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(1,018)
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- Faculty Publications (155)
Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(1,018)
- People (1)
- News (224)
- Research (616)
- Events (10)
- Multimedia (6)
- Faculty Publications (155)
- 2012
- Article
Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank
By: B. Staats and F. Gino
Sustaining operational productivity in the completion of repetitive tasks is critical to many organizations' success. Yet research points to two different work-design-related strategies for accomplishing this goal: specialization to capture the benefits of repetition... View Details
Keywords: Motivation; Productivity; Specialization; Variety; Work Fragmentation; Boundaries; Performance Productivity; Organizations; Research; Strategy; Motivation and Incentives; Opportunities; Market Transactions; Resource Allocation; Performance; Goals and Objectives; Learning
Staats, B., and F. Gino. "Specialization and Variety in Repetitive Tasks: Evidence from a Japanese Bank." Management Science 58, no. 6 (June 2012): 1141–1159.
- 2022
- Working Paper
Training, Communications Patterns, and Spillovers Inside Organizations
By: Miguel Espinosa and Christopher T. Stanton
We study direct productivity changes and spillovers after a randomized training program for the frontline workers in a Colombian government agency. While trained workers improved their individual production, we also find substantial spillovers that affected managers'... View Details
Keywords: Spillovers; Labor Productivity; Firm Objectives, Organization, And Behavior; Training; Performance Productivity
Espinosa, Miguel, and Christopher T. Stanton. "Training, Communications Patterns, and Spillovers Inside Organizations." NBER Working Paper Series, No. 30224, July 2022. (Revise and Resubmit at Journal of Political Economy .)
- Web
Auto worker creates stripe guns - The Human Factor – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections
Production The Worker The Audience Chapter Introduction Chapter Images Bibliography previous 1 2 3 4 next Auto worker creates stripe guns ca. 1936 De Soto Photographer unknown... View Details
- 2012
- Discussion Paper
Labor Productivity and Quality Change in Singapore: Achievements in 1974-2011 and Prospects for the Next Two Decades
By: Koji Nomura and Tomomichi Amano
Labor productivity growth in Singapore that has grown at a rate of over 3.0 percent per year since 1970s considerably slowed down to 0.5 percent on average per annum in the latter half of the 2000s. The purpose of this paper is to ask, first, to what extent Singapore’s... View Details
Nomura, Koji, and Tomomichi Amano. "Labor Productivity and Quality Change in Singapore: Achievements in 1974-2011 and Prospects for the Next Two Decades." Discussion Paper, Keio Economic Observatory, 2012.
- 2025
- Working Paper
Training Within Firms
By: Brayan Diaz, Andrea Neyra-Nazarrett, Julian Ramirez, Raffaella Sadun and Jorge Tamayo
Training investments are essential for improving worker and firm productivity, yet their
implementation is often hindered by low participation rates and insufficient worker engagement.
This study uses data from three firms–a car manufacturer, a quick-service... View Details
Keywords: Productivity; Absenteeism; Middle Managers; Training; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Productivity; Employees
Diaz, Brayan, Andrea Neyra-Nazarrett, Julian Ramirez, Raffaella Sadun, and Jorge Tamayo. "Training Within Firms." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 25-045, April 2025.
- Web
Products - The Human Factor – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections
The Message The Product The Production The Worker The Audience Bibliography previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 next Products... View Details
- August, 2024
- Article
Absenteeism, Productivity, and Relational Contracts Inside the Firm
By: Achyuta Adhvaryu, Jean-François Gauthier, Anant Nyshadham and Jorge Tamayo
We study relational contracts among managers using a unique dataset that tracks transfers of workers across teams in Indian ready-made garment factories. We focus on how relational contracts help managers cope with worker absenteeism shocks, which are frequent, often... View Details
Keywords: Implicit Contracts; Productivity; Misallocation; Absenteeism; Supervisors; Readymade Garments; Performance Productivity; Employees; Relationships; Fashion Industry; India
Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Jean-François Gauthier, Anant Nyshadham, and Jorge Tamayo. "Absenteeism, Productivity, and Relational Contracts Inside the Firm." Journal of the European Economic Association 22, no. 4 (August, 2024): 1628–1677.
- Web
The Production - The Human Factor – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections
Production Chapter Introduction Chapter Images The Worker The Audience Bibliography The Production: A Cooperative Enterprise Baker Library | Historical Collections | Site Credits | Digital Accessibility... View Details
- Web
The Product - The Human Factor – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections
Introduction Chapter Images The Production The Worker The Audience Bibliography The Product: Consumer Relations Baker Library | Historical Collections | Site Credits | Digital Accessibility Contact Email:... View Details
- 2014
- Article
Unequality: Who Gets What and Why It Matters
Who should get what, and what are the consequences? Economic inequality in the United States has been rising for decades, yet only recently have behavioral scientists explored two central questions surrounding the optimal level of inequality. First, what are the... View Details
Keywords: Inequality; Ethics; Productivity; Gambling; Equality and Inequality; Fairness; Income; Performance Productivity; United States
Norton, Michael I. "Unequality: Who Gets What and Why It Matters." Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences 1, no. 1 (2014): 151–155.
- Web
Introduction - The Production - The Human Factor – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections
Production Chapter Introduction Chapter Images The Worker The Audience Bibliography The Production: A Cooperative Enterprise What the industrial worker wants is . . . a method... View Details
- Web
Introduction - The Product - The Human Factor – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections
Introduction Chapter Images The Production The Worker The Audience Bibliography The Product: Consumer Relations The place of the photograph in advertising is unquestioned. It can accomplish things which no... View Details
- Article
Competition and Social Identity in the Workplace: Evidence from a Chinese Textile Firm
By: Takao Kato and Pian Shu
We study the impact of social identity on worker competition by exploiting the well-documented social divide between urban resident workers and rural migrant workers in urban Chinese firms. We analyze data on weekly output, individual characteristics, and coworker... View Details
Keywords: Social Identity; Coworker Effect; Productivity; Relative Performance Incentive; Intergroup Competition; Competition; Groups and Teams; Performance Productivity; Identity
Kato, Takao, and Pian Shu. "Competition and Social Identity in the Workplace: Evidence from a Chinese Textile Firm." Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 131, part A (November 2016): 37–50.
- Research Summary
Overview
I have spent my career studying novel talent management practices and their effect on collaboration and performance. My core research focuses on two interrelated organizational trends that have become salient in the 21st century: workplace transparency (who gets to... View Details
Keywords: Privacy; Transparency; Productivity; Field Experiments; Communication; Design; Human Resources; Leadership; Management; Organizational Design; Organizational Structure; Performance; Groups and Teams; Networks; Behavior; Social and Collaborative Networks; Satisfaction; North America; Europe; Asia; China; Japan; Latin America
- Web
Raw materials entering into the production of General Electric distribution transformers - The Human Factor – Baker Library | Bloomberg Center, Historical Collections
Introduction Chapter Images The Production The Worker The Audience Bibliography previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 next Raw materials entering into the production of General Electric... View Details
- November 2012
- Case
Teaming at GE Aviation
Describes the challenges and successes encountered by GE's Aviation business in implementing a teaming work structure and culture in plants across its supply chain. GE Aviation leadership had seen dramatic gains in productivity, quality, and worker satisfaction in... View Details
Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Aviation And Aerospace; Capacity Management; Competitiveness; Corporate Culture; Corporate Structure; Labor Relations; Manufacturing; Production Planning; General Electric; Teaming; Managing Change; Transformation; Labor Unions; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Performance Productivity; Leading Change; Management Style; Job Design and Levels; Aerospace Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States
Khurana, Rakesh, Jeffrey Polzer, Willy Shih, and Eric Baldwin. "Teaming at GE Aviation." Harvard Business School Case 413-074, November 2012.
- 01 Nov 2022
- Research & Ideas
A Penny for Your Thoughts? For Big-Picture Ideas, the Right Pay Structure Matters
novel idea in the previous month. [div class=infogram-embed data-id=_/buhv4lJrYV50s7MdxGC9][/div] Workers with “variable pay” contracts—earning roughly the equivalent to hourly pay for workers in the US,... View Details
Keywords: by Scott Van Voorhis
- January 2016
- Article
Making Do with Less: Working Harder During Recessions
By: Edward P. Lazear, Kathryn L. Shaw and Christopher Stanton
Why did productivity rise during recent recessions? One possibility is that average worker quality increased. A second is that each incumbent worker produced more. The second effect is termed "making do with less." Using data from 2006 to 2010 on individual worker... View Details
Lazear, Edward P., Kathryn L. Shaw, and Christopher Stanton. "Making Do with Less: Working Harder During Recessions." Journal of Labor Economics 34, no. S1 (January 2016): S333–S360.
- 19 Aug 2021
- Op-Ed
Don't Ignore Your Employees' Misery—TAKE Control
employees’ dismay. If nothing else, the pandemic has taught us that one-size-fits-all approaches can be extremely counterproductive. In fact, numerous surveys and news articles suggest that employees have been just as productive working... View Details
Keywords: by Hise O. Gibson and MaShon Wilson
- 16 Nov 2011
- News