General Management

- November–December 2024
- Article
How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?

By: Lynn S. Paine and Suraj Srinivasan

During the past few years, as evidence of climate change and its effects has mounted, many corporate boards have added climate governance to their agendas. But the maturity of boards’ climate-oversight processes and activities varies widely. To better understand how climate issues are being handled in the boardroom and to determine what good climate governance looks like in practice, the authors interviewed 20 directors who hold leadership positions on the boards of S&P 500 companies. Drawing from those interviews and other research, they identify eight hallmarks of meaningful climate oversight. For example, “the board is knowledgeable about the company’s climate profile,” “the board has the expertise needed for effective climate oversight,” and “the board can articulate the company’s climate positioning and strategy.” The authors also offer their perspective on the set of issues associated with each hallmark that corporate leaders must grapple with as they decide how to incorporate climate issues into their company’s governance. Climate concerns are here to stay, and climate governance will increasingly be seen as a core element of good governance.
- November–December 2024
- Article
How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?

By: Lynn S. Paine and Suraj Srinivasan

During the past few years, as evidence of climate change and its effects has mounted, many corporate boards have added climate governance to their agendas. But the maturity of boards’ climate-oversight processes and activities varies widely. To better understand how climate issues are being handled in the boardroom and to determine what good...
- 2024
- Working Paper
Priceless: How to Create, Trade, and Protect What Matters Most

By: Debora L. Spar
- 2024
- Working Paper
Priceless: How to Create, Trade, and Protect What Matters Most

By: Debora L. Spar
- November 21, 2024
- Article
How to Build a Life: Three Ways to Become a Deeper Thinker

By: Arthur C. Brooks
- November 21, 2024
- Article
How to Build a Life: Three Ways to Become a Deeper Thinker

By: Arthur C. Brooks

About the Unit

The General Management Unit is concerned with the leadership and management of the enterprise as a whole. This concern encompasses:

the personal values and qualities of effective general managers and enterprise leaders;
the philosophies, values, and strategies that inform successful enterprises; and
the relation of enterprise to the broader community and other external constituencies.

The Unit's work is conceived and carried out principally in four interest groups, each of which has its own leadership, research agenda, and teaching programs:

Management Policy and Process
Management Information Systems
Society and Enterprise
Leadership, Values, and Corporate Responsibility

Recent Publications

How Robust Is Your Climate Governance?

By: Lynn S. Paine and Suraj Srinivasan

November–December 2024 |
Article |
Harvard Business Review

During the past few years, as evidence of climate change and its effects has mounted, many corporate boards have added climate governance to their agendas. But the maturity of boards’ climate-oversight processes and activities varies widely. To better understand how climate issues are being handled in the boardroom and to determine what good climate governance looks like in practice, the authors interviewed 20 directors who hold leadership positions on the boards of S&P 500 companies. Drawing from those interviews and other research, they identify eight hallmarks of meaningful climate oversight. For example, “the board is knowledgeable about the company’s climate profile,” “the board has the expertise needed for effective climate oversight,” and “the board can articulate the company’s climate positioning and strategy.” The authors also offer their perspective on the set of issues associated with each hallmark that corporate leaders must grapple with as they decide how to incorporate climate issues into their company’s governance. Climate concerns are here to stay, and climate governance will increasingly be seen as a core element of good governance.

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Governing and Advisory Boards

Citation

Find at Harvard

Social Enterprise in the MENA Region

By: Brian Trelstad and Ahmed Dahawy

November 2024 |
Background Note |
Faculty Research

This research note provides an overview of the socio-economic landscape of social enterprise in the Middle East and North Africa. It highlights the diversity of players in the region including social enterprise organizations (in their many forms) and supporting agencies, funders, and regulators. The note also dives briefly into the demographics of social entrepreneurs in the region as well as the common social objectives they aimed to address through their organizations.

Citation

Educators

Priceless: How to Create, Trade, and Protect What Matters Most

By: Debora L. Spar

2024 |
Working Paper |
Faculty Research

Citation

Read Now

How to Build a Life: Three Ways to Become a Deeper Thinker

By: Arthur C. Brooks

November 21, 2024 |
Article |
The Atlantic

Citation

How to Build a Life: The Secret to Thinking Your Way Out of Anxiety

By: Arthur C. Brooks

November 14, 2024 |
Article |
The Atlantic

Citation

How to Build a Life: How to Deal With Disappointment

By: Arthur C. Brooks

November 7, 2024 |
Article |
The Atlantic

Citation

Martine Rothblatt and United Therapeutics: A Series of Implausible Dreams

By: Debora L. Spar and Julia M. Comeau

November 2024 |
Teaching Note |
Faculty Research

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 323-039. In 1990, satellite expert and Sirius XM founder Martine Rothblatt was determined to save the life of her seven-year-old daughter, Jenesis, who was diagnosed with a terminal illness called Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH). At the time, there was little medication available for the rare condition, so Rothblatt decided make a drug herself and formed United Therapeutics in 1996. When that company proved successful, both financially and scientifically, Rothblatt decided to take what she saw as the logical next step: manufacturing organs for transplantation.