Lessons from the Classroom
There are 41 articles for this feature.
What new ideas and concepts are emerging from Harvard Business School classroom discussions, case studies, and course design work? In "Lessons from the Classroom," HBS faculty discuss how classroom work and discussions inform their ongoing research and help shape the business curriculum.
HBS Begins Teaching Consumer Finance
| Q&A with: | Peter Tufano |
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| Published: | October 28, 2009 |
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Last spring HBS became the first top-ranked U.S. business school to offer a course in consumer finance. Professor Peter Tufano talks about the course and his determination to make consumer finance a broadly accepted academic pursuit. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin.
HBS Cases: The Energy Politics of Russia vs. Ukraine
| Published: | March 11, 2009 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
A recent Harvard Business School case looks at Russia's decision in 2006 to cut off supply of natural gas to Ukraine's energy company—a move repeated this year. Is Russia just an energy bully? Students of professor Rawi Abdelal learn there is nothing black and white when it comes to Russia's energy politics. From HBS Alumni Bulletin.
Published in 2008
'Ted Levitt Changed My Life'
| Published: | December 17, 2008 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Many students say legendary Harvard Business School marketing professor Ted Levitt changed their lives inside his classroom and out. "Ted Levitt was the most influential and imaginative professor in marketing history," HBS professor and senior associate dean John Quelch eulogized on the occasion of Levitt's death in 2006. Colleagues and students remember a life and times. From HBS Alumni Bulletin.
How Many U.S. Jobs Are 'Offshorable'?
| Published: | December 1, 2008 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Some 900 Harvard Business School students were asked to recreate a study assessing the potential "offshorability" of more than 800 occupations in the United States. Their findings: It might be a larger number than we thought.
HBS Cases: Economics of the Ethanol Business
| Published: | November 3, 2008 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
What happens when a group of Missouri corn farmers gets into the energy business? What appears to be a very lucrative decision quickly turns out to be much more risky. Professor Forest Reinhardt leads a case discussion on what the protagonists should do next. From HBS Alumni Bulletin.
HBS Cases: The Value of Environmental Activists
| Q&A with: | Ramon Casadesus-Masanell |
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| Published: | September 8, 2008 |
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
With decidedly non-profit goals leading them on, how do environmental protection groups such as Greenpeace and World Wildlife Fund create value? Can it be measured? A Q&A with Harvard Business School professor Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and case writer Jordan Mitchell.
HBS Cases: Negotiating with Wal-Mart
| Published: | April 28, 2008 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
What happens when you encounter a company with a great deal of power, like Wal-Mart, that is also the ultimate non-negotiable partner? A series of Harvard Business School cases by James Sebenius and Ellen Knebel explore successful deal-making strategies. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin.
Chris Christensen: Legend of the Classroom
| Published: | April 16, 2008 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Professor C. Roland ("Chris") Christensen was the maestro of Harvard Business School's case method of teaching. Over a career spanning half a century, Christensen made his colleagues better teachers, and his students better leaders. From the HBS Alumni Bulletin.
HBS Cases: JetBlue's Valentine's Day Crisis
| Published: | March 31, 2008 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
It was the Valentine's Day from hell for JetBlue employees and more than 130,000 customers. Under bad weather, JetBlue fliers were trapped on the runway at JFK for hours, many ultimately delayed by days. How did the airline make it right with customers and learn from its mistakes? A discussion with Harvard Business School professor Robert S. Huckman.
Published in 2007
HBS Cases: One Laptop per Child
| Q&A with: | John A. Quelch |
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| Published: | December 10, 2007 |
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
The One Laptop per Child initiative wants to develop and distribute $100 laptops to poor children around the world. Despite eager observers and exciting breakthroughs technologically, it has found the path to customers more rocky than anticipated. Marketing has some answers, as a new case study details. Q&A with HBS professor John Quelch.
Teaching The Moral Leader
| Q&A with: | Sandra J. Sucher |
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| Published: | November 19, 2007 |
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
In The Moral Leader course at Harvard Business School, students exchange their business management case studies to discuss some of the great protagonists in literature. Professor Sandra Sucher discusses how we all can find our own definition of moral leadership.
HBS Cases: Climate Change Puts Heat on GMs
| Published: | October 31, 2007 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Ready or not, companies are being swept up in the increasing public debate over global climate change. How should firms respond? A case study exploring how financial service giant UBS thinks through the issues has students coming down on different sides.
Marketing Maria: Managing the Athlete Endorsement
| Published: | October 29, 2007 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Million-dollar endorsement deals will be made and broken by how baseball players on the Boston Red Sox and Colorado Rockies performed in the just completed World Series. HBS professor Anita Elberse discusses her research on sports marketing and her recent case on tennis powerhouse Maria Sharapova.
HBS Cases: The Evolution of Apple
| Published: | July 25, 2007 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Apple's continuing development from computer maker to consumer electronics pioneer is rich material in a number of Harvard Business School classrooms. Professor David Yoffie discusses his latest case study of Apple, the 5th update in 14 years, which challenges students to think strategically about Apple's successes and failures in the past, and opportunities and challenges in the future.
Teaching the Next Generation of Energy Executives
| Published: | June 11, 2007 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
A new generation of energy industry managers will make decisions that affect the quality of life for hundreds of millions of people. At Harvard Business School, students in professor Forest Reinhardt's Energy course are learning the complexities and realities of developing and implementing strategy in such a complex environment.
HBS Cases: How Magazine Luiza Courts the Poor
| Published: | April 18, 2007 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Brazilian retailer Magazine Luiza has developed an innovative strategy for selling to the poor, combining technology with great service that please both customers and employees. The question of how the company can grow without sacrificing the special qualities that have made it successful is at the heart of a case study developed by Harvard Business School professor Frances X. Frei.
"UpTick" Brings Wall Street Pressure to Students
| Published: | February 12, 2007 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Money managers work in a stressful, competitive pressure cooker that's hard to appreciate from the safety of a business management classroom. That's why HBS professors Joshua Coval and Erik Stafford invented upTick—a market simulation program that has students sweating and strategizing as they recreate classic market scenarios.
HBS Cases: When Good Teams Go Bad
| Published: | January 31, 2007 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
Know when teamwork doesn't work—and how to fix it. Professors Jeff Polzer and Scott Snook teach "The Army Crew Team" case and the dilemma faced by a rowing coach who has great individual parts but can't get them to synchronize. From HBS Alumni Bulletin.
HBS Cases: The Challenge of Managing National Security
| Q&A with: | Jan W. Rivkin |
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| Published: | January 10, 2007 |
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
What can we learn from mistakes made in managing national intelligence before 9/11? Professor Jan Rivkin discusses the difficulties of integrating a highly differentiated organization, and the dangers of overcentralizing decision making. From HBS Alumni Bulletin.
Published in 2006
HBS Cases: Governing Sumida Corporation
| Published: | November 1, 2006 |
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| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
In a new Harvard Business School case, Professor Lynn Paine and her colleagues explore the nature of corporate governance systems by studying Japanese electronics components maker Sumida Corp. CEO Shigeyuki Yawata looks to create a governance structure that would be transparent to investors and stakeholders worldwide.













