Boards

Instead of focusing on who’s “ahead,” focus on who’s actually best-suited to the top job.

Hitting 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.

They keep things fresh and fair.

Tim Cook is on track to be the next Steve Ballmer.

Bonuses 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 […]

With the battle for the best and brightest people heating up again, you're most likely out there looking for first-rate talent in the ranks of your competitors....

But CEOs increasingly do.

A much-quoted study from a few years back shows that companies with high numbers of female directors on their boards perform substantially better on three metrics—return on equity, return on sales, and return on invested capital—than companies with very few or no female directors. A group of researchers led by Harvard sociologist Frank Dobbin is […]

The country’s recent reforms don’t go nearly far enough.

The average breach costs around $4 million.

Two ways Cisco does it.

Last spring Brett Favre pulled the plug on his pro football career, saying that he didn’t have the heart to play any longer. This July he’s had a change of heart. This is not the first time Favre has changed his mind about retirement. But what’s different this time is that his team, the Green […]

It is hard to believe but yes, 2009 is winding down. Thanksgiving is around the corner, the holiday rush is almost palpable, and before you know it we'll...

What could be more difficult than finding a new CEO? Many companies say it’s finding someone who’s willing to sign up for the number two job: COO. The problem often lies with a firm’s uncertainty about whether it’s looking for a “pure” COO or for a successor to the CEO. The board should be clear […]

Research suggests it's unrealistic.

Only 7% of board seats in private, venture-backed, U.S.-based companies are held by women.

Quotas are now off the table. What's next?

Outsiders are overrated.

It 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...

Avoid these common traps when you join a new organization.

EnerNOC is an energy company with an innovative business model: it serves as an intermediary between electric utilities and electricity users. It contracts...

Zurich Insurance was undergoing organizational change after implementing five new people practices focused on: manager development, diversity and inclusion,...

Supplements the (A) case.

After 15 years of great performance, Target's faltering performance during an economic downturn led an activist shareholder to initiate a proxy fight....

An exercise that takes students through five stages of growth in an entrepreneurial start-up in the medical devices industry: 1) founding, 2) growth,...

A company nears the end of a long multiyear turnaround and now must consider how to "cash out" so its management can realize a financial return on investment....

The EMco and SolarT case is presented in a series of four short vignettes involved two women, Carrie and Marguerite, who have a twenty-year friendship....

Supplement to case CU243

Case describes the career journey of the owner of two small family businesses, and illustrates the intertwining of crisis planning, retirement planning,...

Reckitt Benckiser plc has developed an executive compensation system. This case outlines the structure of the system, its emphasis on performance-based...

Describes Richard Spellman's decision to leave his existing employer and join an Internet start-up as CEO. Focuses on the terms of a restricted stock...

In 2011, Sarah Naudé and Matt Stanley sat down with the chairman of Telecom New Zealand, Wayne Boyd. Telecom, a publicly listed company and the largest...

In July 2006, Barracuda became the largest investor in Tarco International. In a meeting with management, Barracuda's managing director advised that strong...

Viacom has built a powerful position in the global entertainment industry through skillful and bold acquisitions. Now its expansion is challenged by the...

Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of...

After years of rapid growth and stock price appreciation, New Century Financial Corporation, one of the largest subprime loan originators in the U.S.,...

The family holds a meeting to talk about the future of the business. Designed to be used with Precista Tools AG (A) and (C) in a one class period.

Elizabeth Mok was the second born and the only daughter in the fourth generation of the Lee family. She was also the only one of five siblings who did...

Supplements the (A) case, UV4277.

Instead of focusing on who’s “ahead,” focus on who’s actually best-suited to the top job.

Hitting 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.

They keep things fresh and fair.

Tim Cook is on track to be the next Steve Ballmer.

Bonuses 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 […]

With the battle for the best and brightest people heating up again, you're most likely out there looking for first-rate talent in the ranks of your competitors....

But CEOs increasingly do.

EnerNOC is an energy company with an innovative business model: it serves as an intermediary between electric utilities and electricity users. It contracts...

A much-quoted study from a few years back shows that companies with high numbers of female directors on their boards perform substantially better on three metrics—return on equity, return on sales, and return on invested capital—than companies with very few or no female directors. A group of researchers led by Harvard sociologist Frank Dobbin is […]