532 Posts found for Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge

A poorly designed job can work against even the most dedicated employee, setting the person up to fail. Robert Simons explains how to gauge whether an employee’s position offers the right mix of organizational support and responsibility.

Content: Article | Author: Dina Gerdeman | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Human Resources, Management, Organizational Behavior

The more firms engage in getting today’s work done, it actually reduces the probability of making shifts in innovation and strategy. That is what is so strikingly paradoxical to leaders: The very recipes that work so well for today often get in the way of the future. It’s a challenge to incrementally improve what you’re doing as you’re trying to complement it with something different. … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael Tushman | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Innovation

Training works when the organization is ready both in terms of the systemic culture and pattern of management that exists.

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael Beer | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Organizational Behavior, Training & Development

The system of organizing and managing is so powerful that individuals and teams returning from training will not be able to be more effective unless the system enables them to apply their learning. So, efforts to change the system must come first.

Content: Quotation | Author: Michael Beer | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Management, Organizational Behavior, Training & Development

Iris Bohnet’s new book, What Works: Gender Equality by Design, discusses how organizations can leverage findings from behavioral science research to fight gender bias in the workplace—starting with job listings.

Content: Article | Author: Carmen Nobel | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Human Resources, Organizational Behavior

Authenticity is a necessary but not sufficient quality for an effective leader, and attempting to expand the definition of authenticity to encompass more than it means in common usage risks diminishing the importance of other essential qualities of a leader. Competence, emotional maturity, effective communication skills, and good character, critical as they are to effective leadership, are not inherent in authenticity. Focus on an … [ Read more ]

Content: Quotation | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Leadership

A few years ago, professor Eugene Soltes phoned convicted felon Bernie Madoff and asked him an important question: How would you explain your actions and misconduct to students? The recorded answer offers sobering lessons for anyone with business ambitions.

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

Immigrants are 15 percent of the overall United States population, but they become entrepreneurs at a much higher rate, according to new research by William Kerr and Sari Pekkala Kerr.

Content: Article | Author: Michael Blanding | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Economics, Entrepreneurship

In Managing in the Gray, Joseph Badaracco offers managers a five-question framework for facing murky situations and solving tough problems at work.

Content: Article | Authors: Joseph L. Badaracco Jr., Michael Blanding | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Management, Personal Development

Companies spend billions annually training their executives, yet rarely realize all the benefit they could, argue Michael Beer and colleagues. He discusses a new research paper, “The Great Training Robbery.”

Content: Article | Author: Michael Beer | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Human Resources

Thales Teixeira studies three of the most successful “platform” startups to understand the chicken-and-egg challenge of how companies can attract their first customers.

Content: Article | Authors: Michael Blanding, Thales S. Teixeira | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Marketing / Sales, Strategy

Management practice acts exactly as a new technology might in giving companies competitive advantage—and there is a right way and a wrong way to do things, says a new study by Raffaella Sadun and colleagues.

Content: Article | Authors: Michael Blanding, Raffaella Sadun | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Best Practices, Management

Research at Harvard Business School by Lynda Applegate, Janet Kraus, and Timothy Butler takes a unique approach to understanding behaviors and skills associated with successful entrepreneurs.

Content: Article | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Entrepreneurship

Quite a lot, it turns out. Good bosses can have a multiplier effect that ups everyone’s game, according to new research by Christopher Stanton.

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

New research by Danielle Li and colleagues finds that computers make better hiring decisions than managers when filling simpler jobs.

Content: Article | Author: Michael Blanding | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Human Resources

Every CEO is different, as is every company. So why does one executive compensation package tend to look just like another? The answer lies in the prevalence of interlocking directorates and the use of compensation consultants, according to research by Susanna Gallani.

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

Professor Shane Greenstein is annoyed by “Internet exceptionalism,” the prevalent idea that the Internet defies economic logic, that there’s never been anything like it in business history, and that its impact supersedes everything. In his new book, Greenstein argues that the Internet actually follows classic patterns of economic behavior, detailing the commercial forces that guided the Internet’s path from cool invention to successful innovation. … [ Read more ]

Content: Article | Authors: Carmen Nobel, Shane Greenstein | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Economics

Is it worthwhile for retailers to experiment with “pay what you want” pricing? Shelle Santana unmasks the surprising logic behind how much customers will pay, and when. One finding: sellers can dramatically change what some buyers are willing to pay.

Content: Article | Author: Michael Blanding | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subject: Pricing

Shareholder value or profits are measures, not goals in and of themselves. It’s hard to wake up in the morning and get excited about creating shareholder value.

Content: Quotation | Author: Brian J. Hall | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Finance, Management

Bonus programs are effective for motivating sales people, but also costly for companies to maintain. Doug Chung and Das Narayandas study several compensation schemes to see which work best.

Content: Article | Author: Roberta Holland | Source: Harvard Business School (HBS) Working Knowledge | Subjects: Human Resources, Marketing / Sales, Organizational Behavior