Why Be Honest If Honesty Doesn't Pay?

A. V. Bhide; H. H. Stevenson

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Article | Harvard Business Review | September–October 1990

Why Be Honest If Honesty Doesn't Pay?

by A. V. Bhide and H. H. Stevenson

Format: Print

9 pages

Find at Harvard

Citation:

Bhide, A. V., and H. H. Stevenson. "Why Be Honest If Honesty Doesn't Pay?" Harvard Business Review 68, no. 5 (September–October 1990): 121–129.

About the Authors

Amar Bhide

Visiting Professor of Business Administration

General Management

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Howard H. Stevenson

Sarofim-Rock Baker Foundation Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus

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More from these Authors

Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2020

Building the Professional Firm: McKinsey & Co.: 1939-1968

Amar Bhide

This case history analyzes how the founders of McKinsey & Co. built one of the world's leading management consulting firms by developing a “system” of professional norms, approach to serving clients, personnel policies, organization, governance, and ownership. The history also shows that while McKinsey’s founders resorted to considerable trial and error, it was not ad hoc: they intended to discover the best means to further a long-term vision and strategy. Moreover, their vision and strategy derived more from a priori faith and personal values than from scientific evidence or financial calculation.

Citation:
Bhide, Amar. "Building the Professional Firm: McKinsey & Co.: 1939-1968." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 95-010, January 1995. (Revised July 2020.) View Details

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Working Paper | HBS Working Paper Series | 2020

Note on Practical Knowledge

Amar Bhidé

This Note examines the development of the knowledge embodied in ‘artifacts’—things and arrangements that do not exist in nature. It focuses on ‘multi-player’ advances—artifacts and knowledge developed by and for the many—and highlights the venturesome spirit and technical scaffolding of such advances. And it suggests ways for using the scaffolding while keeping the spirit.

Citation:
Bhidé, Amar. "Note on Practical Knowledge." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-010, July 2020. (Revised August 2020.) View Details

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Article | Applied Economics | 2020

Making Economics More Useful: How Technological Eclecticism Could Help

Amar Bhidé

Keynes thought it would be ‘splendid’ if economists became more like dentists. Disciplinary economics has instead become more like physics in focusing on concise, universal propositions verified through decisive tests. This focus, I argue, limits the practical utility of the discipline because universal propositions form only a part of new policy recipes. I further suggest that, as in engineering and medicine, developing economic recipes requires eclectic combinations of suggestive tests and judgement. Additionally, I offer a detailed example of how a simulation model can help evaluate new policy combinations that affect the screening of loan applications.

Keywords: economic methodology; simulations; banking; regulation; judgment; Economics; Policy;

Citation:
Bhidé, Amar. "Making Economics More Useful: How Technological Eclecticism Could Help." Applied Economics 52, no. 26 (2020). View Details

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Why Be Honest If Honesty Doesn't Pay?

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