Technology & Operations Management
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- 2021
- Working Paper
Growth, Transformation and Digital Capital: The Importance of Technological and Organizational Architecture
By: Ruiqing Cao and Marco IansitiSince the early 2000s, we witnessed a decline in average firm productivity growth and a substantial increase in market concentration across the U.S. economy (Decker et al., 2014; Bessen, 2017; Van Reenen, 2018; Akicigit and Ates, 2019). At the same time, firm performance diverged significantly across sectors and geography, and some “superstar” firms appeared to be capable of sustaining superior performance (Ayyagari et al., 2019; Covarrubias et al., 2019). Some have argued that information technology (IT) systems contributed significantly to these trends (Bessen, 2017). More recently, several authors in practitioner-oriented literature proposed the contribution of data, analytics and artificial intelligence to economic growth (e.g., Brynjolfsson and McAfee, 2014; Iansiti and Lakhani, 2020).
- 2021
- Working Paper
Growth, Transformation and Digital Capital: The Importance of Technological and Organizational Architecture
By: Ruiqing Cao and Marco IansitiSince the early 2000s, we witnessed a decline in average firm productivity growth and a substantial increase in market concentration across the U.S. economy (Decker et al., 2014; Bessen, 2017; Van Reenen, 2018; Akicigit and Ates, 2019). At the same time, firm performance diverged significantly across sectors and geography, and some “superstar”...
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- May 2021
- Case
Megan Ming Francis: Leadership and Racial Injustice
By: Francesca Gino and Frances X. FreiThe link to this multimedia case should be provided to students in advance as preparation for classroom case discussion.
- May 2021
- Case
Megan Ming Francis: Leadership and Racial Injustice
By: Francesca Gino and Frances X. FreiThe link to this multimedia case should be provided to students in advance as preparation for classroom case discussion.
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- May 2021
- Article
Making Doctors Effective Managers and Leaders: A Matter of Health and Well-Being
By: Lisa Rotenstein, Robert S. Huckman and Christine K. CasselThe COVID-19 crisis has forced physicians to make daily decisions that require knowledge and skills they did not acquire as part of their biomedical training. Physicians are being called upon to be both managers—able to set processes and structures—and leaders—capable of creating vision and inspiring action. Although these skills may have been previously considered as just nice to have, they are now as central to being a physician as physiology and biochemistry. While traditionally only selected physicians have received management training, either through executive or joint degree programs, the authors argue that the pandemic has highlighted the importance of all physicians learning management and leadership skills. Training should emphasize skills related to interpersonal management, systems management, and communication and planning; be seamlessly integrated into the medical curriculum alongside existing content; and be delivered by existing faculty with leadership experience. While leadership programs, such as the Pediatric Leadership for the UnderServed Program at the University of California, San Francisco, and the Clinical Process Improvement Leadership Program at Mass General Brigham, may include project work, instruction by clinical leaders, and content delivered over time, examples of leadership training that seamlessly blend biomedical and management training are lacking. The authors present the Leader and Leadership Education and Development curriculum used at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, which is woven through four years of medical school, as an example of leadership training that approximates many of the principles espoused here. The COVID-19 pandemic has stretched the logistical capabilities of health care systems and the entire United States, revealing that management and leadership skills—often viewed as soft skills—are a matter of life and death. Training all physicians in these skills will improve patient care, the well-being of the health care workforce, and health across the United States.
- May 2021
- Article
Making Doctors Effective Managers and Leaders: A Matter of Health and Well-Being
By: Lisa Rotenstein, Robert S. Huckman and Christine K. CasselThe COVID-19 crisis has forced physicians to make daily decisions that require knowledge and skills they did not acquire as part of their biomedical training. Physicians are being called upon to be both managers—able to set processes and structures—and leaders—capable of creating vision and inspiring action. Although these skills may have been...
About the Unit
As the world of operations has changed, so have interests and priorities within the Unit. Historically, the TOM Unit focused on manufacturing and the development of physical products. Over the past several years, we have expanded our research, course development, and course offerings to encompass new issues in information technology, supply chains, and service industries.
The field of TOM is concerned with the design, management, and improvement of operating systems and processes. As we seek to understand the challenges confronting firms competing in today's demanding environment, the focus of our work has broadened to include the multiple activities comprising a firm's "operating core":
- the multi-function, multi-firm system that includes basic research, design, engineering, product and process development and production of goods and services within individual operating units;
- the networks of information and material flows that tie operating units together and the systems that support these networks;
- the distribution and delivery of goods and services to customers.
Recent Publications
Growth, Transformation and Digital Capital: The Importance of Technological and Organizational Architecture
- 2021 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Zara: An Integrated Store and Online Model (A) and (B)
- May 2021 |
- Supplement |
- Faculty Research
Zara: An Integrated Store and Online Model (A) and (B)
- May 2021 |
- Teaching Note |
- Faculty Research
Megan Ming Francis: Leadership and Racial Injustice
- May 2021 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Making Doctors Effective Managers and Leaders: A Matter of Health and Well-Being
- May 2021 |
- Article |
- Academic Medicine
Shareholders Are Pressing for Climate Risk Disclosures. That's Good for Everyone
- April 22, 2021 |
- Article |
- Harvard Business Review Digital Articles
Companies' Responses to Social Activism: A Resource Reconfiguration Perspective
- 2021 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Remote Patient Monitoring—Overdue or Overused?
- April 15, 2021 |
- Article |
- New England Journal of Medicine
Harvard Business Publishing
Seminars & Conferences
There are no upcoming events.