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Technologists, particularly product managers, do not make design choices in a vacuum. Often, they have quantitative objectives they hope to achieve as part of their quarterly goals. But purely pursuing those objectives without considering risks to various stakeholders-for example, erosion of users' attention or users becoming politically radicalized-may result in considerable harm for not only the product's users but also for the organization. This technical note helps managers think about the unintended consequences of shipping a given feature. It will also help identify win-win solutions that can enable one to hit target metrics while mitigating negative stakeholder consequences.

This case looks at the ELYSIS joint venture and the commercialization of its technology for eliminating greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with the electrolysis process in aluminum production. Although Alcoa developed the ELYSIS process, its commercialization is the result of a partnership between aluminum producers Alcoa and Rio Tinto Aluminium (RTA). This partnership was made possible by Apple, which acted as an intermediary, and is supported by the governments of Quebec and Canada. The use of ELYSIS technology has the potential to significantly reduce GHG emissions from aluminum production and to help companies affected by new GHG emission regulations. The success of the technology, however, depends on its widespread adoption, which involves replacing a production method that is over 130 years old.

Senaca East Africa, aka Sentry & Patrols, is a Kenya-based security guard firm founded in 2002 by John Kipkorir, a longtime member of the Kenyan police. At the time, there were only a few well-known Kenyan-owned security companies, and crime was rising. After some early stumbles, Sentry & Patrols grew rapidly and John's wife and daughters joined the business. Part A of this case details the family's early struggles to grow their operation, develop expertise and define their roles in the business. It follows the first eight years in operation, during which John's wife and eldest daughter became full-time employees. It traces their journey up to the point that Sentry & Patrols was approached by a European firm about a merger. The tie-up prospect offered risk and reward. By that time, Sentry & Patrols had become one of the best-known guard firms in East Africa, with more than 1,000 workers. But cash flow was tight, clients were slow to pay, and the company was struggling to expand. This case examines the challenges of defining roles in a family business and setting up effective governance structures. Case A ends with the family mulling the merger offer. Part B of this case details what happened after the family agreed to the merger and changed the company name to Senaca. Initially, the tie-up brought benefits. The company grew to 1,500 guards and landed contracts with universities, hotels and companies such as Nokia. The business diversified, expanded to Uganda, started a guard training school, and launched a technology arm. The company invested in equipment such as cameras, body scanners, security gates and electrical fencing for their new clients. However, this period presented the Kipkorirs with many challenges. John Kipkorir's other daughters became involved with the company, but over time, their decision-making power was eroded by their European partners, and the business nose-dived. This part of the case challenges students to think about family business struc

Senaca East Africa, aka Sentry & Patrols, is a Kenya-based security guard firm founded in 2002 by John Kipkorir, a longtime member of the Kenyan police. At the time, there were only a few well-known Kenyan-owned security companies, and crime was rising. After some early stumbles, Sentry & Patrols grew rapidly and John's wife and daughters joined the business. Part A of this case details the family's early struggles to grow their operation, develop expertise and define their roles in the business. It follows the first eight years in operation, during which John's wife and eldest daughter became full-time employees. It traces their journey up to the point that Sentry & Patrols was approached by a European firm about a merger. The tie-up prospect offered risk and reward. By that time, Sentry & Patrols had become one of the best-known guard firms in East Africa, with more than 1,000 workers. But cash flow was tight, clients were slow to pay, and the company was struggling to expand. This case examines the challenges of defining roles in a family business and setting up effective governance structures. Case A ends with the family mulling the merger offer. Part B of this case details what happened after the family agreed to the merger and changed the company name to Senaca. Initially, the tie-up brought benefits. The company grew to 1,500 guards and landed contracts with universities, hotels and companies such as Nokia. The business diversified, expanded to Uganda, started a guard training school, and launched a technology arm. The company invested in equipment such as cameras, body scanners, security gates and electrical fencing for their new clients. However, this period presented the Kipkorirs with many challenges. John Kipkorir's other daughters became involved with the company, but over time, their decision-making power was eroded by their European partners, and the business nose-dived. This part of the case challenges students to think about family business struc

Senaca East Africa, aka Sentry & Patrols, is a Kenya-based security guard firm founded in 2002 by John Kipkorir, a longtime member of the Kenyan police. At the time, there were only a few well-known Kenyan-owned security companies, and crime was rising. After some early stumbles, Sentry & Patrols grew rapidly and John's wife and daughters joined the business. Part A of this case details the family's early struggles to grow their operation, develop expertise and define their roles in the business. It follows the first eight years in operation, during which John's wife and eldest daughter became full-time employees. It traces their journey up to the point that Sentry & Patrols was approached by a European firm about a merger. The tie-up prospect offered risk and reward. By that time, Sentry & Patrols had become one of the best-known guard firms in East Africa, with more than 1,000 workers. But cash flow was tight, clients were slow to pay, and the company was struggling to expand. This case examines the challenges of defining roles in a family business and setting up effective governance structures. Case A ends with the family mulling the merger offer. Part B of this case details what happened after the family agreed to the merger and changed the company name to Senaca. Initially, the tie-up brought benefits. The company grew to 1,500 guards and landed contracts with universities, hotels and companies such as Nokia. The business diversified, expanded to Uganda, started a guard training school, and launched a technology arm. The company invested in equipment such as cameras, body scanners, security gates and electrical fencing for their new clients. However, this period presented the Kipkorirs with many challenges. John Kipkorir's other daughters became involved with the company, but over time, their decision-making power was eroded by their European partners, and the business nose-dived. This part of the case challenges students to think about family business struc

On August 16, 2022, President Joseph Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA). The wide-ranging law included provisions for lowering prescription drug costs, expanding the Internal Revenue Service, subsidizing the Affordable Care Act, and tax reform. But the largest share of the IRA's $738 billion investment-$369 billion-was allocated to mitigating climate change. The law was designed to meet several objectives: stimulate the economy and reduce inflation, create well-paid working-class+S16 jobs, and encourage consumers to buy American products-all within the framework of a carbon reduction strategy. The task of implementing the climate-related provisions of the IRA was daunting. It would require coordinating not just among the agencies of the federal government, but with state, local and tribal governments, with local organizations, and with the private sector. The case goes on to describe the provisions of the IRA and the plan for implementing the law while detailing the significant challenges to reducing the country's carbon emissions by 50% by 2030. HKS Case No. 2270.0

In late 2021, Netflix leadership had to deal with some fierce employee and public blowback after airing The Closer, a comedy special by comedian Dave Chappelle. In the special-the last of six that Chappelle was contracted to make for Netflix-his targets included the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, plus others (LGBTQ+) community, particularly the transgender and nonbinary segments of that population. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings were caught by surprise by the reaction, particularly from Netflix employees, to the special. While supportive of Chappelle despite his often-incendiary remarks over the years, Sarandos and Hastings knew they had to do major damage control. Had they made the wrong decision in allowing this particularly strident special to air? Should they take it off the platform? What was the future of Netflix's relationship with Chappelle? And-very importantly for a company that prized its workforce and had tried to create a culture of inclusion and diversity-how would they deal with Netflix's many disaffected employees?

In late 2021, Netflix leadership had to deal with some fierce employee and public blowback after airing The Closer, a comedy special by comedian Dave Chappelle. In the special-the last of six that Chappelle was contracted to make for Netflix-his targets included the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, plus others (LGBTQ+) community, particularly the transgender and nonbinary segments of that population. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings were caught by surprise by the reaction, particularly from Netflix employees, to the special. While supportive of Chappelle despite his often-incendiary remarks over the years, Sarandos and Hastings knew they had to do major damage control. Had they made the wrong decision in allowing this particularly strident special to air? Should they take it off the platform? What was the future of Netflix's relationship with Chappelle? And-very importantly for a company that prized its workforce and had tried to create a culture of inclusion and diversity-how would they deal with Netflix's many disaffected employees?

In late 2021, Netflix leadership had to deal with some fierce employee and public blowback after airing The Closer, a comedy special by comedian Dave Chappelle. In the special-the last of six that Chappelle was contracted to make for Netflix-his targets included the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning, plus others (LGBTQ+) community, particularly the transgender and nonbinary segments of that population. Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Reed Hastings were caught by surprise by the reaction, particularly from Netflix employees, to the special. While supportive of Chappelle despite his often-incendiary remarks over the years, Sarandos and Hastings knew they had to do major damage control. Had they made the wrong decision in allowing this particularly strident special to air? Should they take it off the platform? What was the future of Netflix's relationship with Chappelle? And-very importantly for a company that prized its workforce and had tried to create a culture of inclusion and diversity-how would they deal with Netflix's many disaffected employees?

For CEO Elon Musk, Tesla's mission required not only new technologies to create electric vehicles, but innovation on the software that connected every aspect of the organization. Tesla was founded in 2003 with the goal of revolutionizing the automotive industry, by producing electric vehicles that would help accelerate the world's transition to sustainable energy. Twenty years later, Tesla had achieved remarkable progress across multiple dimensions such as production capacity, innovative electric vehicles, customer experience, and financial performance. The case study offers unique insights by Tesla leaders into the company's journey to create a system and a process that would revolutionize the global automotive sector. To achieve its goals, Tesla had to deliver a dramatically different-and superior-customer experience to accompany the company's innovative electric vehicles. The case describes how Tesla's IT team set about custom-building a vertically integrated system operating system (OS) that connected and bound every aspect of the company's operations. In fact, the Tesla OS, a custom-built ecosystem, was far more expansive than a typical company's OS in that it powered all aspects of business planning and customer experiences-this enabled Tesla to go directly to the consumer, and bypass the traditional automotive dealership networks.

In November 2022, Sam Bankman-Fried's multi-billion-dollar crypto exchange, FTX, collapsed, wiping out investors and throwing the crypto industry into disarray. As FTX's founder and CEO, Bankman-Fried developed a reputation for his unerring business sense and high-profile charitable giving. To many, it came as a shock when in the wake of FTX's collapse, the attorney responsible for restructuring the company professed he had never seen "such an utter failure of corporate controls at every level of an organization." How had Bankman-Fried managed to hide his malfeasance so well, and for so long? The investigation also raised questions about the people and organizations that enabled Bankman-Fried's wrongdoing. What should regulators have done differently? Were the VC funds that bankrolled FTX partly responsible?

The case revolves around an entrepreneur, Maggie Fleur, who manages several businesses on her family's farm and who is considering a complementary new business in the burgeoning industry of human composting. The case includes background on the death-care market in the United States in addition to how human composting (which was legal in five US states as of spring 2023) works. It explores the industry leader, private company Recompose, providing details about company history, fundraising, and basic financials.

Founded in 578 AD, Kongo Gumi was a family-owned business until 2006, when the firm went into liquidation to pay its creditors. While its demise is briefly covered, the case study is focused on its longevity. A renowned builder of traditional temples, in a country where these are major tourist attractions, Kongo Gumi has left an indelible mark on Japanese culture and history. Many of the temples built by its carpenters are listed and some are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

As autonomy became a more significant part of modern life - most notably in autonomous vehicles (AVs), such as Teslas - ethical debates about whether and how to impart ethics to machines heated up. Utilitarians pointed out that autonomous vehicles crashed much less often than human-driven cars, making their adoption a net positive in terms of lives saved; deontologists worried about the implications of programming a car to swerve to kill its passengers instead of pedestrians, for example, among other high-stakes "trolley problems." Ethical issues abounded across different levels of automation and across borders. How should AVs be programmed for complex, uncertain, ethically challenging situations? Was there anything innately human about moral reasoning, or could companies imbue AVs with sound ethical frameworks?

In September 2021, Apple decided to delay updates to iOS and iPadOS that included features to fight child sexual abuse. While many-including prominent privacy and security experts-praised Apple, others were opposed. They saw Apple introducing features that risked undermining the privacy of all Apple users-privacy that Apple had strongly championed. Shortly thereafter, prompted by security concerns related to the war in Ukraine and the spread of online child sexual abuse and pornography, legislation was proposed in the United Kingdom to give the government the right to demand the removal of encryption. In response, some tech companies with encrypted messaging apps contemplated pulling out of the U.K. Should Apple CEO Tim Cook do the same, reintroduce the updates to iOS and iPadOS, or something else?

The two-part case follows the story of Pav Gill, the whistleblower who helped uncover one of Europe's largest corporate frauds at Wirecard, the German fintech that went bankrupt in 2020. Founded in 1999, Wirecard grew from an inconspicuous company to a listed firm on the blue-chip DAX, Germany's main stock index in 2018. Wirecard's meteoric rise to fame was questioned by some but largely acclaimed by investors who knew little about its murky dealings beneath its successful façade. Part (A) begins in 2018 with Gill joining Wirecard's Singapore office as the Head of Legal for the Asia Pacific region. Within a few months, Gill discovered multiple instances of falsified accounts, forgery, back-dated invoices, round-tripping, and questionable hiring practices. Despite escalating the matter to the Munich headquarters, his efforts on speaking up for justice backfired. Even after he left Wirecard, he was stalked by strangers and sabotaged at job interviews. At that point, he had to decide if he should remain silent or expose the scandal, and if so, how. Part (B) describes the frustration of Sokhbir Kaur, Gill's mother, at Wirecard's harassment and threats to her son's life, before resorting to take matters into her own hands. She initiated contact with well-reputed journalists to expose the scandal-a move that stunned Gill. The Financial Times eventually interviewed them and published the story in January 2019, which spelled the beginning of the end for Wirecard.

The two-part case follows the story of Pav Gill, the whistleblower who helped uncover one of Europe's largest corporate frauds at Wirecard, the German fintech that went bankrupt in 2020. Founded in 1999, Wirecard grew from an inconspicuous company to a listed firm on the blue-chip DAX, Germany's main stock index in 2018. Wirecard's meteoric rise to fame was questioned by some but largely acclaimed by investors who knew little about its murky dealings beneath its successful façade. Part (A) begins in 2018 with Gill joining Wirecard's Singapore office as the Head of Legal for the Asia Pacific region. Within a few months, Gill discovered multiple instances of falsified accounts, forgery, back-dated invoices, round-tripping, and questionable hiring practices. Despite escalating the matter to the Munich headquarters, his efforts on speaking up for justice backfired. Even after he left Wirecard, he was stalked by strangers and sabotaged at job interviews. At that point, he had to decide if he should remain silent or expose the scandal, and if so, how. Part (B) describes the frustration of Sokhbir Kaur, Gill's mother, at Wirecard's harassment and threats to her son's life, before resorting to take matters into her own hands. She initiated contact with well-reputed journalists to expose the scandal-a move that stunned Gill. The Financial Times eventually interviewed them and published the story in January 2019, which spelled the beginning of the end for Wirecard.

In January 2015, when incoming Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker chose Linda Spears as his new Commissioner of the Department of Children and Families, he was looking for a reformer. Following the grizzly death of a child under DCF protection in 2014, Spears, a former front-line child welfare worker who had gone on to serve as vice president of a Washington D.C.-based child welfare think tank, was hired to review the case and assess what had gone wrong in the DCF system. Spears concluded that the blame did not lie with individual staff workers, but with a host of systemic problems, some the product of recession-era budget cuts. She recommended dozens of reforms. Impressed by Spears' assessment of the agency, Baker recruited her to come to Massachusetts, head the child welfare agency, and implement her proposed reforms-and he promised to give her his backing. No sooner had she arrived than three disturbing new cases-two child fatalities and one near-fatality-dealt another body blow to public confidence in the DCF. At this point, the Governor decided the DCF needed more than reform-it needed an emergency intervention and a very fast turnaround. He sent his Chief of Staff and "fix-it specialist," Steve Kadish, to collaborate with Spears in righting the state's child protection ship as quickly as possible, with a high-octane all-hands-on-deck staffing-and-reform effort, using a popular project management tool called Agile/Scrum. For Spears and her team, the attention from on-high was both a source of pressure and a rare opportunity to bypass some of the usual impediments to rapid change in state government. She decided to lean in, and that meant figuring out how to make effective use of Agile/Scrum-initially created to speed product development in the competitive technology sector-in a very different environment: an agency of social workers working with complex family struggles and kids in need of protection and services. HKS 2251.0.

The case is about the Hoshi Ryokan, a hot springs hotel in Japan established more than 1,300 years ago, that is among the world's oldest family enterprises. Owned and managed by a descendant (or adopted son) of the founder for 46 generations, it is a popular with domestic and international tourists alike. The current owner will almost certainly pass the baton to his daughter, thus making her the first female to own the legendary inn. This gender re-balancing act, coming after 1,305 years of male ownership, coincides with efforts by the prime minister of Japan to create a more balanced and diverse business climate. The case also covers the intangible assets that have ensured the longevity of this unique family-owned hotel.

Jay Williams, cohead of the Nashville office of the William Morris Endeavor (WME), must decide how to respond to an incident involving Morgan Wallen, one of the talent agency's fastest-rising country music stars. Wallen, a white singer, was caught on home security footage using an ethnic slur with a group of white friends after a night of drinking. The following day, the footage was released to the public, and Wallen was swiftly disavowed by his record company, the two largest country music institutions, and hundreds of country radio stations. Williams faces pressure from executives in WME's Beverly Hills corporate office, because Black A-list clients are lobbying the agency to drop the enormously popular Wallen from the WME client roster. In this A case, Williams considers several complicating factors: (1) Dropping Wallen would hurt WME's bottom line, which was already damaged by the COVID-19 pandemic, and Williams does not want to be responsible for more layoffs. (2) The social justice movement from the summer of 2020 is still fresh in Williams's mind, and he knows that companies like WME need to take swift action after a racially charged incident or risk public backlash. (3) Wallen's agent is Austin Neal, the son of a WME partner, and forcing Neal to drop Wallen could permanently damage the company's relationship with this rapidly rising agent. (4) WME's parent company is preparing for an IPO, so there is extra pressure for the Nashville office's finances to look good, as well as to avoid controversy. This case set can be applied to a range of relevant topics: ethical decision-making, corporate responsibility, cancel culture, business and political polarization, employee (talent) representation, public relations and scandal management, and leadership.