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Published Papers and Book Chapters

Bazerman, Max H., and Deepak Malhotra. "Economics Wins, Psychology Loses, and Society Pays." In Social Psychology and Economics, edited by David de Cremer, J. Keith Murnighan, and Marcel Zeelenberg. Mahwah, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, forthcoming. Nohria, Nitin. "Feed R&D—or Farm It Out?" Case Study and Commentary. Harvard Business Review (July/August 2005).

*Abstract: From a converted muffler repair shop, Ray Kelner launched RLK Media in 1985, selling its radical audio speakers to affluent connoisseurs for $20,000 a pop. By the 1990s, RLK had grown into a billion-dollar business. But things are no longer going so well, and chairman Keith Harrington lays it all at the feet of CEO Lars Inman. "Your margins have evaporated," he barks. "You're missing your numbers. People aren't buying the old product, and you don't have anything new." But RLK might just have something new: the iVid headset prototype is light-years ahead of the competition. All Ray needs is another 18 months (or so) and $6 million to hire 10 elite software developers and he could put RLK back on the map. Lars considers outsourcing software development to Inova Laboratories in India, which promises to move RLK from prototype to volume manufacturing in 12 months—at a fifth the cost. But Ray is adamant. His group is just too tightly knit. Should Lars outsource R&D anyway? Commenting on this fictional case study are Larry Huston, VP for innovation and knowledge at Procter & Gamble; former Xerox chief scientist John Seely Brown and consultant John Hagel III; Claremont Graduate University professor Jean Lipman-Blumen; and Azim Premji, chairman of Wipro, an IT services company based in Bangalore, India. Read more

Simons, Robert. "Designing High-Performance Jobs." Harvard Business Review (July/August 2005).

*Abstract: Tales of great strategies derailed by poor execution are all too common. That's because some organizations are designed to fail. For a company to achieve its potential, each employee's supply of organizational resources should equal the demand, and the same balance must apply to every business unit and to the company as a whole. To carry out his or her job, each employee has to know the answers to four basic questions: What resources do I control to accomplish my tasks? What measures will be used to evaluate my performance? Whom do I need to interact with and influence to achieve my goals? And how much support can I expect when I reach out to others for help? The questions correspond to what the author calls the four basic spans of a job—control, accountability, influence, and support. Each span can be adjusted so that it is narrow or wide or somewhere in between. If you get the settings right, you can design a job in which a talented individual can successfully execute on your company's strategy. If you get the settings wrong, it will be difficult for an employee to be effective. The first step is to set the span of control to reflect the resources allocated to each position and unit that plays an important role in delivering customer value. Read more


HBS Course Materials

Any of the below cases not already linked to the HBS Publishing Web site will be available there soon.

"Accounting for Asset-Backed Securitization." Harvard Business School Note 105-077.

"Intel Capital, 2005 (A)." Harvard Business School Case 705-408.

"Introduction to Management of the Family Business." Harvard Business School Note 805-155.

"Merrill Lynch in 2003: Sunny Skies Ahead?" Harvard Business School Case 105-067.

"The Perfect CEO." Harvard Business School Case 805-156.

"The Royal Bank of Scotland: Masters of Integration." Harvard Business School Case 404-026.

"Whole Foods Market, Inc." Harvard Business School Case 705-476.