Craft was long seen as a primitive form of work organization rendered obsolete by the Industrial Age. However, the concept of craft is making an energetic resurgence, influencing the making of products, services and even decisions. A new paper from a team of researchers led by Jochem Kroezen of the University of Cambridge’s Judge Business […]
Read More… from Why Craft Is Relevant (and Needed) in Today’s Workplace
Most people multi-task because they think they can do it well — and that they will acquire the rewards of multi-tasking, such as saving time and being less bored with a single task. The truth, a new study shows, is quite the opposite. The people who multi-task the most are the people who derive the […]
Read More… from Multi-tasking: Those Who Do It Poorly Do It More!
The best companies are expected to model, if not to develop themselves, innovative new management practices. This expectation is known as the ‘institutional norm of progress’, and companies that use new and improvement management practices are said to be displaying ‘progressiveness’. A study by a team of researchers from the Rotterdam School of Management, Queensland […]
Read More… from The Symbolic Value of New Management Practices
Transforming academic research from pure knowledge into real-world business or organizational practices is challenging for a wide variety of reasons. Time is an issue. Business unit or organizational leaders have little time to leaf through academic journals or article databases looking for research they can apply to their companies. Even if they did, the parameters […]
Organizational design theory studies the formal structures of an organization; network research focuses on informal structures — the informal interactions and relationships ‘behind the chart’. Giuseppe Soda of Bocconi University in Milan and Akbar Zaheer of the University of Minnesota’s Carlson School of Management argue, however, that to evaluate individual performance in an organization — […]
Read More… from How Informal and Formal Networks Hurt and Help Performance
Executives and managers are inundated with management theories, philosophies and models, many of which offer contradictory advice. One dilemma they face is whether to grant employees autonomy or to use control to guide their performance. Both approaches have their merits. Autonomy and independence are important for employee engagement and, by extension, ‘discretionary effort’, productivity and […]
The traditional, hierarchical structure of organizations is diminishing as we work our way through the 21st century. Business is fast-paced and unpredictable; we cannot rely on things the way we used to, whether it is our customers, our suppliers, or even our staff. Modern companies are constantly reminded to be flexible, to adapt, and to […]
Read More… from Smart Moves – the Tango and Modern Leadership
Much of the recent research into leadership seems to note the same thing: current leadership theories are lacking something, or limiting in their conceptualization. Elaborating on this, the author of this paper introduces a new theory, based on the idea that leadership consists of a series of recurring leading-following double interacts that anyone can participate […]
What can classical Chinese philosophy teach the West about leaders and leadership? A lot, according to the author of this paper; Western leaders can, amongst many things, learn how to act in harmony with situations and do what is required, learn how not to abuse power and cultivate “refined” behaviour, all through an understanding of […]
Read More… from Chinese Philosophy: Lessons for Western Leaders
Leading employees from different cultural backgrounds has become an everyday reality and challenge for managers. An understanding of cultural differences, as well as how these differences play out in interpersonal and group relationships, is no longer optional but a critical tool. To start with, the authors look at the assumptions typically encountered when considering the […]
