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.
Working Papers
Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
Available Content
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.
What’s a Leadership Book, Anyway?
Nearly every author alive who has written a significant book on leadership gathered recently at Harvard’s Kennedy School to celebrate the career of the patriarch of their field, the redoubtable eighty-one year-old Warren Bennis.
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.
Collaboration and the Producers of Management Knowledge
Andreas Werr (Stockholm School of Economics) and Larry Greiner (USC) explains that the world of managers is increasingly knowledge intensive. Competition is growing, large organizations are becoming more global and complex, resulting in a proliferation of new management models and tools, making it difficult for managers to keep up with the latest developments (Huczynski, 1993).
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.
Silence Speaks Volumes: The Effectiveness of Reticence in Comparison to Apology and Denial for Responding to Integrity- and Competence-Based Trust Violations
Donald L. Ferrin (Singapore Management University), Peter H. Kim (USC), Cecily D. Cooper (University of Miami), and Kurt T. Dirks (Washington University in St. Louis) Prior research on responses to trust violations has focused primarily on the effects of apology and denial. We extend this research by studying another type of verbal response that is often used to respond to trust violations, but has not been considered in the trust literature: reticence.
Designing Organizations that are Built to Change
Edward E. Lawler III (CEO) and Christopher G. Worley (CEO) share that as the pace of globalization and social change quickens, executives are correctly calling for greater agility, flexibility and innovation from their companies.
Designing Organizations as if Change Matters
Edward E. Lawler III (CEO) and Christopher G. Worley (CEO) share that more and more executives and management theorists are calling for agility, flexibility, and innovation in the performance of organizations.
Designing Organizations to Lead with Knowledge
Susan A. Mohrman (CEO) argues that organizational development practitioners in the knowledge economy must bring frameworks and development processes that help organizations build and sustain knowledge leadership.
The Challenge of Designing Knowledge Work
This white paper by Susan A. Mohrman (CEO) describes the critical importance of work design in the knowledge economy.