Topic: Productivity

Top down aerial view of Chicago Downtown urban grid with park. Research Question / Diversity

Diversity, Economic Growth and a Bug in the Research

Whether research shows benefits from diversity depends heavily on choice of study design

Tattooed bearded worker in overalls sitting in the storage area of import and export firm interior after having hard day at work. Research Question / Operations

Business Efficiency Needn’t Be the Enemy of Personal and Public Well-Being

Operations managers can take into consideration happiness, equity and sustainability

Close up on eyes of a younger woman and older woman next to one another Research Brief / Innovation

A Case Against Experience as a Central Driver of Innovation

Are older inventors weighed down by obsolete knowledge? Young inventors don’t carry that burden

Colleagues sitting at table in conference room at business meeting. Research Brief / Productivity

The Makeup of Your Team Should Dictate How and When You Have Meetings

Team size and how staffer productivity varies are crucial considerations

Migrant workers in the field. Research Brief / Supply Chain

How to Reduce the Risk of Forced Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains

Improving the search for contractors that don’t use coercion

An illustration of two figures marching inside endless treadmills. Research Brief / Behavioral Decision Making

The More They Do It, the More Some People Prefer To Continue a Tedious Task

Even when there’s an easy-to-access better alternative, some prefer their rut

Macro of silicon wafer semiconductor with neon color - integrated circuits to manufacture CPU and GPU. Research Brief / Supply Chain

A Proposal To Improve Supplier Reliability in Tech Manufacturing

Withholding renewal of a supply agreement can be more powerful than other carrots and sticks

Humanoid robot among a large number of symbolic people. Research Brief / Technology

AI from AI: a Future of Generic and Biased Online Content?

Sharing the technology’s weak work product negatively influences the quality of its output going forward

Feature / Management

Unearthing the Negative Consequences of Managing to Quarterly Earnings

A 2017 study on workplace injuries spurs more research on perils of corporate short-termism

A variety of white clouds on a black background Research Brief / Management

Boom of Intangible Assets Felt Across Industries and Economy

Rethinking issues around productivity, income inequality and industry concentration

Two men sit on a bench in a scene from the TV show "Silicon Valley." Research Brief / Behavioral Economics

The Role of Chance Encounters in Silicon Valley Innovation

Cellphone signals and patent citations approximate a theory’s long-sought paper trail

An overhead view of shipping containers and semi trucks going through a gate Research Question / Supply Chain

Can Supply Chains — Global, Opaque, Ever-Changing — Be Made Fair?

Amid the pandemic, price gouging and stiffing of suppliers and workers surged

A lone red char in empty office. Research Brief / Investing

As Concentrated Shareholder Ownership Rises, Wages and Employment Suffer

Where big investors gather, corporate wealth is reallocated away from workers

A cube of hundred dollar bills wrapped in a blue bow Research Brief / Productivity

Trying Out Bonus-Pay Theory on Unsupervised, Low-Skill Tasks

Incentives boost output, but benefits level off at a fairly low point

Workers in a warehouse putting together packages Research Brief / Productivity

Startling Productivity Leap: an Algorithm, Not a Manager, Assigns Work

Warehouse pickers perceive process to be fairer

Overhead view of a group of workers gathering around desks to confer Research Brief / Organizational Culture

American and Chinese Perceptions of Having a Say at Work

It’s generally a positive in both cultures, but buy-in is more tentative in China