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
Decision-making on the financial markets is driven by information and by trust. But trust can be flagrantly abused. This was amply demonstrated by the Bernard Madoff scandal, considered to be the biggest fraud in American history. Madoff, a former non-executive chair of the NASDAQ stock exchange, used a ‘Ponzi scheme’ to defraud investors, paying returns […]
A growing number of studies in both the field and the laboratory demonstrate that people are imperfect co-operators — they tend to co-operate only if others do so, and a significant minority don’t co-operate at all. This pattern of behaviour causes unstable co-operation levels and often results in the disappearance of positive collective action over […]
Read More… from Co-operative Behaviour: Neuroscience Insights
Economic theory tells us that human capital, i.e. employee ability, is positively linked to productivity and that high performers should be rewarded. Strong financial incentives for performance, however, can carry unexpected costs for companies. (The financial crisis was but the most vivid demonstration of this.) A recent study of a private Polish retail bank suggests […]
“Excessive, shameful, soaring…” these are just some of the words used by the media when discussing executive compensation. Over the past two decades in particular, CEO compensation has increased exponentially, with many organizations drawing criticism for it. Though a 2013 article in The Wall Street Journal suggests that compensation seems to be somewhat levelled now, […]
Read More… from Smoke But No Fire: How Employees View CEO Pay
The story of Nelson Mandela is a remarkable illustration of forgiveness. In the face of fierce opposition from most members of the ANC, Mandela reached out to his former enemies to try to build a unified nation. “Forgiveness,” he told party members, “liberates the soul, it removes fear. That’s why it’s such a powerful weapon.” […]
Read More… from Learn to Forgive: Mandela’s Leadership Legacy
"The answer is moral leadership, or, more specifically, respectful leadership." One of the goals of leaders is to motivate employees to perform well, work in the collective interest and define themselves in terms of ‘we’ rather than ‘me’. (See Idea Number 164, ‘Instilling Morality In Organizations’.) In this, leaders who are demographically different from followers are […]
Read More… from Fostering Diversity and Inclusion with Respectful Leadership
The banking crisis and scandals involving companies such as Enron, Worldcom, Tyco and, more recently, Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation, have made the need to understand moral behaviour in organizations more urgent. Research so far has tended to take a leader-focused approach, implying that the ethical behaviour of leaders translates directly to ethical behaviour in followers. […]
Formal risk management systems now provide the dominant logic for governing an uncertain world and are prevalent in public services as well as private firms. What happens when these systems interact with indigenous risk practices and ethics-based risk controls? Existing literature suggests that hybridization is likely — that rules-based and ethics-orientated models complement each other […]
Read More… from Managing Risks: Culture Matters More Than Rules
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
