Global Fact Sheet An Overview of Global Activities at Harvard Business School
Global at a Glance
- Throughout its history, Harvard Business School has been a leader in developing practice-oriented research for management education. Applying the case method of teaching, the School has educated tens of thousands of leaders in business, government, and academia around the world. HBS also has helped guide the establishment of leading business schools in Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, and Asia.
- The School has adhered to a carefully crafted strategy: enrich the entire portfolio of activities by focusing on building and leveraging the faculty's research. Extending the School's global reach remains a top priority for both HBS and Dean Jay Light.
- Established in 1996, the Global Initiative builds on the School's legacy of global engagement by supporting the HBS community of faculty, students, and alumni in their work, encouraging a global perspective in research, study, and practice.
Global Research & Teaching
- To facilitate faculty research and case development on an international scale, Harvard Business School furthered its impact by establishing six Global Research Centers in key regions around the world: Asia-Pacific (Hong Kong and Japan), Europe, India, Latin America, and California.
- The Global Research Centers strengthen faculty connections with businesses, people, and ideas beyond our borders. This far-reaching network not only is unprecedented in higher education, but also is a vital element in the creation of the School's intellectual capital.
- At any given time HBS researchers are active in more than 40 countries.
Global Curriculum
- One third of the approximately 350 cases developed each year are international in scope, and a wide variety of courses and cases in the MBA program address global business issues.
- Throughout fiscal 2008, HBS faculty published nearly 100 new cases and teaching materials with an international focus. Here is a sampling of recently published international cases:
- Lan Airlines in 2008: Connecting the World to Latin America by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Jorge Tarzijan, and Jordan Mitchell. March 2009
- Lapdesk Goes Global-Africa First by Daniel J. Isenberg. March 2009
- Accenture's War for Talent in India? by Robert G. Eccles, David Lane, Namrata Arora, and Prabakar "PK" Kothandaraman. February 2009
- The Dojima Rice Market and the Origins of Futures Trading by David A. Moss and Eugene Kintgen. February 2009
- The Chubb Corporation in China by Li Jin, Michael Shih-ta Chen, and Aldo Sesia Jr. December 2008
- Finland's S Group: Competing with a Cooperative Approach to Retail by Ramon Casadesus-Masanell, Tarun Khanna, Samuli Skurnik, and Jordan Mitchell. December 2008
Students and the MBA Program
- International students from 70 countries comprise over one-third of the MBA student body. Such diversity is an important part of the MBA learning experience and greatly enriches the participant-centered approach to learning by bringing contrasting viewpoints to daily class discussions.
- The second year of the MBA program offers students 96 courses in 10 subject areas, nearly all of which utilize a significant number of international cases. Courses with an explicitly international or global focus are listed below:
- Business, Government, and the International Economy:
Doing Business in China in the Early 21st Century, Economic Strategies of Nations, Institutions, Macroeconomics, and the Global Economy (IMaGE), and Managing International Trade and Investment - Entrepreneurial Management:
Entrepreneurship and Global Capitalism and International Entrepreneurship - Finance:
Dynamic Markets, Real Estate Options in Emerging Markets, International Entrepreneurship and International Financial Management - General Management:
Cross-Cultural Work Experiences, Doing Business in China in the Early 21st Century, and Globalization of Emerging Markets - Strategy:
Advanced Global Strategy and Globalization of Emerging Markets
Faculty Interest
- Approximately half of the HBS faculty currently conduct research internationally.
- Over 130 faculty members identify topics such as globalization, cross-cultural issues, emerging markets and international among their primary or secondary areas of interest.
- HBS faculty members develop 80 percent of cases used at business schools worldwide.
- Faculty members frequently collaborate across the School's Global Research Centers and disciplines
- The School invests generously in faculty research - nearly US$102 million in fiscal 2008 - freeing scholars from the distraction of fundraising and the constraints of third-party grants or sponsorship.
Global Alumni Network
- Harvard Business School's unparalleled alumni network extends throughout the world, with 70,000 alumni living in 150 countries.
- The School has more than 85 alumni clubs and associations in over 30 countries.
- Alumni groups provide a wide range of professional, educational, and social programs within their communities reinforcing the HBS mission "to educate leaders who make a difference in the world."