This chapter by David Finegold (Keck Graduate Institute) and Edward E. Lawler III (CEO) provides an overview of how the Boards of U.S. public corporations operate today and are changing in light of new legislation, regulations, and guidelines.
Research and Insights Archive
Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
Available Content
Do Competencies Drive Organizational Performance? Can they? Evidence and Implications for Professional and HR Competencies
This article by Alec R. Levenson (CEO) examines the link between competencies and organizational performance.
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.
OD and Strategic Planning: Linking Process with Content
Larry Greiner (USC) argues that for OD to play a more vital role in the future of organizations it must become involved in strategic planning, which affects not only the direction of organizations but the lives and careers of many employees.
Performance Measure Choice and Target Setting in Loss-Making Firms
Kenneth A. Merchant (USC), Wim A. Van Der Stede (USC), and Michal Matejka (University of Michigan) share that prior research has shown the absence of a significant link between financial performance measures and cash incentive payments in loss-making firms, but only conjectures have been offered to explain this finding.
Performance Measure Choice and Target Setting in Loss-Making Firms
Kenneth A. Merchant (USC), Wim A. Van Der Stede (USC), and Michal Matejka (University of Michigan) examine the choice of performance measures and performance target difficulty in CEO annual bonus plans in loss-making firms.
Harnessing the Power of HR Analytics: Why Building HR’s Analytics Capability Can Help It Add Bottom-Line Value
In this article by Alec R. Levenson (CEO), the usefulness of ROI, cost-benefit, and impact analysis are compared.
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?”
Designing the Customer-Centric Organization: A Guide to Strategy, Structure, and Process
Designing the Customer-Centric Organization (Jay R. Galbraith, (Jossey-Bass, 2005)) offers today’s business leaders a comprehensive customer-centric organizational model that clearly shows how to put in place an infrastructure that is organized around the demands of the customer.
Creating the Good Life :Applying Aristotle’s Wisdom to Find Meaning and Happiness
Professionals and business people in midlife are increasingly asking themselves “what’s next?” in their careers and personal lives. Creating the Good Life (James O’Toole (Rodale Press, 2005)) draws on the wisdom of the ages to help contemporary men and women plan for satisfying, useful, moral, and meaningful second halves of their lives.
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.
How Corporate Boards are Changing
Edward E. Lawler III (CEO) and David Finegold (Keck Graduate Institute) state that over the past four years, corporate boards in the U.S. have been under increasing pressure. Stimulated by high-profile scandals, investor dissatisfaction with board performance and questions about the level of executive compensation, regulators have introduced significant reforms in the rules governing boards.