AT&T: Managing Technological Change and the Future of Telephone Operators in the 20th Century

Daniel P.  Gross; William R. Kerr

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Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | May 2018

AT&T: Managing Technological Change and the Future of Telephone Operators in the 20th Century

by Daniel P. Gross and William R. Kerr

Abstract

Teaching Note for HBS No. 718-486.

Keywords: AT＆T; Bell Telephone; phone lines; phone operators; mechanical switching; disruption; layoffs; technological change; Transition; History; Innovation and Invention; Technological Innovation; Technology; Disruption; Change Management; Communications Industry; Telecommunications Industry; United States;

Language: English

Format: Print

21 pages

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Citation:

Gross, Daniel P., and William R. Kerr. "AT&T: Managing Technological Change and the Future of Telephone Operators in the 20th Century." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 718-518, May 2018.

About the Authors

Daniel P. Gross

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Strategy

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William R. Kerr

Dimitri V. D'Arbeloff - MBA Class of 1955 Professor of Business Administration

Entrepreneurial Management

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Article | Research Policy | 2020

Immigrant Entrepreneurship in America: Evidence from the Survey of Business Owners 2007 & 2012

Sari Pekkala Kerr and William R. Kerr

We study immigrant entrepreneurship in 2007 and 2012 using the Survey of Business Owners. First-generation immigrants create about 25% of new firms in America, but this share exceeds 40% in some states. Immigrant-owned firms tend to create fewer jobs than native-owned firms, have comparable pay levels, offer fewer benefits, and engage more in international activities. Immigrant-founded firms in high-tech sectors more closely resemble native-founded firms than in low-tech sectors. Prominent tech clusters display quite pronounced shares of immigrant entrepreneurs, with stronger high-tech immigrant entrepreneurs being especially present. Second-generation immigrants tend to show intermediate firm traits indicative of business assimilation.

Keywords: job creation; employee benefits; owner demographics; Exports; outsourcing; Immigration; Entrepreneurship; Ownership; Demographics; Jobs and Positions; Compensation and Benefits; United States;

Citation:
Kerr, Sari Pekkala, and William R. Kerr. "Immigrant Entrepreneurship in America: Evidence from the Survey of Business Owners 2007 & 2012." Art. 103918. Research Policy 49, no. 3 (April 2020). View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | December 2018 (Revised March 2020)

Modern Automation (A): Artificial Intelligence

William R. Kerr and James Palano

This primer is meant to be a field guide to the late 2010s' surge in business use of "Artificial Intelligence" (AI), or enterprise software based in machine learning. First, it provides an overview of the key trends - digitization, connectivity, the continuation of Moore's law, and advancements in machine learning algorithms - which led to the inflection point in adoption of AI. Then, the primer describes the range of use cases of state-of-the-art enterprise AI organized in a taxonomy designed to build generalized understanding of the types of work to which AI can be applied. This knowledge is useful not only to managers looking to best leverage the technology but to those working to manage resulting organizational change and prepare the workforce for transitions into complementary tasks. Finally, key issues and implications of AI adoption are also discussed.

Keywords: artificial intelligence; digitization; connectivity; Computing; future of work; automation; Technology; Technology Adoption; Employment; Management; Information Technology;

Citation:
Kerr, William R., and James Palano. "Modern Automation (A): Artificial Intelligence." Harvard Business School Case 819-084, December 2018. (Revised March 2020.) View Details

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Supplement | HBS Case Collection | October 2019 (Revised March 2020)

Modern Automation (B): Robotics

William R. Kerr and James Palano

Driven largely by advances in perception and situational awareness, robots in the 2010s were gaining functionality that allowed them to be applied to fundamentally new types of work. The expanding range of new tasks that could be completed by machines had significant implications for businesses, the workforce, and society. This primer grounds conversations about these implications by describing the advances in underpinning technology that moved the boundaries of where robots could be deployed and illustrating real-world examples of the new types of activities that robots were becoming able to perform.

Keywords: robotics; artificial intelligence; future of work; technology commercialization; Technology; Commercialization; Employment;

Citation:
Kerr, William R., and James Palano. "Modern Automation (B): Robotics." Harvard Business School Supplement 820-069, October 2019. (Revised March 2020.) View Details

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AT&T: Managing Technological Change and the Future of Telephone Operators in the 20th Century

Abstract

Citation:

About the Authors

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