Publications

28 Sep 2009
Research & Ideas

Improving Accountability at the World Bank

policy on public participation to have teeth, it must also be tied to the performance reviews of staff. The Bank is filled with dedicated and motivated professionals, but few have the View Details

Keywords: by Alnoor Ebrahim

01 Jul 2019
What Do You Think?

Are Super Stretch Goals Only for the Very Young?

beginnings and the incentives they foster. As he put it, “the hunger to rise is most strong in those who fight through the odds. That warm meal may lull someone better off to pause View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

02 May 2011
Research & Ideas

Casino Payoff: Hands-Off Management Works Best

the "comp," or complimentary benefit, which can include a free dinner at a hotel restaurant, reduced-priced tickets and good seats to a show, or even free lodging in deluxe accommodations. In short, casino hosts are the ultimate customer... View Details

Keywords: by Dennis Fisher; Entertainment & Recreation

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

September 2003 (Revised January 2005)
Case

Bridges to Excellence: Bringing Quality Health Care to Life

By: Richard M.J. Bohmer, Ingrid Marie Nembhard and Robert Galvin

General Electric launched Bridges to Excellence Diabetes Care Link, a program through which enrolled physicians receive bonuses of up to 10% of their salary for delivering quality care to diabetic patients covered by a participating employer or health plan. A day... View Details

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Motivation and Incentives; Programs; Ethics; Quality; Moral Sensibility; Service Delivery; Compensation and Benefits; Health Industry

06 Jun 2005
Research & Ideas

Microsoft vs. Open Source: Who Will Win?

market leadership position? "We believe that there is still a great deal of confusion and puzzlement on how this competitive battle will develop," say the authors of the academic paper Dynamic Mixed Duopoly: A Model View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Technology

25 Jul 2019
Blog Post

Advancing a More Sustainable World with an MBA/MPA-ID

commons where the equilibrium is not a stable one, and incentives to deviate are high for individual actors (profitability strikes again!). Consequently, a lot of the game theory we studied actually comes... View Details

May 2024 (Revised April 2025)
Case

Leading Culture Change at Microsoft Western Europe

By: Amy C. Edmondson and Cat Huang

In 2023, Cindy Rose, President of Microsoft Western Europe, faced a critical decision. Rose grappled with the potential impact of widespread layoffs on psychological safety and the cultural transformation she had championed since her arrival. When Rose had first joined... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Organizational Culture; Transformation; Collaborative Innovation and Invention; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Problems and Challenges; Motivation and Incentives; Groups and Teams; Business or Company Management; Technology Industry; Europe

March 1997 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Purity Steel Corporation, 2012

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Managers introduce a new performance evaluation system based on sales growth and return-on-investment (ROI). A branch manager wonders whether his new warehouse should be leased to mitigate the impact on ROI. Formulas and performance calculations are provided. A... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Judgments; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Efficiency; Compensation and Benefits; Salesforce Management; Performance Consistency; Performance Productivity; Steel Industry

February 4, 2012
Book Review

"When Life Is a Bunch of Carrots." Book Review of Strings Attached: Untangling the Ethics of Incentives, by Ruth W. Grant

By: Nancy F. Koehn

Keywords: Ethics; Motivation and Incentives; Information

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September 16, 2022
Article

Bored at Work? Learn to Manage It by Putting It to Work

By: Katherine Connolly Baden, Boris Groysberg and Heather Poco

Do you often feel bored at work or in life? Do you want to feel less bored? If so, what can you do to make that happen? Boredom has a bad rap, but is it really so bad? View Details

Keywords: Time Management; Emotions; Motivation and Incentives; Jobs and Positions

Find at Harvard

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02 Feb 2010
First Look

First Look: Feb. 2

and Finance (forthcoming). (Also Harvard Business School Working Paper No. 05-053 and NBER Working Paper No. 13131.) Abstract The main arguments in favor of and against nominal... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

March 2002 (Revised March 2004)
Case

Metalcraft Supplier Scorecard

By: Susan L. Kulp, V.G. Narayanan and Ronald L. Verkleeren

An automotive components company uses a supplier scorecard to make sourcing decisions and review its supplier performance. View Details

Keywords: Supply Chain Management; Quality; Performance Evaluation; Decision Making; Service Operations; Motivation and Incentives; Supply and Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Auto Industry

06 Nov 2012
First Look

First Look: November 6

understood and managed. The key to success? Incentives. Fortunately, new research has shed light on the role incentives can play in promoting new ideas, but these findings have been absent from innovation... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

September 2006
Tutorial

Management Control Process - Online Tutorial

By: David F. Hawkins

Introduces the Management Control Process by detailing its six components: 1) the management control environment, 2) organizational structure and responsibilities, 3) information and communication, 4) management control systems, 5) incentives, and 6) monitoring.... View Details

Keywords: Communication; Information; Business or Company Management; Management Practices and Processes; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Organizational Structure; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; System

03 Sep 2009
What Do You Think?

Are Retention Bonuses Worth the Investment?

short-run performance of the kinds that led to the implosion of organizations like Enron and WorldCom. Retention bonuses are a special kind of performance pay. They provide an incentive to do nothing. That... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

February 2008
Supplement

EFI, Inc. (B)

By: David B. Godes and Lauren Barley

This is a follow-on case to EFI, Inc. (A). It reports on Dean Mills' decision to implement a new compensation approach that pays 25% of salespeople's bonus, based on their individual sales of software add-on products. He also recommends making public each salesperson's... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Salesforce Management; Compensation and Benefits; Information Technology Industry