George S. Benson (University of Texas), Alec R. Levenson (CEO), and John W. Boudreau (CEO) This study examines the informal developmental experiences and career success of current and former employees of a large professional services firm.
Research and Insights Archive
Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
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Occupational Human Capital and Career Dynamics
In this paper Alec R. Levenson (CEO), George S. Benson (University of Texas), and John W. Boudreau (CEO) revisit the concept of human capital accumulated on the job to allow functionally-specific and managerial human capital to coexist in a job or person.
Trends in Jobs & Wages in the U.S. Economy
In this chapter, Alec R. Levenson (CEO) reviews the changes in the U.S. labor market over the past four decades, focusing on the economic trends that have had the greatest impact on work as viewed from the employee’s perspective: wages, hours, job stability, and demographics.
Understanding the Effects of Substantive Responses on Trust Following a Transgression
Kurt T. Dirks (Washington University in St. Louis), Peter H. Kim (USC), Cecily D. Cooper (University of Miami), and Donald L. Ferrin (Singapore Management University) explain that despite the importance of trust in work relationships, and the potential for it to be violated, there is surprisingly little research on how trust can be repaired.
Why are Jobs Designed the Way they Are?
In this paper, Michael Gibbs (University of Chicago), Alec R. Levenson (CEO), and Cindy Zoghi (BLS) study job design. Do organizations plan precisely how the job is to be done ex ante, or ask workers to determine the process as they go?
8 Myths About Developing Global Executives
George P. Hollenbeck (Hollenbeck Associates) and Morgan W. McCall, Jr. (USC) explain that as companies strive to expand their reach from national to global enterprises, the limiting factor is more likely to be human rather than financial capital.
Achieving Strategic Excellence: An Assessment of Human Resource Organizations
Edward E. Lawler, John W. Boudreau, and Susan Albers Mohrman (Stanford Press, 2006) This is the Center for Effective Organizations’s (CEO) fourth national study of the human resources (HR) function in large corporations. It is the only long-term national study of this important function.
Grooming for the Top Post and Ending the CEO Succession Crisis
Yan Zhang (Rice University) and Nandini Rajagopalan (USC) compare three different types of options and related processes of CEO succession: relay succession, non-relay inside succession, and outside succession.
Should They Stay or Should They Go? The Aging Workforce
Theresa M. Welbourne (eePulse) and David Van Kuttnauer (eePulse) explain that there are some rarely discussed, but important facts regarding the American workforce. Specifically, it is growing older. The “graying” of the workforce is due to two significant demographic shifts that are beginning to reshape the composition of the U.S. labor force.
Why Business Schools Have Lost Their Way
Warren Bennis (USC) and Jim O’Toole (CEO) discuss how MBA programs face intense criticism for failing to impart useful skills, failing to prepare leaders, failing to instill norms of ethical behavior–and even failing to lead graduates to good corporate jobs.
Training Without Jobs: Access to and Outcomes of Training for Temporary Workers
Alec R. Levenson (CEO), David Finegold (Keck Graduate Institute), and Mark Van Buren (Learning & Development Roundtable) ask the question, “Does temporary work provide a way for individuals to improve their skill levels?”
What Coaching Can Do For Your Organization — and What It Can’t
Alec R. Levenson (CEO), Mike McDermott (Capital One), and Suzanne Clarke (Capital One Financial Services) state that interest in executive coaching is clearly on the rise, and many organizations have made coaching an integral part of their leadership development programs.