Paul A. Adler states that colloquially speaking, “bureaucracy” means red tape, over-controlling bosses, and apathetic employees. But large-scale organizations need appropriately designed formalized procedures and hierarchical structure to avoid chaos and to assure efficiency, quality, and timeliness.
Research and Insights Archive
Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
Available Content
Effective Structuring of Product Development Groups: An Information Processing Perspective
This paper by Paul Emmanuelides and Philip H. Birnbaum-More applies an information-processing approach to the study of product development projects.
New Product Development Throughout Time: The Japanese Portion of a Cross-National Study
In a comprehensive study of Japanese and U.S. electronic firm product development practices, the authors (Russel W. Wright, Lillian C. Wright, Phillip H. Birnbaum-More, and Ryo Hirasawa) find significant differences between countries in the inputs, process, outputs, and other differences associated with first to market and fast responding firms.
Linking Diversity and Effectiveness: The Relationship Between Cultural Diversity and Organizational Outcomes
This report by Cristina B. Gibson is the first step in a program of research concerning the impact of diversity.
Strategies for High Performance Organizations: The CEO Report
The CEO Report by Edward E. Lawler III , Susan Albers Mohrman and Gerald E. Ledford, Jr., (Jossey-Bass, 1998) distills reams of surveys and research into an easy-to-interpret tool that managers can use to identify those improvement practices that best promote organizational effectiveness.
Organization-Learning Disorders Conceptual Models and Intervention Hypothesis
This paper by William M. Snyder and Thomas G. Cummings presents a conceptual model that proposes how organization-learning disorders influence organization performance.
What Makes Teams Work: Group Effectiveness Research from the Shop Floor to the Executive Suite
In this article, Susan G. Cohen and Diane E. Bailey summarize and review the research on teams and groups in organization settings published from January 1990 to April 1996.
Board Effectiveness: Principles and Practices
E. Lawler III, J. Conger, and D. Finegold look at the key activities of the board and then briefly consider what makes groups effective.
Strategy, Core Competencies and HR Involvement as Determinants of HR Effectiveness and Refinery Performance
Patrick M. Wright, Gary C. McMahan, Blaine McCormick, and W. Scott Sherman examined the impact strategy, core competence, and involvement of HR executives in strategic decision making on the refinery managers’ evaluation of the effectiveness of HR and refinery performance among 86 U.S. petro-chemical refineries.
Motivation for School Reform
S. Mohrman and E. Lawler III state that the school reform movement seeks higher educational standards for all students, moving authority into the local school to develop new approaches and apply resources appropriately to meet the needs of all students, and new approaches to teaching and learning meet the educational needs of modern society.
Total Quality Management Practices and Outcomes in the Largest U.S. Firms
A survey of the 1000 largest companies in U.S. led by S. Mohrman, R. Tenkasi, E. Lawler III, and G. Ledford, Jr. shows that TQM practices fall into two main categories: core practices and production oriented practices.
Avoiding the Corporate Dinosaur Syndrome
The characteristics that are associated with large corporations becoming dinosaurs are identified. A number of practices are suggested in this paper by E. Lawler III and J. Galbraith that can prevent an organization from becoming dominated by these dysfunctional characteristics.
