Faculty & Research

Organizational Behavior

Organizational Behavior

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About the Unit

Through its research, teaching, and course development, the Organizational Behavior Unit creates and disseminates knowledge that advances the understanding of how to lead and manage with the aim of increasing personal and organizational effectiveness. Although specific research interests span a wide range of subjects, the faculty share a problem driven, interdisciplinary, multi method approach that has led to significant impact on theory and practice.

Our current intellectual agenda builds on the rich history of OB at HBS and focuses squarely on the organizational changes and challenges arising from today's increasingly global and more competitive economy. In the last decade, the faculty have been recognized for their work on leadership in an increasingly diverse and dynamic environment, the evolution of managerial careers in our society, managing diversity, and organizational design and change to meet evolving needs and expectations in a changing world.

Recent Publications

How to Close the Gender Gap

By: Colleen Ammerman and Boris Groysberg
  • May–June 2021 |
  • Article |
  • Harvard Business Review
Most companies say they’re committed to advancing women into leadership roles. What they may fail to recognize, though, is that systemic barriers are holding women back. As a result, women remain disadvantaged at every stage of their employment and underrepresented in positions of power. Drawing on their own research and the scholarship of others, the authors describe common forms of gender discrimination in seven key areas of talent management: attracting candidates, hiring employees, integrating newcomers into the organization, developing employees, assessing performance, managing compensation and promotion, and retaining employees. Companies can level the playing field by identifying patterns of gender bias in the way they treat people and then systematically making appropriate changes. They can, for example, avoid loaded language in job postings, anonymize the résumés of applicants, cultivate an inclusive culture, increase women’s access to mentors, set clear criteria for salary offers and raises, and destigmatize flexible work arrangements. Research has shown the value of all these practices in fully leveraging women’s talents.
Keywords: Gender Discrimination; Employment; Gender; Prejudice and Bias; Talent and Talent Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation
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Balancing Act: Deborah Lovich (C)

By: David G. Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti
  • April 2021 (Revised May 2021) |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
This case provides further updates on Deborah Lovich's decision, as well as reflections from her family and mentors on her path.
Keywords: Work-life Balance; Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance
Related

Balancing Act: Deborah Lovich (B)

By: David G. Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti
  • April 2021 (Revised May 2021) |
  • Supplement |
  • Faculty Research
This case provides updates on Deborah Lovich's decision and how she navigated her work and family responsibilities over the following decade.
Keywords: Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance; Work-life Balance
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Balancing Act: Deborah Lovich (A)

By: David G. Fubini and Patrick Sanguineti
  • April 2021 (Revised May 2021) |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Deborah Lovich, Partner at the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), has been given the opportunity of a lifetime: to join the firm's Executive Committee as its youngest member and only current woman, as well as just the second woman in its history. Encouraged by her mentors, she saw this role as an important platform to help shape BCG’s future. Yet, she had family to consider. Taking up the opportunity would add an additional five to six weeks of travel per year, on top of an already hectic schedule that kept her from home and her four children most days of the week. Her husband Mark, who had finished a grueling 12-year MD-PhD program one year earlier, decided to put his career on hold to be a stay-at-home dad because of her many commitments. Now, with the possibility of even further time away from the family looming, and the kids wanting more time with her, Mark made a serious demand: that she not only decline the Executive Committee role, but also scale back her commitments so that he could relaunch his career. Lovich must weigh how to balance her responsibilities to her family without sacrificing the career she had worked so hard to build.
Keywords: Work-life Balance; Work/life Balance; Work/family Balance
Related

Ring Concierge

By: Laura Huang, Zoe Otedola and Katie LaMattina
  • April 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Related

Glass-Shattering Leaders: Barbara Hackman Franklin

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman
  • April 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Barbara Hackman Franklin was one of the first women to earn an MBA from Harvard Business School. She went on to break barriers in the private and public sectors, rising to leadership positions in business and government. In the 1970s, she led a successful White House initiative to hire more women into high-level roles, helping to change the makeup of the federal workforce and advance the national conversation about women’s roles in public life.
Related

Glass-Shattering Leaders: Michele Hooper

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman
  • April 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Michele Hooper joined the board of the Dayton-Hudson Corporation when she was in her late thirties, becoming the company’s youngest director as well as the only woman and the only person of color in the boardroom. Such “firsts” were not unusual for Hooper, who had been tapped to lead the Canadian subsidiary of Baxter International a year earlier, one of very few women moved from a staff to a line role at the company. More board opportunties continued to come Hooper’s way, and over time she gained expertise and experience across all aspects of corporate governance, often serving as a lead director or committee chair. Seeing that too few women, and far too few men and and women of color, were breaking into the boardroom, Hooper cofounded the Directors’ Council to help companies diversity their boards. Widely acknowledged as a a leader in corporate governance, Hooper dedicated herself to serving as a role model and mentor for Black professionals aspring to leadership.
Related

Glass-Shattering Leaders: Ana Paula Pessoa

By: Boris Groysberg and Colleen Ammerman
  • April 2021 |
  • Case |
  • Faculty Research
Ana Paula Pessoa built a career at the largest media conglomerate in Latin America, combining a passion for digital transformation with a commitment to doing work that had a posititve impact on society. Having grown up during a dictatorial miltary regime in Brazil, the value of a free press was clear to Pessoa. She ultimately rose to become CFO of the company’s print media arm, before making a career shift to invest in technology startups and later to serve as CFO for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. Throughout her varied career, Pessoa sought out connections with interesting people across industries, a practice that paid dividends when she was recruited to join the board of a large public company, which led to additioanl board appointments. Following her passions and building relationships enabled Pessoa to craft a fulfilling career spanning multiple industries and issues.
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Contact Information

Organizational Behavior Unit
Harvard Business School
Morgan Hall
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
OB@hbs.edu