Publications

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December 1997 (Revised October 1999)
Case

Citibank: Performance Evaluation

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Citibank has introduced a new, comprehensive performance-scorecard system. A regional president struggles with a tough decision: how to evaluate an outstanding branch manager who has scored poorly on an important customer satisfaction measure. This case provides a... View Details

Keywords: Performance Evaluation; Balanced Scorecard; Business Strategy; Customer Satisfaction; Performance Expectations; Decisions; Motivation and Incentives; Quality; Banking Industry

30 Aug 2010
Research & Ideas

Turning Employees Into Problem Solvers

for process improvement. For incident-reporting systems to fulfill their promise, employees must use the system to "speak up" when they encounter a problem. Managers receive additional value when reporters... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Health

13 Aug 2020
Research & Ideas

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

as their mental well-being—a forthcoming article in American Psychologist examines current organizational psychology research to help business leaders manage COVID-related fallout in the workplace and develop solutions to ease the stress... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

April 2013 (Revised October 2013)
Case

Google's Project Oxygen: Do Managers Matter?

By: David A. Garvin, Alison Berkley Wagonfeld and Liz Kind

Google's Project Oxygen started with a fundamental question raised by executives in the early 2000s: do managers matter? The topic generated a multi-year research project that ultimately led to a comprehensive program, built around eight key management attributes,... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Behavior; Business Policy; General Management; Human Resource Management; Management; Leadership; Human Resources

May 2014
Case

WeaveTech: High Performance Change

By: Michael Beer and Paul Swiercz

WeaveTech, formerly Johnson-Ware, is a clothing company that produces jackets, coats, overalls, coveralls, and fire-resistant clothing for the military. A private equity firm renamed the company after it acquired Johnson-Ware several years ago. WeaveTech now faces a... View Details

June 2014
Supplement

Chung and Dasgupta: Information for Jordan Ramirez

By: Ian Larkin and Karen Huang

The "Promotion Process at Chung and Dasgupta, LLP" set of cases explores the roles of general and firm-specific human capital in employee performance measurement, feedback, and promotion/compensation decisions. In the cases, a leading law firm must decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Performance Appraisal; Performance Measurement; Employee Feedback; Motivation; Promotions; Human Capital; Performance Evaluation; Management Systems; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Legal Services Industry; United States; Massachusetts

08 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

How to Demotivate Your Best Employees

productivity. More than 80 percent of companies dole out work-related awards like "employee of the month" or "top salesperson." Managers often view these awards as inexpensive ways to improve worker performance; many believe that when... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Service

01 Sep 2020
Blog Post

6 Ways to Support COVID-Weary Employees

as their mental well-being—a forthcoming article in American Psychologist examines current organizational psychology research to help business leaders manage COVID-related fallout in the workplace and develop solutions to ease the stress... View Details

Keywords: All Industries

November 2016 (Revised December 2016)
Module Note

Strategy Execution Module 8: Linking Performance to Markets

By: Robert Simons

This module reading shows how to link profit plans and other performance measurement systems to both internal and external markets. Starting with the transfer of goods and services within a firm, the module discusses the different methods of designing transfer pricing... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Implementing Strategy; Execution; Transfer Pricing; Activity Based Costing; Return On Investment; Residual Income; EVA; Strategy; Cost Accounting; Activity Based Costing and Management; Markets; Investment Return

17 Oct 2023
News

Tools for Managers to Help Employees with Their Mental Health Challenges

June 2010 (Revised November 2013)
Case

Momentive Performance Materials, Inc.

By: Victoria Ivashina and David Scharfstein

After nearly violating its loan covenants in 2009, Momentive Performance Materials, backed by its financial sponsor Apollo Global Management, took a variety of actions to restructure its debt. The restructuring steps included an open market repurchase of publicly held... View Details

Keywords: Restructuring; Financial Crisis; Borrowing and Debt; Private Equity; Financing and Loans

Article

Employee Selection as a Control System

By: Dennis Campbell

Theories from the economics, management control, and organizational behavior literatures predict that when it is difficult to align incentives by contracting on output, aligning preferences via employee selection may provide a useful alternative. This study... View Details

Keywords: Management Systems; Governance Controls; Employees; Selection and Staffing; Motivation and Incentives; Decision Making; Business Model

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2021
Article

How Top Managers Use the Entrepreneurial Gap to Drive Strategic Change

By: Robert L. Simons and Antonio Davila

Prior research provides strong evidence for the association between business strategy and the design and use of management control systems. We complement this research by examining the role of management control systems in situations of strategic change. We report the... View Details

Keywords: Management Control Systems; Accountability; Strategic Change; Organization Change And Adaptation; Organizational Performance; Management Systems; Organizational Structure; Corporate Accountability; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Performance

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May 2014
Case

Building a High Performance Culture at IDFC

By: V.G. Narayanan and Vidhya Muthuram

IDFC was set up in 1997 to direct private finance to infrastructure projects in India. Over the years, it expanded its capabilities to become a 'complete solutions provider' offering financing solutions including debt and equity, investment banking, brokerage and asset... View Details

June 2014
Supplement

Chung and Dasgupta: Supplemental Information on Jordan Ramirez and Casey Clark

By: Ian Larkin and Karen Huang

The "Promotion Process at Chung and Dasgupta, LLP" set of cases explores the roles of general and firm-specific human capital in employee performance measurement, feedback, and promotion/compensation decisions. In the cases, a leading law firm must decide whether to... View Details

Keywords: Performance Appraisal; Performance Measurement; Employee Feedback; Motivation; Promotions; Human Capital; Performance Evaluation; Management Systems; Compensation and Benefits; Retention; Legal Services Industry; United States; Massachusetts