36 Posts found for Author: Carmen Nobel

Psychologist Frederick Herzberg’s Two-factor theory… focuses on the idea that the factors that determine job dissatisfaction (“hygiene factors”) are completely separate from those that determine true satisfaction (“motivators”). Insufficient financial compensation, for example, falls into the former camp. But having sufficient compensation will not lead to passion for a job; it just takes away the dissatisfaction. Motivation, according to the theory, is determined not by … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Clayton M. Christensen | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Motivation, Organizational Behavior

Upgrades to existing product lines make up a huge part of corporate research and development activity, and with every upgrade comes the decision of how to brand it. Harvard Business School marketing professors John T. Gourville and Elie Ofek teamed up with London Business School’s Marco Bertini to suss out the best practices for naming next-generation products.

Content: Article | Author: Carmen Nobel | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Marketing / Sales

Over the past seven years, Harvard Business School’s Raffaella Sadun and a team of researchers have interviewed managers at some 10,000 organizations in 20 countries. The goal: to determine how and why management practices differ vastly in style and quality not only across nations, but also across various organizations and industries.

Content: Article | Author: Carmen Nobel | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: International

In the wake of corporate scandals, many companies are looking more closely at how to manage business conduct worldwide. Realizing the complexity of this issue, Harvard Business School professors Rohit Deshpandé, Lynn S. Paine, and Joshua D. Margolis decided to evaluate standards of corporate conduct around the world—one of the most daunting research projects the three faculty have undertaken

Content: Article | Author: Carmen Nobel | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Corporate Governance

When evaluating compensation issues, economists often assume that both an employer and an employee make rational, albeit self-interested choices while working toward a goal. The problem, says Assistant Professor Ian Larkin, is that the most powerful workplace motivator is our natural tendency to measure our own performance against the performance of others.

Content: Article | Author: Carmen Nobel | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Organizational Behavior

Bad bosses are generally more inept than evil, and often aren’t purposefully bad, says Professor Rosabeth Moss Kanter. She discusses common bad-boss behaviors, and how good colleagues can mobilize to overcome the roadblocks.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Rosabeth Moss Kanter | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

The mere fact that an online video advertisement reaches a viewer’s computer screen does not guarantee that the ad actually reaches the viewer. New experimental research by Thales S. Teixeira looks at how advertisers can effectively capture and keep viewers’ attention by evoking certain emotional responses.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Thales S. Teixeira | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Advertising, Marketing / Sales | Industry: Advertising

In their new book, The Progress Principle: Using Small Wins to Ignite Joy, Engagement, and Creativity at Work, authors Teresa M. Amabile and Steven J. Kramer discuss how even seemingly small steps forward on a project can make huge differences in employees’ emotional and intellectual well-being. Amabile talks about the main findings of the book. Plus: book excerpt.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Teresa M. Amabile | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Organizational Behavior

“Show me a company or nonprofit or government in trouble, and I will almost invariably show you a set of leaders who are asking absolutely the wrong questions,” says professor Robert Steven Kaplan. He discusses his new book, What to Ask the Person in the Mirror. Plus: book excerpt.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Robert Steven Kaplan | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Leadership

While corporate board members take their jobs more seriously than ever, they are not necessarily as helpful or effective as they could be, says HBS senior lecturer Stephen Kaufman. He recently sat down with HBS Working Knowledge to discuss what he considers to be the biggest practical issues facing boards today.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Stephen Kaufman | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Corporate Governance

In the course of making a decision, managers often err in one of two directions—either overanalyzing a situation or forgoing all the relevant information and simply going with their gut. HBS marketing professor Michael I. Norton discusses the potential pitfalls of thinking too much or thinking too little.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Michael I. Norton | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Personal Development

In a new study, HBS professors Francesca Gino and Joshua D. Margolis look at two ways that companies can encourage ethical behavior: the promotion of good deeds or the prevention of bad deeds. It turns out that employees tend to act more ethically when focused on what not to do. That can be problematic in firms where success is commonly framed in terms of advancement … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Francesca Gino, Joshua D. Margolis | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Ethics

About 95 percent of new products fail. The problem often is that their creators are using an ineffective market segmentation mechanism, according to HBS professor Clayton Christensen. It’s time for companies to look at products the way customers do: as a way to get a job done.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Clayton M. Christensen | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Marketing / Sales

A pioneer in the field of market design, Harvard Business School professor Alvin E. Roth has helped to repair flawed market systems in fields ranging from kidney donation to high-school student placement. Key concepts include:
* Successful marketplaces must be “thick, uncongested, and safe.”
* Sufficient “thickness” means there are enough participants in the market to make it thrive.
* “Congestion” is what can happen … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Alvin E. Roth, Carmen Nobel | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Economics

What determines whether decisions happen on the bottom, middle, or top rung of the corporate ladder? New research finds that the answer often lies in the technology that a company deploys.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Raffaella Sadun | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: IT / Technology / E-Business, Organizational Behavior

Think effective leadership requires gregariousness and charisma? Think again. Introverts actually can be better leaders than extraverts, especially when their employees are naturally proactive, according to Harvard Business School professor Francesca Gino.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Francesca Gino | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Leadership, Organizational Behavior