This article by G. Ledford, Jr. and S. Mohrman responds to commentaries on a set of action research studies that appeared in a special issue of Human Relations.
Research and Insights Archive
Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
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Designing Work Teams
Susan Mohrman explains that designing organizations in which the work team is the focal performing unit began in earnest in production settings, where “new design plants” (Lawler, 1978) or “high commitment work systems” (Walton, 1985) emerged in the 1970’s and are now widely used (Lawler, Mohrman and Ledford, 1993).
Designing Effective Self-Managing Work Teams
This paper by Susan G. Cohen proposes a model of self-managing work team (SMWT) effectiveness derived from several theories of organizational behavior and empirical work.
From Job-Based to Competency-Based Organizations
This article by Edward Lawler III challenges the basic assumption that jobs should be the fundamental building block of organizations. It stresses that with the new forms of organizations and the new demands organizations should be built around competencies not jobs.
A Perspective on Empowerment
Susan Mohrman explains that the term “empowerment” has come to express in many managers’ minds the essence of new approaches to management that are believed to be capable of delivering higher levels of performance by tapping into the energies and enthusiasm of employees.
Effective Reward Systems: Strategy, Diagnosis, Design and Change
Edward Lawler III provides a basic framework for the description of an organization’s reward system.
The Use of Organizational Controls and Their Effects on Data Manipulation and Management Myopia: A U.S. vs Japan Comparison
Two prior papers by Merchant (1985b, 1990) have explored the use and effects of five management controls at the profit center level of a large U.S. firm. This study by Chee W. Chow, Yutaka Kato, and Kenneth A. Merchant extends the investigation to a cross-cultural context.
The Use of Organizational Controls and Their Effects on Data Manipulation and Management Myopia: A US vs Japan Comparison
Two prior papers by Merchant (1985b, 1990) have discussed the use of perhaps the five most important types of management controls used at profit center organization levels (net income targets, expense targets, headcount constraints, procedural controls, and directives given by higher management) and the behavioral effects of these controls. This study by Chee W. Chow, Yutaka Kato, and Kenneth A. Merchant describes a cross-cultural extension of Merchant’s study.
A New Logic for Organization: Implications for Higher Education
This research by Edward Lawler III and Susan Mohrman seeks a different path in route to understanding potential. Changing tacks is based on the assumption that the qualities one finds in the mature international executive are NOT necessarily the same qualities we should be looking for in high potentials.
Identifying Leadership Potential in Future International Executives: Developing a Concept
Morgan McCall asks the questions “What does it mean to have “potential” as an international executive? Of the seemingly endless list of attributes that might serve an executive well, which ones should you look for in a high potential manager?”
Organizational Change and Learning
Susan Mohrman argues that the changing geopolitical, world financial, and technological context within which organizations function pose a never-ending barrage of challenges to adapt and to learn new ways of functioning.
Who Uses Skill-Based Pay, and Why They Use It
This paper by E. Lawler III, G. Ledford, Jr., and L. Chang reports data from the Fortune 1000 survey done by the Center for Effective Organizations. Results show that skill based is particularly likely to be used in manufacturing settings and is typically used to support employee involvement efforts.