The practitioner-academic gap has been widely discussed for decades along with recommendations for increasing the practical application of management research. We review some of the reasons for this disconnect and argue this has been the norm going back to the...
Research and Insights Archive
Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
Available Content
Ratingless Performance Reviews: A Quasi-Experiment
We conducted a study of ratingless reviews in an organization that had an innovative and effective performance management process prior to adopting ratingless reviews. We collected data from the pilot and comparison units before and after the change to ratingless reviews. Results indicated some positive changes and no clear negative changes in the pilot units compared to the comparison units. Analysis suggests that positive results are primarily the result of more frequent feedback that is more oriented toward employee
development rather than the ratingless reviews, per se.
Hard Working Coworkers: A Multi-Level Cross-National Look at Group Work Hours and Work-Family Conflict
This study by Hoda Vaziri, Ph.D., George S. Benson, Ph.D., and Maritza Salazar Campo, Ph.D. investigates the relationship between coworker work hours and perceived work-to-family conflict (WFC) in a multinational sample of professional service employees.
2018 Sponsor Meeting Presentations
Downloadable PowerPoint Presentations in PDF format at the 2018 Sponsor Meeting at the Portofino Hotel in Los Angeles.
Performance Feedback Culture: The Key to Performance Management Effectiveness?
Gerry Ledford, George Benson, and Ben Schneider
February 7, 2017 9:00am – 10:00am (PT)
New CEO-WorldatWork Monograph on Cutting-Edge Performance Management
This monograph by Ledford, G., Benson, G., and Lawler, E. provides a comprehensive report of findings from a large-scale study of cutting-edge performance management practices. It covers several topics not discussed in other papers, such as detail on types of organizations that adopt cutting edge practices and change management issues in implementing these practices.
Aligning Research and the Current Practice of Performance Management
Gerald E. Ledford, Jr. (CEO), George Benson (U Texas), Edward E. Lawler III (CEO) discuss how the debate over eliminating performance ratings addresses many important theoretical and practical issues.
A Study of Cutting-Edge Performance Management Practices: Ongoing Feedback, Ratingless Reviews, and Crowd-Sourced Feedback
Three cutting edge performance management practices – ratingless reviews, ongoing feedback, and crowd-sourced feedback – have received tremendous attention from the business press, but there has been almost no research that can guide the design and implementation of these practices.
Cutting Edge Performance Management: What About Rewards?
Gerald E. Ledford, Jr. (CEO), Edward E. Lawler III (CEO), George Benson (U Texas)
With support from WorldatWork, the Center for Effective Organizations has conducted a survey study of 244 organizations that have adopted one or more of three cutting edge practices: ongoing performance feedback, ratingless reviews of performance, and crowd-sourced feedback.
Revised Employee Involvement: Research Foundations
George S. Benson (University of Texas) and Edward E. Lawler III (CEO) share that high-involvement management practices (defined as an integrated set of Human Resource and work design practices that are designed to give all employees the skills, information, power, and rewards to make decisions in the workplace) have generated enormous interest among researchers in many different disciplines and geographies.
What distinguishes the Millennial generation from Generation X at work?
Jennifer J. Deal (Center for Creative Leadership), Alec R. Levenson (CEO), and George S. Benson (University of Texas) answer the questions, “So what drives organizational commitment, helps Gen Xers and Millennials thrive, and improves retention? And what do organizations need to know about what is different for Millennials and Gen Xers, so they can most effectively address the needs of each generation?”
What works for leading the new multi-generational workforce
Alec R. Levenson (CEO), George S. Benson (University of Texas), and Jennifer J. Deal (Center for Creative Leadership) recently completed a global research project that provides the most comprehensive view of the multi-generational workforce to date.