Hierarchies are everywhere, and the business world is no exception; the distribution of power and status has become a defining feature of today’s organizations. What role, if any, do such ranks play in communication between members of these organizations? This was the thought underlying a recent study led by Kenan-Flagler Business School’s Alison Fragale. Alongside […]
Read More… from Peer-to-Peer Deference in Email Communication
What can statistics and data-based analyses reveal to us about meetings that are effective (leading to consensus and decision-making) and efficient (goals achieved in optimal time)? Because the science of meetings is still in its early stages, the raw data for study is still being accumulated. However, two researchers from MIT’s Sloan School of Management, […]
In January 2011, a football commentator found himself unceremoniously fired after he made a remark about the appearance of a female match official, and questioned whether another was capable of understanding the ‘offside rule.’ Many called his comments sexist and ‘prehistoric.’ However, there were also some people that suggested the commentator’s termination was a result […]
Read More… from Political Correctness Helps Expression in Mixed-Sex Teams
Strategic embeddedness is a priority for companies; a strategy is much more likely to succeed if a critical mass of employees understands and accepts it. Despite this, articles on strategic alignment have tended to focus more on organizational structures, systems and processes than on employees. Why do some people understand and accept their company’s business […]
Read More… from Embed the Strategy (Do Not Rely on Cascading)
In the early 2000s, there was a rush by organizations to outsource and offshore many call centres because of the significant cost savings that could be achieved. But offshoring has often led to a reduction in customer satisfaction, so businesses are increasingly bringing their critical customer service call centre operations back ‘onshore’. At the same […]
Read More… from Homeworking Beats Outsourcing: a 6 Step Model
It is standard practice for corporations to have a conference call with stock market analysts after quarterly earnings are released. In this call, executives make a presentation concerning the earnings report then take questions from the analysts. It is these conference calls that researchers from University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and NYU’s Stern […]
Read More… from How Time of Day Impacts on Business Conversations
Executives cannot afford to ignore the dangers posed by acting overconfidently. Numerous examples in recent history can attest to this, from the inflation of the dot-com bubble in the late 1990s, to the housing boom pre-2008. Fortunately, overconfidence is not a universal problem; it is only likely to be a problem in certain situations. Identifying […]
Read More… from Advantages of Confidence and Dangers of Overconfidence
There are two basic types of exchanges employed by people when forming new relationships: incremental exchanges and constant exchanges. In the former, we ‘test the water’ and build relationships gradually through incremental steps of commitment; in the latter we take ‘leaps of faith’ in each other and relations gets off to a quick start. So […]
Read More… from Business Relationships: Test the Water or Take a Leap of Faith?
In traditional Chinese Confucian culture, an emphasis is placed on the development, maintenance, and exploitation of social networks, which depend on reciprocity, integrity, and the highest individual ethical standards. In China, inter-firm relationships (such as supplier/buyer relationships) cannot be well understood without recognition of this. The research here suggests that ethical leadership not only affects […]
Read More… from Ethics and Conflict Resolution in Chinese Firms
A research study set out to examine how effective extraverted leadership actually is on group performance, and what characteristics on the part of employees also play a role in this. This is extraversion as described as ‘a tendency to engage in behaviours that place oneself at the centre of attention, such as seeking status and […]
Read More… from Balancing Extravert Leaders and Pro-active Employees
