General Management

General Management

Overview Faculty Curriculum Awards & Honors Doctoral Students

About the Unit

The General Management Unit is concerned with the leadership and management of the enterprise as a whole. This concern encompasses:

  • the personal values and qualities of effective general managers and enterprise leaders;
  • the philosophies, values, and strategies that inform successful enterprises; and
  • the relation of enterprise to the broader community and other external constituencies.

The Unit's work is conceived and carried out principally in four interest groups, each of which has its own leadership, research agenda, and teaching programs:

  • Management Policy and Process
  • Management Information Systems
  • Society and Enterprise
  • Leadership, Values, and Corporate Responsibility

Recent Publications

How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?

By: Lynn S. Paine and Suraj Srinivasan
  • November–December 2024 |
  • Article |
  • Harvard Business Review
During the past few years, as evidence of climate change and its effects has mounted, many corporate boards have added climate governance to their agendas. But the maturity of boards’ climate-oversight processes and activities varies widely. To better understand how climate issues are being handled in the boardroom and to determine what good climate governance looks like in practice, the authors interviewed 20 directors who hold leadership positions on the boards of S&P 500 companies. Drawing from those interviews and other research, they identify eight hallmarks of meaningful climate oversight. For example, “the board is knowledgeable about the company’s climate profile,” “the board has the expertise needed for effective climate oversight,” and “the board can articulate the company’s climate positioning and strategy.” The authors also offer their perspective on the set of issues associated with each hallmark that corporate leaders must grapple with as they decide how to incorporate climate issues into their company’s governance. Climate concerns are here to stay, and climate governance will increasingly be seen as a core element of good governance.
Keywords: Corporate Governance; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governing and Advisory Boards
Related

Priceless: How to Create, Trade, and Protect What Matters Most

By: Debora L. Spar
  • 2024 |
  • Working Paper |
  • Faculty Research
Related

How to Build a Life: Three Ways to Become a Deeper Thinker

By: Arthur C. Brooks
  • November 21, 2024 |
  • Article |
  • The Atlantic
Related

How to Build a Life: The Secret to Thinking Your Way Out of Anxiety

By: Arthur C. Brooks
  • November 14, 2024 |
  • Article |
  • The Atlantic
Related

How to Build a Life: How to Deal With Disappointment

By: Arthur C. Brooks
  • November 7, 2024 |
  • Article |
  • The Atlantic
Related

Martine Rothblatt and United Therapeutics: A Series of Implausible Dreams

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau
  • November 2024 |
  • Teaching Note |
  • Faculty Research
Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 323-039. In 1990, satellite expert and Sirius XM founder Martine Rothblatt was determined to save the life of her seven-year-old daughter, Jenesis, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). At the time, there was little medication available for the rare condition, so Rothblatt decided make a drug herself and formed United Therapeutics in 1996. When that company proved successful, both financially and scientifically, Rothblatt decided to take what she saw as the logical next step: manufacturing organs for transplantation.
Keywords: Pharmaceutical Companies; Technological And Scientific Innovation; Organ Donation; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Innovation and Invention; Pharmaceutical Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; United States; District of Columbia
Related

How to Build a Life: Why You Might Need an Adventure

By: Arthur C. Brooks
  • October 31, 2024 |
  • Article |
  • The Atlantic
Related

NextGen CDR Facility: From Davos to Details

By: Peter Tufano, Emily A. Chien and Karina Val
  • October 2024 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Next Gen CDR is a startup that pools corporate commitments to purchase Tech CDR, which promises to permanently remove and store carbon from the atmosphere to combat climate change. A partnership between South Pole and Mitsubishi Corp., Next Gen has secured initial commitments from five founding buyers and has just announced the pool at the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos. Now the parties have to hammer out the exact terms of the agreement to bring it to fruition.
Related
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Contact Information

General Management Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163