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
As team members work on various (team) tasks and project, conflicts can arise over issues such as, for example, how the work should be done, or the best way to achieve results. While solutions can emerge from productive give-and-take, task-related conflicts tend to slide into personal relationship conflicts. This occurs for several reasons. Often, work criticisms […]
Read More… from How to Avoid Task Conflicts Damaging Team Relationships
Why don’t many employees say something when they see something wrong in the workplace, or when they are unfairly attacked by their boss? Why do they sit silent in meetings even though they may have a relevant suggestion or comment to add to the discussion? These are examples of defensive employee silence, when employees stay […]
Read More… from Overcoming Our Evolutionary Fears to Speak Up to Authority
In most hierarchies, power is malleable, which means that it can change. A leader at the top can lose his or her power, and be replaced by subordinates who have, usually through their superior skills and accomplishments, managed to rise through the hierarchy. One of the characteristics of highly skilled subordinates is their ability to […]
Employees just joining the workforce will have different experiences in their first jobs, depending on the economic situation of the firm in which they land. This economic situation makes a major difference in the skills, habits and routines that these first-time employees develop. For example, new workers who arrive during good economic times will have […]
Read More… from How Early Work Experience Shapes Later Leadership Outlook
Work-life balance issues bring out the optimist in some, the pessimist in others. For pessimists, the work-life balance concerns of employees will be undermined when a firm faces increased competition — and ‘improves’ its management practices in response to that competition. Examples of improved management practices include: the introduction of lean manufacturing techniques; better tracking […]
Read More… from Does Work/Life Balance Help or Hurt Productivity?
Richard Barrett’s Seven Levels of Consciousness model, founded on the principles of values-based leadership, is a guide to achieving exceptional performance in organizations. Barrett’s framework based on his extensive research across organizations and increasingly whole countries is an extension of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is a well-explored, but frequently misrepresented, theory […]
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Should companies allow employees to work from home, some or all of the time? After all, with the communication possibilities of the digital age — from submitting materials through email or dropbox to low-cost teleconferencing and video-conferencing — the old reasons for making employees commute to the office every day no longer apply. Why not […]
Read More… from Remote Working Vs Office Working: Why Office is Best
Previous studies have explored the link between CEO pay and future business performance with mixed results. In some cases, higher CEO pay is linked to better results; other studies show the opposite: the companies of the highest paid CEOs perform less well, on average, than their more moderately paid counterparts. A research team from the […]
Read More… from High CEO Pay Leads to Overconfidence and Poor Results
CEOs tend to be strong in decision-making and the financial elements of their jobs, but weak when it comes to managing their people and developing talent, according to a survey of 160 North American boards of directors and CEOs. Specifically, ‘mentoring skills’ was tied with ‘board engagement’ for first place in CEO weaknesses, followed closely […]
