Bill Cummings: The Cummings Way

Christina R. Wing; Robert F. White; Michael  Norris

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Case | HBS Case Collection | May 2019

Bill Cummings: The Cummings Way

by Christina R. Wing, Robert F. White and Michael Norris

Abstract

In 2019, Bill Cummings, founder of Cummings Properties and Cummings Foundation and billionaire signer of the Giving Pledge, is winding down his roles at his company and foundation. How should the management move the company forward?

Keywords: real estate development; philanthropy; Family Business; Nonprofit Organizations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Management Succession; Real Estate Industry; United States; Boston;

Language: English

Format: Print

40 pages

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Citation:

Wing, Christina R., Robert F. White, and Michael Norris. "Bill Cummings: The Cummings Way." Harvard Business School Case 619-038, May 2019.

About the Authors

Christina R. Wing

Senior Lecturer of Business Administration

Technology and Operations Management

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View Publications »

Robert F. White

MBA Class of 1957 Senior Lecturer of Business Administration

Entrepreneurial Management

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View Publications »

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Case | HBS Case Collection | October 2018 (Revised August 2019)

The Boston Beer Company: New CEO

Christina R. Wing and Marco Iansiti

Keywords: Beer/brewing industry; supply chain; succession; Leadership; Change; Supply Chain; United States;

Citation:
Wing, Christina R., and Marco Iansiti. "The Boston Beer Company: New CEO." Harvard Business School Case 619-021, October 2018. (Revised August 2019.) View Details

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Technical Note | HBS Case Collection | August 2018 (Revised August 2019)

A Note on Compensation

Ethan Bernstein and Michael Norris

This note provides an overview of the important terms, concepts, and frameworks that a manager should know about compensation—whether it be their own or that of an employee. Because compensation in practice is fraught with pitfalls, this note presents an overview of the various aspects of compensation of which any general manager should be aware to anticipate and avoid missteps. It was written for the second-year MBA course "Managing Human Capital" at HBS and would fit well in any Human Resource Management course.

Keywords: compensation design; benefits; Perks; Variable Compensation; Compensation and Benefits; Executive Compensation; Stock Options; Profit Sharing; Job Design and Levels; Labor Unions; Wages; United States;

Citation:
Bernstein, Ethan, and Michael Norris. "A Note on Compensation." Harvard Business School Technical Note 419-020, August 2018. (Revised August 2019.) View Details

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Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2019

Family Matters: Governance at the Zamil Group

Christina R. Wing, Suraj Srinivasan and Esel Çekin

This case focuses on a large Saudi Arabian industrial conglomerate and family business Zamil Group’s corporate and the family’s governance journey. The 12 sons of the founder led and grew the group successfully after taking over from their father in 1961. The secret to their success was to arrive at all decisions with a consensus, although each had their own approach to dealing with issues. In the mid-1990s, they hired world-class consultants and created manuals and guidelines for governing the business and continuing the growth of the Group’s assets. They were the model for running a family business in Saudi Arabia. However, the increasing number of family members in the group—84 third-generation and 162 fourth-generation members and the upcoming fifth generation—created challenges going forward. They wanted to ensure that the governance principles they had created would evolve and develop in line with the changing dynamics. The upcoming generations did not have jobs waiting for them in the family business simply because they were members of the Zamil family, and not all of them were motivated to remain invested in the businesses. The second-generation and senior members of the third-generation wanted to make sure that they balanced the needs of the business and those of individual family members. They sought to put mechanisms in place that would keep the shares of the business in the family so as to avoid diluting the family’s ownership as they diversified the asset portfolio, addressed diverse risks, and catered to the consumption goals of the next generation. This might mean that the Group would eventually move from being operators to becoming financial investors.

Keywords: Family Business; Governance; Organizational Structure; Values and Beliefs; Steel Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Middle East; Saudi Arabia; Bahrain;

Citation:
Wing, Christina R., Suraj Srinivasan, and Esel Çekin. "Family Matters: Governance at the Zamil Group." Harvard Business School Case 620-009, August 2019. View Details

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Faculty & Research

Bill Cummings: The Cummings Way

Abstract

Citation:

About the Authors

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