Nien-he Hsieh - Faculty & Research - Harvard Business School

FACULTY

 
Photo of Nien-he Hsieh

Nien-he Hsieh

Professor of Business Administration, Joseph L. Rice, III Faculty Fellow

General Management
+1 (617) 495-6925
→Send Email

Nien-hê Hsieh is Professor of Business Administration and Joseph L. Rice, III Faculty Fellow in the General Management Unit. His research concerns ethical issues in business and the responsibilities of global business leaders. Professor Hsieh teaches Leadership and Corporate Accountability to first-year MBA students and to Executive Education participants in the Program for Leadership Development. He joined the faculty from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, where he was an associate professor of legal studies and business ethics and served as co-director of the Wharton Ethics Program.

Professor Hsieh’s research centers on the question of whether and how managers ought to be guided not only by considerations of economic efficiency, but also by values such as freedom and fairness and respect for basic rights. He has pursued this question in a variety of contexts, including the employment relationship and the operation of multinational enterprises in developing economies. Professor Hsieh also studies foundational aspects of this question, examining principles for rational decision making when choices involve multiple values that appear incomparable. In his current work, he focuses on institutional dimensions of this question. In this research, he investigates standards managers should follow even if not required by legal and public institutions, and how managers should respond when existing institutions make it difficult to meet these standards.

Professor Hsieh's work has been published in Business Ethics Quarterly, Economics and Philosophy, The Journal of Political Philosophy, Philosophy and Public Affairs, Social Theory and Practice, Utilitas, and various other journals. He serves on the editorial board of Business Ethics Quarterly and the executive board of the Society for Business Ethics.

Professor Hsieh holds a B.A. in Economics from Swarthmore College, an M.Phil. in Politics from Oxford University, and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University. Before joining the faculty at Wharton in 2001, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at Harvard Business School, and he has held visiting fellowships at Harvard University, Oxford University, and the Research School for Social Sciences at the Australian National University. 


Print Entire ProfileLess
Journal Articles

  1. Article | Business Ethics Quarterly

    Recovering the Logic of Double Effect for Business: Intentions, Proportionality, and Impermissible Harms

    Rosemarie Monge and Nien-hê Hsieh

    Business actors often act in ways that may harm other parties. While the law aims to restrict harmful behavior and to provide remedies, legal systems do not anticipate all contingencies and legal regulations are not always well enforced. This article argues that the logic of double effect (LDE), which has been developed and deployed in other areas of practical ethics, can be useful in helping business actors decide whether or not to pursue potentially harmful activities in commonplace business activity. The article illustrates how LDE helps to explain the exploitative nature of payday lending, the distinction between permissible and impermissible forms of market competition, and the potential wrong of imposing risk of harm on others. The article also addresses foundational debates about LDE itself. We offer the article as an illustration of the sort of “midlevel” theorizing that can address directly the needs of practitioners.

    Keywords: double effect; intention; Exploitation; risk; practical ethics; Competition; Risk and Uncertainty; Ethics;

    Citation:

    Monge, Rosemarie, and Nien-hê Hsieh. "Recovering the Logic of Double Effect for Business: Intentions, Proportionality, and Impermissible Harms." Business Ethics Quarterly 30, no. 3 (July 2020): 361–387. (doi: 10.1017/beq.2019.39.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsFind at Harvard Read Now Related

  2. Article | Journal of the British Academy

    Getting Clear on Corporate Culture: Conceptualisation, Measurement and Operationalisation

    Nien-he Hsieh, Benjamin Lange, David Rodin and Mira L. A. Wolf-Bauwens

    This article provides a review of existing literature on corporate culture, drawing on work from the disciplines of business ethics, management studies, psychology, anthropology, and economics, as well as interviews with business leaders. It surveys different definitions of corporate culture and proposes a framework for capturing their commonalities. It then discusses the importance of culture so conceived and widely used frameworks to measure it. The article also portrays different views on how culture can be operationalised and moulded within an organisation. The article concludes by discussing the relationship between corporate culture and corporate purpose and highlighting gaps in the literature which would profit from further research.

    Keywords: corporate culture; culture change; Business ethics; corporate purpose; corporate culture significance; culture measurements; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Ethics; Mission and Purpose; Measurement and Metrics;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he, Benjamin Lange, David Rodin, and Mira L. A. Wolf-Bauwens. "Getting Clear on Corporate Culture: Conceptualisation, Measurement and Operationalisation." Journal of the British Academy 6, no. s1 (2018): 155–184. (DOI: https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/006s1.155.)  View Details
    CiteView Details Read Now Related

  3. Article | Journal of the British Academy

    The Social Purpose of Corporations

    Nien-he Hsieh, Marco Meyer, David Rodin and Jens van ‘t Klooster

    To think about the purpose of corporations is to think about what corporations are for. In this article, we argue that the concept of a purpose has an important role in thinking about the moral evaluation of corporations. We make three contributions. First, we distinguish different uses of the concepts of social and corporate purpose. Social purpose concerns the contribution that the corporation makes to realising societal goals. Corporate purpose concerns the goals the corporation should actively pursue. Second, we investigate whether corporations ought to serve a social purpose and whether corporations ought to actively pursue their corporate purpose. Third, we explore critically what roles the concepts of social and corporate purpose can fulfil in moral reflection on and of corporations. In particular, we distinguish the constructive, the communicative, and the critical role of social and corporate purpose.

    Keywords: social purpose; corporate purpose; the corporation; market failures; measurement of purpose; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Ethics;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he, Marco Meyer, David Rodin, and Jens van ‘t Klooster. "The Social Purpose of Corporations." Journal of the British Academy 6, no. s1 (2018): 49–73. ( DOI: https://doi.org/10.5871/jba/006s1.049.)  View Details
    CiteView Details Read Now Related

  4. Article | Business and Human Rights Journal

    Business Responsibilities for Human Rights: A Commentary on Arnold

    Nien-hê Hsieh

    Human rights have come to play a prominent role in debates about the responsibilities of business. In the business ethics literature, there are two approaches to the question of whether businesses have human rights obligations. The “moral” approach conceives of human rights as antecedently existing basic moral rights. The “institutional” approach starts with contemporary human rights practice in which human rights refer to rights enumerated in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and subsequent international documents, and in which states are the primary duty bearers of human rights. This commentary argues that the implications of adopting one or the other approach are much greater than most scholars recognize, and that we have reason to reject the moral approach and to adopt the institutional approach instead. The commentary highlights key questions that need to be addressed if human rights are to play a central role in framing the responsibilities of business and helping managers meet their responsibilities.

    Keywords: Rights; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Moral Sensibility; Society;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê. "Business Responsibilities for Human Rights: A Commentary on Arnold." Business and Human Rights Journal 2, no. 2 (July 2017): 297–309.  View Details
    CiteView Details Read Now Purchase Related

  5. Article | Business Ethics Quarterly

    The Responsibilities and Role of Business in Relation to Society: Back to Basics?

    Nien-he Hsieh

    In this address, I outline a back-to-basics approach to specifying the responsibilities and role of business in relation to society. Three “basics” comprise the approach. The first is arguing that basic principles of ordinary morality, such as a duty not to harm, provide an adequate basis for specifying the responsibilities of business managers. The second is framing the role of business in society by looking to the values realized by the basic building blocks of contemporary economic activity, i.e., markets and firms. The third is making explicit the basic institutions that structure the background against which business operates. The aim is to develop a plausible framework for managerial decision-making that respects the fact of value pluralism in a global economy and that fosters meaningful criticism of current business practices while remaining sufficiently grounded in contemporary circumstances so as to be relevant for managers.

    Keywords: business and society; corporate responsibility; harm; human rights; institutions; Pareto efficiency; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Moral Sensibility; Society; Rights;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "The Responsibilities and Role of Business in Relation to Society: Back to Basics?" Business Ethics Quarterly 27, no. 2 (April 2017): 293–314.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsFind at Harvard Read Now Related

  6. Article | Business Ethics Quarterly

    The Social Contract Model of Corporate Purpose and Responsibility

    Nien-he Hsieh

    Of the many developments in business ethics that Thomas Donaldson has helped pioneer, one is the application of social contract theory to address questions about the responsibilities of business actors. In Corporations and Morality, Donaldson develops one of the most sustained and comprehensive accounts that aims to justify the existence of for-profit corporations and to specify and ground their responsibilities. In order to further our understanding about the purpose and responsibilities of productive organizations, and as a contribution to the scholarship on Donaldson's thought, this paper gathers together the critical responses to Donaldson's account along with Donaldson's replies to his critics. The paper argues that we would do well to continue engaging with Donaldson's account because of its distinctive and challenging conception of the purpose and responsibilities of productive organizations, but that many of the insights to be gained come from reframing the role played by social contract theory.

    Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "The Social Contract Model of Corporate Purpose and Responsibility." Business Ethics Quarterly 25, no. 4 (October 2015): 433–460. (DOI: 10.1017/beq.2016.1.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsFind at HarvardPurchase Related

  7. Article | Journal of Human Rights

    Should Business Have Human Rights Obligations?

    Nien-he Hsieh

    Businesses and their managers are increasingly called upon to take on human rights obligations. Focusing on the case of multinational enterprises (MNEs), the paper argues we have reason to reject assigning human rights obligations to business enterprises and their managers. The paper begins by distinguishing business and human rights from the more general topic of corporate responsibility. Following Buchanan (2013), the paper takes the ideal of status egalitarianism to be central to human rights. Status egalitarianism holds that all members of society stand as moral equals in relation to one another and that the state has a duty to recognize and protect that equal standing both in its dealings with citizens and in their dealings with one another. To assign human rights obligations to MNEs and their managers risks undermining this ideal. The paper situates this argument in relation to the United Nations "Protect, Respect and Remedy" Framework by discussing the way in which MNEs can be complicit in state failures to protect citizens. The paper argues that avoiding complicity should be the appropriate focus of managerial responsibility.

    Keywords: human rights; Ruggie Principles; corporate responsibility; multinationals; Rights; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "Should Business Have Human Rights Obligations?" Special Issue on Business and Human Rights. Journal of Human Rights 14, no. 2 (April–June 2015): 218–236.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsFind at Harvard Related

  8. Article | Notizie di Politeia

    Multinational Corporations, Global Justice and Corporate Responsibility: A Question of Purpose

    Nien-he Hsieh

    Do multinational corporations (MNCs) have a responsibility to address unjust conditions—not simply by refraining from contributing to injustice, but also by actively working to bring about a just state of affairs? This paper examines whether this question can be meaningfully addressed without having to engage two contentious debates in contemporary scholarship: the debate about the moral agency of corporations and the debate about the purpose of the for-profit corporation. Finding it difficult to avoid the second debate, the paper examines the extent to which prevailing accounts of corporate purpose (e.g., shareholder primacy, stakeholder theory, corporate citizenship) support attributing responsibilities of justice to MNCs. The paper concludes that a more promising account is one that frames the purpose of the for-profit corporation in terms of its function in allowing members of society to meet their wants and needs by coordinating labor and capital in the production of goods and services.

    Keywords: multinational corporations; global justice; corporate purpose; corporate responsibility; Human Needs; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "Multinational Corporations, Global Justice and Corporate Responsibility: A Question of Purpose." Notizie di Politeia 29, no. 111 (2013).  View Details
    CiteView Details Related

  20. Article | Business Ethics Quarterly

    Voluntary Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations: Coordinating Duties of Rescue and Justice

    Nien-he Hsieh

    This paper examines the extent to which the voluntary adoption of codes of conduct by multinational corporations (MNCs) renders MNCs accountable for the performance of actions specified in a code of conduct. In particular, the paper examines the ways in which codes of conduct coordinate the expectations of relevant parties with regard to the provision of assistance by MNCs on grounds of rescue or justice. The paper argues that this coordinative role of codes of conduct renders MNCs more accountable for the performance of actions specified in a code of conduct than they would be without a code of conduct. This interpretation of the significance of codes of conduct is contrasted with the view that codes of conduct render MNCs accountable for performing actions specified in a code of conduct by grounding contractual obligations for the performance of such actions.

    Keywords: Business Ventures;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "Voluntary Codes of Conduct for Multinational Corporations: Coordinating Duties of Rescue and Justice." Business Ethics Quarterly 16, no. 2 (April 2006): 119–135.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsFind at Harvard Related
Book Chapters

  2. Chapter | Economic Liberties and Human Rights | 2019

    A Claim to Own Productive Property

    Nien-hê Hsieh

    BOOK ABSTRACT: The status of economic liberties remains a serious lacuna in the theory and practice of human rights. Should a minimally just society protect the freedoms to sell, save, profit, and invest? Is being prohibited to run a business a human rights violation? While these liberties enjoy virtually no support from the existing philosophical theories of human rights and little protection by the international human rights law, they are of tremendous importance in the lives of individuals, particularly the poor. Like most individual liberties, economic liberties increase our ability to lead our own life. When we enjoy them, we can choose the occupational paths that best fit us and, in so doing, define who they are in relation to others. Furthermore, in the absence of good jobs, economic liberties allow us to create an alternative path to subsistence. This is critical for the millions of working poor in developing countries who earn their livelihoods by engaging in independent economic activities. Insecure economic liberties leave them vulnerable to harassment, bribery, and other forms of abuse from middlemen and public officials. This book opens a debate about the moral and legal status of economic liberties as human rights. It brings together political and legal theorists working in the domain of human rights and global justice, as well as people engaged in the practice of human rights, to engage in both foundational and applied issues concerning these questions.

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê. "A Claim to Own Productive Property." Chap. 10 in Economic Liberties and Human Rights. 1st ed., edited by Jahel Queralt and Bas van der Vossen, 200–218. Political Philosophy for the Real World. New York: Routledge, 2019.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  3. Chapter | The Moral Responsibility of Firms | 2017

    Corporate Moral Agency, Positive Duties, and Purpose

    Nien-hê Hsieh

    A long-standing question in business ethics is whether business enterprises are themselves moral agents with distinct moral responsibilities. To date, the debate about corporate moral agency has focused on responsibility for past wrongdoing that involves violating negative duties (i.e., duties to refrain from certain actions). In this chapter, I explore what we can learn by focusing on positive duties to engage in specific actions, including rescue (e.g., aiding victims of natural disaster), beneficence (e.g., donating medicines), and justice (e.g., strengthening weak legal regimes). The aims of the chapter are twofold. The first is to advance the debate about corporate moral agency by broadening it to include questions about positive duties. The second is examine the case for justifying these sorts of positive duties by attributing moral agency to business enterprises. Such duties are controversial because they may require activities that come at the expense of profits. Attributing moral agency to business enterprises may be thought to avoid this controversy given that most theories of morality recognize positive duties on the part of all moral agents to help others even if at some cost to their own projects. In the end, I conclude that rather than defend such duties by way of assigning moral agency to business enterprises, we would do better to provide an account of the purpose of the for-profit business enterprises that is not simply about the pursuit of profit.

    Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Moral Sensibility; Mission and Purpose;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê. "Corporate Moral Agency, Positive Duties, and Purpose." In The Moral Responsibility of Firms, edited by Eric Orts and N. Craig Smith. Oxford University Press, 2017.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsFind at HarvardPurchase Related

  4. Dictionary Entry | Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy | 2016

    Incommensurable Values

    Nien-he Hsieh

    Values, such as liberty and equality, are sometimes said to be incommensurable in the sense that their value cannot be reduced to a common measure. The possibility of value incommensurability is thought to raise deep questions about practical reason and rational choice as well as related questions concerning topics as diverse as akrasia, moral dilemmas, the plausibility of utilitarianism, and the foundations of liberalism. This entry outlines answers in the contemporary literature to these questions, starting with questions about the nature and possibility of value incommensurability.

    Keywords: Measurement and Metrics; Values and Beliefs;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "Incommensurable Values." In Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta. Stanford University, 2016.  View Details
    CiteView Details Read Now Related

  5. Chapter | Ethical Innovation in Business and the Economy | 2015

    Managerial Responsibility and the Purpose of Business: Doing One's Job Well

    Nien-he Hsieh

    Business managers routinely make decisions that significantly affect the lives of others in both positive and negative ways. In the light of these wide-ranging effects, much scholarship has been devoted to specifying the responsibilities of managers of for-profit business enterprises. Much of this scholarship is framed in relation to “shareholder primacy”—the view that managers should maximize shareholder wealth subject to the constraints of market mechanisms. In this chapter, I outline another alternative to shareholder primacy that aims to improve upon existing alternatives and avoid some of the difficulties they encounter. I argue that even though business enterprises are private associations, in overseeing them as loci of production, managers help to realize important market-specific social values. These values in turn ground responsibilities on the part of managers to pursue specific ends. By framing managerial responsibility in terms of the values realized through the functioning of business enterprises, this account of managerial responsibility is also meant to address debates about the role and purpose of business firms.

    Keywords: Business or Company Management; Goals and Objectives;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "Managerial Responsibility and the Purpose of Business: Doing One's Job Well." Chap. 5 in Ethical Innovation in Business and the Economy, edited by Georges Enderle and Patrick E. Murphy, 95–118. Studies in Transatlantic Business Ethics. Northhampton, MA: Edward Elgar Publishing, 2015.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsFind at HarvardPurchase Related

  6. Chapter | The Routledge Handbook of Global Ethics | 2014

    Corporate Social Responsibility and Multinational Corporations

    Nien-he Hsieh and Florian Wettstein

    A central question that arises from the perspective of global ethics is what standards ought to apply to the activities of multinational corporations (MNCs). This chapter surveys the contemporary theoretical literature on this question. The first section provides background on MNCs and their rise. Section two summarizes attempts to promulgate global standards for MNCs in relation to human rights, labour, bribery, and the natural environment. Section three surveys the literature on the theory and practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR)—those corporate activities and policies that are not legally mandated and are framed in terms of the corporation's impact on society. The remaining sections consider the ethical dimensions of the question. Section four introduces the debate surrounding the universality of moral standards in the context of business activity. Section five describes attempts to specify standards for MNCs that involve taking a position on two key debates in the broader literature: the debate over the purpose of the for-profit business corporation and debate about the moral agency of corporations. The sixth section of the chapter summarizes accounts that aim to specify standards for MNCs without having to take a position on the purpose of the corporation or the moral agency of corporations.

    Keywords: multinational corporation; corporate social responsibility and impact; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Standards;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he, and Florian Wettstein. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Multinational Corporations." Chap. 19 in The Routledge Handbook of Global Ethics, edited by Darrel Moellendorf and Heather Widdows, 251–266. London: Routledge, 2014.  View Details
    CiteView Details Related

  7. Chapter | Corporations and Citizenship | 2014

    Can For-Profit Corporations Be Good Citizens? Perspectives from Four Business Leaders

    Nien-he Hsieh

    This chapter serves an epilogue, turning to ask practitioners how they would answer the question, "Can for-profit corporations be good citizens?" In reflecting on their answers, the chapter puts forward an account that grounds the purpose and responsibilities of for-profit corporations in their role in enabling productive activity that allows members of society to meet their needs and wants. This account is contrasted with prevailing accounts in scholarly literature (e.g., shareholder primacy and stakeholder theory) that frame corporate purpose and responsibility in terms of whose interests the corporation is meant to serve. One area of comparison concerns a central activity of citizenship, which is participation in the political and legislative processes.

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "Can For-Profit Corporations Be Good Citizens? Perspectives from Four Business Leaders." Chap. 16 in Corporations and Citizenship, edited by Greg Urban. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press, 2014.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  8. Chapter | Business Ethics | 2013

    Multinational Enterprises and Incomplete Institutions: The Demandingness of Minimum Moral Standards

    Nien-he Hsieh

    Multinational enterprises (MNEs) operate across countries that vary widely in their legal, political, and regulatory institutions. One question that arises is whether there are certain minimum standards that ought to guide managers in their decision making independently of local institutional requirements, especially when institutional arrangements are incomplete. This chapter examines what follows if managers recognize two kinds of duties of forbearance in their decision making that are commonly held to be among the most minimal of moral duties: the duty not to harm and the duty not to violate the liberty of others. The chapter concludes that the standards for MNEs may be more demanding than what the minimalist nature of duties of forbearance initially would suggest.

    Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Decision Making; Standards;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "Multinational Enterprises and Incomplete Institutions: The Demandingness of Minimum Moral Standards." In Business Ethics. 2nd ed. Edited by Michael Boylan, 409–422. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2013.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  11. Chapter | Morality and Global Justice: The Reader | 2011

    Multinational Enterprises and Corporate Responsibility: A Matter of Justice?

    Nien-he Hsieh

    Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Ethics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Lawfulness;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "Multinational Enterprises and Corporate Responsibility: A Matter of Justice?" In Morality and Global Justice: The Reader. 1st ed. Edited by Michael Boylan. Boulder: Westview Press, 2011.  View Details
    CiteView Details Related
Cases and Teaching Materials

  3. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | February 2020

    Apple: Privacy vs. Safety (B)

    Henry McGee, Nien-hê Hsieh and Christian Godwin

    In 2016 and 2017, Apple refused to help the FBI access the iPhones of two mass shooters. These refusals highlighted Apple’s stated policy of supporting consumer privacy. Meanwhile, in China, Apple removed various VPN apps from Apple’s Chinese App Store. This action elicited strong negative responses from civil rights activists and members of the U.S. government. In 2019, Apple again faced criticism for removing the HKmap.live app from the App Store, which had been used by protestors in Hong Kong. Other businesses, such as the National Basketball Association (NBA) also faced criticism for their postures toward China.

    Keywords: iphone; encryption; data privacy; Customers; Ethics; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Leadership; Markets; Demand and Consumers; Mission and Purpose; Problems and Challenges; Relationships; Technology; Telecommunications Industry; Technology Industry; Computer Industry; Electronics Industry; Information Technology Industry; China; United States;

    Citation:

    McGee, Henry, Nien-hê Hsieh, and Christian Godwin. "Apple: Privacy vs. Safety (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 320-092, February 2020.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  4. Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2020

    Culture at Google

    Nien-hê Hsieh, Amy Klopfenstein and Sarah Mehta

    Beginning in 2017, technology (tech) company Google faced a series of employee-relations issues that threatened its unique culture of innovation and open communication. Issues included protests surrounding Google’s contracts with the U.S. government, restrictions of employee speech, mistreatment of contract and temporary workers, allegations of sexual misconduct and gender inequality, and claims of retaliation against labor organizing. While Google employees felt an obligation to dissent against morally questionable practices, embodying the company’s informal motto “don’t be evil,” the company struggled to respond to employees’ concerns while preserving its unique culture.

    Keywords: Human Resources; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Retention; Resignation and Termination; Labor; Working Conditions; Employment; Labor Unions; Wages; Law; Lawsuits and Litigation; Rights; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Fairness; Organizations; Organizational Culture; Mission and Purpose; Social Psychology; Attitudes; Behavior; Conflict Management; Trust; Motivation and Incentives; Prejudice and Bias; Power and Influence; Technology; Search Technology; Web; Hardware; Society; Social Issues; Culture; Civil Society or Community; Demographics; Diversity; Ethnicity; Gender; Race; Technology Industry; North and Central America; United States; California;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, Amy Klopfenstein, and Sarah Mehta. "Culture at Google." Harvard Business School Case 320-050, March 2020.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  5. Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | February 2020

    Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (A) and (B)

    Nien-he Hsieh and Christina R. Wing

    Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 619-039 and 320-091.

    Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Lawsuits and Litigation; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; California; United States;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he, and Christina R. Wing. "Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 620-102, February 2020.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  6. Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2020

    Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (B)

    Nien-he Hsieh, Christina R. Wing and John Masko

    This supplemental case tracks the results of the Colman and Taubman-Dye class action suit against Theranos as well as Theranos’ other legal challenges and chronicles the final demise of the company in 2019.

    Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Entrepreneurship; Lawsuits and Litigation; Business Exit or Shutdown; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; California; United States;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he, Christina R. Wing, and John Masko. "Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (B)." Harvard Business School Case 320-091, February 2020.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  9. Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | May 2019

    Gender and Free Speech at Google (A), (B), & (C)

    Nien-hê Hsieh and Sarah Mehta

    Teaching Note for HBS No. 318-085, 319-095, and 319-097.

    Keywords: Free Speech; Representation; Diversity; Gender; Race; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Labor; Employment; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Culture; Technology Industry; United States; California;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Sarah Mehta. "Gender and Free Speech at Google (A), (B), & (C)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 319-038, May 2019.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  10. Background Note | HBS Case Collection | May 2019 (Revised June 2019)

    Responsibilities in the Supply Chain

    Nien-hê Hsieh

    Companies are increasingly called upon to take responsibility for what occurs in their supply chains. One particular area of debate is a company’s responsibility for working conditions in supplier factories. This note provides a framework for managers to grapple with their responsibilities in the supply chain and calls on managers to identify potential harms, determine responsibility for those harms, and set a course of action for responding to those harms.

    Keywords: Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Working Conditions; Safety; Corporate Accountability;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê. "Responsibilities in the Supply Chain." Harvard Business School Background Note 319-114, May 2019. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  11. Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2019 (Revised March 2020)

    Handy: The Future of Work? (A)

    Nien-hê Hsieh and Kieron Stopforth

    Witnessing numerous lawsuits alleging that online platform companies misclassified workers as contractors when they were actually employees, Handy’s founders faced a series of decisions. Handy was an online platform business that enabled customers to book appointments with cleaners at a convenient time and checked the cleaner’s ratings. Started in 2012 after the founders struggled to find trustworthy, affordable cleaning services while MBA students, Handy enjoyed considerable success by 2015. Handy was one of the emerging platform companies in the gig economy that connected customers to service providers and sought to disrupt everything from transportation to grocery shopping to deliveries. Like many of these companies, Handy classified service providers as 1099 independent contractors, rather than hiring them as W-2 employees. Doing so often meant lower labor costs for companies and greater flexibility for workers. The companies’ reliance on contractors was controversial. Workers, some argued, displayed all the marks of employees—they performed work that was integral to the companies’ business, and companies exercised control by telling them which jobs to accept and where and by using ratings systems to influence behavior. Facing two misclassification lawsuits of their own while still pushing toward profitability, Handy’s founders must decide how to respond.

    Keywords: Employment; Working Conditions; Entrepreneurship; Compensation and Benefits; Internet; Ethics; Fairness; Service Industry; United States;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Kieron Stopforth. "Handy: The Future of Work? (A)." Harvard Business School Case 319-103, April 2019. (Revised March 2020.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  12. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | March 2019 (Revised June 2019)

    Gender and Free Speech at Google (C)

    Nien-hê Hsieh and Sarah Mehta

    This case reveals Google’s response to a list of employee demands aiming to combat sexual misconduct in the workplace. This case should accompany the (A) and (B) cases, “Gender and Free Speech at Google” (318-085) and (319-085).

    Keywords: Free Speech; Ethnicity; Gender; Race; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Labor; Employment; Lawsuits and Litigation; Technology Industry; United States; California;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Sarah Mehta. "Gender and Free Speech at Google (C)." Harvard Business School Supplement 319-097, March 2019. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  13. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | March 2019

    Gender and Free Speech at Google (B)

    Nien-hê Hsieh and Sarah Mehta

    In November 2018, 20,000 Google employees participated in a walkout to protest the company’s decision to grant a $90 million exit package to a former executive accused of sexual misconduct. The case explores organizers’ demands and asks how the company’s senior leaders might respond. This case should accompany the (A) and (C) cases, “Gender and Free Speech at Google” (318-085) and (319-097).

    Keywords: Free Speech; Ethnicity; Gender; Race; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Labor; Employment; Lawsuits and Litigation; Technology Industry; United States; California;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Sarah Mehta. "Gender and Free Speech at Google (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 319-085, March 2019.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  14. Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2019 (Revised June 2019)

    Global Sourcing at Nike

    Nien-hê Hsieh, Michael W. Toffel and Olivia Hull

    This case explores the evolution of Nike’s global product sourcing strategy, in particular ongoing efforts to improve working conditions at its suppliers’ factories. When the case opens in July 2018, Vice President of Sourcing Amanda Tucker and her colleagues in Nike’s Global Sourcing and Manufacturing division were focusing on three key supply chain challenges: sourcing from suppliers that meet compliance standards, challenging and encouraging suppliers to improve capabilities, and being responsive to consumer demand across the world.

    Keywords: sourcing; Factory conditions; Trade; Geography; Geographic Scope; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Governance Compliance; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Innovation Strategy; Labor; Human Capital; Working Conditions; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Labor and Management Relations; Complexity; Sports Industry; Fashion Industry; Oregon; Portland; Asia; North and Central America;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, Michael W. Toffel, and Olivia Hull. "Global Sourcing at Nike." Harvard Business School Case 619-008, March 2019. (Revised June 2019.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  15. Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2019 (Revised February 2020)

    Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (A)

    Nien-hê Hsieh, Christina R. Wing, Emilie Fournier and Anna Resman

    This case covers the rise and fall of Theranos, the company founded by Elizabeth Holmes in 2004 to revolutionize the blood testing industry by creating a device that could provide from a small finger prick the same results and accuracy as intravenous blood draws. As founder and CEO, Holmes was hailed as the most successful female tech entrepreneur ever. In October 2015, however, a Wall Street Journal article exposed internal struggles and questioned the startup’s trajectory. Subsequent investigations revealed that Theranos, despite commercial operations in 40 retail locations, lacked a functioning product. Set in 2017, the (A) Case opens with Theranos’ motion to dismiss the class action lawsuit filed by two investors who claimed that Theranos and its officers had violated California’s securities law and engaged in fraud.

    Keywords: Health Testing and Trials; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Culture; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Crime and Corruption; Ethics; Entrepreneurship; Lawsuits and Litigation;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, Christina R. Wing, Emilie Fournier, and Anna Resman. "Theranos: Who Has Blood on Their Hands? (A)." Harvard Business School Case 619-039, February 2019. (Revised February 2020.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  16. Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2018 (Revised March 2019)

    Gender and Free Speech at Google (A)

    Nien-hê Hsieh, Martha J. Crawford and Sarah Mehta

    In August 2017, Google fired James Damore, a 28-year-old software engineer who had been employed by the company since 2013. The move came after Damore penned an internal company memo titled “Google’s Ideological Echo Chamber,” which posited that innate biological differences between men and women—as opposed to hiring biases, gender discrimination, or a hostile workforce—were at least partially responsible for the low numbers of women in tech. At the time, 20% of Google’s tech workforce, and 31% of its overall staff, was female. Damore also admonished Google for silencing opinions that challenged what he viewed as the company’s politically liberal belief system. Reactions to both the memo’s content and Google’s decision to fire Damore were swift and varied. Some praised the company for signaling intolerance of any marginalization of women. Others criticized Google for terminating an employee for a seemingly innocuous act of expression. Danielle Brown, Google’s new vice president and chief diversity and inclusion officer, hired just a few weeks before the memo was leaked to the public, must now advise Google’s top leadership team on dealing with the fallout.

    Keywords: Free Speech; Representation; Diversity; Gender; Race; Human Resources; Employees; Employee Relationship Management; Recruitment; Selection and Staffing; Labor; Employment; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Culture; Technology Industry; United States; California;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, Martha J. Crawford, and Sarah Mehta. "Gender and Free Speech at Google (A)." Harvard Business School Case 318-085, March 2018. (Revised March 2019.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  17. Module Note | March 2018

    Module Note for Instructors: Responsibilities to Society

    Nien-hê Hsieh

    This note outlines a framework to help managers discern and deliver on their responsibilities to society that has been taught in the “Responsibilities to Society” module in Leadership and Corporate Accountability (LCA), a semester-long, first-year required course for MBAs at Harvard Business School. The module outlined in this note also can be used as the basis for a short standalone course on the role and responsibilities of business in society. The framework developed in this module centers on managing harms to third parties—i.e., parties with whom companies do not transact commercially or have direct contractual relations. The framework aims to ground the responsibilities of managers in an intuitively plausible standard that is widely recognized—duty not to harm others—and to make tractable the concept of society, which is often seen as amorphous and vaguely defined. The framework aids managers in 1) identifying relevant harms, 2) determining the responsibility for them, 3) developing appropriate responses, and 4) recognizing political limits on what companies ought to do.

    Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Leadership; Society;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê. "Module Note for Instructors: Responsibilities to Society." Harvard Business School Module Note 318-125, March 2018.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  19. Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | March 2018

    The Ready-Made Garment Industry: A Bangladeshi Perspective (A), (B), (C), and (D)

    Nien-hê Hsieh

    Responsibility for working conditions in contract factories within the supply chain presents an ongoing challenge for managers and area of debate. Much of the debate approaches the challenge from the perspective of large global apparel brands. This case helps students take the perspective of a Bangladeshi contract factory that is part of the brands' supply chain but must also deal with challenges in its own supply chain. The case leads up to the Tazreen factory fire of 2012, in which over 100 people died, and covers subsequent developments in Bangladesh and the apparel industry. Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 317-052, 317-053, 317-054, and 318-028.

    Keywords: Labor; Working Conditions; Supply Chain; Safety; Rights; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Bangladesh;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê. "The Ready-Made Garment Industry: A Bangladeshi Perspective (A), (B), (C), and (D)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 318-124, March 2018.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  22. Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | March 2018

    Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (A) and (B)

    Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

    Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines the ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must determine how to respond to the debate over North Carolina's recently signed law, commonly known as "HB2," that invalidated LGBT non-discrimination ordinances at the local level. In contrast to other organizations, Target did not threaten to leave the state. However, its public statement in support of LGBT rights prompted a boycott against its stores. Adding to the difficulty was the fact that Target was caught on the other side of the debate in 2010 in one of the earliest high-profile controversies resulting from the Citizens United ruling. Target had contributed to a SuperPAC supporting business friendly candidates. As one of the candidate's opposition to same-sex marriage became well publicized, Target faced a consumer boycott as well as a shareholder proposal to change its policies on political contributions. The case covers current campaign finance regulations as they relate to business as well as Target's lobbying activities regarding online sales tax legislation. Teaching Note for HBS Nos. 317-113 and 317-131.

    Keywords: Public Opinion; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Problems and Challenges; Laws and Statutes; Rights; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Media; Political Elections; Taxation; Corporate Accountability; Values and Beliefs; Fairness; Diversity; Customers; Communication; Business and Government Relations; Retail Industry; United States;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Victor Wu. "Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (A) and (B)." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 318-123, March 2018.  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  23. Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2016 (Revised November 2017)

    Apple: Privacy vs. Safety (A)

    Henry McGee, Nien-hê Hsieh and Sarah McAra

    In 2015, Apple CEO Tim Cook debuted the iPhone 6S with enhanced security measures that enflamed a debate on privacy and public safety around the world. The iPhone 6S, amid a heightened concern for privacy following the 2013 revelation of clandestine U.S. surveillance programs, employed a default encryption system that prevented both Apple and government authorities from accessing data stored on the device. Law enforcement officials warned that the encryption hindered investigations for criminal cases and international terrorism and called on Apple to build a backdoor, a way to bypass the encryption. But Cook maintained that any backdoor would compromise customers' privacy and security. In 2016, a federal judge ordered Apple to provide technical assistance to unlock the iPhone used by one of the two terrorists who killed 14 people in San Bernardino, California. Apple refused to comply with the order and asked the government to withdraw its demand. As the court case unfolded, Cook considered his responsibilities to the U.S. government as well as to Apple's customers, employees, and shareholders.

    Keywords: iphone; encryption; data privacy; Safety; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mobile Technology; Civil Society or Community; National Security; Leadership; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; United States;

    Citation:

    McGee, Henry, Nien-hê Hsieh, and Sarah McAra. "Apple: Privacy vs. Safety (A)." Harvard Business School Case 316-069, March 2016. (Revised November 2017.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  24. Case | HBS Case Collection | April 2017 (Revised August 2018)

    Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity

    Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

    Through the challenges facing Target, the case examines ways in which corporations can become involved in political and legislative debates and processes, ranging from campaign contributions to lobbying to political activism. In 2016, Target CEO Brian Cornell must determine how to respond to the debate over North Carolina's recently signed law, commonly known as "HB2," that invalidated LGBT non-discrimination ordinances at the local level. In contrast to other organizations, Target did not threaten to leave the state. However, its public statement in support of LGBT rights prompted a boycott against its stores. Adding to the difficulty was the fact that Target was caught on the other side of the debate in 2010 in one of the earliest high-profile controversies resulting from the Supreme Court Citizens United ruling. Target had contributed to a super PAC supporting business friendly candidates. As one of the candidate's opposition to same-sex marriage became well publicized, Target faced a consumer boycott as well as a shareholder proposal to change its policies on political contributions. The case covers current campaign finance regulations as they relate to business as well as Target's lobbying activities regarding online sales tax legislation.

    Keywords: boycott; corporate accountability; corporate political activity; lobbying; LGBTQ; campaign contributions; campaign finance; retail; shareholder activism; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Problems and Challenges; Laws and Statutes; Rights; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Media; Political Elections; Taxation; Corporate Accountability; Values and Beliefs; Fairness; Diversity; Customers; Communication; Business and Government Relations; Retail Industry; United States;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Victor Wu. "Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity." Harvard Business School Case 317-113, April 2017. (Revised August 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  25. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | June 2017 (Revised August 2018)

    Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B)

    Nien-hê Hsieh and Victor Wu

    Supplements the (A) Case.

    Keywords: campaign finance reform; corporate accountability; corporate political activity; lobbying; LGBTQ; campaign contributions; campaign finance; retail; shareholder activism; Public Opinion; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Problems and Challenges; Laws and Statutes; Rights; Crisis Management; Risk Management; Media; Political Elections; Taxation; Corporate Accountability; Values and Beliefs; Fairness; Diversity; Customers; Communication; Business and Government Relations; Retail Industry; United States;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Victor Wu. "Making Target the Target: Boycotts and Corporate Political Activity (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 317-131, June 2017. (Revised August 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  26. Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2017 (Revised December 2017)

    The Ready-Made Garment Industry: A Bangladeshi Perspective (A)

    Nien-hê Hsieh and Saloni Chaturvedi

    Responsibility for working conditions in contract factories within the supply chain presents an ongoing challenge for managers and an area of debate. Much of the debate approaches the challenge from the perspective of large global apparel brands. This case helps students take the perspective of a Bangladeshi contract factory that is part of the brands' supply chain but must also deal with challenges in its own supply chain. The case leads up to the Tazreen factory fire of 2012, in which over 100 people died, and covers subsequent developments in Bangladesh and the apparel industry.

    Keywords: Apparel; Bangladesh; corporate responsibility; human rights; labor; safety; supply chains; Working Conditions; Labor; Working Conditions; Supply Chain; Safety; Rights; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Bangladesh;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Saloni Chaturvedi. "The Ready-Made Garment Industry: A Bangladeshi Perspective (A)." Harvard Business School Case 317-052, March 2017. (Revised December 2017.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  29. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | September 2017 (Revised August 2018)

    The Ready-Made Garment Industry: A Bangladeshi Perspective (D)

    Nien-hê Hsieh and Saloni Chaturvedi

    This supplements the (A) case by summarizing key developments in the Bangladesh ready-made garment industry after the fire at Tazreen Fashions factory, including formation of the Bangladesh Fire and Building Safety Accord (“Accord”) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (“Alliance”) in response to the Rana Plaza factory collapse, legal and policy changes in Bangladesh, and independent assessments of safety standards and subcontracting in the industry.

    Keywords: Apparel; Bangladesh; corporate responsibility; human rights; labor; safety; supply chains; Working Conditions; Labor; Working Conditions; Supply Chain; Safety; Rights; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Bangladesh;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Saloni Chaturvedi. "The Ready-Made Garment Industry: A Bangladeshi Perspective (D)." Harvard Business School Supplement 318-028, September 2017. (Revised August 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  30. Module Note | March 2017 (Revised March 2018)

    Responsibilities to Society

    Nien-hê Hsieh

    This module note for students outlines an approach to help managers deliver on their responsibilities in relation to society. The approach frames these responsibilities in terms of potential harms to third parties beyond investors, customers, and employees. The approach aims to help managers identify relevant harms, analyze their responsibility for harms, and determine an appropriate response. The approach also considers limits on how far managers ought to go to address these harms, emphasizing respect for boundaries relating to political legitimacy and legal authority. The module note was written for students in the first-year course Leadership and Corporate Accountability.

    Keywords: corporate political activity; corporate social responsibility; ethics; human rights; role of business in society; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Ethics; Business and Community Relations; Rights;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-hê. "Responsibilities to Society." Harvard Business School Module Note 317-065, March 2017. (Revised March 2018.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  31. Case | HBS Case Collection | March 2015 (Revised August 2020)

    Putting the Guiding Principles into Action: Human Rights at Barrick Gold (A)

    Rebecca Henderson and Nien-he Hsieh

    In 2010, Human Rights Watch, a well-regarded international NGO, approached Barrick Gold asserting that members of the company’s security force at the Porgera Gold Mine in Papua New Guinea had on multiple occasions raped women who were trespassing onto the mine’s waste dumps in search of gold. Subsequent investigations identified significant evidence to support the allegations, and the revelations led to broad ranging change at both Porgera and at Barrick more generally. Drawing heavily on the United Nation’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (GPs), Barrick not only moved to make efforts to provide restitution to the women involved, but also designed and rolled out a comprehensive set of policies designed to embed the protection of human rights into the entire company. Barrick also played a central role in leading the development of an auditing and verification framework for the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (the VPs), a set of commitments embraced by most of the world’s largest extractive companies. The case provides students with an opportunity to analyze the challenges that arise from operating in environments with weak state institutions; to examine the challenges of implementing voluntary frameworks, such as the GPs or VPs, and their potential as alternatives to state institutions; to learn about the field of business and human rights; and to develop an analytic framework for evaluating the responsibilities of business leaders to society, especially from the perspective of human rights.

    Keywords: human rights; business and society; Rights; Policy; Leading Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations;

    Citation:

    Henderson, Rebecca, and Nien-he Hsieh. "Putting the Guiding Principles into Action: Human Rights at Barrick Gold (A)." Harvard Business School Case 315-108, March 2015. (Revised August 2020.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  34. Module Note | December 2014 (Revised April 2016)

    Responsibilities to Employees

    Nien-he Hsieh

    The note provides a framework to conceptualize managers' responsibilities to employees in relation to economic, legal and ethical considerations. The note frames the central ethical challenge for managers as exercising power in a fair manner. The fair exercise of power involves three components: respect for legitimate expectations, procedural fairness, and distributional fairness.

    Keywords: Leadership & Corporate Accountability; ethics; legal aspects of business; employees; responsibility; fairness; decision making; Ethics; Fairness; Employees; Decision Making; Jobs and Positions; Labor; Law;

    Citation:

    Hsieh, Nien-he. "Responsibilities to Employees." Harvard Business School Module Note 315-067, December 2014. (Revised April 2016.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  35. Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2013 (Revised September 2016)

    Governance and Sustainability at Nike (A)

    Lynn S. Paine, Nien-he Hsieh and Lara Adamsons

    Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social concerns from its origins in student protests against labor conditions in the supply chain in the 1990s through the development of a board-level corporate responsibility (CR) committee in 2001 to the creation of the Sustainable Business & Innovation (SB&I) strategy in 2009. In this context, Hannah Jones, Nike's VP of SB&I, and Eric Sprunk, VP of Merchandising & Product, are working to finalize the company's next round of sustainability targets for presentation to the CR committee. When Nike signs on to the Roadmap to Zero, a Greenpeace-inspired initiative to eliminate the discharge of toxic chemicals into the water supply by 2020, the company's target-setting process becomes more complex. Jones and Sprunk must decide whether to recommend that Nike dial back other sustainability goals to meet the zero toxics challenge, modify its commitment to zero toxics, or find another solution.

    Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; sustainable business and innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; ethics; fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; governance; corporate accountability; corporate governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; corporate social responsibility and impact; Performance; Alignment; supply chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; judgment; board of directors; board committees; environmental and social sustainability; footwear industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland;

    Citation:

    Paine, Lynn S., Nien-he Hsieh, and Lara Adamsons. "Governance and Sustainability at Nike (A)." Harvard Business School Case 313-146, June 2013. (Revised September 2016.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related

  36. Supplement | HBS Case Collection | June 2013 (Revised September 2016)

    Governance and Sustainability at Nike (B)

    Lynn S. Paine, Nien-he Hsieh and Lara Adamsons

    Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social concerns from its origins in student protests against labor conditions in the supply chain in the 1990s through the development of a board-level corporate responsibility (CR) committee in 2001 to the creation of the Sustainable Business & Innovation (SB&I) strategy in 2009. In this context, Hannah Jones, Nike's VP of SB&I, and Eric Sprunk, VP of Merchandising & Product, are working to finalize the company's next round of sustainability targets for presentation to the CR committee. When Nike signs on to the Roadmap to Zero, a Greenpeace-inspired initiative to eliminate the discharge of toxic chemicals into the water supply by 2020, the company's target-setting process becomes more complex. Jones and Sprunk must decide whether to recommend that Nike dial back other sustainability goals to meet the zero toxics challenge, modify its commitment to zero toxics, or find another solution.

    Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; sustainable business and innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; ethics; fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; governance; corporate accountability; corporate governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; corporate social responsibility and impact; Performance; Alignment; supply chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; judgment; board of directors; board committees; environmental and social sustainability; footwear industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland;

    Citation:

    Paine, Lynn S., Nien-he Hsieh, and Lara Adamsons. "Governance and Sustainability at Nike (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 313-147, June 2013. (Revised September 2016.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsPurchase Related

  37. Background Note | HBS Case Collection | January 2010 (Revised December 2011)

    A Framework for Ethical Reasoning

    Sandra J. Sucher and Nien-he Hsieh

    A practical framework for evaluating the ethical dimensions of a proposed course of action for managers and executives.

    Keywords: Decision Making; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Framework; Corporate Accountability; Leadership; Social Enterprise;

    Citation:

    Sucher, Sandra J., and Nien-he Hsieh. "A Framework for Ethical Reasoning." Harvard Business School Background Note 610-050, January 2010. (Revised December 2011.)  View Details
    CiteView DetailsEducatorsPurchase Related
Other Publications and Materials
 
 

Campus Map
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→ Map & Directions
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College