This section presents the list of case studies and readings given to the students at the beginning of the course. See the “Study questions and reading tips” handouts in the lecture notes section for comments, reading order, and questions to consider while reading.
| TOPICS | DESCRIPTIONS | READINGS |
|---|---|---|
| Day 1: Political management and creating value | ||
| Discussion A: Creating public value | Implementation challenges and opportunities, the concept of public value, managerial imagination |
Moore, Mark. Creating Public Value: Strategic Management in Government. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1997, pp. 13-21. ISBN: 9780674175587. “Upwardly Global: Building a Model for Assisting Immigrant Professionals.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Case Program. Case: C16-05-1803.0, 2005. |
| Discussion B: Political management | The need for political or “indirect” management; stakeholder groups and decision-making structures; tools of consultation, persuasion and negotiation |
“Park Plaza (A).” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Case Program. Case: C17-75-707.0, 1975. Creating Public Value. pp. 105-134. |
| Day 2: Developing and changing an organization’s strategy | ||
| Discussion A: Developing a strategy | The concept of strategy, strategic analysis and scanning the environment |
“Mikhukhu People of South Africa: A Question of Survival.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Case Program. Case: C17-95-1291.0, 1995. Creating Public Value. pp. 63-76. Collins, James, and Jerry Porras. Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies. New York, NY: Collins Business, 2004, chapter 2. ISBN: 9780060566104. Letts, Christine, William Ryan, and Allen Grossman. High Performance Nonprofit Organizations: Managing Upstream for Greater Impact. New York, NY: Wiley, 1998, pp. 1-5 and 15-28. ISBN: 9780471174578. |
| Discussion B: Strategy change and risk | Sifting expectations and needs, strategic re-assessment, public versus private responsibilities |
“Managing Change or Running to Catch Up: CARE USA and Its Mission in Thailand.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Case Program. Case: C18-95-1281.0, 1995. Built to Last. Interlude and chapter 4. |
| Day 3: Strategic collaboration and performance management | ||
| Discussion A: Strategic collaboration | Reasons to collaborate, risks, levels and stages of collaboration or “partnership” |
“Finding Black Parents: One Church, One Child.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Case Program. Case: C16-88-856.0, 1988. Briggs, Xavier de Souza. “Perfect Fit or Shotgun Marriage?: Understanding the Power and Pitfalls in Partnerships.” The Community Problem-Solving Project @ MIT, June 2003, selected pages. (PDF) |
| Discussion B: Performance measurement and management | Measures in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors; logic modeling; the link between measurement and strategy (including “strategy maps”) |
“Mayor Anthony Williams and Performance Management in Washington, DC.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Case Program. Case: 16-02-1647.0, 2002. Hatry, Harry. Performance Measurement: Getting Results. Washington, DC: Urban Institute Press, 2007, selected pages. ISBN: 9780877667346. Kaplan, Robert, and David Norton. The Strategy-Focused Organization: How Balanced Scorecard Companies Thrive in the New Business Environment. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2000, pp. 1-17, 69-77, and 133-153. ISBN: 9781578512508. |
| Day 4: Structuring work, managing talent | ||
| Discussion A: Structuring work | Organizational design and restructuring, “stovepiping” and dysfunction, getting beyond bureaucracy, operational process and re-engineering |
“Managing the Underground City: The New York City Transit Authority Reclaims its Subway Stations.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Case Program. Case: C18-95-1275.0, 1995. Mintzberg, Henry. Structure in Fives: Designing Effective Organizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1992, pp. 1-9 and 46-52. ISBN: 9780138554798. Ostroff, Frank. The Horizontal Organization: What the Organization of the Future Actually Looks Like and How it Delivers Value to Customers. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 1999, pp. 2-11 and 102-114. ISBN: 9780195121384. |
| Discussion B: Managing talent | Recruitment, retention, motivation, rules |
“California Franchise Tax Board: Strategies for a Changing Workforce (Video).” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government Case Program. Case: 1201.9, 1993. Hax, Arnoldo, and Nicolas Majluf. “Human Resources Management of Key Personnel.” In The Strategy Concept and Process: A Pragmatic Approach. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 1995. ISBN: 9780134588940. Simons, Robert. “Control in an Age of Empowerment.” Harvard Business Review, March 1995. |
| Day 5: Strategic vision and change | ||
| Discussion A: Vision | Recognizing implementation challenges and opportunities, visioning backward and forward, drawing on multiple frameworks | “Mayor Purcell and the Faith Community Confront Nashville’s Housing Needs.” Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, Kennedy School of Government. Draft, September 2003. |
| Discussion B: Leading change | Leadership versus authority, leading versus managing, mental models, leadership styles |
We will draw on several cases we have discussed this week. Heifetz, Ronald, and Marty Linsky. Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through the Dangers of Leading. Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press, 2002, pp. 13-30. ISBN: 9781578514373. Goleman, Daniel. “Leadership that Gets Results.” Harvard Business Review, March-April 2000. |
