Publications

SSRN

Read Now

19 Sep 2024
Research & Ideas

Global Talent, Local Obstacles: Why Time Zones Matter in Remote Work

embracing work-from-anywhere.” Mismatched working hours makes it difficult for employees to connect, and even a one-hour schedule difference can hurt communication, introduce complexity, and potentially... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

August 2012
Case

ARISE: A Destination-for-a-Day Spa

By: Michael Beer and Lynda St. Clair

A new Dallas-based health and beauty spa aims to use a highly distinctive human resource system as the foundation of its competitive strategy. By encouraging employees to act as "personal wellness coaches" (PWCs) with high commitment and broad responsibilities, the... View Details

Keywords: Compensation and Benefits; Motivation and Incentives; Organizational Design; Organizational Culture; Service Delivery; Competitive Strategy; Innovation Strategy; Health Industry; Entertainment and Recreation Industry; Service Industry; Texas

October 2010
Case

Scollon Productions: Working with a Bunch of Characters

By: Lena G. Goldberg and Chad Carr

As the sole female employee in an 11 person production shop, Lisa Ocheltree complained about being subjected to crass sexual "jokes" and antics; after being discharged, she filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against her former employer, Scollon Productions, alleging... View Details

Keywords: Working Conditions; Ethics; Employee Relationship Management; Lawsuits and Litigation; Organizational Culture; Problems and Challenges; Gender

25 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

What CEOs Do, and How They Can Do it Better

Why did you come in late on Tuesday? Did you really need an hour and a half for lunch on Wednesday? Why wasn't that report done by Thursday? For most of us, justifying our schedules is an expected part of the job. But what View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

25 Jun 2024
Research & Ideas

Rapport: The Hidden Advantage That Women Managers Bring to Teams

communication and rapport between managers and employees. In this case, the manager may not have scheduled the fast-food stations properly, forcing an overtaxed employee to juggle both packaging meals and... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin; Food & Beverage

September 28, 2021
Article

12 Questions About Hybrid Work, Answered

By: Tsedal Neeley

As we move into the next phase of the pandemic, companies are grappling with whether and how to bring their employees back into the office after working from home extensively. According to multiple surveys, most people want a mix of in-person and remote work, and some... View Details

Keywords: COVID-19 Pandemic; Remote Work; Transition; Employees; Job Design and Levels; Organizational Structure

Register to Read

20 Sep 2021
Research & Ideas

How Much Is Freedom Worth? For Gig Workers, a Lot.

pointing to the mobile shift-swapping app used by employees of clothing retailer The Gap. The company piloted the app in its Old Navy stores and expanded it to all brands in 2018. The app “creates value,” says Oberholzer-Gee, by helping... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Technology

February 1990 (Revised July 1990)
Case

Internal Revenue Service: Automated Collection System

By: Nitin Nohria

Describes how the IRS's collection operations changed from a largely manual system (COF) to an automated system (ACS). A central aspect of ACS was the electronic scheduling and maintaining of work. While with ACS the IRS accomplished significant improvements in the... View Details

Keywords: Sovereign Finance; Revenue; Information Technology; Taxation; Change Management; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Design; Human Resources; Public Administration Industry; United States

14 Sep 2020
Research & Ideas

You're Right! You Are Working Longer and Attending More Meetings

period, Sadun suspects that employees adopted more fluid schedules to accommodate interruptions from, say, a child struggling with virtual learning or a sick family member. [div class=infogram-embed... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

January 2010 (Revised February 2010)
Case

IBM Retail Business Assessment at Dillard's, Inc.: Managing Staffing Levels to Improve Conversion

This case illustrates the challenges associated with matching staffing levels with variable workload in retail stores and highlights how decisions related to staffing and scheduling affect operational performance and the quality of labor at the stores. The case... View Details

Keywords: Customer Satisfaction; Employees; Market Transactions; Service Delivery; Service Operations; Performance Improvement; Retail Industry

08 Mar 2021
In Practice

COVID Killed the Traditional Workplace. What Should Companies Do Now?

A year ago, COVID-19 forced many companies to send employees home—often with a laptop and a prayer. Now, with COVID cases subsiding and vaccinations rising, the prospect of returning to old office routines appears more possible. But will employees want to flock back to... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

01 Mar 2023
What Do You Think?

How Much Does 'Deep Purpose' Matter to the Bottom Line?

mission is the starting point for its culture. The nature of a mission statement matters only if leaders and their employees believe in it and live it. In my research, too often I’ve found that leaders are content to check the box on... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

27 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

How Remote Work Changes What We Think About Onboarding

combination of the two formats. Similar to their daily v-meetings with the hiring manager, the new employee should also schedule daily check-ins with direct reports before moving to two or three times per... View Details

Keywords: by Boris Groysberg

November 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Starbucks: Reaffirming Commitment to the Third Place Ideal

By: Francesca Gino, Katherine B. Coffman and Jeff Huizinga

On April 12, 2018, two African American entrepreneurs had scheduled a business meeting at a Starbucks in Philadelphia’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood. They sat without ordering, waiting for a local businessman to show up for the meeting. The store manager called 911... View Details

Keywords: Mission and Purpose; Values and Beliefs; Prejudice and Bias; Crisis Management; Employees; Training

03 Nov 2022
Op-Ed

Feeling Separation Anxiety at Your Startup? 5 Tips to Soothe These Growing Pains

customers? We might need to buy more cloud storage.” CEO: “Ugh, I was hoping to keep our spending down before we close our A round next quarter, but I guess that’s a good sign that we’re selling. Revenue, yay!” “It became a unique badge of honor that often garnered the... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Austin

January 2004 (Revised February 2005)
Case

Timberland and Community Involvement (Abridged Version)

By: James E. Austin and James Quinn

When Jeffrey Swartz became the third generation in his family to lead the Timberland Co., he made community involvement an integral part of the company's strategy. Under Swartz's leadership, Timberland formed a close partnership with City Year, the national corps of... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Business and Community Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Strategy; Manufacturing Industry

21 Feb 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research: February 21

explores how language shapes the ways in which employees who work in global organizations communicate and negotiate linguistic and cultural differences. Bringing together 650 interviews conducted across Rakuten’s locations in Brazil,... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

November 2015
Article

Why Organizations Don't Learn: Our Traditional Obsessions—Success, Taking Action, Fitting In, and Relying on Experts—Undermine Continuous Improvement

By: F. Gino and B. Staats

For any enterprise to be competitive, continuous learning and improvement are key—but not always easy to achieve. After a decade of research, the authors have concluded that four biases stand in the way: we focus too heavily on success, are too quick to act, try too... View Details

Keywords: Organizations; Learning