3605 Posts Found

“Attention must be paid,” wrote the great American playwright, Arthur Miller. If only companies did pay attention to workers on the bottom rungs of the organizational ladder – like those on the top rungs — what would happen? As the authors discovered in their research, the company will benefit as much as the employees themselves.

Content: Article | Authors: Jody Heymann, Magda Barrera | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Many a good idea has been sabotaged by a co-worker who, during a presentation, cuts right in to say, “That’s a good idea but…” Readers of this article will learn what tactics they can use to effectively disarm and discourage such a saboteur and allow their ideas to be heard fully and ultimately win acceptance.

Content: Article | Author: Lorne Whitehead | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: Career, Organizational Behavior, Personal Development

I have no authority other than the trust of the community, but having another person’s trust is more powerful than all other management techniques put together.

Content: Quotation | Author: Linus Torvalds | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subject: Trust

There are four basic roles you can play in a conversation. (I also call them action stances.) You can move: Start something new, like saying, “We need to spend less time in these meetings.” You can follow someone else’s move, by agreeing with it: “Yes, I’ve been concerned about the same thing.” You can oppose the move, raising objections or trying to stop it: “I … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: David Kantor | Source: strategy+business | Subject: Communication

Some acts of speech are in the affect domain; they involve words of feeling, seeking an increase in connection and intimacy. “This decision seems pretty heartless. I wonder how people will feel about it.”

Other speech acts are in the power domain, using words about getting things done, and their purpose is increasing competence and efficacy. “Who’s going to make sure that there’s follow-through here?”

Finally, there … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: David Kantor | Source: strategy+business | Subject: Communication

All the governance structures in the world can be boiled down to three types. The open system is consensual and unregulated until it hits a point of action, and then an authority, chosen by the group, decides. A representative democracy is an open system. In the closed system, authority rests with position—the closer you are to the top of the hierarchy, the more authority you … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: David Kantor | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Decision Making, Government, Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior

The common belief that we gain “historical perspective” with increasing distance seems to me to utterly misrepresent the actual situation. “What we gain is merely confidence in generalization that we would never dare to make if we had access to the real wealth of contemporary evidence.

Content: Quotation | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Decision Making, History, Trends / Analysis

Four types of employees that can affect your organization’s culture: start, high potentials, zombies and vampires.

Content: Article | Author: Eric C. Sinoway | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Organizational Behavior

Organizations that understand social technologies’ key capability – to enable employees to connect with others to boost job and organizational performance – will realize significant benefits. Thus, organizations need to think strategically about using these technologies to help transform themselves into truly collaborative workplaces. These authors, who were integrally involved in one such exercise, describe how it’s done.

Content: Case Study | Authors: Bala Iyer, Bill Donaldson, Donna Cuomo, Salvatore Parise | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: Knowledge Management, Organizational Behavior

The increasingly international nature of business means leaders need new skills to get the full potential of teams and networks of people from a variety of cultural backgrounds. Key among these skills is a thinking skill called cultural metacognition. Metacognition simply means thinking about thinking; in this context, thinking about your cultural assumptions. According to our research, if you can gain awareness of your assumptions, … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Michael W. Morris | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: International, Organizational Behavior

Mixing social media and on-the-job duties can be a win-win. Or not.

Content: Article | Author: Alexandra Samuel | Source: Wall Street Journal | Subjects: Human Resources, Organizational Behavior

Author and scenario planning expert Betty Sue Flowers dissects the attitudes and beliefs that unconsciously influence decision makers.

Editor’s Note: very thought-provoking framework; highly recommended reading

Content: Thought Leader | Author: Art Kleiner | Source: strategy+business | Subject: Organizational Behavior

A major share of a leader’s salary was linked to long-term compensation, based on total shareholder returns versus a peer group of companies, over a rolling three-year period. That kept people sufficiently focused on the future. I think that kind of balance needs to find its way more fully into the corporate sector. Yes, people need to be rewarded in the short term; they have … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Douglas Conant | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Compensation, Human Resources, Organizational Behavior

The structures, processes, and communications approaches of many far-flung businesses have been stretched to the breaking point. Here are some ideas for relieving the strains.

Content: Article | Authors: Leigh Weiss, Suzanne Heywood, Toby Gibbs | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: International, Organizational Behavior

Technologies seldom change culture by themselves; they might enable change in significant ways, yet without new ideas that question our sense of right and wrong they matter less. …The very act of creating a market […] of these products that go against conventions and norms of what we value, and of what we think is appropriate, means that you have to change what we think … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Mukti Khaire | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Culture, IT / Technology / E-Business

Decision makers struggling with uncertainty can choose from a trio of probabilistic models to match the type of risks they face.

Content: Article | Authors: Saras Sarasvathy, Tim Laseter | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior, Strategy

There is a simple motivational incentive that is often overlooked: Moving beyond the ‘market contract’ with employees and forging a stronger ‘social contract’.

Content: Article | Author: Scott Keller | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior

People think that being values-based is about being nice. It’s really about being principled. You have to be firm, consistent, and even ruthless about your principles, and very few companies are.

Content: Quotation | Author: Dov Seidman | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Culture, Organizational Behavior, Values

The human operating system comprises all the behaviors of an organization. It has three basic elements, all of which need to change in most companies. The first is governance: the policies, controls, rules, org charts, goals, and objectives that represent the formal structures of the organization. The second is culture: the values, principles, habits, mind-sets, history, lore, and legends that influence how people behave. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Dov Seidman | Source: strategy+business | Subject: Organizational Behavior

I have facilitated sessions with CEOs in which I ask, “How many of you could grab your BlackBerry and in the next five minutes produce a list of your top 25 performers?” All the hands go up. Then I ask, “How many, with the same confidence, could produce a list of your most principled or ethical leaders?” Every hand goes down. They all recognize that … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Dov Seidman | Source: strategy+business | Subjects: Ethics, Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior