morality - Publications - Faculty & Research

31 Aug 2021
Book

Feeling Powerless at Work? Time to Agitate, Innovate, and Orchestrate

through persuasion or coercion.” But where does this power come from? It derives from controlling access to what others value, such as income, status, achievement, belonging, autonomy, and moral purpose. Strategies for shifting power When... View Details

Keywords: by Jay Fitzgerald

26 Apr 2022
Book

What Does Your Business Stand For? Why Building Trust Starts with Purpose

“A lot of team members have really similar experiences,” Sneath said. “They feel connected, engaged, and proud of what we’re building.” They come to trust the company, its leadership, and the moral community of which they are a part, for... View Details

Keywords: by Ranjay Gulati

07 Mar 2022
Research & Ideas

Effective Leaders Share the Spotlight with Their Teams

practice. In the study’s sample set, the average manager did not engage colleagues even once during the year. Zou hopes leaders will begin to recognize the importance of encouraging input from subordinates, especially as many managers struggle to unite groups and boost... View Details

Keywords: by Pamela Reynolds

01 Sep 2022
What Do You Think?

Is It Time to Consider Lifting Tariffs on Chinese Imports?

I wonder if the discussion could be more broadly framed as ‘Can ancient wisdom be used to influence organization values?’” Bill Fotsch commented, “ I suggest the driver is not religion, but rather morality. Morality has been shown to have... View Details

Keywords: Re: James L. Heskett

07 May 2012
Research & Ideas

The Art of Haggling

the moral issues that negotiation inevitably raises. Acknowledging the distributive aspect of the process makes them confront the issue of fairness. "How much do we owe the other side?" he asks. "Is there an ironclad rule,... View Details

Keywords: by Katie Johnston

18 Jan 2016
Research & Ideas

Hazard Warning: The Unacceptable Cost of Toxic Workers

is the morally correct path. “To say the rules should never be broken isn’t completely forthright and honest, so this is basically a sophisticated way to capture that,” Minor says. Another factor could be more Machiavellian applicants... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland

24 Feb 2021
Lessons from the Classroom

What History's Biggest Wars Teach Us About Leading in Peace

and who exhibit moral courage, than to ensure that our alumni are competent businesspeople.” About the Author Lane Lambert is a writer based in the Boston area. [Image: Shutterstock/Evgeny Freyer] Which historical events do you think... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert

08 Nov 2022
Research & Ideas

How Centuries of Restrictions on Women Shed Light on Today's Abortion Debate

infibulation, an invasive form of genital cutting that makes intercourse painful, and about how restricted she is in her freedom of movement. Becker also draws data from the World Values Survey, which examines values, beliefs, and moral... View Details

Keywords: by Kara Baskin

10 Apr 2014
Research & Ideas

John Kotter’s Plan to Accelerate Your Business

do this other thing that they find important," he says. In the book, Davidson's critic began to warm toward the network as he saw signs of morale improving in his own group and the posting of several impressive wins. The idea for a dual... View Details

Keywords: by Kim Girard

31 Aug 2020
What Do You Think?

Why Don’t More Organizations Understand the Power of Diversity and Inclusion?

preached about it.” In addition to questions about the data, there is the moral issue of whether diversity and inclusion should be promoted with or without supporting data regarding performance. David Wittenberg posed the issue this way:... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

18 May 2016
Research & Ideas

Unethical Amnesia: Why We Tend to Forget Our Own Bad Behavior

actions gradually become less clear than other memories—a phenomenon the authors of the paper call “unethical amnesia.” Moreover, forgetting wrongdoings of the past makes us more likely to misbehave in the future. “We are social beings, and our basic need for... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

13 Feb 2006
Research & Ideas

When Gender Changes the Negotiation

The last few months have been trying for Maureen Park, the managing director of a small portfolio management firm. The firm's parent company, a large financial services concern, was performing below forecasts, and morale among Park's... View Details

Keywords: by Dina W. Pradel, Hannah Riley Bowles & Kathleen L. McGinn

04 Nov 2013
Research & Ideas

The Real Cost of Bribery

with regulators, its public reputation, and the morale of its employees. (Each of these factors has proven to be crucial to a firm's standing in the competitive landscape.) He hypothesized that the extent of the damage to a firm would... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

24 Jun 2002
Research & Ideas

Four Keys of Enduring Success: How High Achievers Win

observed. Individuals want a sense of mastery and pleasure; relationships are important to success. The most common reason people give him and Nash is, "I want to make a difference in the world." Most people admire others who display fairly high View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

24 Apr 2019
Research & Ideas

The 'Amazon Effect' Is Changing Online Price Competition—and the Fed Needs to Pay Attention

win some moral victories: the Economist magazine stopped publishing the Argentinian government’s numbers in favor of Cavallo’s stats, and, when a new government took over, it relied on Cavallo’s numbers as it built a new index from... View Details

Keywords: by Roberta Holland; Retail

02 Mar 2021
HBS Case

The Tulsa Massacre: Is Racial Justice Possible 100 Years Later?

massacre and reparations, I’m hopeful that we can all learn more about this dark period and the vexing question of how to address it,” notes Desai. While Oklahoma has acknowledged its moral responsibility, creating a memorial and giving... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

14 Apr 2022
Op-Ed

Let’s Move Forward from COVID—Without Forgetting What We’ve Learned

must decide its values. Identifying these values should be a collaborative, inclusive process at all levels. For example, common organizational values are "we are a people-first business" or "global impact in how people work" or even "do what is ethically or View Details

Keywords: by Hise O. Gibson and MaShon Wilson

22 Mar 2013
Research & Ideas

Pulling Campbell’s Out of the Soup

the time Conant was recruited, the company's share price had dropped from a high of $60 in 1998 to $30. Conant took a good long look at staff morale and didn't like what he saw. "We had a toxic culture. People were understandably... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

06 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

Are You a Level-Six Leader?

people who always ask, "What's in it for me?" Their moral compass is guided primarily by the accumulation of wealth and power, all else be damned. Bernie Madoff, now in prison, is a poster boy for the Opportunists. While Madoff... View Details

Keywords: by Mitch Maidique

20 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

The Seven Things That Surprise New CEOs

behave. Second, he must recognize that his position does not confer the right to lead, nor does it guarantee the organization's loyalty. He must perpetually earn and maintain the moral mandate to lead. CEOs can easily lose their... View Details

Keywords: by Michael E. Porter, Jay W. Lorsch & Nitin Nohria

Publications