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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,816)
- People (2)
- News (309)
- Research (2,287)
- Events (15)
- Multimedia (15)
- Faculty Publications (1,461)
- 17 Jul 2023
- Research & Ideas
Money Isn’t Everything: The Dos and Don’ts of Motivating Employees
In a post-pandemic business world of hybrid work and quiet quitting, companies must rethink how they motivate employees. Good incentive plans and reward structures require a careful analysis of a company’s objectives, culture, and... View Details
Keywords: by Avery Forman
- 01 Aug 2023
- What Do You Think?
As Leaders, Why Do We Continue to Reward A, While Hoping for B?
(iStockphoto/mikkelwilliam) Often the incentives we put in place to stimulate and reward performance produce unexpected behaviors. Causes vary from one individual to another, depending on what each of us values and what we are willing to... View Details
Keywords: by James Heskett
- December 2013 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Atlanta Schools: Measures to Improve Performance
By: Robert Simons and Natalie Kindred
The widespread cheating scandal that rocked the Atlanta public school system in 2010 and 2011 illustrates how high-stakes performance pressure, without sufficient risk controls, can drive dangerous behavior. After becoming superintendent of the low-income and... View Details
Keywords: Atlanta; Test; Testing; Standardized Test; Standardized Testing; No Child Left Behind; NCLB; Cheating; Performance Pressure; Measurement; Incentives; Atlanta Public Schools; Management; Leadership; Ethics; Performance; Performance Evaluation; Performance Expectations; Risk Management; Education; Education Industry; United States; Georgia (state, US); Atlanta
Simons, Robert, and Natalie Kindred. "Atlanta Schools: Measures to Improve Performance." Harvard Business School Case 114-001, December 2013. (Revised September 2017.)
- 30 Jan 2024
- Research & Ideas
‘Intrinsic Joy’ Sparks Ideas Better than Cash
Columbia University. When AI, open source, and incentives collide The findings have implications for any kind of innovation drive stemming from crowdsourcing, a method of gathering information from large groups that has been around for... View Details
- 09 Apr 2018
- Sharpening Your Skills
The Dark Side of Performance Bonuses
carefully, can open a box full of unintended consequences that ultimately harm rather than help the organization. The financial crisis of 2008 was partially fueled by origination bonuses paid to bank loan officers who were incented to... View Details
Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne
- 29 Nov 2021
- Research & Ideas
How Bonuses Get Employees to Choose Work Over Family
choose to spend time with—work colleagues or family—based on how their pay is structured, in particular whether they get bonuses for a job well done or earn fixed salaries regardless of performance. In fact, employees who received performance View Details
Keywords: by Rachel Kim Raczka
- 07 Jul 2008
- Research & Ideas
Innovation Corrupted: How Managers Can Avoid Another Enron
in diverse markets proved a significant challenge. Still, supreme overconfidence and perverse financial incentives led to a gladiator culture in which executives proposed—and risk managers and the board of directors approved—a growing... View Details
- February 2019 (Revised May 2021)
- Case
Electric Car Wars, 2018
By: John R. Wells and Benjamin Weinstock
Electric cars had long been championed by environmentalists as a superior solution to the internal combustion engine (ICE), but, despite large government incentives and strong pioneering efforts by a few automakers over the years, electric and hybrid cars and light... View Details
Keywords: Electric Vehicle; Electric Vehicles; Electricity; Electric Motors; Electric Power Generation; Electricity Usage; Electricity Distribution; Internal Combustion Vehicle; Auto Manufacturing; Automobile Manufacturing; Automotive Industry; Tesla; General Motors; History; Nissan; Innovation; Batteries; Battery; Subsidies; Government Initiatives; Government Incentives; Political Issues; Energy Generation; Production; Infrastructure; Innovation and Invention; Government Legislation; Global Range; Business History; Auto Industry; China
Wells, John R., and Benjamin Weinstock. "Electric Car Wars, 2018." Harvard Business School Case 719-470, February 2019. (Revised May 2021.)
- November 2012
- Article
Does Management Really Work?
By: Nicholas Bloom, Raffaella Sadun and John Van Reenen
HBR's 90th anniversary is a sensible time to revisit a basic question: Are organizations more likely to succeed if they adopt good management practices? The answer may seem obvious to most HBR readers, but these three economists cast their net much wider than that. In... View Details
Keywords: Best Practices; Consulting Firms; Corporations; Cost Control; Employee Training; Executive Ability (Management); Executives—training Of; Hospitals—administration; Industrial Management—research; Productivity Incentives; School Management Teams; Work Environment; Management; Research
Bloom, Nicholas, Raffaella Sadun, and John Van Reenen. "Does Management Really Work?" Harvard Business Review 90, no. 11 (November 2012).
- 21 Feb 2023
- Research & Ideas
Are Your Employees Passing Up Incentives? Try Promoting the Programs More
Motivating employees takes more than carrots and sticks—it hangs on making them aware of those incentives and deterrents, according to new research. Companies, governments, and institutions across the globe spend countless billions on... View Details
Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis
- March 2011 (Revised March 2012)
- Case
Arck Systems
By: Ian Larkin
The Arck Systems series of cases describes the dilemmas faced by a senior sales manager in determining a sales compensation plan at an enterprise software company. The existing compensation plan is aggressive and highly rewards "star" performers. The cases track a... View Details
Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Performance Effectiveness; Salesforce Management; Motivation and Incentives; Software; Information Technology Industry
Larkin, Ian. "Arck Systems." Harvard Business School Case 911-056, March 2011. (Revised March 2012.)
- 01 Nov 2022
- Research & Ideas
A Penny for Your Thoughts? For Big-Picture Ideas, the Right Pay Structure Matters
to obtain.” In a study of a Chinese manufacturer that encouraged factory workers to submit innovative ideas to bolster the company’s operations, Gallani and her colleagues find that providing certain perks and incentives for task-based... View Details
Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis
- May 2003
- Background Note
How to Induce Retailers to Reduce Stockouts?
By: V.G. Narayanan
Describes how the lack of incentive alignment between retailers and their vendors can lead to stockouts. Also describes various means to reduce incentive misalignment and hence stockouts. View Details
Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Supply Chain Management; Order Taking and Fulfillment; Distribution; Alignment; Business Strategy; Consumer Products Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Retail Industry
Narayanan, V.G. "How to Induce Retailers to Reduce Stockouts?" Harvard Business School Background Note 103-080, May 2003.
- June 2000 (Revised December 2001)
- Case
Performance Pay at Safelite Auto Glass (A)
By: Brian J. Hall, Edward Lazear and Carleen Madigan
Describes a company's changing of its compensation and incentive plan. In particular, it shows how a change from hourly pay to piece rate pay (for windshield installers) affected productivity, pay, and turnover. View Details
Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Performance Productivity; Change; Compensation and Benefits; Service Industry; Auto Industry
Hall, Brian J., Edward Lazear, and Carleen Madigan. "Performance Pay at Safelite Auto Glass (A)." Harvard Business School Case 800-291, June 2000. (Revised December 2001.)
Brian J. Hall
Brian J. Hall is the Albert H. Gordon Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School. He served as the Unit Head for the Negotiation, Organizations and Markets (NOM) Unit for 14 years. Previously, he was an assistant professor of economics in the... View Details
- 2015
- Working Paper
Do-gooders and Go-getters: Career Incentives, Selection, and Performance in Public Service Delivery
By: Nava Ashraf, Oriana Bandiera and Scott S. Lee
We study how career incentives affect who selects into public health jobs and, through selection, their performance while in service. We collaborate with the Government of Zambia to experimentally vary the salience of career incentives in a newly created health worker... View Details
Ashraf, Nava, Oriana Bandiera, and Scott S. Lee. "Do-gooders and Go-getters: Career Incentives, Selection, and Performance in Public Service Delivery." Working Paper, March 2015.
- April 2015
- Article
Incentivizing Calculated Risk-Taking: Evidence from an Experiment with Commercial Bank Loan Officers
By: Shawn Cole, Martin Kanz and Leora Klapper
This paper uses a series of experiments with commercial bank loan officers to test the effect of performance incentives on risk assessment and lending decisions. We first show that while high-powered incentives lead to greater screening effort and more profitable... View Details
Keywords: Banking; Management Processes; Credit Products; Experimental Economics; Risk Management; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Financing and Loans; Banking Industry
Cole, Shawn, Martin Kanz, and Leora Klapper. "Incentivizing Calculated Risk-Taking: Evidence from an Experiment with Commercial Bank Loan Officers." Journal of Finance 70, no. 2 (April 2015): 537–575.
- June 1993 (Revised November 2007)
- Case
Duckworth Industries, Inc.--Incentive Compensation Programs
A private company is considering an introduction of a long-run incentive compensation system in which payoffs to managers are determined by the economic value added for shareholders by their individual business units. The proposed new system is compared to a number of... View Details
Keywords: Executive Compensation; Management Teams; Business and Shareholder Relations; Motivation and Incentives; Value Creation
Fruhan, William E., Jr. "Duckworth Industries, Inc.--Incentive Compensation Programs." Harvard Business School Case 293-091, June 1993. (Revised November 2007.)
- October 16, 2024
- Article
Physicians Can Help Cut Costs. They Just Need the Right Incentives.
By: Susanna Gallani and Derek A. Haas
Health care organizations have long tried to enlist physicians in their effort to control or reduce costs. One effective means for doing so is to create an incentive system that rewards physicians for their contributions. To design such a system, organizations should... View Details
Gallani, Susanna, and Derek A. Haas. "Physicians Can Help Cut Costs. They Just Need the Right Incentives." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (October 16, 2024).
- March 1999
- Case
MotivAction plc (A)
By: William J. Bruns Jr.
The owner/manager of MotivAction is developing a package of incentives and bonuses that he hopes will stimulate sales growth, encourage development of new autonomous teams, and increase profitability. If they are adopted, these new incentives will replace others... View Details
Keywords: Employee Relationship Management; Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Performance Improvement; Growth and Development Strategy; Decisions; Profit; Organizational Culture
Bruns, William J., Jr. "MotivAction plc (A)." Harvard Business School Case 199-004, March 1999.