532 Posts found for Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge

Given today’s business environment, where corporate benefits such as stock options and quarterly bonuses are expected and compared, it’s difficult to remember a time when employee health insurance was a revolutionary concept.

Content: Article | Author: Nikki Mandell | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: History

It’s an old question still in search of an answer. Why does inequality in wealth distribution repeat itself so consistently from country to country? New research suggests that network effects may be more in play here than the backgrounds and talents of citizens. It also suggests we may reach a tipping point where just a few citizens control most of the wealth. Should public policy … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Mark Buchanan | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Economics

Yes, many companies have effective supply-chain management programs, but there is still a long way to go to ensure that relationships with vendors operate at peak efficiency, say experts.

Content: Article | Author: John Case | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Operations

It’s a delicate balance: Can companies provide good returns to shareholders while being socially responsible? The “virtue matrix,” developed by Rotman School of Management’s Dean Roger L. Martin, lays out some guidelines in this excerpt from the Harvard Business Review.

Content: Article | Author: Roger L. Martin | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Social Responsibility (ESG)

Asked by a member of the audience for his definition of success, Ricardo Levy said, “I’d rather use the word fulfillment. Success is a metric; you never have enough. But only you can define fulfillment. We as individuals are the only judges.”

Content: Quotation | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Success / Failure

Before you think about slashing prices, think again, says Nick Wreden, author of a forthcoming book on strategic branding. As he explains in this article from Harvard Management Update, a knee-jerk reaction to the recession is not good for business.

Content: Article | Author: Nick Wreden | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Marketing / Sales, Strategy

How closely related are organizational learning and indoctrination? This Harvard Business Review interview with one of the founding fathers of the field of organizational psychology, Ed Schein, reveals the darker side of organizational learning.

Content: Article | Author: Diane L. Coutu | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

Myriad factors can make or break a deal, according to Harvard Business School professor James K. Sebenius. As he explains in this excerpt from Harvard Business Review, the “web of influence” in many countries is more important than meets the eye.

Content: Article | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: International, Management

Although communities of practice develop organically, a carefully crafted design can drive their evolution. In this excerpt from a new book, the authors detail seven design principles. The payoff? Knowledge management that works.

Editor’s Note: see related article at
Content: Article | Authors: Etienne Wenger, Richard McDermott, William M. Snyder | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Knowledge Management, Organizational Behavior

Efficient consumer response is a “win-win-win” process for consumers, suppliers, and retailers, says Harvard Business School visiting scholar Dirk Seifert. In an interview with HBS Working Knowledge, he explains why.

Editor’s Note: I don’t see anything scholarly or particularly new and insightful about this concept, especially for those with some operations background, but might be of interest to others…of course your comments are encouraged…

Content: Article | Author: Martha Lagace | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Operations

It’s important to listen to customers – but not follow their words without skepticism. Ask them to design your next product and you’re likely to miss the mark, suggests this Harvard Business Review excerpt.

Content: Article | Author: Anthony W. Ulwick | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Management, Market Research

In a new book, Breakthrough International Negotiation: How Great Negotiators Transformed the World’s Toughest Post-Cold War Conflicts, Harvard Business School professor Michael Watkins dissects the art of give-and-take. This excerpt details 7 principles followed by master negotiators:
1. Breakthrough negotiators shape the structure of their situations
2. Breakthrough negotiators organize to learn
3. Breakthrough negotiators are masters of process design
4. … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Michael Watkins | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Negotiation

Are you a master of uncertainty? Every strategist needs to be, says McKinsey & Co.’s Hugh Courtney, author of the new book 20/20 Foresight: Crafting Strategy in an Uncertain World. Here’s an excerpt.

Content: Article | Author: Hugh Courtney | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Strategy

The rational rules of management don’t apply when it comes to fostering creative types. In this Harvard Business Review excerpt, the author explains why you should, among other things, encourage creative workers to defy superiors.

Content: Article | Author: Robert I. Sutton | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Management

Executives talk a good game about managing customer relationships. But then why do many companies persist in money-losing arrangements? Time to become proactive, says Harvard Business School professor Narakesari Narayandas.

Content: Article | Author: Peter K. Jacobs | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Customer Related, Management

Most people overestimate the effects of change in the short term, underestimate them in the long term and fail to spot where change will be greatest.

Content: Quotation | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Change Management, Future

Marketing to the world’s poorest customers? There’s no contradiction, sayHBS professor V. Kasturi “Kash” Rangan and researchassociate Arthur McCaffrey. In fact, the marketing profession canplay a huge role in alleviating global poverty.

Content: Article | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Marketing / Sales, Social Responsibility (ESG)

Armed with his database of U.S. mergers, Harvard Business School professor Mark Mitchell has been exploring models of risk arbitrage that challenge earlier theories. What he’s found: Merger arbitrage is riskier than it looks.

Content: Article | Author: Emily S. Plishner | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Finance | Industry: Investment Banking

Toyota’s reputation for sustaining high product quality is legendary. But the company’s methods are not secret. So why can’t other carmakers match Toyota’s track record? HBS professor Steven Spear says it’s all about problem solving.

Content: Article | Author: Steven Spear | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Best Practices, Management

India is not known for rigid corporate governance standards. Is software giant Infosys changing all that? A working paper by HBS professors Tarun Khanna and Krishna Palepu looks at how globalization may—or may not—foster convergence of corporate governance.

Content: Article | Authors: Krishna Palepu, Tarun Khanna | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Corporate Governance, International – Asia