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    • COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      COVID-19 Business Impact Center
      Cold Call
      A podcast featuring faculty discussing cases they've written and the lessons they impart.
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      • 20 Apr 2021
      • Cold Call Podcast

      What Went Wrong with the Boeing 737 Max?

      How did the evolution of Boeing’s organization and management lead up to two tragic plane crashes—the crash of Lion Air flight 610 on October 29, 2018, in Indonesia, and the crash of Ethiopian Airlines flight 302 on March 9, 2019, in Ethiopia—in which a total of 346 people died? What role did cost cutting, FAA pressure, and CEO succession play in laying the foundation for this tragedy? Professor Bill George discusses the long roots that ultimately led to two tragic Boeing 737 Max crashes, and examines the response of Boeing executives to the crisis in his case, “What Went Wrong with Boeing's 737 Max?”  Open for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

      Read the Transcript

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      Resignation and TerminationRemove Resignation and Termination →

      Page 1 of 8 Results
      • 30 Jun 2019
      • Working Paper Summaries

      The Comprehensive Effects of Sales Force Management: A Dynamic Structural Analysis of Selection, Compensation, and Training

      by Doug J. Chung, Byungyeon Kim, and Byoung G. Park

      When sales forces are well managed, firms can induce greater performance from them. For this study, the authors collaborated with a major multinational firm to develop and estimate a dynamic structural model of sales employee responses to various management instruments like compensation, training, and recruiting/termination policies.

      • 17 Dec 2018
      • Research & Ideas

      Women Receive Harsher Punishment at Work Than Men

      by Michael Blanding

      Women caught in misconduct were 20 percent more likely to be fired and 30 percent less likely to find new employment in the financial services industry, reports new research by Mark Egan and colleagues. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

      • 06 Jun 2018
      • Research & Ideas

      Cut Salaries or Cut People? The Best Way to Survive a Downturn

      by Rachel Layne

      When times are tight, companies usually respond with employee layoffs. But what if they held on to workers and cut their salaries instead? New research by Christopher Stanton and colleagues has the answer. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

      • 29 Apr 2018
      • Working Paper Summaries

      Analyzing the Aftermath of a Compensation Reduction

      by Jason Sandvik, Richard Saouma, Nathan Seegert, and Christopher Stanton

      This study of the effects of compensation cuts in a large sales organization provides a unique lens for analyzing the link between compensation schemes, worker performance, and turnover.

      • 07 Jan 2015
      • Research & Ideas

      The Quest for Better Layoffs

      by Carmen Nobel

      Professor Sandra Sucher wants to change the way business thinks about workforce reductions. "We want people to learn about the forces they unleash in the firm when they institute layoffs." Open for comment; 18 Comment(s) posted.

      • 19 Jan 2010
      • Sharpening Your Skills

      Sharpening Your Skills: Managing the Economic Crisis

      by Staff

      The economic crisis is tapping the inner reserves of experienced leaders and introducing a new generation of managers to crisis management. These previous WK articles explore leadership, the role of the Board, the emotional needs of managers, and the risk to corporate giving programs. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

      • 06 Jul 2009
      • Research & Ideas

      Conducting Layoffs: ’Necessary Evils’ at Work

      by Martha Lagace

      "The core challenge for everyone who performs necessary evils comes from having to do two seemingly contradictory things at once: be compassionate and be direct," say Joshua D. Margolis of Harvard Business School and Andrew L. Molinsky of Brandeis University International Business School. Their research sheds light on best practices—typically overlooked—for the well-being of those who carry out these emotionally difficult tasks. Q&A Key concepts include: Most managers who conduct layoffs feel a mix of emotions that may catch them by surprise: sympathy, sadness, guilt, shame, anxiety, and perhaps anger. Best practice for managers includes understanding yourself and recognizing your limitations. Recognize ahead of time the emotional cocktail that you will likely experience when performing a layoff, say the researchers. Companies should focus not only on getting the task done and on ensuring the well-being of victims, but also on the well-being of those who perform the layoff. Conduct training beforehand; have pairs or teams perform the tasks together; provide a good physical environment in a nonpublic, quiet area of the organization; and later allow those who carried out the layoffs to decompress and debrief. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

      • 08 Dec 2008
      • Research & Ideas

      Thinking Twice About Supply-Chain Layoffs

      by Julia Hanna

      Cutting the wrong employees can be counterproductive for retailers, according to research from Zeynep Ton. One suggestion: Pay special attention to staff who handle mundane tasks such as stocking and labeling. Your customers do. Closed for comment; 0 Comment(s) posted.

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