Publications

Article

Enfranchisement of Service Workers

By: Leonard A. Schlesinger and James Heskett

Enfranchisement is achieved through an integration of empowerment with methods of pay for performance. Evidence from Ito Yokado Group in Japan and Nordstrom in the US demonstrates the positive effects of enfranchisement. Successful efforts to enfranchise employees: 1.... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Franchise Ownership; Employees; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry; Japan; United States

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26 Aug 2014
First Look

First Look: August 26

Intel employee and shareholder, must decide whether to vote FOR or AGAINST Intel's proposed 2009 option exchange program. Given recent declines in Intel's stock price, more than 99% of Intel's outstanding View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

15 Sep 2009
First Look

First Look: September 15

generation moving up the corporate ranks. Stimulate Creativity by Fueling Passion Authors:Teresa Amabile and Colin M. Fisher Publication:In The Blackwell Handbook of Principles of Organizational Behavior. 2nd ed. London: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009 Abstract People will be... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

January 2022 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Expanding the Culture of Learning at Kraft Heinz

By: Ashley V. Whillans and Carolyn Watson

The Kraft Heinz Company (KHC) was an American food company formed in 2015 by the merger of Kraft Foods Group, Inc and the H.J. Heinz Company. The company sold food products like Heinz Ketchup, Kraft Mac & Cheese, Kool-Aid, and Philadelphia cream cheese to supermarkets,... View Details

Keywords: Learning; Culture; Work Culture; Workplace Practices; Mergers; Mergers and Acquisitions; Competitive Advantage; Human Capital; Training; Performance Evaluation; Growth and Development; Personal Development and Career; Employee Relationship Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Food and Beverage Industry

2009
Article

Silenced by Fear: The Nature, Sources, and Consequences of Fear at Work

By: Jennifer Kish Gephart, James R. Detert, Linda K. Trevino and Amy C. Edmondson

In every organization, individual members have the potential to speak up about important issues, but a growing body of research suggests that they often remain silent instead, out of fear of negative personal and professional consequences. In this chapter, we draw on... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Working Conditions; Research; Emotions; Employees; Motivation and Incentives; Theory; Behavior

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April 2019 (Revised December 2021)
Case

Sears: The Demise of an American Icon

By: Kristin Mugford and Sarah L. Abbott

In 2019, ESL Investments’ $5.2 billion offer to purchase Sears Holdings out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy, was accepted, despite opposition from the company's unsecured creditors and other parties. ESL, which was led by Eddie Lampert, had acquired a stake in Sears following... View Details

Keywords: Bankruptcy; Reorganization; Bonds; Restructuring; Business Divisions; Transformation; Fairness; Borrowing and Debt; Credit; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Corporate Governance; Motivation and Incentives; Retail Industry; United States

27 Feb 2017
Working Paper Summaries

Seeking to Belong: How the Words of Internal and External Beneficiaries Influence Performance

Keywords: by Paul Green, Francesca Gino, and Bradley R. Staats

13 Sep 2011
First Look

First Look: September 13

business. The book describes a conceptual framework, "the culture cycle," for managing culture that comprises setting and meeting expectations; establishing trust, engagement, and ownership among employees and customers that... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

October 2005 (Revised December 2006)
Case

Magazine Luiza: Building a Retail Model of "Courting the Poor"

By: Frances X. Frei and Ricardo Reisen de Pinho

Describes the innovative retail model of the Brazilian firm Magazine Luiza. Magazine Luiza enables low-income consumer credit by applying a flexible and nuanced evaluation system. Additionally, its dedication to customer service, employee motivation, and progressive... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Information Technology; Income; Innovation and Management; Success; Customer Focus and Relationships; Credit; Retail Industry; Brazil

June 2014
Case

Making Progress at IDEO

By: Teresa M. Amabile and Katrina Flanagan

This case focuses on different types of client relationships at IDEO, the value of these relationships for IDEO and clients, and the implications for IDEO designers' everyday experience of work. As new types of client work have shifted away from the more classic design... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Employees; Customer Focus and Relationships; Service Industry

30 Mar 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Temptation at Work

Keywords: by Alessandro Bucciol, Daniel Houser & Marco Piovesan

2006
Article

Performance Measure Properties and the Effect of Incentive Contracts

By: J. Bouwens and L. van Lent

Using data from a third-party survey on compensation practices at 151 Dutch firms, we show that less noisy or distorted performance measures and higher cash bonuses are associated with improved employee selection and better-directed effort. Specifically, (1) an... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Data and Data Sets; Problems and Challenges; Performance Evaluation; Compensation and Benefits; Netherlands

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05 Dec 2018
Working Paper Summaries

The Salary Taboo: Privacy Norms and the Diffusion of Information

Keywords: by Zoë B. Cullen and Ricardo Perez-Truglia

2009
Working Paper

Authority versus Persuasion

By: Eric J. Van den Steen

This paper studies a principal's trade-off between using persuasion versus using interpersonal authority to get the agent to "do the right thing"; from the principal's perspective (when the principal and agent openly disagree on the right course of action). It shows... View Details

Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Managerial Roles; Projects; Motivation and Incentives; Power and Influence

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November 1993 (Revised March 1997)
Case

Romeo Engine Plant

By: Amy P. Hutton and Robert S. Kaplan

A newly reopened automobile engine plant has been organized along total quality and teamwork principles. Employees now is to solve problems and ensure quality, rather than watch parts being produced. New operating and financial systems have been installed to promote... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Groups and Teams; Performance Efficiency; Performance Improvement; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry

February 2003 (Revised June 2006)
Case

Implementing the Nissan Renewal Plan

By: Michael Y. Yoshino and Masako Egawa

Carlos Ghosn, a former executive vice-president of Renault, became the COO of Nissan Motor Co., a troubled auto company in Japan when Renault bought 38% of the company in 1999. This case deals with how Ghosn turned the company around. Examines in considerable detail... View Details

Keywords: Acquisition; Change Management; Employees; Leading Change; Strategic Planning; Motivation and Incentives; Auto Industry; Japan

April 2019
Case

Barber Cardiosystems

By: Ranjay Gulati and Paul S. Myers

Barber Cardiosystems, based in Melbourne, Australia, designs and manufactures therapeutic devices used for treatment of coronary conditions. Over four decades, it has grown to be among the top 200 medical device companies in the world. It competes against much larger... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Strategic Alignment; Cost Management; Performance Productivity; Organizational Culture; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Design; Strategy; Leadership; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Australia