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Hiring Without Firing
Leadership Magazine ArticleHitting the hiring bull’s-eye is one of an executive’s most important—and most difficult—responsibilities. Ten common mistakes can get in the way, but a pointed and systematic approach can virtually guarantee success. -
Executive Incentives vs. Corporate Growth
Boards Magazine ArticleBonuses and other forms of incentive compensation are an effective motivator of executives to achieve ever higher earnings per share. The drive to produce short-term results, however, often influences management to forgo investment in capital equipment and R&D that would benefit the corporation several years hence even more than improved earnings next year would. The […] -
Research: Only 10% of Joint Venture Board Members Are Women
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleJVs are subject to far less public exposure - and fewer quotas and disclosure requirements - than other businesses. -
The Upside of Virtual Board Meetings
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleThink shorter agendas, crisper presentations, and more exposure to outside experts. -
Office Politics: A Skill Women Should Lean Into
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleDon't shoot yourself in the foot by avoiding them. -
Even When Women Ask for a Raise, They Don't Ask for Enough
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleThey need to up their expectations. -
The Trouble with CFOs
Leadership Magazine ArticleIf the CEO sits in the hot seat, the CFO’s chair is positively smoking. According to analysis conducted by the CFO Executive Board, annual CFO turnover at the largest 162 global companies between 1995 and 2003 was 17%—even higher than for CEOs—and three out of four current Fortune 500 finance officers have been in their […] -
Taking Stock
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleIt sounds simple: Compensate managers with stock or options, and they'll do what's best for shareholders. But it doesn't always work that way; more than... -
Board Members: Rocket Fuel or Rocks?
Boards Digital ArticleA good board can be rocket fuel or it can be rocks in an organization’s pockets. Much of success and failure in the boardroom comes down to the way the individuals around the table — be it on a public company board, a small private board, or a non-profit board — do their jobs. So […] -
The Board's New Innovation Imperative
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Magazine ArticleAs firms scramble for competitive advantage, boards--once the cautious voices urging management to mitigate risk--are now calling for breakthrough innovation.... -
Will Bigger Be Better for United and Continental?
Strategy & Execution Digital ArticleAs with most mergers, the announcement this week that United Airlines was joining forces with Continental Airlines to become the world's largest airline... -
The Key to a Better Board: Team Dynamics
Boards Digital ArticleLessons from new research. -
Does Your Board Need a Tech Expert?
Organizational Development Digital ArticleThe answer isn't always yes. -
The Best Advice I Ever Got: Stephen A. Schwarzman
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleThe chairman and CEO of the Blackstone Group reflects on the advice of his high school track coach, who continually reminded him that the person who is... -
Should CEOs Be Allowed to Be Chairmen?
Boards Digital ArticleWhen the US pay czar, Kenneth Feinberg, approved the compensation of the top executives at seven troubled financial institutions, he insisted that they all appoint an independent director as the board chair rather than the CEO. Several major investors — the Government Pension Fund of Norway, which manages $400 billion in assets, among them — […] -
News Corp and Questions Boards Need to Ask
Boards Digital ArticleMuch has been written and said regarding News Corp and its activities in the UK, and serious questions have been raised about the leadership and culture of this company. Some of these questions have been directed at the company’s board of directors: did it properly fulfill its independent fiduciary responsibilities in overseeing this global organization? […] -
Assess Your CEO’s Strategic Fit Over Time
Leadership Digital ArticleCompanies change, and so should the way tenure is managed. -
Case of the Unequal Opportunity
Organizational Development Magazine ArticleLaura Wollen, group marketing director for ARPCO, was about to recommend her best product manager, Charles Lewis, for a position in the London office.... -
Picking the Right Transition Strategy
Leadership & Managing People Magazine ArticleLeaders in transition reflexively rely on the skills and strategies that worked for them in the past. That's a mistake, says Watkins, whose research shows... -
Don't Blame Apple for America's Broken Tax Code
Global Business Digital ArticleThe recent hearings on Apple's tax practices raises significant questions about who pays what and why.
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Laura Ashley (D)
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details Describes the resignation of the CEO hired three years earlier to transform the company. -
Railroads and the Beginnings of Modern Management (Abridged)
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details Consists of three selections by the most innovative of the early American railroad managers describing the organizational structures and control systems... -
Vignettes on Professional Service Firm Governance
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details The two vignettes within "Vignettes on Professional Service Firm Governance" (HBS No. 122-024) present various issues relating to governance in professional... -
Formosa Plastics Group: Business Continuity Forever
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Wang Yung-ching, legendary Taiwanese businessman and philanthropist, passed away in 2008. He left behind an estate worth US $5.5 billion, but did not... -
Playgrounds and Performance: Results Management at KaBOOM! (A)
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details KaBOOM!, a successful playground-building social enterprise funded through corporate partnerships, wants to develop a performance measurement system that... -
Taking Charge at Dogus Holding (B)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details Supplements the (A) case. -
Board Director Dilemmas - Incorrigible CEO
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details This case focuses on a new director who, along with fellow directors, struggles with the inappropriate behavior of an otherwise competent-even brilliant-founder... -
Transpower New Zealand: Evaluating Board Performance
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details Mark Verbiest, Chairman of Transpower New Zealand, initiated a performance review of Transpower's board of directors. The review, which took four months... -
Note on Rewards Systems
Organizational Development Case Study8.95View Details Looks at rewards in general, and pay in particular, and studies the conditions that may enhance or detract from employee satisfaction and organizational... -
Ireland Renovations: Budgeting for Future Growth
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details In mid-2019, the owner of Ireland Renovations was contemplating the future of his renovation and construction company that operated in London and Middlesex... -
The P&G Acquisition of Gillette
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details Raises issues about the role of boards of directors in compensating CEOs and, specifically, the rewards granted to CEOs for arranging a change-of-control... -
Al Dunlap at Sunbeam
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details Al Dunlap was one of the best-known corporate turnaround artists of the 1990s. In 1996, he was hired at Sunbeam to effect a restructuring, but was fired... -
General Dynamics: Compensation and Strategy (A)
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details William Anders became CEO of defense giant General Dynamics in 1991 as the Cold War was ending and as the industry became saddled with excess capacity.... -
Business Succession and the Asher Estate
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details In December 2017, Ali Asher, the second-eldest child of Aziz Asher, was conducting research for his father on the best way to restructure the family business... -
Magazine Luiza: Building a Retail Model of "Courting the Poor"
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details Describes the innovative retail model of the Brazilian firm Magazine Luiza. Magazine Luiza enables low-income consumer credit by applying a flexible and... -
Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi (Abridged)
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details In 2006, the Cleveland Clinic and Mubadala Investment Company partnered with a bold ambition to deliver world class healthcare in the United Arab Emirates.... -
Kongo Gumi: The Oldest Continuously Operating Business
Management Case Study11.95View Details Founded in 578 AD, Kongo Gumi was a family-owned business until 2006, when the firm went into liquidation to pay its creditors. While its demise is briefly... -
Harry Susilo: Moral Leadership and Family Business Succession
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details Sekar Group (Sekar), based in Surabaya, Indonesia, started in 1966 as a small business purchasing fish and shrimp. Led by its founder Harry Susilo, Sekar... -
COO and Country Manager Job Selection
Leadership & Managing People Case Study8.95View Details From seven candidates, students must choose two who are most qualified for the COO position at an entrepreneurial Danish multinational organization, and...
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Hiring Without Firing
Leadership Magazine ArticleHitting the hiring bull’s-eye is one of an executive’s most important—and most difficult—responsibilities. Ten common mistakes can get in the way, but a pointed and systematic approach can virtually guarantee success. -
Executive Incentives vs. Corporate Growth
Boards Magazine ArticleBonuses and other forms of incentive compensation are an effective motivator of executives to achieve ever higher earnings per share. The drive to produce short-term results, however, often influences management to forgo investment in capital equipment and R&D that would benefit the corporation several years hence even more than improved earnings next year would. The […] -
Research: Only 10% of Joint Venture Board Members Are Women
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleJVs are subject to far less public exposure - and fewer quotas and disclosure requirements - than other businesses. -
The Upside of Virtual Board Meetings
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleThink shorter agendas, crisper presentations, and more exposure to outside experts. -
Office Politics: A Skill Women Should Lean Into
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleDon't shoot yourself in the foot by avoiding them. -
Laura Ashley (D)
Technology & Operations Case Study5.00View Details Describes the resignation of the CEO hired three years earlier to transform the company. -
Even When Women Ask for a Raise, They Don't Ask for Enough
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleThey need to up their expectations. -
The Trouble with CFOs
Leadership Magazine ArticleIf the CEO sits in the hot seat, the CFO’s chair is positively smoking. According to analysis conducted by the CFO Executive Board, annual CFO turnover at the largest 162 global companies between 1995 and 2003 was 17%—even higher than for CEOs—and three out of four current Fortune 500 finance officers have been in their […] -
Railroads and the Beginnings of Modern Management (Abridged)
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details Consists of three selections by the most innovative of the early American railroad managers describing the organizational structures and control systems... -
Vignettes on Professional Service Firm Governance
Strategy & Execution Case Study11.95View Details The two vignettes within "Vignettes on Professional Service Firm Governance" (HBS No. 122-024) present various issues relating to governance in professional...