Topic: Productivity

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

Employee checks on industrial equipment in a plant Feature / Management

A Model Could Help Food Processors Operate More Efficiently

Managing production with the declining potency of a catalyst

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

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

Industrial looms Research Brief / Productivity

Amid Technology Boom, Where Are Productivity Gains?

19th-century French cotton mills suggest halting, uneven progress

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 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

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

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

An illustration of people with center character wearing a cape Feature / Workplace

Collaboration’s Downside: Individuals Take Too Much Credit

Not just the office jerk. Even good colleagues overclaim. Managing around this destructive dynamic isn’t straightforward

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

Workers stretching at their desk Research Brief / Workplace

Do Corporate Wellness Programs Boost Worker Productivity?

Industrial laundry gains 4% output; better health and better feelings toward employer could account for increase

Chinese women working at a garment factory Research Brief / Productivity

Giving Workers a Say Boosts Productivity

Output at a Chinese garment factory rose 10%

Illustration of workers pedaling to power a computer Research Brief / Sustainability

Green Initiatives — By Themselves — Won’t Boost Productivity

Environmentally conscious companies that also instill teamwork and quality enjoy higher output

Workers in a garment factory sewing Research Brief / Supply Chain

How Brands Can Anticipate Unauthorized Subcontracting of Apparel Manufacturing

A model predicts with 80% accuracy which orders get handed off