Business Education
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- 23 Jan 2019
- Sharpening Your Skills
Sports: Lessons for Managers
When people look to illustrate a great business idea or accomplishment, a sports metaphor usually isn't far away. Why Harvard Business School researchers look for teaching gold on the playing fields of the world. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Nov 2018
- Working Paper Summaries
Reverse the Curse of the Top-5
Scholars and those who evaluate them for promotion can overweight publications ranked in a discipline’s five top journals. This paper explains the origins of journal rankings, the errors and distortions when journal rankings are used to evaluate faculty research, how they inhibit innovative research on emerging practice issues, and possible reforms to reduce their perverse incentives.
- 09 Mar 2016
- Lessons from the Classroom
In This Classroom, Beer Can Improve Your Grade
The Strategic Brew computer simulation puts MBAs in charge of their own breweries, rising or sinking based on the popularity of their pseudo suds. Ramon Casadesus-Masanell explains lessons learned from a beer game Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Dec 2015
- Working Paper Summaries
Are the 'Best and Brightest' Going into Finance? Skill Development and Career Choice of MIT Graduates
Pian Shu finds that MIT students who self-select into finance are less academically accomplished than those who choose science and technology.
- 17 Jun 2015
- Lessons from the Classroom
Excellence Comes From Saying No
In a new course designed by Frances Frei and Amy Schulman, business and law students help each other define and achieve their own interpretations of success. Lesson one: You can't be great at everything. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Oct 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
Management: Theory and Practice, and Cases
The author reflects upon his diverse experiences throughout his career with the benefits and challenges of case method teaching and case writing. The case method is undergoing tremendous innovation as students in the twenty-first century engage in learning about corporations, management, and board oversight. In particular, the creative and analytical process of writing the novelAdventures of an IT Leader is examined. The book's "hero's journey" foundation continued in a second Harvard Business Press book, Harder Than I Thought: Adventures of a Twenty-First Century Leader, focusing on CEO leadership in the global economy and the fast-changing IT-enabled pace of business. A third novel is in preparation: It concerns corporate leadership challenges into reinventing boards of directors for the twenty-first century. Key concepts include: A novel-based series of books is incorporating the "hero's journey" classic story structure along with the creation of associated fictional case characters designed to engage readers in the dimensions of human behavior, decision making, and judgments in carrying out the work of the modern corporation. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 11 Aug 2011
- Lessons from the Classroom
Perfecting the Project Pitch
Entrepreneurs may be great innovators, but not necessarily great presenters. Associate Professor Thomas Steenburgh teaches them the fine art of product pitching. Key concepts include: Crafting a compelling product pitch can be a difficult process for entrepreneurs who have a technical, engineering, or non-sales background, or another non-sales discipline. A pitch can go awry when the presenter gets too wrapped up in details rather than concentrating on the central idea, or has not thought through the idea enough to really understand it. An audience will give presenters 60 seconds to capture their attention—then they tune out. A key for entrepreneurs pitching their plans is to show passion for the idea and for the audience. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Aug 2010
- Lessons from the Classroom
HBS Introduces Marketing Analysis Tools for Managers
These tools can help managers make informed decisions on market analysis, breakeven analysis, customer lifetime value, profit and pricing, and analyzing the competitive environment. Interview with Tom Steenburgh. Key concepts include: Immense changes in marketing are driving an increasing need for data analysis. The five HBS-developed tools provide decision-making support for market analysis, breakeven analysis, customer lifetime value, profit and pricing, and analyzing the competitive environment. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 10 May 2010
- Research & Ideas
What Top Scholars Say About Leadership
As a subject of scholarly inquiry, leadership—and who leaders are, what makes them tick, how they affect others—has been neglected for decades. The Handbook of Leadership Theory and Practice, edited by Harvard Business School's Nitin Nohria and Rakesh Khurana, brings together some of the best minds on this important subject. Q&A with Khurana, plus book excerpt. Key concepts include: Leadership as a phenomenon for research is experiencing a rebirth due to developments in the academy and the urgency of improving leadership globally. At the turn of the 20th century, leadership was studied intensely. It then fell off the academic grid. Given the number of schools asserting leadership development as part of their mission statement, it is critical for scholars to understand and explain how leaders succeed and fail based on opportunities and constraints. Leadership should be examined through a variety of lenses, including psychology, sociology, economics, and history. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 May 2010
- Research & Ideas
What Is the Future of MBA Education?
Why get an MBA degree? Transformations in business and society make this question increasingly urgent for executives, business school deans, students, faculty, and the public. In a new book, Rethinking the MBA: Business Education at a Crossroads, Harvard Business School's Srikant M. Datar, David A. Garvin, and Patrick G. Cullen suggest opportunities for innovation. Q&A with Datar and Garvin plus book excerpt. Key concepts include: Executives and business school deans raised multiple concerns about the MBA landscape when the authors interviewed them for an HBS Centennial colloquium in 2008 on the future of MBA education. The challenges: Stakeholders question the value-added of MBA degrees. And MBAs lack sufficient leadership development, a "global mindset," and skill in navigating organizational realities. Rethinking the MBA examines each challenge in turn, and provides six case studies of schools that demonstrate flexibility and innovation in MBA education. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 18 Nov 2009
- HBS Case
Customer Feedback Not on elBulli’s Menu
The world is beating a path to Chef Ferran Adrià's door at elBulli, but why? In professor Michael Norton's course, students learn about marketing from a business owner who says he doesn't care whether or not customers like his product. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Dec 2008
- Lessons from the Classroom
‘Ted Levitt Changed My Life’
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. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Dec 2008
- Lessons from the Classroom
How Many U.S. Jobs Are ‘Offshorable’?
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. Key concepts include: Management students are likely tomorrow to face an unprecedented array of options concerning what they can do where. Increasingly, jobs are being viewed as groups of tasks that can be bundled, unbundled, and sent to different places. Offshoring could come to an end just as quickly as it began. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Nov 2008
- Research & Ideas
Harvard Business School Discusses Future of the MBA
The MBA industry is in turmoil. Many business schools are revisiting their offerings to see if they still have relevance in the 21st century. And HBS is using its centennial year to convene worldwide experts on business education and plot its directions for the next 100 years. From HBS Alumni Bulletin. Key concepts include: Critics claim MBA programs put too much emphasis on theory and not enough on leadership in a global environment. A number of top MBA programs have retooled their offerings. HBS is looking at several change proposals, including the development in students of "soft skills." Whatever curriculum changes HBS ultimately adopts, the School will remain committed to the case method. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 04 Feb 2008
- Research & Ideas
Putting Entrepreneurship in the Social Sector
Despite the best of intentions and trillions of dollars worth of assets, nonprofits have been unable to solve many of society's worst ills. A new casebook by 4 Harvard Business School professors argues that the social sector should take an entrepreneurial approach. Q&A with coauthor Jane C. Wei-Skillern. Key concepts include: Societal problems are increasingly large and complex, taxing the ability of nonprofit organizations to solve them. A new model for the social sector based on entrepreneurship would allow organizations to create more value with their limited resources and tap additional resources not directly under their control. MBA students are increasingly interested in courses and careers related to social enterprise. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 25 Jul 2007
- Lessons from the Classroom
The Evolution of Apple
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. Key concepts include: Apple has an undeniable hit with the iPod, yet faces the question of whether the growth of that business and Apple overall can be sustained. Looking at Apple through the lens of the company's previous chief executives gives students insights into why Apple lost its way after Steve Jobs left the company. Student opinion of Apple tends to be excessively positive or excessively negative, depending on the company's current fortunes. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 02 Apr 2007
- Lessons from the Classroom
Making the Move to General Manager
Managers face a critical transition when they rise from functional expert to general manager. It's an exciting shift but it's also fraught with pitfalls. A new executive education program at Harvard Business School aims to smooth and accelerate this transition, as professor and program chair Benjamin C. Esty explains. Key concepts include: The first big challenge for general managers with newly acquired or significantly expanded responsibilities is learning to see linkages and interconnections across the organization. The second is transitioning from the role of "doer" to the role of managing through other people—and that's a big change. The General Management Program helps participants lead through two big sources of turbulence: globalization—what happens when market boundaries change—and shifts in technology. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 20 Feb 2006
- HBS Case
Oprah: A Case Study Comes Alive
Writing a business case on the icon of daytime television and chief executive of a major media empire was challenge enough for HBS professor Nancy Koehn and colleagues. Oprah Winfrey's visit to campus to talk with graduating students made it ample reward. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 15 Aug 2005
- HBS Case
Classic Cases Live On at HBS
Harvard Business School is famous for its case method of classroom teaching. Here is a look at some of the classic cases that have been taught to business leaders worldwide—and are still in use today. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
From Know-It-Alls to Learn-It-Alls: Executive Development in the Era of Self-Refining Algorithms, Collaborative Filtering and Wearable Computing
Learning happens most reliably and efficiently when it is contextualized, personalized, and socialized. This is important for executive learning in particular and adult learning more generally. Innovators and educational designers can leverage technologies that enable sensing, interacting, computing, searching, and storing to produce learner-optimal experiences.