E. Lawler and S. Mohrman share that a number of articles, books and studies have argued that HR needs to become a strategic partner. But is HR becoming a strategic partner?
Working Papers
Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
Available Content
Performance Management: What Works?
E. Lawler and M. McDermott argue that establishing an effective performance management system is a major challenge for most organizations. It has been a key topic in the human resources management literature for decades
Virtual Teams that Work: A Framework for Virtual Team Effectiveness
Susan G. Cohen and Cristina B. Gibson share how virtual teams can be either dramatic successes or dismal failures (or anywhere in between). Virtual teams amplify both the benefits and the costs of teamwork.
Best Practices for Virtual Team Effectiveness
Cristina B. Gibson and Susan G. Cohen discuss best practices for virtual-team leaders, members, and facilitators.
Organizing to Deliver Solutions
Jay R. Galbraith discusses how many companies today are adopting strategies to package products and services into solutions. However, several well-managed companies are experiencing difficulty in transitioning from stand-alone product offerings to solutions.
Minding Your Metaphors: Applying the Concept of Teamwork Metaphors to the Management of Teams in Multicultural Contexts
Cristina B. Gibson and Mary E. Zellmer-Bruhn state that managers who struggle with implementing teams across cultures can use metaphor as a tool to unlock teaming expectations and guide teaming practice.
Work/Life Balance: Wisdom or Whining
Edy Greenblatt shares how President George W. Bush, a home-based pharmaceutical sales representative, and a Club Med flying trapeze instructor have at least one thing in common. For each, the ability to manage the work/life balance demands on themselves and their key employees’ is a strategic imperative.
Designing the Knowledge Enterprise: Beyond Programs and Tools
S. Mohrman, D. Finegold, and J. Klein find that how effectively firms generate, leverage, and apply knowledge is a function of four work behaviors: focusing on system performance rather than on narrow technical outcomes; following systematic processes; sharing knowledge, and trying new approaches.
Complex Collaborations in the New Global Economy
Susan G. Cohen and Don Mankin state that traditional forms of collaboration — between individuals and within teams — are not sufficient for competing effectively in the new, demanding global business environment.
Leveraging Adversity for Strategic Advantage
A. Levenson shares how in 2000-01 companies were hit hard by a number of economic shocks, including industry-specific cycles, the stock market collapse, and national recession.
Harvesting What They Grow: Can Firms Get a Return on Investments in General Skills?
D. Finegold, G. Benson, and S. Mohrman explain that economic theory predicts that firms will not invest in developing employees’ general skills because unlike investments in physical capital, this human capital can walk out the door at any time. Companies, however, are spending billions of dollars each year on general education and training programs.
Meeting the Performance Challenge: Calculating ROI for Virtual Teams
A. Levenson and S. Cohen explain that virtual teams are all the rage these days. The reasons for their prevalence are well known. But when does it make sense to operate virtually versus face-to-face (FTF)?