General Management

General Management

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    • February 23, 2025
    • Editorial

    We Led the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force. Trump’s Purge Is Dangerous.

    By: Thad Allen, Louis Caldera, George Casey, Debbie Lee James and Sean O'Keefe

    • February 23, 2025
    • Editorial

    We Led the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force. Trump’s Purge Is Dangerous.

    By: Thad Allen, Louis Caldera, George Casey, Debbie Lee James and Sean O'Keefe

    • February 20, 2025
    • Article

    How to Build a Life: The Ultimate Antidote to Toxic Behavior Online

    By: Arthur C. Brooks

    • February 2025
    • Case

    Institutional Neutrality, Restraint or Convenience?

    By: Clayton S. Rose, Nicole Zelazko and Alexis Lefort

    In the fall of 2023 and winter of 2024, college campuses across the U.S. experienced protests and encampments in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist militant group Hamas, and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza. These protests reinvigorated the debate about whether and to what extent colleges and universities should remain neutral on social and political issues, as well as the nature and extent of the institutional obligation to protect the ability of faculty and students to express their points of view. In March 1967, a committee at the University of Chicago released the “Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action,” which became known as the Kalven Report. The report concluded that the protection of faculty and students’ self-expression could only be guaranteed through an ideologically neutral university. The report asserted that an institutional view on public matters risked censoring and alienating members of the community who held dissenting views. It described how “the instrument of dissent and criticism is the individual faculty member or the individual student,” while the University “is the home and sponsor of critics; it is not itself the critic.” Embracing neutrality would only apply to the University as an institution, not to any individual within it, and the report emphasized this would provide a platform for diverse opinions to thrive, signaling a deep respect for free inquiry. The report did note that in exceptional circumstances, it may be appropriate for an institution to weigh in on social and political matters. The report became a foundational document for colleges and universities across the country, but its prominence over the years had varied depending on the moment. In 2023 and 2024, as protests and turmoil rocked campuses across the U.S., the report’s principles again took center stage, as institutions of higher learning were forced to directly address the long-standing questions: should they take public positions on social and political issues and to what extent should they protect the ability of faculty and students to express their views?

    • February 2025
    • Case

    Institutional Neutrality, Restraint or Convenience?

    By: Clayton S. Rose, Nicole Zelazko and Alexis Lefort

    In the fall of 2023 and winter of 2024, college campuses across the U.S. experienced protests and encampments in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist militant group Hamas, and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza. These protests reinvigorated the debate about whether and to what extent colleges and...

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

We Led the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Air Force. Trump’s Purge Is Dangerous.

By: Thad Allen, Louis Caldera, George Casey, Debbie Lee James and Sean O'Keefe
  • February 23, 2025 |
  • Editorial |
  • Washington Post
Related

How to Build a Life: The Ultimate Antidote to Toxic Behavior Online

By: Arthur C. Brooks
  • February 20, 2025 |
  • Article |
  • The Atlantic
Related

Punishing Military Officers for Political Reasons Endangers Our Troops and Threatens National Security

By: Louis Caldera, George Casey, Sean O'Keefe, Steve Abbot and Thad Allen
  • February 14, 2025 |
  • Editorial |
  • Military.com
Related

How to Build a Life: How to Realize Your Own Love Supreme

By: Arthur C. Brooks
  • February 13, 2025 |
  • Article |
  • The Atlantic
Related

Institutional Neutrality, Restraint or Convenience?

By: Clayton S. Rose, Nicole Zelazko and Alexis Lefort
  • February 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
In the fall of 2023 and winter of 2024, college campuses across the U.S. experienced protests and encampments in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 terrorist attack on Israel by the Islamist militant group Hamas, and Israel’s subsequent invasion of Gaza. These protests reinvigorated the debate about whether and to what extent colleges and universities should remain neutral on social and political issues, as well as the nature and extent of the institutional obligation to protect the ability of faculty and students to express their points of view. In March 1967, a committee at the University of Chicago released the “Report on the University’s Role in Political and Social Action,” which became known as the Kalven Report. The report concluded that the protection of faculty and students’ self-expression could only be guaranteed through an ideologically neutral university. The report asserted that an institutional view on public matters risked censoring and alienating members of the community who held dissenting views. It described how “the instrument of dissent and criticism is the individual faculty member or the individual student,” while the University “is the home and sponsor of critics; it is not itself the critic.” Embracing neutrality would only apply to the University as an institution, not to any individual within it, and the report emphasized this would provide a platform for diverse opinions to thrive, signaling a deep respect for free inquiry. The report did note that in exceptional circumstances, it may be appropriate for an institution to weigh in on social and political matters. The report became a foundational document for colleges and universities across the country, but its prominence over the years had varied depending on the moment. In 2023 and 2024, as protests and turmoil rocked campuses across the U.S., the report’s principles again took center stage, as institutions of higher learning were forced to directly address the long-standing questions: should they take public positions on social and political issues and to what extent should they protect the ability of faculty and students to express their views?
Keywords: Change; Distribution; Decision Making; Cost vs Benefits; Ethics; Governance; Leadership; Management; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Organizations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Society; Civil Society or Community; Social Issues; Strategy; Adaptation
Related

Unleashing Opportunities in Brazil’s Favelas

By: Brian Trelstad, Pedro Levindo and Lucas Cardoso
  • February 2025 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Keywords: Brazil
Related

How to Build a Life: The Benefit of Doing Things You’re Bad At

By: Arthur C. Brooks
  • January 30, 2025 |
  • Article |
  • The Atlantic
Related

Sale of Private Equity–Owned Physician Practices and Physician Turnover

By: Victoria Berquist, Lev Klarnet and Leemore Dafny
  • February 2025 |
  • Article |
  • JAMA Health Forum
Private equity (PE) ownership of physician practices is increasing, with owners targeting sales, or exits, in 3 to 7 years. Little is known about the association of exit with physician retention and subsequent employment. Using panel data over the period 2014-2020, we find physicians in practices sold by PE owners between 2016-2018 were 16.5 percentage points likelier to work elsewhere within 2 years after the sale and 10.1 percentage points likelier to join large (>120-physician) practices upon leaving than matched control physicians working in the same local markets and specialties in practices not sold by PE owners. Given the 60% mean rate of staying among controls, this represents a 27.5% reduction in retention. There was no significant difference in retirement probability. An analysis of “pre-trends” confirmed no differential trends in retention or retirement between the treatment group and matched controls in the 2 years preceding exit. The increase in turnover after PE exit occurred despite most exiting practices being purchased by PE investors, who may offer financial incentives to encourage retention. The increase in physician turnover and consolidation following PE exits has important implications for patients, physicians, investors, and physician markets, including disruption for practices and patients and likely for increases in costs of care.
Keywords: Private Equity; Retention; Health Industry
Related
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General Management Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163