Publications

November 2008 (Revised January 2010)
Supplement

Stone Finch, Inc.: Young Division, Old Division, Student Spreadsheet (Brief Case)

By: Richard G. Hamermesh and Elizabeth Collins

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Motivation; Business Growth; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Behavior; Business Growth and Maturation; Organizations; Human Resources

November 2008 (Revised December 2008)
Case

Differences at Work: Sameer (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

Sameer, an Indian Muslim, is a summer intern in a small firm. Prompted by a conflict in the Middle East, members of the organization make a number of anti-Muslim jokes. Sameer wonders whether he should surface discomfort; he otherwise enjoys the firm, and is hoping to... View Details

Keywords: Prejudice and Bias; Ethnicity; Behavior; Religion; Organizational Culture; Middle East; India

October 2008
Article

Gender in Job Negotiations: A Two-Level Game

By: Hannah Riley Bowles and Kathleen McGinn

We propose taking a two-level-game perspective on gender in job negotiations. At Level One, candidates negotiate with employers. At Level Two, candidates negotiate with household members. In order to illuminate the interplay between these two levels, we review research... View Details

Keywords: Perspective; Negotiation; Research; Organizational Culture; Body of Literature; Jobs and Positions; Gender; Labor

Find at Harvard

Read Now

2008
Chapter

When Learning and Performance Are at Odds: Confronting the Tension

By: Sara Jean Singer and A. C. Edmondson

This chapter explores complexities of the relationship between learning and performance. We start with the general proposition that learning promotes performance and then describe several challenges for researchers and managers who wish to study or promote learning in... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Leadership; Organizational Culture; Performance Improvement; Behavior

Article

Untapped Potential in the Study of Negotiation and Gender Inequality in Organizations

By: Hannah Riley Bowles and Kathleen L. McGinn

Negotiation is a process that creates, reinforces, and reduces gender inequality in organizations, yet the study of gender in negotiation has little connection to the study of gender in organizations. We review the literature on gender in job negotiations from... View Details

Keywords: Gender; Body of Literature; Negotiation Process; Organizational Culture; Research; Behavior; Equality and Inequality

Register to Read

2008
Working Paper

Gender in Job Negotiations: A Two-Level Game

By: Hannah Riley Bowles and Kathleen L. McGinn

We propose a two-level-game (Putnam, 1988) perspective on gender in job negotiations. At Level 1, candidates negotiate with the employers. At Level 2, candidates negotiate with domestic partners. In order to illuminate the interplay between these two levels, we review... View Details

Keywords: Negotiation; Jobs and Positions; Game Theory; Gender

Read Now

April 2008
Case

Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad

By: Michael Beer and Elizabeth Collins

In May 2007, the Engstrom Auto Mirrors plant, a relatively small supplier based in Indiana, faces a crisis. The business was in the second year of a downturn. Sales had started to decline in 2005; a year later, plant manager Ron Bent had been forced to lay off more... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Incentives; Motivation; Manufacturing; Leadership; Change Management; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Goals and Objectives; Manufacturing Industry; Indiana

April 2008
Teaching Note

Engstrom Auto Mirror Plant: Motivating in Good Times and Bad (Brief Case)

By: Michael Beer and Elizabeth Collins

Teaching note for case # 2175 View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Human Resource Management; Incentives; Motivation; Manufacturing; Motivation and Incentives; Leadership; Change Management; Production; Organizations; Human Resources; Manufacturing Industry

April 2008
Case

TerraCog Global Positioning Systems: Conflict and Communication on Project Aerial

By: Michael Beer and Sunru Yong

TerraCog, a successful privately held high-tech firm that develops GPS (global positioning system) and similar products for consumer markets, has recently been caught off-guard by a competitor's new product that makes novel use of satellite imagery. When TerraCog... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Meetings; Decision Making; Group Dynamics; Human Resource Management; Conflict; Information Technology; Leadership; Conflict Management; Competition; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Human Resources; Communication; Decision Choices and Conditions; Crisis Management; Technology Industry

April 2008
Teaching Note

TerraCog Global Positioning Systems: Conflict and Communication on Project Aerial (Brief Case)

By: Michael Beer and Sunru Yong

Teaching note to case #2184 View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Meetings; Group Dynamics; Human Resource Management; Conflict; Leadership; Communication; Groups and Teams; Organizations; Decision Making; Human Resources; Conflict and Resolution

2008
Working Paper

Organizational Design and Control across Multiple Markets: The Case of Franchising in the Convenience Store Industry

By: Dennis Campbell

Many companies operate units which are dispersed across different types of markets, and thus serve significantly diverging customer bases. Such market-type dispersion is likely to compromise the headquarters' ability to control its local managers' behavior and... View Details

Keywords: Business Headquarters; Customer Focus and Relationships; Geographic Location; Governance Controls; Organizational Design; Franchise Ownership; Retail Industry

2008
Working Paper

Product Development and Learning in Project Teams: The Challenges are the Benefits

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Ingrid M. Nembhard

The value of teams in new product development (NPD) is undeniable. Both the interdisciplinary nature of the work and industry trends necessitate that professionals from different functions work together on development projects to create the highest quality product in... View Details

Keywords: Competency and Skills; Learning; Management Skills; Product Development; Projects; Groups and Teams; Conflict Management; Social and Collaborative Networks

November 2007
Case

Differences at Work: Emily (A)

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Rachel Gordon

In Differences at Work: Emily (A) HBS Case No. 9-408-014 Emily, a private equity analyst, reads disturbing, sexually focused emails written about her by work colleagues and acquaintances after they all attended a work-related social event. Emily debates what she should... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Behavior; Decision Choices and Conditions; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Gender

Sep 2007 - 2007
Conference Presentation

Antecedents of Boundary Spanning in Cross-functional NPD Teams

By: James R. Dillon, Shikhar Sarin and Amy C. Edmondson

Boundary spanning has been shown in prior research to enhance innovativeness and performance of product development teams. In this study, we examine team conditions that foster boundary spanning behavior. We analyze survey data from 207 members of 54 cross-functional... View Details

Keywords: Product Development; Innovation and Invention; Groups and Teams; Behavior; Performance Improvement; Boundaries; Leadership Style; Product; Complexity; Integration; Power and Influence

2007
Case

Leadership and Organizational Behavior

By: Julie Battilana

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture

August 2007 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Trouble with a Bubble

By: Tom Nicholas

Examines technology, firm performance, and the stock market during the 1929 Great Crash and the Great Depression of the 1930s. The 1920s was an extraordinary period of technological progress marked by a strong run-up in stock market prices. Firms invested heavily in... View Details

Keywords: Bubble; Stock Market; Great Depression; Irving Fisher; Information Technology; Organizational Change and Adaptation; History; Financial Markets; Performance; Labor and Management Relations; Equity; Financial Crisis; Innovation and Invention; United States

2007
Chapter

Disrupting Gender, Revising Leadership

By: D. E. Meyerson, R. Ely and Laura Wernick

In this chapter, we present a case study of men on two off-shore oil platforms—a workplace that has traditionally rewarded men for their masculine displays of bravado and their interactions centered on proving masculinity—in which such displays and interactions were... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Safety; Leadership; Interpersonal Communication; Practice; Gender; Business Processes; Energy Industry

September 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Case

BT Plc: The Broadband Revolution (A)

By: Michael L. Tushman, David Kiron and Adam M. Kleinbaum

In early 2003, CEO Ben Verwaayen and Chief Broadband Officer Alison Ritchie of BT Plc. are trying to transform the former British Telecom from a stodgy telephone company into a 21st century broadband company. Their efforts to focus the firm on broadband issues within... View Details

Keywords: Transformation; Innovation and Management; Management Teams; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Behavior; Telecommunications Industry; United Kingdom

August 2006
Background Note

Analyzing Work Groups

By: Linda A. Hill and Michel Anteby

Work groups are the building blocks of organizations. They are found in all areas of an organization, from research and development to customer service, and at all levels, from the executive suite to the factory floor. Some are incredibly successful, while others are... View Details

Keywords: Framework; Leadership Style; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Performance Effectiveness; Groups and Teams; Research and Development; Behavior