Kathleen L. McGinn is the Cahners-Rabb Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. Professor McGinn studies the role of gender and social class at work, at home, and in negotiations. Her current field research investigates these issues internationally—in families across 29 countries, in organizations and communities in Mexico and India, among women “firsts” and female professionals in North America, and in relation to health and welfare outcomes for young women in Zambia. She previously served as Harvard Business School’s Senior Associate Dean for Faculty Development, Director of Research, and Chair of Doctoral Programs.
Professor McGinn advises organizations in the areas of negotiation, gender and employment relations. She chairs the board for CFK Inc. (US & Kenya) and is a member of the board for WAVE (US & Nigeria). Before coming to Harvard, Professor McGinn taught at Cornell University’s Johnson School and Northwestern University’s Kellogg Graduate School of Management, where she received her Ph.D. Prior to her academic career, Professor McGinn was a director of labor relations in the public sector. When her daughter left for college, Professor McGinn and her husband moved to a long-abandoned farm and are (forever) in the process of bringing it to some semblance of its prior self.
Analyses relying on two international surveys from over 100,000 men and women across 29 countries explore the relationship between maternal employment and adult daughters’ and sons’ employment and domestic outcomes. In the employment sphere, adult daughters, but not sons, of employed mothers are more likely to be employed and, if employed, are more likely to hold supervisory responsibility, work more hours and earn higher incomes than their peers whose mothers were not employed. In the domestic sphere, sons raised by employed mothers spend more time caring for family members and daughters spend less time on housework. Analyses provide evidence for two mechanisms: gender attitudes and social learning. Finally, findings show contextual influences at the family and societal levels: family-of-origin social class moderates effects of maternal employment and childhood exposure to female employment within society can substitute for the influence of maternal employment on daughters and reinforce its influence on sons.
People in low-power positions, whether due to gender or class, tend to exhibit other-oriented rather than self-oriented behavior. Women’s experiences at work and at home are shaped by social class, heightening identification with gender for relatively upper class women and identification with class for relatively lower class women, potentially mitigating, or even reversing, class-based differences documented in past research. Gender-class differences are reflected in women’s employment beliefs and behaviors. Research integrating social class with gendered experiences in homes and workplaces deepens our understanding of the complex interplay between sources of power and status in society.
We investigate the role of workgroup sex and race composition on the career mobility of professionals in "up-or-out" organizations. We develop a nuanced perspective on the potential career mobility effects of workgroup demography by integrating the social identification processes of cohesion, competition, and comparison. Using five years of personnel data from a large law firm, we examine the influence of demographic match with workgroup superiors and workgroup peers on attorneys' likelihood of turnover and promotion. Survival analyses reveal that higher proportions of same-sex and same-race superiors enhance junior professionals' career mobility. On the flip side, we observe mobility costs accruing to professionals in workgroups with higher proportions of same-sex and same-race peers. Qualitative data offer insights into the social identification processes underlying demographic similarity effects on turnover and promotion in professional service organizations.
We study the framing effects of communication on payoffs in multiparty bargaining. Communication has been shown to be more truthful and revealing than predicted in equilibrium. Because talk is preference revealing, it may effectively frame bargaining around a logic of fairness or competition, moving parties on a path toward or away from equal-division agreements. These endogenous framing effects may outweigh any overall social utility effects due to the mere presence of communication. In two studies, we find that non-binding talk about fairness within a three-party, complete-information game leads toward off equilibrium, equal division payoffs, while non-binding talk focusing on competitive reasoning moves parties away from equal divisions. Our two studies allow us to demonstrate that manipulated pre-game talk and spontaneous within-game dialogue lead to the same results.
Phenomenological assumptions-assumptions about the fundamental qualities of the phenomenon being studied and how it relates to the environment in which it occurs-affect the dissemination of knowledge from subfields to the broader field of study. Micro-process research in organizational studies rests on implicit phenomenological assumptions that vary in the extent to which micro-processes are viewed as parts of larger systems. We suggest that phenomenological assumptions linking micro-processes to organizational contexts highlight the relevance of micro-process research findings to broader organizational questions, and therefore increase the likelihood that the findings will disseminate to the larger field of organizational research. We test this assertion by analyzing studies of negotiation published in top peer-reviewed management, psychology, sociology, and industrial relations journals from 1990 to 2005. Our findings reveal a continuum of open systems to closed systems phenomenological assumptions in negotiation research. Analysis of the citation rates of the articles in our data set by non-negotiation organizational research indicates that more open systems assumptions increase the likelihood that a negotiation article will be cited in organizational studies, after controlling for other, previously identified effects on citation rates. Our findings suggest that subfields can increase the impact they have on the broader intellectual discourse by situating their phenomena in rich contexts that illuminate the connections between their findings and questions of interest to the broader field.
Bendersky, Corinne, and Kathleen L. McGinn. "Open to Negotiation: Phenomenological Assumptions and Knowledge Dissemination."Organization Science 21, no. 3 (May–June 2010): 781–797. (Also published in Academy of Management Best Paper Proceedings 2008, Organization and Management Theory Division, under title: Incompatible Assumptions: Barriers to Producing Multidisciplinary Knowledge.)
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Negotiation is a process that creates, reinforces, and reduces gender inequality in organizations, yet the study of gender in negotiation has little connection to the study of gender in organizations. We review the literature on gender in job negotiations from psychology and organizational behavior, and propose ways in which this literature could speak more directly to gender inequality in organizations by incorporating insights from research on gender in intra-household and collective bargaining. Taken together, these literatures illuminate how negotiations at the individual, household, and collective levels may contribute to the construction and deconstruction of gender inequality in organizations.
We propose taking a two-level-game perspective on gender in job negotiations. At Level One, candidates negotiate with employers. At Level Two, candidates negotiate with household members. In order to illuminate the interplay between these two levels, we review research from two separate bodies of literature. Research in psychology and organizational behavior on candidate-employer negotiations sheds light on the effects of gender on Level One negotiations. Research from economics and sociology on intrahousehold bargaining elucidates how negotiations over the allocation of domestic labor at Level Two influence labor force participation at Level One. In conclusion, we integrate practical implications from these two bodies of literature to propose a set of prescriptive suggestions for candidates to approach job negotiations as a two-level game and to minimize the disadvantageous effects of gender on job negotiation outcomes.
McGinn, Kathleen L., Leigh Thompson, Robert Gibbons, and Max H. Bazerman. "How Communication Improves Efficiency in Bargaining Games."Games and Economic Behavior 38, no. 1 (January 2002): 127–155. (Reprinted in M.H. Bazerman, ed., Negotiation, Decision Making and Conflict Management, Volume 3, Edward Elgar Publishing, 2005.)
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It's tempting to save time and money by negotiating through e-mail, rather than in person or by phone. But new research finds that people can be contentious-even dishonest-when negotiating solely by e-mail.
Bazerman, M. H., M. A. Neale, K. L. McGinn, E. J. Zajac, and Y. M. Kim. "The Effect of Agents and Mediators on Negotiation Outcomes."Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes 53, no. 1 (October 1992): 55–73. (Reprinted in T. Connolly, H.R. Arkes and K.R. Hammond (Eds.), Judgement and Decision Making: An Interdisciplinary Reader, Cambridge University Press, 2nd edition, 1996, 3rd edition, 2000.)
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We investigate how structural features of negotiations can affect interaction processes and how negotiations can be not only a solution to, but also a source of, inter-organizational conflict. Principals, agents, and teams face different sets of constraints and opportunities in negotiations. We develop grounded theory detailing how the micro-interactions comprising a negotiation are shaped by the representation structure (principals, agents, or teams) of the parties. In qualitative and quantitative analyses of negotiations carried out by principals, agents, and teams in a laboratory experiment, we find that negotiators' efforts to manage the constraints and opportunities of their representation structure are reflected in the micro-interactions, the broad improvisations, and the resulting substantive and relational outcomes.
McGinn, Kathleen L., and Markus Noth. "Communicating Frames in Negotiations." In The Oxford Handbook of Economic Conflict Resolution, edited by Gary E. Bolton and Rachel T.A. Croson, 61–75. Oxford University Press, 2012.
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Environmental jolts and shifting membership challenge a group's efficacy and survival. Group identity is critical for a shared interpretation of and response to these challenges, but external and internal changes may require corresponding changes in a group's core identity. In a qualitative study of longshoremen in San Pedro, California, we observe an evolution in group identity as we track communication spoken and printed in the hiring halls, on the docks, and during casual social interactions. The emphasis in the shared language gradually shifts from safety and solidarity to safety, collaboration, and economic power. The newly developed language supports and shapes the longshoremen's identity and provides an interpretive guide for how to react to and benefit from disruptive external events.
Bazerman, M. H., M. A. Neale, K. L. Valley, Y. M. Kim, and E. J. Zajac. "The Effects of Agents and Mediators on Negotiation Behavior." In Judgment and Decision Making: An Interdisciplinary Reader. 2nd ed. Edited by T. Connolly, H. Arkes, and K. Hammond. Cambridge University Press, 1996.
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Bazerman, M. H., R. Gibbons, L. Thompson, and K. L. McGinn. "Can Negotiators Outperform Game Theory?" Chap. 4 in Debating Rationality: Nonrational Aspects of Organizational Decision Making, edited by J. Halpern and R. N. Stern, 78–98. Ithaca, NY: ILR Press, 1998. (Reprinted in A. Rau, E. Sherman, & S. Peppet (Eds.), Processes of Dispute Resolution, Foundation Press, 2002.)
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Using a randomized control trial, we examine whether offering adolescent girls nonmaterial resources—specifically, negotiation skills—can improve educational outcomes in a low-income country. In so doing, we provide the first evidence on the effects of an intervention that increased noncognitive, interpersonal skills during adolescence. Long-run administrative data shows that negotiation training significantly improved educational outcomes over the next three years. The training had greater effects than two alternative treatments (offering girls a safe physical space with female mentors and offering girls information about the returns to education), suggesting that negotiation skills themselves drive the effect. Further evidence from a lab-in-the-field experiment, which simulates parents’ educational investment decisions, and a midline survey suggests that negotiation skills improved girls’ outcomes by moving households’ human capital investments closer to the efficient frontier. This is consistent with an incomplete contracting model, where negotiation allows daughters to strategically cooperate with parents.
Judith A. Clair, Kathleen L. McGinn, Beth K. Humberd, Rachel D. Arnett and Katherine Chen
While prior research recognizes that women struggle to maintain legitimacy for their successes and that self-narratives play a key role in building such legitimacy, theory provides limited insight into how women build legitimacy through their self-narratives. Our findings from an inductive, qualitative study of 40 women who rose to elite levels in corporations or entrepreneurial ventures during the latter half of the 20th century, despite considerable underrepresentation by women in similar roles, shed new light on how women narrate their own legitimacy. We build a theoretical framework showing how women legitimate their successes in the face of gender-based challenges, identifying six discursive legitimation strategies women use to explain and justify success against the odds. We also explore why women differ in the constellations of strategies they present in their self-narratives. While women universally pull upon multiple discursive legitimation strategies to explain their successes, we find that women’s social class origins and the organizational sector in which women ascended, either corporate or entrepreneurial, relate to the discursive strategies women employ in their legitimacy narratives.
This negotiation curriculum provides a reference guide to train Zambian girls to adopt the communication skills needed to negotiate health and education decisions with power figures in their lives.
Describes decision analysis, a systematic approach for analyzing decision problems. A running example illustrates problem structuring (decision trees), probability assessment, endpoint evaluation, “folding back the tree” as a method of analysis, and sensitivity analysis.
Carolina for Kibera (CFK) is an international non-profit organization whose mission is to promote youth leadership and gender and ethnic cooperation in Kibera, the largest unstructured settlement situated in the heart of Nairobi, Kenya. CFK's programs constructively leverage the power of the community, offering an exemplar of participatory development. CFK's affiliation with University of North Carolina offers a new model of social enterprise. After eight years of success under the founding leadership of Salim Mohamed, Rye Barcott and Kim Chapman, CFK is at a critical juncture. Mohamed, Executive Director of all operations in Kibera, is leaving to go to graduate school. Rye Barcott, Founder and President, has a new career and a growing family and can no longer play an active role in CFK's operations. Kim Chapman, Chair of the U.S. Board of Directors, has accepted a full-time faculty position and must step down from her roles at CFK. These departures come at a time when the Gates Foundation has just awarded CFK a two-year, $1 million grant. The case ends as CFK begins to grapple with impending changes in organizational leadership and activities.
McGinn, Kathleen L., Beth-Ann Kutchma, and Cailin B. Hammer. "Carolina for Kibera." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Case 913-701, October 2012. (Revised August 2018.)
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Kathleen L. McGinn, Anne Starks Acosta, Deborah M. Kolb and Cailin B. Hammer
The director of a research coalition and the founder/coordinator of an NGO consortium meet to discuss the possibility of jointly drafting a proposal for an integrated research and development project in the Congo River basin. Approved projects will receive an annual operating budget of $2 million. Together they must develop a joint plan for how the money should be spent.
Two young attorneys found and begin to build the Indego Africa Project, an NGO partnering with women's cooperatives in Rwanda. Indego connects the cooperatives to the international retail market for handmade artisan products, helps the cooperatives build their business capacity, and develops and delivers classroom training in life and business skills for the cooperative members. At the time of the case, Indego is partnering with three cooperatives. The NGO is staffed mostly with volunteers and the founders are stretched to the limit, between managing the growing organization and all of the necessary fundraising activities. The organization hopes to partner with more coops and increase its impact in Rwanda and beyond, but the path to sustained growth and impact is not clear.
The case is about the decision to convert a not-for-profit organization into a for-profit company. SEWA Trade Facilitation Center (STFC), which is part of a larger non-profit organization—the Self-Employed Women's Association (SEWA)—works to improve the livelihoods of very poor rural and urban women in India. It does so by translating traditional Indian embroidery skills into contemporary apparel and home furnishings that STFC then helps to market and sell around the world. Organized as a producers' cooperative, STFC is owned by its artisan members. STFC is thinking of changing to for-profit status because it would enable faster and more sustainable growth by providing access to outside funds and also allow the payment of dividends, which would further improve the women's livelihoods. The legal and financial implications of such a move aside, it is not clear that STFC would be able to withstand the changes such a transformation would entail. Most importantly, would an organization accustomed to taking decisions based solely on social benefit criteria be able to adjust to a for-profit mentality? And, would customers accept the change?
Pat Fili-Krushel, CEO and president of WebMD and past president of ABC Network, contemplates accepting Richard Parson's offer to become the first executive vice president of administration at AOL Time Warner. Accepting this position would be a move back into mainstream media but also a career shift from line positions to a corporate staff role. The case profiles Fili-Krushel's media experiences, and her use of interpersonal influence and negotiation, leading up to the critical decision point. After consulting with colleagues throughout the media industry, Fili-Krushel's decision rests on her own career aspirations and her expectations about the future of AOL Time Warner.
Heidi Roizen, a venture capitalist at SOFTBANK Venture Capital and a former entrepreneur, maintains an extensive personal and professional network. She leverages this network to benefit both herself and others. The case considers the steps she's taken to build and cultivate a network that is both broad and deep.
McGinn, Kathleen L., and Linda-Eling Lee. "Heidi Roizen." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 801-278, March 2001. (Revised April 2014.)
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Howard Roizen, a venture capitalist at SOFTBANK Venture Capital and a former entrepreneur, maintains an extensive personal and professional network. He leverages this network to benefit both himself and others. The case considers the steps he's taken to build and cultivate a network that is both broad and deep.
A growing NGO based in Kibera, Nairobi, Kenya, is facing a complete change in leadership as the founders step back. At the same time, a $1 million grant presents new opportunities and challenges.
McGinn, Kathleen L., and Cailin B. Hammer. "Carolina for Kibera." Harvard Business School Case 910-017, October 2009. (Revised August 2013.)
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Kathleen L. McGinn, Anne Starks Acosta, Deborah M. Kolb and Cailin B. Hammer
The director of a research coalition and the founder/coordinator of an NGO consortium meet to discuss the possibility of jointly drafting a proposal for an integrated research and development project in the Congo River basin. Approved projects will receive an annual operating budget of $2 million. Together they must develop a joint plan for how the money should be spent.
Endesa Chile, the largest electricity generation company in Chile, is building a major power plant on the Biobio River in Southern Chile. A historic conflict involving the indigenous people of the Biobio River, the Chilean government, and international conservation groups results. The conflict threatens the completion of the project and the longstanding culture and community of the Penhuenche, the indigenous people of the Upper Biobio.
Pat Fili-Krushel has agreed to take on the job of first executive vice president of administration for AOL Time Warner, leading corporate human resources, internal communications, real estate and facilities, and other administrative roles for the combined company. She must figure out how to structure the job, and how to start her relationship with her new boss, CEO Richard Parsons. Two factors complicate this decision. First, AOL Time Warner is experiencing significant internal conflict and Fili-Krushel is stepping into the middle of it. Second, Fili-Krushel has built her career on increasingly large line leadership positions, such as the president of ABC Network, and has no experience in getting things done without line authority. The case lays out the steps she takes to build authority and respect within the firm, and outlines the process of moving the firm's leaders from conflict to collaboration.
After weighing the pros and cons of making an unsolicited bid for HotJobs.com (an online recruiting company already under contract to be acquired by TMP Worldwide), the executive team of Yahoo! decides to make an immediate move rather than wait for the Federal Trade Commission to clear the pending merger. This case examines Yahoo!s process for formulating a bid offer with limited information about the target and details the course of the company's negotiations with HotJobs.
In late 2001, Yahoo!'s new executive leadership team faces a decision. With online advertising revenues significantly off, the company has decided to explore new strategic businesses, including online recruiting. The team must decide whether to make a bid for HotJobs.com, already under contract to be acquired by TMP Worldwide, parent of Monster.com. The deal is currently under scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission. Given the importance of career listings to the company's new strategy, should Yahoo! make a move now for HotJobs or wait for the FTC's decision?
McGinn, Kathleen L., and Dina R. Witter Pradel. "Yahoo!: Becoming a Competitor in the Career Listings Space (A) and (B) and Travelexis.com (Role for Robin Knight from TravelPlanner.com), (Role for Pat Young from SCOUT) and (Role for Jackie Hoff from Travelexis.com) (TN)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 909-011, November 2008.
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Teaching Note for [904024], [904025], [905003], [905004], [905005].
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McGinn, Kathleen, and Dina Witter. "RetailMax / RetailSoft." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 908-026, February 2008. (Revised September 2018.)
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New technology underlies a protracted dispute between West Coast longshoremen and their employers. Severe economic consequences lead to government intervention in the dispute.
New technology underlies a protracted dispute between West Coast longshoremen and their employers. Severe economic consequences lead to government intervention in the dispute.
McGinn, Kathleen L., Dina R. Witter Pradel, and Cailin B. Hammer. "Showdown on the Waterfront: The West Coast Port Dispute (TN) (A) & (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 908-063, June 2008.
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Includes a series of three negotiation exercises portraying management/labor relations at ABC over a period of seven years. ABC, initially a family-owned business, had prided itself on its cooperative relationship with its union, Local 190. With the skyrocketing inflation of the 1970s, management considered drastic changes. Management and labor would undergo a series of negotiations over wages, benefits, and work conditions at ABC's main plant in Deloitte, Iowa.
Includes a series of three negotiation exercises portraying management/labor relations at ABC over a period of seven years. ABC, initially a family-owned business, had prided itself on its cooperative relationship with its union, Local 190. With the skyrocketing inflation of the 1970s, management considered drastic changes. Management and labor would undergo a series of negotiations over wages, benefits, and work conditions at ABC's main plant in Deloitte, Iowa.
Includes a series of three negotiation exercises portraying management/labor relations at ABC over a period of seven years. ABC, initially a family-owned business, had prided itself on its cooperative relationship with its union, Local 190. With the skyrocketing inflation of the 1970s, management considered drastic changes. Management and labor would undergo a series of negotiations over wages, benefits, and work conditions at ABC's main plant in Deloitte, Iowa.
Includes a series of three negotiation exercises portraying management/labor relations at ABC over a period of seven years. ABC, initially a family-owned business, had prided itself on its cooperative relationship with its union, Local 190. With the skyrocketing inflation of the 1970s, management considered drastic changes. Management and labor would undergo a series of negotiations over wages, benefits, and work conditions at ABC's main plant in Deloitte, Iowa.
ncludes a series of three negotiation exercises portraying management/labor relations at ABC over a period of seven years. ABC, initially a family-owned business, had prided itself on its cooperative relationship with its union, Local 190. With the skyrocketing inflation of the 1970s, management considered drastic changes. Management and labor would undergo a series of negotiations over wages, benefits, and work conditions at ABC's main plant in Deloitte, Iowa.
Includes a series of three negotiation exercises portraying management/labor relations at ABC over a period of seven years. ABC, initially a family-owned business, had prided itself on its cooperative relationship with its union, Local 190. With the skyrocketing inflation of the 1970s, management considered drastic changes. Management and labor would undergo a series of negotiations over wages, benefits, and work conditions at ABC's main plant in Deloitte, Iowa.
Details the career of Katharine Graham of the Washington Post Co., a pioneer in her field and one of the first high-profile women to lead a major public company. Her story is a unique example of how power and expertise are built over time, and differs from those of other business leaders in that she was unexpectedly thrust into a leadership position. Though Graham could have been a figurehead leader of the Washington Post Co., she gradually became a powerful national player: a publisher and CEO in more than title. Graham's strong values impel many of her decisions throughout the course of her career and help her through times of uncertainty. Her values are a stark contrast to strictly data-based decision making. Explores Graham's ability to master the newspaper business and succeed in a man's world. Additionally, Graham's unique ability to adapt her influence style in different social and career networks is also explored, as the distinction between Graham's employees, mentors, and friends is often blurred.
McGinn, Kathleen L., Lisa M. Gunther, and Dina R. Pradel. "Katharine Graham." Harvard Business School Case 801-276, March 2001. (Revised December 2007.)
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Power is the potential to mobilize energy. This rather neutral definition does not address the issues of how to exercise power or to what ends. The answers to these questions determine the ultimate value of an individual's power. This note is written to help readers analyze the social system in which their power exists and their influence will be used. Following the guidelines presented, a careful analysis of the social system in which an individual operates, and an assessment of that individual's desires and objectives within the social system, may help maximize the development of power and the effective use of influence.
McGinn, Kathleen L., and Linda-Eling Lee. Basil "Buzz" Hargrove and de Havilland, Inc. (A) and (B) TN. Harvard Business School Teaching Note 801-277, March 2001. (Revised January 2007.)
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Buzz Hargrove, national president of the Canadian Auto Workers, needs to find a way to secure an agreement from a negotiated contract with de Havilland, Inc. Local union leaders feel the deal is not good enough, but Hargrove is convinced management will close the plant down otherwise.
Jim Quigley, CEO of Deloitte and Touche's consulting practice, asks senior partner Cathy Benko to lead Deloitte & Touche's much publicized Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women (WIN). Benko, already the Lead Client Service Partner on one of Deloitte's largest west coast engagements and the firm's High Technology Sector Leader, rejects the offer. This sets off a series of moves by players across the firm. The case follows Benko's early career, detailing the reasons why Quigley believes she is the right person to lead the initiative. Both Quigley and Benko make decisions and take steps that shape Benko's role as a leader in the firm.
Cathy Benko pulls together a group of Deloitte and Touche's top partners for a weekend discussion of the Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women (WIN). Benko, stimulated by the strong reaction by the attending partners, agrees to take on the leadership role. But only after negotiating the details of the role with CEO Quigley.
Two fictional travel companies, SCOUT and TravelPlanner, engage in competitive bidding to acquire a third party, Travelexis. This exercise consists of three roles, one representative from each of the three companies. It is based on the actual negotiations between Headhunter (represented by Travelexis), Yahoo! (SCOUT), and CareerBuilder (TravelPlanner).
Two fictional travel companies, SCOUT and TravelPlanner, engage in competitive bidding to acquire a third party, Travelexis. This exercise is consists of three roles, one representative from each of the three companies. It is based on the actual negotiations between Headhunter (represented by Travelexis), Yahoo! (SCOUT), and CareerBuilder (TravelPlanner).
Two fictional travel companies, SCOUT and TravelPlanner, engage in competitive bidding to acquire a third party, Travelexis. This exercise consists of three roles, one representative from each of the three companies. It is based on the actual negotiations between Headhunter (represented by Travelexis), Yahoo! (SCOUT), and CareerBuilder (TravelPlanner).
This exercise requires students to enact an internal salary negotiation, taking on the roles of Cam Archer, a star employee, and Regan Kessel, a VP trying to attract the MBA into his department. The exercise presents a one-issue, distributive negotiation that challenges students to think about evaluating and developing best alternatives to a negotiated agreement (BATNA). It illustrates tactics for claiming value and introduces the use of decision trees for calculating reservation prices and the establishment of bargaining zones.
Presents a three-way version of the RetailMax simulation requiring students to enact an internal salary negotiation, taking on the roles of Cam Archer, a star employee, and Regan Kessel, a VP trying to attract the MBA into his department. However, RetailSoft introduces a third party, Sydney Masser, to illustrate the effects of negotiating for self vs. others. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise.
Presents a three-way version of the RetailMax simulation requiring students to enact an internal salary negotiation, taking on the roles of Cam Archer, a star employee, and Regan Kessel, a VP trying to attract the MBA into his department. However, RetailSoft introduces a third party, Sydney Masser, to illustrate the effects of negotiating for self vs. others. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise.
McGinn, Kathleen, Hannah Riley Bowles, and Dina Witter. "RetailSoft: Role for Cam Archer." Harvard Business School Exercise 905-004, January 2005. (Revised September 2018.)
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Presents a three-way version of the RetailMax simulation requiring students to enact an internal salary negotiation, taking on the roles of Cam Archer, a star employee, and Regan Kessel, a VP trying to attract the MBA into his department. However, RetailSoft introduces a third party, Sydney Masser, to illustrate the effects of negotiating for self vs. others. A rewritten version of an earlier exercise.
This exercise requires students to enact an internal salary negotiation, taking on the roles of Cam Archer, a star employee, and Regan Kessel, a VP trying to attract the MBA into his department. The exercise presents a one-issue, distributive negotiation that challenges students to think about evaluating and developing best alternatives to a negotiated agreement (BATNA). It illustrates tactics for claiming value and introduces the use of decision trees for calculating reservation prices and the establishment of bargaining zones.
A new publishing company has just purchased the Pacific Sentinel, a fictional West Coast newspaper. The new publisher is willing to invest $1 million in the future success of the paper and has asked the executive editor and advertising manager to develop a joint plan for how the money should be spent.
A new publishing company has just purchased the Pacific Sentinel, a fictional West Coast newspaper. The new publisher is willing to invest $1 million in the future success of the paper and has asked the executive editor and advertising manager to develop a joint plan for how the money should be spent.
Casciaro, Tiziana E., and Kathleen L. McGinn. "Abelli and Saviotti at Banca Commerciale Italiana (TN) (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 403-170, June 2003.
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In 1999, a powerful struggle amidst complex corporate and interpersonal networks led to the failed merger between Banca Commerciale Italiana and Unicredito Italiano--two of Italy's largest banking groups. This case analyzes the actions of Abelli and Saviotti, co-CEOs of Banca Commerciale Italiana at that time, as well as those of central players in Banca d'Italia, Mediobanca, and several prominent national and international banking and industrial groups. The events shed light on the management of multilayered resource dependencies and tactics of political influence as a critical precondition for implementing sound business strategy.
McGinn, Kathleen, and Michael A. Wheeler. "Luna Pen (A), (B), (C), and (D) ." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 801-057, June 2001. (Revised December 2013.)
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Introduces Reverend Jeffrey Brown, one of the cofounders of the Ten Point Coalition in Boston, Mass. The Ten Point Coalition, a group of ministers that worked to change the dynamics between the Boston Police Department and the kids on the street, was instrumental in reducing the rate of youth violence in Boston. Describes the unique history of Boston and how the coalition came to be successful in Boston. Wrestles with the question of whether or not the success can be replicated in other cities around the world.
McGinn, Kathleen, and Michael Wheeler. "Luna Pen (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 396-157, November 1995. (Revised February 2017.)
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This case uses vignettes and statistics of the broader issue discussed in each vignette to explore some of the ways in which gender is played out in the struggle for power and control. Disenfranchised groups--those not allowed access to critical resources--have little access to power. In many countries, women represent one of these disenfranchised groups. Women around the world are disproportionately denied access to employment, education, religious freedoms, many traditional routes to business funding, collective action, and social welfare. The vignettes explore ways in which inroads to equality are being made on new, innovative paths. Even mainstream approaches to accessing critical resources are becoming more gender neutral. The vignettes and statistics are meant to be illustrative rather than exhaustive.
Robert Moses was Park Commissioner in New York City for nearly 50 years. In this position, he had more influence on the face of urban New York than anyone before or after.
Heidi Roizen being interviewed by MBA students, talks about the design to explore the theoretical and practical aspects of network development and maintenance. She focuses on the concept of an egocentric and personal network.
McGinn, Kathleen L., Lisa M. Gunther, and Dina R. Pradel. "Katharine Graham TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 801-281, April 2001.
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McGinn, Kathleen L., and Linda-Eling Lee. James Newton: Excerpts from "Uncommon Friends" TN. Harvard Business School Teaching Note 801-280, March 2001.
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In January 1994, Igor and Ludmilla Ivanovic opened the doors of their bakery, Iggy's Bread of the World. This case describes their unusual mission statement and the way in which they try to bring a social consciousness mentality to a for-profit business. Six years later, they have grown beyond their physical and administrative capacity. The Ivanovics must decide how to reconfigure the leadership structure of the company without losing their control over the fundamentals.
Reveals the potential benefits and pitfalls of reorganization into teams in order to respond to environmental change. Takes place in the newsroom of a metropolitan daily newspaper. Both management and employees struggle to find new balance after a major restructuring into teams upsets the tasked-based and personal relationships in the newsroom.
McGinn, Kathleen L., Tracy Thompson, and Michael Smith. "Range, The (A)." Harvard Business School Case 801-330, January 2001. (Revised March 2001.)
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McGinn, Kathleen L., Tracy Thompson, and Michael P. Smith. "Range, The (B)." Harvard Business School Case 801-331, March 2001. (Revised March 2001.)
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A multiparty, intraorganizational negotiation exercise involving five vice presidents of human resources at $17.5 billion photography products company. In the midst of reengineering, the five VPs have been told to negotiate the possible alignment of resources in ways that will cut costs and add value to Starlite. They will present the results of their negotiations to the CFO of the company.
McGinn, Kathleen L., Julia Morgan, and Katherine Lawrence. "Starlite Corporation TN." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 898-191, February 1998.
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Designed to provide students with a basic insight into recognizing the productive and destructive aspects of expectations and stereotypes, and their consequent effects on negotiation.
