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Use Your Customer Data to Actually Help Your Customers
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleWhat if consumers were eager to share their information? -
How Much Truth Should You Share?
Business ethics Digital ArticleComments for this Make Your Case installment are now closed. Thanks to all who participated. This week’s guest commentator, Marshall Goldsmith, has posted his response to your comments and shared some thoughts of his own below. The opening to your cube is darkened by the familiar figure of a longtime colleague. Though you’re his immediate […] -
When Does Predictive Technology Become Unethical?
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleWith machine learning, companies and governments can predict an awful lot about you. -
Why Do Companies Succumb to Price Fixing?
Government policy and regulation Magazine ArticleWhen Ben Franklin wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac and the words, “A little neglect may breed great mischief,” he did not have price fixing in mind. To the 47 executives in companies in the folding-box industry convicted of price fixing, however, the words seem tailored to fit. In those companies convicted under antitrust laws in 1976, […] -
Low-Pressure Selling
Developing employees Magazine ArticleBuying is something customers like to do. A salesperson’s job is to help them follow their inclinations. -
Get Aggressive About Passivity
Motivating people Magazine ArticleIn Conspiracy of Fools: A True Story, Kurt Eichenwald relates how Enron’s leaders engaged in massive book-cooking with little interference from the dozens of managers, lawyers, and advisers who had a pretty good idea of what was going on. Similarly, at Parmalat, employees not involved in the Italian dairy giant’s fraud apparently were aware of […] -
Case Study: Protect Your Company or Your Cousin?
Business ethics Magazine ArticleA manager gets inside information that could affect the future of her firm. -
Ethics in Practice
Business ethics Magazine ArticleAs the 1990s overtake us, public interest in ethics is at a historic high. While the press calls attention to blatant derelictions on Wall Street, in the defense industry, and in the Pentagon, and to questionable activities in the White House, in the attorney general’s office, and in Congress, observers wonder whether our society is […] -
When - and Why - You Should Explain How Your AI Works
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleFour scenarios in which companies should be prepared to explain an algorithm's predictions. -
Rupert Murdoch’s Last Stand
Crisis management Digital ArticleIt’s big news when a 168-year-old dies; it’s even bigger news when the demise is self-inflicted. On Thursday, responding to the astonishing (even for British tabloids) phone-hacking and police-paying charges, News International said that it would shutter its News of the World after one more issue this coming Sunday. The company’s predicament and how it […] -
Make Ethics a B-School Admissions Requirement
Business ethics Digital ArticleIf business schools are to consistently produce outstanding ethical leaders, they should not only focus on teaching ethics in the right way and living up to the right honor code, as Aine Donovan writes. They also need to do a much better job of filtering the people they invite into their exclusive cadres. I say […] -
Design a Workspace that Gives Extroverts Privacy, Too
Managing yourself Digital ArticleEven social butterflies need places to withdraw. -
Are You a Role Model?
Business ethics Digital ArticleIt’s impressive that Warren Buffett has earned billions of dollars. It’s even more impressive that he’s the only billionaire with the good grace and social conscience to state the obvious: people like him ought to be paying far higher taxes than they do, especially in these debt-riddled times. But what’s most impressive about Warren Buffett […] -
How Free Are Free Agents?
Business ethics Magazine ArticleJoseph Jett’s account of his tumultuous career on Wall Street isn’t just a story of racism and greed. It’s also a cautionary tale for knowledge workers. -
The UN to Global Business: "We Need You!"
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleIn New York last week the United Nations Global Compact celebrated its 10th anniversary at the Leaders Summit, a confab of C-suite executives, UN officials,... -
How Call Centers Use Behavioral Economics to Sway Customers
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleNext time you're on the phone with a call center, listen carefully to what the rep says. Chances are you'll hear your name several times, hear a tone... -
Employee Suggestion Schemes Don't Have to Be Exercises in Futility
Organizational Development Digital ArticleYou can't just ask for generic feedback. -
Should Your Best Customers Be Stupid?
Customer experience Digital ArticleTake a hard look at your most profitable customers. Not the biggest, not the best, not the most satisfied: the most profitable. Then ask your colleagues: Do we make most of our margins from our “smartest” customers or from our “stupidest” ones? That is, does your firm capture the bulk of its profitability because your […] -
10 Years of Data on Baseball Teams Shows When Pay Transparency Backfires
Leadership & Managing People Digital ArticleBecause our perceptions about pay are often wrong, pay transparency within organizations has started to gain popularity. But there are pros and cons to...
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Moving Beyond ESG
Business and society Magazine ArticleThe framework has its detractors. Here’s a new playbook for responsible business. -
How Companies Can Take a Global Approach to AI Ethics
Business ethics Digital ArticleIdeas about right and wrong can differ from one cultural context to the next. Corporate AI governance must reflect this. -
3 Lessons from The Washington Post’s Leadership Turmoil
Leadership transitions Digital ArticleWhat to do when a new leader gets off to a controversial or rocky start. -
Disclosing Downstream Emissions
Environmental sustainability Magazine ArticleWhen are companies accountable for customers’ use of their products? -
Understanding Your NDA (and When It Can Be Broken)
Business law and ethics Digital ArticleNon-disclosure agreements that restrict your ability to report misconduct to the government are illegal in the U.S. -
How to Implement AI — Responsibly
Business law and ethics Digital ArticleFour ways nontechnical leaders can foster a culture that values ethical AI. -
Dynamic Pricing Doesn’t Have to Alienate Your Customers
Pricing strategy Digital ArticleDone right, it should serve the long-term interest of companies and customers alike. -
AI’s Trust Problem
Business ethics Digital ArticleTwelve persistent risks of AI that are driving skepticism. -
Why the Influencer Industry Needs Guardrails
Marketing SpotlightAnd how to professionalize a maturing practice -
Winning at Influencer Marketing
Management Digital ArticleOver the past 20 years the social media influencer industry has completely rearranged the way information and culture are conceived, produced, marketed,... -
When Attending Industry Events, Avoid These Legal Risks
Antitrust laws Digital ArticlePrep your team on which conversations and situations to avoid when mingling with competitors. -
How to Fix Your Company’s Culture of Overwork
Business ethics Digital ArticleA three-step process will make everyone less stressed and more productive. -
When New Hires Get Paid More, Top Performers Resign First
Transparency Digital ArticleResearch shows that unaddressed pay gaps will push veteran talent to find new jobs. -
The Paradox of Growing as a Values-Driven Company
Business and society Digital ArticleLessons from the B Corp movement about how to offer ethical alternatives at scale — without diluting your mission. -
Bring Human Values to AI
Business ethics Magazine ArticleSpeed and efficiency used to be the priority. Now issues such as safety and privacy matter too. -
The Lingering Cost of Instant Fashion
Business and society Digital ArticleConsumers should understand the side effects of business models — particularly the privatization of profit and the socialization of costs, including human and environmental harm. -
HBR’s Picks on Managing Social and Political Issues at Work
Business and society Big IdeaArticles and podcast episodes on speaking up, employee activism, and politics. -
A Leader’s Guide to Navigating Employee Activism
Business and society Big IdeaHow companies can choose when — and whether — to act on employees’ concerns. -
Corporate Advocacy in a Time of Social Outrage
Corporate social responsibility Big IdeaBusinesses can’t weigh in on every issue that employees care about. But they can create a culture of open dialogue and ethical transparency. -
When Business and Politics Collide
Management Digital ArticleToday's employees, particularly young ones, expect their employers to speak out about the social, political, and environmental issues they care about....
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Handy: The Future of Work? (B)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details Witnessing numerous lawsuits alleging that online platform companies misclassified workers as contractors when they were actually employees, Handy's founders... -
Zenefits Board of Directors (C)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details In early 2018, the time seemed right for Zenefits investor and director Lars Dalgaard to reflect on whether Zenefits had the right board of directors... -
Scott Tucker (B): The Feds Catch Up
Finance & Accounting Case Study5.00View Details The case tells the story of the rise and fall of Scott Tucker, an entrepreneur, businessman, passionate race car driver, competitor, and owner of a professional... -
Medfield Pharmaceuticals
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Susan Johnson, founder and CEO of Medfield Pharmaceuticals, is faced with conflicting recommendations for extending the patent life of the company's flagship... -
Firestone: Crises Across the Decades
Global Business Case Study11.95View Details A PBS documentary has uncovered a trove of recently discovered documents revealing a 1991 deal in which Firestone agreed to pay Liberian warlord Charles... -
Tony's Chocolonely: The Pursuit of Growth With Purpose
Sales & Marketing Case Study11.95View Details The case, and its accompanying pedagogical material, offers a unique perspective on CSR-based transformational entrepreneurship, looking at a startup... -
Balance-Statement Reporting at Premium Capital Funds (B)
Organizational Development Case Study5.00View Details Supplement to case UV7926 This case is part of the Giving Voice to Values (GVV) curriculum. To see other material in the GVV curriculum, please visit... -
Wes Hall and the BlackNorth Initiative
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details Wes Hall founded Kingsdale Advisors and built it into one of Canada's leading shareholder services and advisory firms. Influenced by the Black Lives Matter... -
OnlyFans Drifting towards Pornography: The Technological and Ethical Challenges of Open Platforms
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details OnlyFans, a paywalled platform primarily known for hosting adult content, had drifted towards sexually explicit content since COVID-19-related lockdowns... -
To Blast or not to Blast: Leaning on Values
Organizational Development Case Study11.95View Details After only two years on the job, a successful young female engineer encountered a critical and independent decision-making scenario in a profession traditionally... -
Google v. Oracle: Software Theft or Fair Use?
Technology & Operations Case Study11.95View Details This case explores a current but also enduring and widely relevant intersection of challenges facing managers who compete in rapidly evolving technology... -
Differences at Work: Alex (A)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details In Differences at Work: Alex (A), HBS Case No. 9-408-011 Alex has been asked an inappropriate question by the interviewer at an interview for his dream... -
The Toshiba Accounting Scandal: How Corporate Governance Failed
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details In 2015, Toshiba, a conglomerate best known throughout the world for its electronics products, announced to the world that it has overstated profits by... -
BP and the Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details On the night of April 20, 2010, a series of explosions rocked the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Gas in the Macondo well had surged... -
Canature's Sustainable Development: Explorations and Practices
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details This case describes how Canature, whose main business is water filtration, spent like crazy to build a Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) system, turning its... -
Should I Stay or Should I Go? Assessing Risk in Carlos Ghosn's International Escape
Innovation & Entrepreneurship Case Study11.95View Details In 2018, automotive tycoon Carlos Ghosn was arrested in Japan on financial misreporting charges, followed later by charges of improper payments and misappropriation... -
Where's the (Sustainable) Beef? McDonald's Quest
Management Case Study11.95View Details In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published "Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options," which,... -
Going Global - Working in Jumandia
Leadership & Managing People Case Study11.95View Details After two successful years of consulting work, Sonya lands a job at a US-based petroleum company. She thrives in the firm's corporate culture and is soon...
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Handy: The Future of Work? (B)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details Witnessing numerous lawsuits alleging that online platform companies misclassified workers as contractors when they were actually employees, Handy's founders... -
Use Your Customer Data to Actually Help Your Customers
Technology & Operations Digital ArticleWhat if consumers were eager to share their information? -
How Much Truth Should You Share?
Business ethics Digital ArticleComments for this Make Your Case installment are now closed. Thanks to all who participated. This week’s guest commentator, Marshall Goldsmith, has posted his response to your comments and shared some thoughts of his own below. The opening to your cube is darkened by the familiar figure of a longtime colleague. Though you’re his immediate […] -
When Does Predictive Technology Become Unethical?
Sales & Marketing Digital ArticleWith machine learning, companies and governments can predict an awful lot about you. -
Zenefits Board of Directors (C)
Leadership & Managing People Case Study5.00View Details In early 2018, the time seemed right for Zenefits investor and director Lars Dalgaard to reflect on whether Zenefits had the right board of directors... -
Why Do Companies Succumb to Price Fixing?
Government policy and regulation Magazine ArticleWhen Ben Franklin wrote Poor Richard’s Almanac and the words, “A little neglect may breed great mischief,” he did not have price fixing in mind. To the 47 executives in companies in the folding-box industry convicted of price fixing, however, the words seem tailored to fit. In those companies convicted under antitrust laws in 1976, […] -
Scott Tucker (B): The Feds Catch Up
Finance & Accounting Case Study5.00View Details The case tells the story of the rise and fall of Scott Tucker, an entrepreneur, businessman, passionate race car driver, competitor, and owner of a professional... -
Low-Pressure Selling
Developing employees Magazine ArticleBuying is something customers like to do. A salesperson’s job is to help them follow their inclinations. -
Medfield Pharmaceuticals
Finance & Accounting Case Study11.95View Details Susan Johnson, founder and CEO of Medfield Pharmaceuticals, is faced with conflicting recommendations for extending the patent life of the company's flagship...