Worker Productivity - Publications - Faculty & Research

28 Jun 2022
Book

The Moral Enterprise: How Two Companies Profit with Purpose

How can government and business work together in this fractious political moment, when finding solutions to pressing problems like inequality and climate change are more urgent than ever? Rebecca Henderson, Harvard University’s John and Natty McArthur University... View Details

Keywords: by Avery Forman

26 Aug 2008
First Look

First Look: August 26, 2008

economic phenomenon in various host countries. The second part deals with the assimilation of immigrant workers in host-country labor markets and the use of social benefits by immigrants. The survey then considers the effect of... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

23 Jun 2022
Research & Ideas

All Those Zoom Meetings May Boost Connection and Curb Loneliness

of health problems, including depression and social anxiety, which can impact wellbeing and productivity at work. In fact, in a 2017 Harvard Business Review article, US Surgeon General Vivek Murthy declared that “a loneliness epidemic”... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

28 Mar 2012
What Do You Think?

Are Factory Jobs Important to the Economy?

new employment, given the need for significant productivity improvement necessary to reverse the outflow of manufacturing activity from a developed economy. Peter Hogan reminded us that "manufacturers' share of GDP (in the US) has been... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Manufacturing

30 Aug 2018
Blog Post

My Difficult Decision to Leave Google for HBS

Thirteen months after starting at Google and my first product went live, I was simultaneously filled with excitement, anxiety, and relief. But most significantly, the product launch sparked a real reflection... View Details

10 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

John Kotter’s Plan to Accelerate Your Business

sorting work into departments, product divisions, and regions. Trouble is, managers in hierarchical organizations don't promote or reward risk and innovation—they rely on routine, and turn to the same trusted people to run key... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

25 Apr 2024
News

Origin Stories

Subscribe on iTunes Subscribe on Spotify More Skydeck episodes Dan Morrell: Hi, this is Dan Morrell, host of Skydeck. Where we come from and how we were raised has a profound effect on who we become. The recipients of this year’s Alumni Achievement Award grew up... View Details

01 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

First Minutes are Critical in New-Employee Orientation

The first few minutes of new employee orientation, if done right, can lead to happier and more productive workers and, ultimately, increased customer satisfaction. Unfortunately, a lot of companies do it... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Web Services; Service; Telecommunications

29 Aug 2018
What Do You Think?

What Should Harley-Davidson’s Management Do?

CasPhotography What Can the Harley-Davidson Case Teach Us About Managing in a Politicized Environment? The advice to Harley-Davidson’s management from respondents of this month’s column is to (1) ensure that politics doesn’t deter the Company from its current strategy,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Auto

03 May 2022
Research & Ideas

Desperate for Talent? Consider Advancing Your Own Employees First

Job openings in the United States continue to hover at record high levels, exacerbated by the Great Resignation and a sputtering emergence from the pandemic. Competition remains fierce among companies struggling to find qualified workers. Yet many employers,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

17 Oct 2022
Research & Ideas

Why Quiet Quitters Need More Than Money to Re-Engage

benefits. Now, they say, we are reaping the consequences of that misapprehension. Employees left their jobs at alarming rates over the past year as they reassessed their lives in the face of COVID-19. Other workers are “quietly quitting,”... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

15 Mar 2011
First Look

First Look: March 15

Piovesan Abstract To encourage worker productivity, offices prohibit Internet use. Consequently, many employees delay Internet activity to the end of the workday. Recent work in social psychology, however, suggests that using willpower to... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 May 2017
Research & Ideas

Bad At Your Job? Maybe It's the Job’s Fault

Source: Geber86 When a worker struggles to meet the demands of a particular position, the problem may not be with the employee—maybe it’s the job’s design that is wrong. A poorly designed job can work against even the most dedicated... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

24 Feb 2009
First Look

First Look: February 24, 2009

cautious adoption of some of these recent conceptual developments offers fertile opportunities for further research in international business history. Navigating the Bind of Necessary Evils: Psychological Engagement and the Production of... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Jun 2023
News

Cultivating Prosperity in Afghanistan

Rumi Spice, a venture they incubated at the Harvard Innovation Labs in 2015, which brings saffron and other spices from Afghanistan to market in the United States and provides jobs for more than 1,500 farmers and other workers in the... View Details

Keywords: Jennifer Gillespie

10 Oct 2023
Blog Post

Policy Drivers for Environmental Justice: What Businesses Need to Know

environmental justice defined? Looking at policy and business definitions to understand what terms mean for productive action. Policy: What policy is in place in the U.S to drive environmental justice action by businesses? Breaking down... View Details

11 Oct 2006
What Do You Think?

How Do We Respond to the “Dependency Ratio” Dilemma?

growing dependency ratios at the level of the firm tell us, regardless of where we are in the world. But several deplored what has been done about them. According to Francine McKenna, "There's no pension crisis in the executive suite . The average View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

18 Sep 2017
Research & Ideas

'Likes' Lead to Nothing—and Other Hard-Learned Lessons of Social Media Marketing

a direct connection between a social media chat about a product with the actual purchase of that product. “The biggest challenge right now is that all this money is shifting into digital marketing, but there are still a lot of questions... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Advertising; Technology

01 Feb 2021
What Do You Think?

Has the New Economy Finally Arrived?

is at least a lull in globalization. China’s economic development has increased its costs of production and reduced international price competition. Outsourcing may have seen the end of its rapid growth. And View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

15 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

GM: What Went Wrong and What’s Next

history of this American corporate icon. The U.S. cannot afford to lose the thousands of middle-class jobs of GM workers and management, nor the cutting edge R&D that GM does with its suppliers and partner universities. GM faces a... View Details

Keywords: by Staff; Auto

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