by Michael C. Jensen - Publications - Faculty & Research

02 Oct 2019
What Do You Think?

What Grade Would You Give Walmart CEO Doug McMillon?

McMillon’s decisions on the basis of the new criteria proposed by the Business Roundtable. The scale is the time honored F for failure up to A for high excellence. As a Walmart shareholder, what grade would you give Doug McMillon? Why?... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett; Retail

03 Apr 2009
What Do You Think?

How Much Obsolescence Can Business and Society Absorb?

Summing Up To remain sane and relevant, must we smell the flowers as well as the ozone? This month's question of how much obsolescence business and society (and by implication, we as managers) can absorb brought out both the poets and the... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett; Publishing; Journalism & News

08 Jun 2009
Research & Ideas

The Return of the Salesman

business and society. In its Winter 2008 issue, Business History Review included five articles on salesmanship: "Selling the American Way: The Singer Sales System in Japan, 1900-1938" (by Andrew Gordon) "Inventing the U.S. Stove Industry, View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Retail

02 Mar 2020
What Do You Think?

Are Candor, Humility, and Trust Making a Comeback?

report to you succeed, I think it’s pretty hard to lead with anything other than humility and vulnerability.” Dfallah said, “I believe candor, humility and trust are core values for visionary companies ” Michael H. added, “For several... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

01 May 2009
What Do You Think?

Do Innovation and Entrepreneurship Have to Be Incompatible with Organization Size?

energy to priority areas for innovation." Amy Sauers added findings that suggest that large firms succeed that "attempted to 'get small' (through the vehicle of) 'lean, mean, heavyweight teams.'" Another ingredient suggested View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

Research Summary

Coordination, Control, and the Management of Organizations

Michael C. Jensen's research is aimed at obtaining a clearer understanding of how the 'organizational rules of the game' affect a manager's ability to accomplish his or her goals and how the rules can be structured to resolve problems and increase productivity. ... View Details

12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Spirit at Work: The Search for Deeper Meaning in the Workplace

"spiritual anchors for the new millennium." Clearly, something of a nonmaterial nature is stirring in the corporate temple. But questions abound. Just what does it mean to bring spirituality into the workplace? Is this an appropriate way to help people feel... View Details

Keywords: by Marguerite Rigoglioso

16 Dec 2008
First Look

First Look: December 16, 2008

discussed and debated by the more than forty contributors to this book, among them three Nobel laureates and two former U.S. cabinet secretaries. Edited by author and columnist View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

28 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

Book Excerpt: The Good Struggle: Responsible Leadership in an Unforgiving World

initiative or the more turbulent the environment, the more appropriate and inevitable these types of commitments are. From a broader perspective, an organization today is not simply what Michael Jensen and... View Details

Keywords: by Joseph L. Badaracco

22 Apr 2002
Research & Ideas

Does Spirituality Drive Success?

spirituality in business. Can Spirituality Drive Success? Should It? In a session exploring how spirituality can lead to business success, panelist Tony Schwartz confessed to one distinction: he was perhaps the only person in the world who was "driven to the... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace, Sean Silverthorne & Wendy Guild

14 Oct 2008
Research & Ideas

Should You Bring Advertising Expertise In-House?

developing in-house advertising capabilities, especially in technology-oriented and creative industries. Working with Silk on the study were Sharon Horsky of Bar-Ilan University and Steven C. Michael (HBS... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Advertising

12 Sep 2017
First Look

First Look at New Research and Ideas, September 12, 2017

forthcoming Research in Organizational Behavior Self-Managing Organizations: Exploring the Limits of Less Hierarchical Organizing By: Lee, Michael Y., and Amy C. Edmondson Abstract—Fascination with... View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

05 Aug 2002
What Do You Think?

Is Platform Leadership Old Hat or the Wave of the Future?

however, as interesting as the phenomenon described by Annabelle Gawer and Michael Cusumano in their book, Platform Leadership. They include: Did platform leaders set out to create vehicles View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

02 May 2008
What Do You Think?

What is the Future of State Capitalism?

respondents. Shann Turnbull points out that "National governments can deal with globalisation as they can determine the rules of ownership and control applicable in their jurisdictions." Nevertheless, he proposes the creation of a "Community Investment... View Details

Keywords: by Jim Heskett

21 May 2020
Research & Ideas

Fighting the COVID Blues: Advice from Business Research

more anxious and less satisfied with their lives, according to research by Whillans and Michael I. Norton, the Harold M. Brierley Professor of Business Administration. Workers who are able to take time off... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman and Danielle Kost

28 Apr 2003
Research & Ideas

Shareholders Key to Corporate Reform

other out and to work in concert on issues on which they share common ground.—Cynthia A. Montgomery and Rhonda Kaufman Reinvigorate Shareholders. As Michael Jensen observed in a 1993 Journal of Finance... View Details

Keywords: by Cynthia A. Montgomery & Rhonda Kaufman

27 Jul 2010
First Look

First Look: July 27

http://papers.nber.org/papers/w16185 Cases & Course MaterialsMicrofin Michael Chu and Enrique KramerHarvard Business School Case 309-126 The case presents the management dilemmas of a new institution in an undeveloped microfinance... View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

05 Nov 2009
Research & Ideas

A Market for Human Cadavers in All but Name?

cadavers. Such concern is also probably heightened by U.S. historical accounts of grave robbing (Goodwin 2006; Sappol 2002; Shultz 1991). Together these elements contribute to fears of "body-snatching." View Details

Keywords: by Michel Anteby; Health

11 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 11

Michael Beer and Lynda St. ClairHarvard Business School Case 913-521 A new Dallas-based health and beauty spa aims to use a highly distinctive human resource system as the foundation of its competitive strategy. View Details