Future of Work Briefs
2015
-
What to Do When Health Care Costs Start to Rise Again
February 20 | Joseph Antos, Wilson H. Taylor Scholar in Health Care and Retirement Policy, American Enterprise Institute | Comments (0)Actuaries at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services predict that growth in health spending will begin to increase this year. And that is not a worst-case scenario. How will federal policymakers react to runaway health spending? Not well, if the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is any indication.
-
On Executive Pay, Simpler Is Better
February 13 | John T. Landry, Contributing Editor, Harvard Business Review | Comments (0)Michael Jensen wrote a landmark HBR article arguing that “It’s Not How Much You Pay CEOs, But How.” He wanted boards to adjust pay according to company performance as shown by stock price. V.G. Narayanan’s recent post in this debate goes a step further.
-
Why Tesco’s Strengths Are No Longer Good Enough
February 13 | John Wells, Professor, Management Practice, Harvard Business School | Comments (0)Successful companies are notoriously prone to pursuing tactical fixes rather than confronting strategic problems. They exhort their people to try harder, introduce overhead cost reduction programs, and reorganize – anything rather than admit that their strategy needs an overhaul.
-
Why a Corporate Scandal Will Follow You Even If You Weren’t Involved
February 13 | Vince Molinaro, Author and Global Managing Director of the Strategic Solutions Practice, Lee Hecht Harrison | Comments (0)A scandal affects all of a company’s employees in significant ways. In fact, there is new research to suggest that the impact of a scandal is far more significant, especially on lower-ranking employees, that anyone would have ever thought.
-
Why Twitter’s Mission Statement Matters
February 13 | Justin Fox, Editorial Director, Harvard Business Review Group | Comments (0)Believe it or not, Twitter Inc. has a perfectly respectable mission statement. CEO Dick Costolo had to point this out after a slide from an investor presentation by CFO Anthony Noto became the laughingstock of Twitter. Does it really matter if a company has a good mission statement?
-
Google Adds Benefits, Walmart Cuts Them; Oddly, the Logic Is the Same
February 13 | Peter Cappelli, Director, Center for Human Resources & Professor, Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania | Comments (0)Walmart’s recent decision to cut healthcare benefits for its part-time employees obviously cuts their labor costs for a group of employees who are not that important for the company to retain. Whether they can afford to pay for it is another question, but that’s no longer Walmart’s problem.
-
Teach For America: How a Core Purpose Helps to Engage Employees and Extend Impact
February 09 | Rebecca L. Ray, PhD, Former Executive Vice President, Human Capital, The Conference Board | Alex Parkinson, Former Communications Institute Co-Leader, The Conference Board | Comments (1)Highly engaged organizations emphasize a core purpose that does not entail mere financial or operational objectives. These organizations create a common understanding among employees that they play a role in creating value for the entire community.
-
The Container Store’s CEO on Finding and Keeping Front-Line Talent
February 05 | Kip Tindell, Chairman and CEO, The Container Store | Comments (0)We’re always looking for those exceptional new hires who can develop a deep understanding of our products, cultivate strong relationships with customers, inspire their co-workers and, as a result, create significant value for our business and shareholders. But how do you find those standouts?
-
Are Most CEOs Too Old to Innovate?
February 05 | Walter Frick, Editor, Harvard Business Review | Comments (0)The youngest executive on HBR’s list of the 100 Best-Performing CEOs is Simon Wolfson of Next, at age 46. According to research on age and innovation, even he may be beyond his creative peak.
