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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2019

  Jay Gould, 'The Most Hated Man in America'

  Tom Nicholas, John Masko and Matthew G. Preble

  Railroad magnate Jay Gould, a controversial figure in the history of U.S. capitalism, was a disruptive influence on an industry that had previously relied on formal and informal agreements to move traffic long distances across lines operated by different companies. Gould and his competitors replaced these agreements with consolidation and system-building, a process which led to the rise of government regulation of railroads in the 1880s and to widespread railroad bankruptcies in the 1890s. This case explores the growth of early American railroads, places Gould’s career in context (including his famous attempt to corner the U.S. gold market), and demonstrates the implications of his activities on competitive dynamics in the railroad industry.

  Keywords: railroads; history; Gould; Vanderbilt; Rail Transportation; History; Consolidation; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Competition; Strategy; Rail Industry; United States;

  Citation:

  Nicholas, Tom, John Masko, and Matthew G. Preble. "Jay Gould, 'The Most Hated Man in America'." Harvard Business School Case 819-006, January 2019.  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2018 (Revised January 2019)

  WeWork

  Jeffrey F. Rayport, Sarah Gulick and Matthew G. Preble

  WeWork co-founder Miguel McKelvey was concerned about the culture of his rapidly expanding global venture. In particular, he wanted to ensure that WeWork continued to be a great place to work, both because he cared about WeWork's people and because a better work experience was core to the company’s brand. In the summer of 2017, he had made a presentation to the company at an all-hands meeting. In it, he proposed the creation of a culture operations team, and he announced that he would take the title of chief culture officer to lead it. In this case, which describes the founding and growth of WeWork from 2010, we encounter McKelvey planning for his new role with co-founder Adam Neumann and envisioning a “culture OS” that he and Neumann would use to lead the organization internally—and to offer as a “product” to scaled enterprises externally.

  Keywords: Organizational Culture; Employee Relationship Management; Working Conditions;

  Citation:

  Rayport, Jeffrey F., Sarah Gulick, and Matthew G. Preble. "WeWork." Harvard Business School Case 818-101, April 2018. (Revised January 2019.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2019

  New Balance: Managing Orders and Working Conditions

  Michael W. Toffel, Eileen McNeely and Matthew Preble

  New Balance Athletics, Inc., a major U.S.-based athletic footwear and apparel brand, sources most of its footwear products from independent suppliers whose factories are located in China, Indonesia, and Vietnam. Monica Gorman, vice president of responsible leadership and global compliance, is seeking to combine data sets collected by different parts of the organization to see whether she and her colleagues in the company’s order management function can make a clear connection between the corporate social responsibility (CSR) results that her function tracks at the supplier level, with New Balance’s order placement practices.

  Keywords: Footwear; Athletic Footwear; manufacturing; CSR; Operations; Management; Production; Working Conditions; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Apparel and Accessories Industry;

  Citation:

  Toffel, Michael W., Eileen McNeely, and Matthew Preble. "New Balance: Managing Orders and Working Conditions." Harvard Business School Case 619-002, January 2019.  View Details

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