Employee Relations - Publications - Faculty & Research

Research Summary

Renovating Democratic Capitalism

This in-process work focuses on how best to address the declining public trust and confidence in democratic capitalism, which many citizens consider to be a cornerstone of our national ideology and identity? While the answer to this question is not entirely clear, I... View Details

22 Jun 2010
First Look

First Look: June 22

Chapman Wood, George Westerman, and Charles A. O'Reilly III Publication:Industrial and Corporate Change (forthcoming) Abstract This article empirically explores the relations between alternative organizational designs and a firm's ability... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

15 Dec 2021
Research & Ideas

The 10 Most Popular Articles of 2021

surprisingly, the 10 most-read articles on Harvard Business School Working Knowledge reflected the mood swings of another challenging, complex year for managers and employees everywhere. The 10 most popular articles 1. COVID Killed the... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

03 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

In a Work-from-Anywhere World, How Remote Will Workers Go?

the benefits of the “work-from-anywhere” movement for both companies and workers. “There’s been brain drain from small towns into large urban clusters, but I don't think we have seen the spatial redistribution that we could potentially see because of work from... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

24 Apr 2012
First Look

First Look: April 24

by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study investigates this idea empirically using personnel and lending data from a financial services organization that implemented... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

July 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

Knowledge Transfer: Toyota, NUMMI, and GM

By: Willy Shih

New United Motors Manufacturing, Inc. (NUMMI) was a joint venture between Toyota and General Motors. It was an opportunity for GM to learn about the Toyota Production System, which was quite different from the mass production processes American automakers used at the... View Details

Keywords: Culture Change; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Joint Ventures; Transformation; Selection and Staffing; Knowledge Acquisition; Knowledge Sharing; Labor Unions; Management Systems; Performance Improvement; Production; Labor and Management Relations; Auto Industry; Japan; United States

Citation

Educators

Purchase

16 Jun 2020
Research & Ideas

Your Customers Have Changed. Here's How to Engage Them Again.

end-customers. Finally, Dettol created the #HandWashChallenge to encourage proper washing techniques while using its product, garnering over 20 billion views on TikTok. Firms that connect emotionally with their external and internal customers and emotionally and... View Details

Keywords: by Rohit Deshpandé, Ofer Mintz, and Imran S. Currim; Retail; Service

21 Jun 2022
HBS Case

Free Isn’t Always Better: How Slack Holds Its Own Against Microsoft Teams

When COVID-19 forced companies to send employees home two years ago, newly remote workers largely reconnected on two collaboration apps: Slack and Microsoft Teams. The pandemic propelled Slack beyond its core following in the technology... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Information Technology; Technology

March 2023
Case

Ransomware Attack at Colonial Pipeline Company

By: Suraj Srinivasan and Li-Kuan Ni

On the morning of May 7, 2021, Colonial Pipeline Company became aware that the company had been the victim of a malicious ransomware attack that had stolen and locked up company data. The extortionists demanded 75 bitcoins (worth about $4.4 million at the time) in... View Details

Citation

Educators

Purchase

19 Jul 2017
Research & Ideas

Why Government 'Nudges' Motivate Good Citizen Behavior

it out later,’” says Beshears. “But then there is never a convenient time.” Providing a deadline, even one that isn’t strictly mandatory, cuts through the procrastination cycle, spurring employees to action. Nudges are less expensive and... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

11 Feb 2014
First Look

First Look: February 11

on this question. The first section provides background on MNCs and their rise. Section two summarizes attempts to promulgate global standards for MNCs in relation to human rights, labour, bribery, and the natural environment. Section... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

02 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Corporate Tax Cuts Don't Increase Middle Class Incomes

Active managers are often the face of income inequality, in that these are the people who set the pay for everyone else and also are the highest paid employees in their organizations.” Related Reading: If... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

06 Jul 2016
What Do You Think?

How Do We Pay for the Costs of Globalization?

political process.(including Marco’s comment that “political campaign financing is a related issue”). Those proposing remedies implicitly seemed to agree with RCW’s comment that, “Historic thinking seems to be: ‘It will all work itself... View Details

Keywords: by James L. Heskett; Manufacturing

04 Jan 2022
What Do You Think?

Firing McDonald’s Easterbrook: What Could the Board Have Done Differently?

a board member, I’ve unfortunately had to confront these issues. The McDonald’s board faced these issues in October 2019. The company’s CEO at the time, Steve Easterbrook, was found to have “engaged in a consensual relationship with an View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

12 Dec 2005
Research & Ideas

Using the Law to Strategic Advantage

in-house training on those issues of particular sensitivity in their industry. Exhorting employees to be ethical is not enough. As one manager convicted of price-fixing put it: "I thought I had morals. I still think I do. I didn't... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Legal Services

31 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

American Idle: Workers Spend Too Much Time Waiting for Something to Do

more realistic view of how long tasks take and which employees have extra capacity, allowing them to allocate work better and recoup costs from unnecessarily idle time. This story originally appeared under the headline "American... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

06 Oct 2020
Sharpening Your Skills

18 Tips Managers Can Use to Lead Through COVID's Rising Waters

this a priority, nagging them like worried grandmothers and sending chicken soup to their home offices if that is what it takes. Leaders also need to model self-care for their teams. Looking disheveled and exhausted in virtual meetings can rattle View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

30 Jul 2018
Research & Ideas

Why Ethical People Become Unethical Negotiators

deliberate on important decisions. Masking the gender of applicants for tech jobs before deciding whether they should be interviewed can remove bias from the process. And when selecting employees for a task, managers should compare two or... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

03 Oct 2017
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, October 3, 2017

modern organization is less and less about looking inward and creating strong teams inside the company and more about teaming across boundaries—that often are in flux. Extreme Teaming is a must-read book for all courses related to leading... View Details