3590 Posts Found

Managers should think about three levels of human behavior in organizations. The first is technical skills, be they in marketing, operations, or the legal department. The second is hierarchy, based on the concept of social relativity, when individuals wonder how they compare to their peers. Even satisfied people get antsy when they see their peers moving forward. The third level, the “inclusionary dimension,” is the … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Thomas J. DeLong | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior, Personality / Behavior

If you want to threaten a really smart person who is task driven, question his or her competency. That’s the very soul of who they are.

Content: Quotation | Author: Thomas J. DeLong | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Competence, Management, Organizational Behavior, Personality / Behavior

Humans are incredibly good at making quick interpretations of visual scenes. We then decide what to do. This provides an evolutionary advantage. It works extremely well at an individual level and has kept the species alive.

When we interact as a group, however, this skill limits our effectiveness. We argue about what to do without being curious about the different interpretations we may have of … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: David Marquet | Source: 99U | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior

While lying in the workplace is prevalent, it simply doesn’t work, according to this author, who has conducted several studies on the the topic. In fact, the greatest risk is in turning a blind eye and making dishonesty acceptable. As the author writes, the potential damage unleashed by an ethically permissive workplace may far exceed the lost labor of an employee taking a short nap … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: John Carlson | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subject: Organizational Behavior

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one.

Content: Quotation | Author: George Bernard Shaw | Subjects: Motivation, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development, Personality / Behavior

Our conduct is influenced not by our experience but by our expectations.

Content: Quotation | Author: George Bernard Shaw | Subjects: Action, Experience, Organizational Behavior, Personality / Behavior

A historian’s approach to strategic empathy can help you anticipate your rivals’ next moves.

Content: Thought Leader | Authors: Theodore Kinni, Zachary Shore | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Imagine that you are now the CEO. Further imagine that your organization is underperforming. Worse yet, your organization has low employee morale, high labor turnover, declining market share, falling profits, competitors that are under-pricing you, and constant criticism from your board of directors, investors and investment analysts. Sound like a fun job? What are you going to do?

Content: Article | Author: Gary Cokins | Source: Business Finance Magazine | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

All rewards, by virtue of being rewards, are not attempts to influence or persuade or solve problems together, but simply to control. […] Control breeds the need for more control, which then is used to justify the use of control. […] Punishment and reward proceed from basically the same psychological model, one that conceives of motivation as nothing more than the manipulation of behavior. […] … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Alfie Kohn | Subjects: Management, Motivation, Organizational Behavior

Leaders need to examine their effectiveness at managing virtuous behavior to add value to organizations. Virtuousness is not only important from a humanistic point of view in workplace settings, but helps drive important organizational outcomes.

Editor’s Note: this article is much better than the description indicates. It offers a methodology for both analyzing your strengths (the well-known VIA survey) and making sure that you are … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Charles D. Kerns, Ph.D. | Source: Graziadio Business Report | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development

The man who can think but does not know how to express what he thinks is at the same level as he who cannot think.

Content: Quotation | Subjects: Communication, Leadership, Thought

Who are the informal leaders in your company? Which connections would increase your ability to get your job done? Visualizing your social network will help you to understand your position in the company and whether it is consistent with your short- and long-term objectives.

Content: Article | Authors: Fabrizio Ferraro, Marco Tortoriello | Source: IESE Insight | Subject: Organizational Behavior

If you put a good person into a bad system the system will win. This has been proven so often that it has become a truism in the quality improvement field called the “85/15 Rule”. The 85/15 Rule shows that if you trace errors or service complaints back to the root cause, about 85% of the time the fault lays in the system, processes, structure, … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Jim Clemmer | Subjects: Operations, Organizational Behavior, Quality

Evidence shows that women are less self-assured than men—and that to succeed, confidence matters as much as competence. Here’s why, and what to do about it.

Content: Article | Authors: Claire Shipman, Katty Kay | Source: The Atlantic Monthly | Subjects: Career, Organizational Behavior, Women in Business

New research by Francesca Gino, Gary Pisano, and colleagues shows that taking time to reflect on our work improves job performance in the long run.

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Francesca Gino, Gary Pisano | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Personal Development, Productivity / Work Tips

Forget the monolithic change management programs and focus on the elements of your culture that drive performance.

Content: Article | Authors: James Thomas, Jon R. Katzenbach, Rutger von Post | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Change Management, Management, Organizational Behavior

A look at the basics of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, specifically referring to books by Dan Pink and Dan Ariely. Pretty basic level analysis, but useful if you aren’t already comfortable with the topic.

Content: Multimedia Content | Authors: Dan Ariely, Daniel Pink | Source: YouTube | Subject: Organizational Behavior

There are two kinds of dissatisfaction in life: One is what I call the “dissatisfaction of acquisition.” The other is the “dissatisfaction of aspiration.” The dissatisfaction of acquisition centers on the drive to have more things. We live in a competitive culture—a culture of more. And in such a culture, it’s hard to set limits. The dissatisfaction of acquisition is an unhealthy dissatisfaction; it’s caused … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Tom Morris | Source: Fast Company | Subjects: Life, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development, Personality / Behavior, Wisdom

The greatest case of mistaken identity in modern society relates to the four marks of public success: money, power, fame, and status. I have no problem with money, power, fame, or status—as long as they’re treated as resources, rather than as goals in themselves. But that’s precisely the problem for most people—and that’s why it’s so hard for people to answer the question “How much … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Tom Morris | Source: Fast Company | Subjects: Life, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development, Personality / Behavior, Wisdom

Our lives are made for success—and not just for enjoying it, but for seeking it as well. As a matter of fact, the people who are most likely to enjoy success are those who most enjoy seeking it. Those people are able to find satisfaction in the journey, not just at the end of the road.

Content: Quotation | Author: Tom Morris | Source: Fast Company | Subjects: Achievement, Life, Personal Development, Personality / Behavior, Success / Failure