Publications

August 1995 (Revised April 1998)
Background Note

A Note for Analyzing Work Groups

By: Linda A. Hill

Presents a model for understanding the behavior and evolution of primary, stable work groups over time. The model describes contextual factors, design factors, and emergent culture as determinants of group behavior and performance. Describes emergent behavior, norms,... View Details

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Balance and Stability; Behavior; Situation or Environment

August 1995
Case

Slade Plating Department, The

By: Linda A. Hill

Describes a conflict between the values and norms of a segment of an internal social system and those of management and the wider culture. Includes decision opportunity. A rewritten version of an earlier case. View Details

Keywords: Conflict and Resolution; Values and Beliefs; Organizational Culture; Decision Making

July 1995
Teaching Note

Managing Conflict in a Diverse Workplace TN

By: Mary C. Gentile and James I. Cash Jr.

Teaching Note for (9-395-090). View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Conflict Management; Spoken Communication; Employees; Culture; Diversity

autumn 1993
Article

Motivational Synergy: Toward New Conceptualizations of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivation in the Workplace

By: T. M. Amabile

The foundation for a model of motivational synergy is presented. Building upon but going beyond previous conceptualizations, the model outlines the ways in which intrinsic motivation (which arises from the intrinsic value of the work for the individual) might interact... View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Theory; Creativity; Situation or Environment; Organizational Culture

Find at Harvard

July 1993 (Revised December 2003)
Case

Sears Auto Centers (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Michael Santoro

The CEO of Sears must decide how to respond to allegations that the company's auto repair division has been misleading consumers and charging them for unnecessary repairs. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Ethics; Organizational Culture; Compensation and Benefits; Management Teams; Employees; Behavior; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Improvement; Auto Industry

July 1993 (Revised September 1995)
Case

Block 16: Conoco's "Green" Oil Strategy (A)

By: Malcolm S. Salter and Susan E.A. Hall

Conoco's attempted to win an oil development contract in Ecuador's tropical rain forest. The case discusses government perspectives, environmental perspectives, and indigenous people's perspectives. Allows role playing in a "negotiating forum" set up by Conoco to get... View Details

Keywords: Governance; Contracts; Growth and Development Strategy; Negotiation; Practice; Business and Community Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Perspective; Culture; Corporate Strategy; Latin America

1992
Chapter

Social Environments that Kill Creativity

By: T. M. Amabile

Keywords: Creativity; Culture; Situation or Environment

August 1992 (Revised December 1994)
Case

Sexual Harassment, Free Speech or ...?

By: Lynn S. Paine

Presents two brief vignettes about female employees who object to gender discrimination in their work environment. In one case, the manager of a convenience store removes "adult" magazines from the store's shelves because she sees them as damaging to women. In the... View Details

Keywords: Moral Sensibility; Working Conditions; Law; Behavior; Managerial Roles; Crime and Corruption; Groups and Teams; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Gender

February 1991 (Revised July 1993)
Case

Cultural Change at Nissan Motors

By: John P. Kotter

Depicts the reformation of Nissan Motor Co.'s corporate culture and the company's subsequent turnaround in market share and profits. In 1985, Yutaka Kume became president of Nissan and thereafter, he continually emphasized the need for internal change throughout the... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Leadership; Behavior; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Change Management; Management; Auto Industry; Manufacturing Industry

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

Read Now

1991
Chapter

Organizational Decision Support: An Interacting Team Perspective

By: L. M. Applegate and J. Henderson

Keywords: Groups and Teams; Decisions; Social and Collaborative Networks; Organizational Culture

1988
Foreword

Assessing Organizational Climates for Creativity and Innovation: Methodological Review of Large Company Audits

By: R. M. Burnside, T. M. Amabile and S. S. Gryskiewicz

Keywords: Creativity; Organizational Culture; Accounting Audits; Innovation and Invention

Find at Harvard

November 1986 (Revised October 1995)
Case

Suzanne de Passe at Motown Productions (A)

By: Linda A. Hill

Illustrates: 1) the impact of a manager's leadership style on corporate culture, direction, and performance; 2) the concept of fit between leadership style and the requirements of situations in which managers find themselves; and 3) the need for managers to adapt their... View Details

Keywords: Management Style; Race; Organizational Culture; Leadership Style; Gender; Management Teams; Change Management; Situation or Environment; Creativity; Relationships; Music Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry

Find at Harvard

March 1981 (Revised February 1993)
Case

Hank Kolb, Director, Quality Assurance

By: Frank S. Leonard and W. Earl Sasser

Designed to introduce the systemic nature of product quality and the complexity of quality problems. Uses a new director, quality assurance, and the discovery of a quality problem. The new director has to decide if it is a real problem, what to do about it, and how to... View Details

Keywords: Leadership; Product; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Quality; Attitudes; Complexity

1977
Dictionary Entry

Essay on Industrial Psychologist Henry C. Link

By: R. S. Tedlow

Keywords: Social Psychology; Organizational Culture

01 Apr 1977
Conference Presentation

Access to Opportunity and Power: Measuring Racism/Sexism inside Organizations

By: R. M. Kanter

Keywords: Power and Influence; Organizational Culture; Demographics

2025
Chapter

Culture and Contemporary Political Preferences

By: Vasiliki Fouka and Marco Tabellini

This chapter reviews the literature on the relationship between culture and political preferences. We distinguish conceptually between the direct cultural transmission of political ideology and the transmission of more primitive preferences and beliefs that influence... View Details

Keywords: Political Preferences; Culture; Values and Beliefs; Identity; Perspective; Government and Politics