt him, costing him an important job offer. Desperate for a fresh start, Miller hid his prison record for 40 years. However, his career took off and he eventually rose to lead Nike’s Jordan brand, as well... View Details

Keywords: by Jamal Meneide; Entertainment & Recreation; Consumer Products

March 2010 (Revised January 2011)
Teaching Note

A Letter from Prison (TN)

By: Eugene F. Soltes

Teaching Note for [110045]. View Details

Article

Why Ordinary People Torture Enemy Prisoners

By: S.T. Fiske, L.T. Harris and A.J.C. Cuddy

Keywords: War; Behavior

April 1977 (Revised January 1992)
Case

Organizations in Crisis: The Attica Prison Uprising

1990
Chapter

Private Time: The Political Economy of Private Prison Finance

By: Dutch Leonard

Keywords: Private Sector; Law Enforcement; Corporate Finance

02 Feb 2012
Op-Ed

Once a Castle, Home is Now a Debtors’ Prison

We have created a housing hybrid in America, refashioning the single-family home into a mini debtors' prison. Almost 11 million dot the landscape. In Las Vegas and Phoenix, over 50 percent of homeowners live in one. “Understandably, most [underwater] owners live... View Details

Keywords: by Nicolas P. Retsinas; Financial Services; Construction; Real Estate

2005
Book

Imperial Reckoning: The Untold Story of Britain's Gulag in Kenya

By: Caroline M. Elkins

In a groundbreaking and Pulitzer winning debut, Harvard historian and 1998 IDRF Fellow Caroline Elkins has recovered the lost history of the last days of British colonialism in Kenya. Elkins reveals for the first time what Britain so desperately tried to hide. In the... View Details

Keywords: British Colonialism; Political Prisoners; History; Kenya; Great Britain

2021
Article

Prisoners, Rooms, and Lightswitches

By: Daniel M. Kane and Scott Duke Kominers

We examine a new variant of the classic prisoners and lightswitches puzzle: A warden leads his n prisoners in and out of r rooms, one at a time, in some order, with each prisoner eventually visiting every room an arbitrarily large number of times. The... View Details

Keywords: Mathematical Methods

March 2010 (Revised December 2010)
Case

The Market for Prisoners: Business, Crime and Punishment in the "American Dream"

By: Rafael M. Di Tella and Laura Winig

In 2010, Corrections Corporation of America (CCA), the largest private prison operator in the U.S., was considering expansion options. The company's largest customers, federal and state governments, were under economic pressure to reduce the incarceration rate and... View Details

Keywords: For-Profit Firms; Crime and Corruption; Profit; Law Enforcement; Growth and Development Strategy; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations; Competitive Strategy; Expansion; United States

2016
Case

Advanced Leadership Pathways: Alberto Mora and the Costs and Consequences of Torture

By: Rosabeth M. Kanter and Benjamin Summers

Alberto Mora's time as General Counsel of the Navy from 2001–2006 greatly influenced his mission to illuminate the policy consequences of torture. Mora's drive to restore the nation's awareness and conscience against torture was gaining traction. Prominent... View Details

Keywords: Leadership Skills; Torture; Costs And Consequences; Humane; Restraint; Human Dignity; Treatment Of Prisoners; Prison; Repression; Opposition; Revolution; Democracy; Communism; International Affairs; Public Service; September 11; War On Terror; Operation Enduring Freedom; Guantanamo; Cuba; Coalition; Working Group; Cruelty; Interrogation; Memorandum; American Law; Authority; Authoritative; Quadrennial Defense Review; National Defense Authorization Act; Public Engagement; Advocacy; Law; Accountability; Center For The Victims Of Torture; Human Rights; Public Policy; Legality; Morality; Legal System; Tactical Military Operations; West Point; NGO; Human Rights First; American Civil Liberties Union; Human Rights Watch; Amnesty International; Constitution Project; Center For Constitutional Rights; Strategic Military Effect; National Security; Weapon; Terrorism; Prisoners Of War; Abu Ghraib; Pentagon; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Leadership; Rights; Policy; Public Opinion; United States

23 Feb 2021
Cold Call Podcast

Examining Race and Mass Incarceration in the United States

Keywords: Re: Reshmaan N. Hussam

June 2022 (Revised November 2022)
Case

Larry Miller

By: Francesca Gino, Frances X. Frei, Hise Gibson and Alicia Dadlani

Under the leadership of Larry Miller, chairman and former president of Nike’s Air Jordan brand, annual revenues for the Jordan brand soared from $150 million to over $4 billion. But for over 40 years, Miller guarded a secret. When he was younger, he spent nearly a... View Details

Keywords: Race; Ethnicity; Fairness; Values and Beliefs; Job Offer; Employment; Social Issues; Perspective; Personal Development and Career; Apparel and Accessories Industry; United States; Pennsylvania; Philadelphia; Portland; Oregon

21 Dec 2010
First Look

First Look: December 21

largest private prison operator in the U.S., was considering expansion options. The company's largest customers, federal and state governments, were under economic pressure to reduce the incarceration rate and lower operating costs,... View Details

January 2017
Case

The Six CEOs of Tyco International Ltd.

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

In September 2016, Johnson Controls, Inc. completed the acquisition of Tyco International PLC, a $9.9 billion business with operating profits of $884 million. The purchase consideration was $14.4 billion. Although the deal was billed as a merger, Ireland-based Tyco... View Details

Keywords: Tyco; Dennis Kozlowski; Edward Breen; Fire Safety; Fire Protection; Security; Packaging; Securities And Exchange Commission; Fraud; Accounting; Accounting Audits; Earnings Management; Financial Statements; Goodwill Accounting; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Business Exit or Shutdown; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Headquarters; Business Model; Business Organization; For-Profit Firms; Restructuring; Crime and Corruption; Engineering; Applied Optics; Chemicals; Construction; Metals and Minerals; Ethics; Finance; Cash Flow; Public Equity; Stock Options; Financing and Loans; Initial Public Offering; Profit; Revenue; Geographic Location; Geographic Scope; Global Range; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Health Care and Treatment; Business History; Executive Compensation; Selection and Staffing; Courts and Trials; Lawfulness; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Strategy; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Horizontal Integration; Value; Chemical Industry; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Energy Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Mining Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Utilities Industry; Republic of Ireland; Switzerland; Bermuda; United States; New Hampshire

January–February 2013
Article

A Field Investigation of Multilevel Cynicism Toward Change

By: K. A. DeCelles, Paul E. Tesluk and Faye S. Taxman

Although most research on cynicism toward change (CTC) has been conceptualized at the individual level, we propose that CTC is better conceptualized as a multilevel phenomenon, acting as both an employee attitude and an organizational climate. We conducted a multilevel... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Leading Change; Change Management; Attitudes