3605 Posts Found

The design of defaults is thus of great importance. And that importance is only magnified by the flawed nature of human decision making. Although lawmakers, economists, and providers of healthcare and social services used to assume that people based decisions on their own rational self-interest, seven decades of behavioral data have demonstrated that this is rarely true. In reality, people are influenced by random factors … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Sally Helgesen | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Decision Making, Management, Organizational Behavior

When we talk about bias, we often tie it to acts of discrimination or prejudice. But according to cognitive science, everybody, by virtue of having a brain that’s constantly seeking efficiency, is biased in some way — and not all biases make us actively malicious.

The key is how we manage our biases.

While biases can affect any of an organization’s talent decisions, they can be especially … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Beth Jones | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development

Research sheds light on which employee incentives work best.

Content: Article | Source: Kellogg Insight | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Motivation, Organizational Behavior

Managers typically spend roughly 80 per cent of their time solving a problem and only 20 per cent actually examining the problem and its context. For situations of high complexity or novelty, another approach is required such that 80 per cent of one’s time is spent exploring the challenge and its context.

Content: Quotation | Author: Charles J. Palus | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: Decision Making, Management

Empathy isn’t natural for everyone, but I have a way I like to test for it. I ask people to recount a conflict on the job. Then I ask them to describe what was going on inside the other person’s head. If they can explain why the other person wanted them to do something, that’s the sign of empathy — and a manager.

Content: Quotation | Author: David Loftesness | Source: First Round Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior

The employee-work contract has changed, compelling business leaders to build organizations that engage employees as sensitive, passionate, creative contributors. Two years of research and discussions with hundreds of clients suggest five major elements and underlying strategies that work together to make organizations “irresistible.”

Content: Article | Author: Josh Bersin | Source: Deloitte Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior

Corporate America’s gender-diversity programs are falling short. Companies need to think differently to ignite change.

Content: Multimedia Content | Authors: Alexis Krivkovich, Eric Kutcher, Simon London | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Diversity, Human Resources, Women in Business

Authentic informal leaders (AILs) are not people in your organization who have been endowed with formal authority by title or by memo. Rather, they possess and exhibit certain leadership strengths such as the ability to do something important well and showing others how to do it (exemplars), or they demonstrate the skill of connecting people across the organization (networkers). Some AILs influence behavior by being … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Reid Carpenter | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Change Management, Management, Organizational Behavior

These findings echo one of the main concerns associated with monetary rewards that sometimes fail to accomplish their goals. Academics refer to this phenomenon as the crowding-out effect of explicit incentives on intrinsic motivation. In other words, associating an economic value with a certain activity changes the nature of the exchange. If health care workers sanitize their hands because it is in the best interest … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Susanna Gallani | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Motivation, Organizational Behavior, Personality / Behavior

Building culture doesn’t always have to entail a huge cost or commitment. In fact, some of the most powerful culture-building tools are essentially DIY hacks. Here’s a look at some of the most effective tools Hootsuite has found over the years.

Content: Article | Author: Ryan Holmes | Source: Medium | Subjects: Culture, Management, Organizational Behavior

One of the fundamental tenets of evolving organizational culture is to focus on those “critical few” behaviors, or patterns of acting that are tangible, observable, repeatable, and measurable, and will help an organization to achieve its strategic and operational objectives. In an earlier article, I described how to identify and select the critical few behaviors in your organization that will drive change and evolve culture. … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Kristy Hull | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

They might be skills, but they’re not soft.

Content: Article | Author: Seth Godin | Subjects: Human Resources, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development

Stretch targets succeed only when employees believe they can meet their goals if they try hard enough and that they will be rewarded if they do. There has to be a chance of failure in order to motivate employees to work harder. But if they expect failure and see targets as unrealistic, they will conclude that they won’t receive a bonus anyway and just stop … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Authors: Hugues Lavandier, Ken Schwartz, Ryan Davies | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Rather than assuming critical thinkers are resisters, we would do better to treat them as guardians. Guardians see what needs to be protected, and the trust that can be destroyed by a broken promise or a shortcut. Who else will ask the hard questions? Guardians keep us honest in the face of self-delusion or blind spots. […] When you approach guardians as responsible, thinking adults … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Elizabeth Doty | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Change Management, Organizational Behavior

Organizations are more likely to innovate and thrive when they unleash the potential of individuals and the power of self-organizing teams, says the online retailer’s CEO.

Content: Thought Leader | Authors: Aaron De Smet, Chris Gagnon, Tony Hsieh | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Innovation, Management, Organizational Behavior | Company: Zappos.com

Understanding five managerial archetypes can help.

Content: Article | Authors: Ashwin Acharya, Elizabeth Seem, Roni Lieber, Tom Welchman | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior

Focusing on a “critical few” behaviors is one of the fundamental tenets of working effectively with organizational culture. Sometimes called keystone behaviors, these are patterns of acting that are tangible, repeatable, observable, and measurable, and will contribute to achieving an organization’s strategic and operational objectives. The behaviors are critical because they will have a significant impact on business performance when exhibited by large numbers of people; … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Kristy Hull | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

There’s a very strong confirmation bias for all content today, regardless of whether it’s entertainment, news, or just information. It will grow even stronger as technology improves. As content distributors, we are fighting the hardest fight ever: getting through the personal filters of people who have opted into their own world view. Many have no interest in getting out of it. […] The free and … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Shelly Palmer | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Customer Related, Information, Knowledge, Marketing / Sales, Personality / Behavior

Life on a global team isn’t necessarily equitable. Employees far away from headquarters often have less access to the team leader. As a result, they may have a harder time getting their concerns noticed and attended to. Additionally, more peripheral members of global teams are often forced to speak in a language that’s not their own and communicate in a style that’s not necessarily second … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Andy Molinsky | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Human Resources, International, Teamwork

When you join an organization, you have a short window of time to adapt to its culture. It’s the old 90-day rule. And we know too many talented individuals who have stumbled in their new company because they failed to read the cultural tea leaves. This happens because most organizations don’t explain the cultural rules to newcomers, and new hires are so focused on the … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Allan H. Church | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Career, Culture, Organizational Behavior