3605 Posts Found

No, matrix management does not work, but do you have a choice? I hate matrix management. There is an old proverb of Roman law that says, The slave who has three masters is a free man. Matrix management means that nobody is accountable for anything. I happen to believe in accountability. But what choice do you have?

Content: Quotation | Author: Peter F. Drucker | Source: Context Magazine | Subject: Organizational Behavior

All you can do in your company—and you’d better do it—is find out the strengths of the people who work for you and place them where their strengths can produce results, so that there is satisfaction. At present, we are focused on the weaknesses of people. When I talk to my clients about Joe, they say Joe cannot do this and Joe cannot do that. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Peter F. Drucker | Source: Context Magazine | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior

Political behavior almost always starts with the CEO. Now you may be thinking: “I hate politics, I’m not political, but my organization is very political. I clearly didn’t cause this.” Sadly, you needn’t be political to create extreme political behavior in your organization. In fact, it’s often the least political CEOs who run the most ferociously political organizations. Apolitical CEOs frequently accidentally encourage intense political … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Ben Horowitz | Subject: Organizational Behavior

The working world would be a happier place if more of us aspired to roles that were just right — if we valued job fit and performance at every level and stopped overemphasizing the very top.

Content: Quotation | Author: Nancy Lublin | Source: Fast Company | Subjects: Career, Organizational Behavior

Few business actions are ethically “pure.” Most are a kind of double helix: one strand virtue, the other economic self-interest. It is almost impossible to disentangle the two.

Content: Quotation | Author: Andrew W. Singer | Source: Across the Board (ATB) | Subject: Ethics

Although we might wish that the rules for attaining power were different, or different for women, they aren’t. There’s no question that women are as qualified as men to hold positions of power. I would argue that we need them to do so. The question is: when will they step up to the pursuit of power, vigorously and strategically?

Content: Article | Author: Jeffrey Pfeffer | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subject: Women in Business

As long as an organization is enjoying healthy growth, management can do no wrong. But when tectonics shift and growth begins to stall, internal rifts can become apparent. People choose sides, challenge each other, question long-held assumptions, and begin to doubt strategies and tactics that used to be sacrosanct. Such internal discord can paralyze efforts to mount an effective recovery.

We have examined the data from … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Steve McKee | Source: The Conference Board Review | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

To translate insight into action, Booz & Company have developed an online simulation tool that enables individuals to audition various five-step organizational change programs. After assessing the current state of your organization and diagnosing it as one of seven common types, you can select from among 28 specific actions that map to one or more of the organizational DNA building blocks—decision rights, information, motivators, or … [ Read more ]

Content: Online Resource | Source: Strategy& | Subjects: Free Stuff / Tools, Management, Organizational Behavior

Most executives can readily agree: Organizational success hinges on effective execution, and effective execution is a matter of ability and agility. Can an organization quickly convert strategy into action, and can it deal effectively with discontinuous change in its competitive environment? This study finds that structural changes are half as effective as those focused on decision-making and information yet more often used.

Content: Article | Authors: Christine Harada, David Kletter | Source: Strategy& | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Professor Margaret Shih explains how stereotyping can enhance performance.

Content: Multimedia Content | Author: Margaret Shih | Source: UCLA | Subject: Organizational Behavior

Three distinct types of agility—strategic, portfolio, and operational—help companies compete. Each of them has its own sources and dangers.

Content: Article | Author: Donald Sull | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Strategy

Narcissists tend to do a better job of selling sizzle over steak and thus have a better chance at having their ideas adopted, says research by the Stanford’s Frank Flynn and his co-authors.

Content: Article | Author: Debra Black | Source: thestar.com | Subject: Organizational Behavior

Experiments indicate that we prefer “choices where the outcomes of alternative selections will never be learned,” as a way of avoiding regret…We avoid those agonizing might-have-beens, it seems, by cultivating not just wisdom but ignorance.

Content: Quotation | Authors: Allen McConnell, Matthew Crawford, Steven Sherman | Source: The Wilson Quarterly | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Personality / Behavior

We have all made decisions we regret, and while we may hate the sinking feeling that often follows, research by Neal Roese shows the emotion we all share has its benefits.

Content: Article | Author: Neal Roese | Source: Kellogg Insight | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Personal Development

Professor Eric Flamholtz describes a six point framework (the Pyramid of Organizational Development) that can guide firms to long-term success.

Content: Multimedia Content | Author: Eric Flamholtz | Source: UCLA | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

Nobel laureate Daniel Kahneman and psychologist Gary Klein debate the power and perils of intuition for senior executives.

Content: Article | Authors: Daniel Kahneman, Gary Klein | Source: McKinsey Quarterly | Subject: Organizational Behavior

Recently, Bob Sutton posted a list of 12 Things Good Bosses Believe. Now he’s following up by delving into each one of them. This post is about the third belief: “Having ambitious and well-defined goals is important, but it is useless to think about them much. My job is to focus on the small wins that enable my people to make a little progress every … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Robert I. Sutton | Source: Harvard Business Review | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior

Organization design can provide effective and practical resolution of many stubborn strategy and business-execution issues. If a redesign is to work, executives need to recognize that all three elements of design—structure, individual capabilities, and roles and collaboration—are essential. Indeed, there is a dynamic interplay among them. When structure, individual capabilities, and roles and collaboration are in alignment—and tightly linked with a company’s strategy and sources … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Andrew Toma, Julie Kilmann, Kuba Zielinski, Michael Shanahan | Source: Boston Consulting Group (BCG) | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior

The test of a good, powerful piece is when people say, “But it’s so obvious.” You agonize and agonize and then somebody says, “But it’s obvious.” When I was younger, I used to get so irritated by that. Now I think it’s the highest compliment you can get.

Content: Quotation | Author: C.K. Prahalad | Source: strategy+business | Subject: Communication

Leaders are increasingly finding themselves in situations where they need help from subordinates, and in which subordinates are asking for help in areas where leaders are not experts. To manage either situation effectively, a leader will have to develop a degree of humility and specific process skills. Readers will learn how to achieve those difficult goals in this article by the dean of organizational behavior. … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Author: Edgar H. Schein | Source: Ivey Business Journal | Subjects: Leadership, Management, Organizational Behavior