Publications

2011
Working Paper

The Impact of Forward-Looking Metrics on Employee Decision Making

By: Pablo Casas-Arce, F. Asis Martinez-Jerez and V.G. Narayanan

This paper analyzes the effects of providing forward-looking metrics on employee decision making. We use data from a southern European bank that, in April 2002, started providing its branch managers with customer lifetime value (CLV) information about mortgage... View Details

Keywords: Customer Value and Value Chain; Decision Choices and Conditions; Mortgages; Employees; Information; Knowledge Use and Leverage; Service Delivery; Banking Industry; Europe

08 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

How to Demotivate Your Best Employees

company. Perfect attendance was defined as not having any unexcused absences or tardy shift arrivals during the month. The plant managers had all the right intentions when they implemented the award program. Absenteeism and tardiness... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Service

27 Jul 2020
Book

Reflection: The Pause That Brings Peace and Productivity

reason to reflect is profound. Reflection is a way of grappling with the enduring human questions of how to live, what to really care about, and what counts as a good life. In other words, are you riding “the View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

December 2001 (Revised June 2002)
Case

Compensation at Level 3 Communications

Level 3's unique compensation plan rewarded managers for the firm's performance only if the firm's stock price movement exceeded that of the market. This design was intended to maximize shareholder value by tying manager's performance more closely to that of the firm,... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Compensation and Benefits; Telecommunications Industry

01 Nov 2020
Research & Ideas

Good Leadership Is an Act of Kindness

"Three things in human life are important. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. And the third is to be kind." —Henry James As a professor of business administration in the Organizational Behavior Unit at the Harvard Business... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg and Susan Seligson

02 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

Blissful Thinking: When It Comes to Finding Happiness, 'Your Dreams Are Liars'

and a former professional French-horn player, Brooks came to the subject of happiness by way of art. His early research focused on why people produce and consume art and beauty as well as the motives behind human generosity. He discovered... View Details

Keywords: by Dan Morrell

07 Jul 2019
HBS Case

Walmart's Workforce of the Future

executives made it clear that Walmart was equally committed to the complex, costly effort required to train its human workers. “I want to be clear that we don’t believe technology is the answer to everything,” McMillon stated in a 2017... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Retail

June 2011
Article

The Paradox of Excellence

By: Thomas J. DeLong and Sara DeLong

Why is it that so many smart, ambitious professionals are less productive and satisfied than they could be? We argue that it's often because they're afraid to demonstrate any sign of weakness. They're reluctant to ask important questions or try new... View Details

Keywords: Employees; Innovation and Invention; Strength and Weakness; Performance Productivity; Risk and Uncertainty; Motivation and Incentives; Satisfaction

Find at Harvard

31 Oct 2023
Research & Ideas

Beyond the 'Business Case' in DEI: 6 Steps Toward Meaningful Change

practices to reinforce inequalities, not only in society, but right here in our company? This is often a challenging step for leaders. If you’re not using scorecards, dashboards or some other measurement system to analyze how everyone’s... View Details

Keywords: by Katherine Hutt Scott and Barbara DeLollis

20 Dec 2022
Op-Ed

Employee Feedback: The Key to Retention During the Great Resignation

isolating at home, the remaining workers asked for KN95 masks, better testing protocols, and the right to turn away illegally unmasked customers. These requests were flatly refused—a surprising response from a company whose founder,... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Beer

04 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Navigating Consumer Data Privacy in an AI World

Opportunity: Customers’ Routines When Bias Creeps into AI, Managers Can Stop It by Asking the Right Questions How Humans Outshine AI in Adapting to Change Feedback or ideas to share? Email the Working... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Technology; Information Technology

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

21 Mar 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Artificial Intelligence Isn't a Sure Thing to Increase Productivity

turned out to be crucial to students getting the right answer. “Without the advice, no one gets the silver bullet—it doesn’t matter if you use the Boolean or machine learning,” Choudhury says. “That’s a validation of View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Technology; Information

June 2003 (Revised April 2004)
Case

Mercy Corps: Global Social Entrepreneurship (A)

By: Christopher A. Bartlett and Daniel F. Curran

Neal Keny-Guyer, CEO of Mercy Corps International, built his organization by following the advice of Theodore Roosevelt: "Be smart enough to hire good people and have sense enough to get out of their way." For eight years, Keny-Guyer helped Mercy Corps grow in size and... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Entrepreneurship; Globalization; Government and Politics; Selection and Staffing; Leadership; Organizational Structure; Opportunities; Afghanistan; Iraq

August 2019
Case

Bark Gift Shop Ltd.

By: Susanna Gallani, Jan Bouwens and Peter Kroos

This case describes a setting in which the CFO of Bark Gift Shop Ltd., a gift items retailer, discovers an undesired pattern in the performance data suggesting that her shop managers that perform well during the first part of the year, purposely reduce their effort in... View Details

Keywords: Data Analytics; Employees; Behavior; Performance; Management; Goals and Objectives; Motivation and Incentives; Analysis