個案總覽

The case is built on a unique and extensive dataset collected during many months of direct observation and interviews. The depth of this dataset allows the reader to analyze the myriad of perceptual factors on which collaboration and teamwork hinge.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. There are three reasons why companies have trouble finding and hiring top-notch executives. First, even organizations that are adept at selecting winners will have considerable difficulty because of the way in which managerial talent is distributed across a population. Second, assessing people for senior positions is inherently tricky for a number of reasons. For one thing, the differentiating competencies for top leaders are usually in "soft" areas--such as the ability to develop people or manage change efforts--each of which is very difficult to measure in any reliable way. Finally, powerful psychological biases impair the quality of the hiring decision. Nevertheless, organizations can overcome those obstacles by deploying a set of basic practices: Define before looking, cast a wide net, compare apples with apples, evaluate thoroughly, filter biases, limit the number of people involved, close the deal, and facilitate the integration. Although some of these practices might seem obvious, many companies fail to follow them. All too often, for instance, organizations make the mistake of commencing an executive search before they know what they're really looking for. Or they unnecessarily restrict the search to certain markets, industries, or geographic regions.

Spreadsheet supplement to case 305-048.

The chair of the computer studies department noticed a marked change in the behavior of one of Conseco College's long-term employees. Although no official problems had yet surfaced, the chair has clear personal evidence that the employee was behaving erratically and uncharacteristically. The chair must decide how to deal with the situation. Supplementary cases Conseco College (B) and (C), products 905C03 and 905C04 follow the progress of the situation.

In this supplement to Conseco College (A), product 905C02, the chair of computer studies department has noticed a change in the behavior of a long-term employee. Her first action results in learning that the employee suffers from bipolar disorder. She gathered information on the disorder and then had to decide what action to take next. The supplement Conseco College (C), product 905C04 describes the outcome and the chair's action plan.

The chair of computer studies at a community college has noticed a behavioral change in a long-term employee and must decide how to handle the situation. She has learned that the employee suffers from bipolar disorder and has now been hospitalized for his illness, leaving much of the work from the last semester incomplete, including the marking of exams. The chair needs a detailed action plan for going forward. This is a supplement to Conseco College (A) and (B), products 905C02 and 905C03.

The Aspect Group is a small entrepreneurial marketing company that focuses on brand management. Having worked in the industry for a number of years both as permanent employee and freelancer, Marie Bohm founded the Aspect Group with a goal of developing a humane work environment with work-life flexibility. To grow the business, she is faced with two choices: she could partner with a small local firm or link with a high-profile firm in Toronto. The latter would provide greater visibility and credibility but she is concerned that the demands could alter the work-life flexibility qualities she valued. A video is available, product # 7B05C017.

This note reviews the history of the human resources (HR) function and the strategic human resources management (SHRM) movement, wherein HR managers' aspired to be strategic partners with line managers. Reviews practices for implementing a strategic-business-partner model for HR with a focus on the strategy, structures, and systems companies need to implement, and the skills that aspiring SHRM leaders need to develop in order to successfully play a strategic role. Also explores line managers' perceptions of new HR roles, and what capabilities they most want HR leaders to have in those roles.

A venture capitalist must decide among three highly qualified candidates to be CEO of a start-up software company. Each has unique strengths and weaknesses and will take the company in very different directions. Whom should he recommend to the board?

Blind since childhood, Herb Greenberg emphasizes character above presentation when he advises companies on how to make job interviews more meaningful.

When people are your most important asset, some standard performance measures and management practices become misleading or irrelevant. This is a danger for any business whose people costs are greater than its capital costs--that is, businesses in most industries. But it is particularly true for what the authors call "people businesses": operations with high employee costs, low capital investment, and limited spending on activities, such as R&D, that are aimed at generating future revenue. If you run a people business--or a company that includes one or more of them--how do you measure its true performance? Avoid the trap of relying on capital-oriented metrics, such as return on assets and return on equity. They won't help much, as they'll tend to mask weak performance or indicate volatility where it doesn't exist. Replace them with financially rigorous, people-oriented metrics--for example, a reformulation of a conventional calculation of economic profit, such as EVA, so that you gauge people, rather than capital, productivity. After you have assessed the business' true performance, you need to enhance it operationally (be aware that relatively small changes in productivity can have a major impact on shareholder returns); reward it appropriately (push performance-related variable compensation schemes down into the organization); and price it advantageously (because economies of scale and experience tend to be less significant in people businesses, price products or services in ways that capture a share of the additional value created for customers).

Eliza Hermann is vice-president of Human Resources Strategy at BP plc, based in London, England. Her career in the energy business began in 1986 when she joined Amoco Corp., where she earned a series of promotions in the international oil business, which exposed her to markets ranging from Argentina to Azerbaijan. She was a member of the team involved in the successful integration of Amoco when BP acquired the company in 1998. During the past several years at BP, she has served as manager, Strategy and Business Transformation-Global Aromatics, leading a team responsible for strategic planning and business development in the company's petrochemical segment and, more recently, as VP of human resources for BP's global gas, power, and renewables segment. Throughout her career, Hermann has traveled extensively, with particular focus on Asia, Western Europe, North America, South America, Russia, and the republics of the former Soviet Union. Hermann holds an MBA degree from the Kelley School of Business, Indiana University, and a BA degree in social and behavioral sciences from John Hopkins University. She serves on the board of directors of Brightpoint, Inc., where she is chairperson of the Compensation and Human Resources Committee, as well as a member of the Corporate Governance and Nominating Committee.

Businesses claim to revere intellectual capital but treat workers like children, says the University of Kent's Frank Furedi.

Sid Shawn is a 10-year veteran of NMO Financial Services and a mainstay of the pensions marketing group. He's been a good, consistent worker and an invaluable resource for the salespeople and consultant relations managers. Sid also weighs 400 pounds. So when he is the only internal candidate for the customer-facing position of consultant relations manager, sales and marketing VP Bill Houglan feels that he has a tough hiring decision to make. Sid knows the company's products backward and forward, but to succeed in the new job, he would have to impress the polished professionals at major benefits consultancies. What kind of image would Sid present in face-to-face sales situations? Could he keep up with the job's physical demands and fast pace? Does Sid's weight matter? Bill wonders. With obesity reaching epidemic proportions in the United States, companies are feeling its impact on their insurance costs and their employees' health. They are increasingly compelled to adopt policies concerning overweight workers. Offering expert advice on this fictional case study in R0505A and R0505Z are Howard Weyers, CEO of Weyco, which has fired employees for smoking and is now targeting the issue of obesity at work; Sondra Solovay, a California attorney focusing on weight-related issues and the author of Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination; Mark V. Roehling, a Michigan State University professor whose research has focused on issues of obesity in the workplace; and Amy Wilensky, author of The Weight of It: A Story of Two Sisters.

Sid Shawn is a 10-year veteran of NMO Financial Services and a mainstay of the pensions marketing group. He's been a good, consistent worker and an invaluable resource for the salespeople and consultant relations managers. Sid also weighs 400 pounds. So when he is the only internal candidate for the customer-facing position of consultant relations manager, sales and marketing VP Bill Houglan feels that he has a tough hiring decision to make. Sid knows the company's products backward and forward, but to succeed in the new job, he would have to impress the polished professionals at major benefits consultancies. What kind of image would Sid present in face-to-face sales situations? Could he keep up with the job's physical demands and fast pace? Does Sid's weight matter? Bill wonders. With obesity reaching epidemic proportions in the United States, companies are feeling its impact on their insurance costs and their employees' health. They are increasingly compelled to adopt policies concerning overweight workers. Commenting on this fictional case study in R0505A and R0505Z are Howard Weyers, CEO of Weyco, which has fired employees for smoking and is now targeting the issue of obesity at work; Sondra Solovay, a California attorney focusing on weight-related issues and the author of Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination; Mark V. Roehling, a Michigan State University professor whose research has focused on issues of obesity in the workplace; and Amy Wilensky, author of The Weight of It: A Story of Two Sisters.

Sid Shawn is a 10-year veteran of NMO Financial Services and a mainstay of the pensions marketing group. He's been a good, consistent worker and an invaluable resource for the salespeople and consultant relations managers. Sid also weighs 400 pounds. So when he is the only internal candidate for the customer-facing position of consultant relations manager, sales and marketing VP Bill Houglan feels that he has a tough hiring decision to make. Sid knows the company's products backward and forward, but to succeed in the new job, he would have to impress the polished professionals at major benefits consultancies. What kind of image would Sid present in face-to-face sales situations? Could he keep up with the job's physical demands and fast pace? Does Sid's weight matter? Bill wonders. With obesity reaching epidemic proportions in the United States, companies are feeling its impact on their insurance costs and their employees' health. They are increasingly compelled to adopt policies concerning overweight workers. Commenting on this fictional case study in R0505A and R0505Z are Howard Weyers, CEO of Weyco, which has fired employees for smoking and is now targeting the issue of obesity at work; Sondra Solovay, a California attorney focusing on weight-related issues and the author of Tipping the Scales of Justice: Fighting Weight-Based Discrimination; Mark V. Roehling, a Michigan State University professor whose research has focused on issues of obesity in the workplace; and Amy Wilensky, author of The Weight of It: A Story of Two Sisters.

Supplements the (A) case.

Faced with falling share prices and the critical eye of the media focused on Jack Welch's retirement plan, newly appointed CEO Jeff Immelt had the challenge of reassessing GE as a leader of corporate integrity and good governance. Presents the changes Immelt initiated in the board of directors, in Immelt's own compensation scheme, and in the compensation scheme for all GE executives, designed to address GE's corporate governance issues. Examines the use of stock options and alternative stock-based incentive schemes, along with the importance of each tool in a total compensation plan. A rewritten version of an earlier case.

Following the bombing of the World Trade Center in 1993, there was consensus that the FBI needed to make organizational changes. The FBI had long distinguished itself as the world's pre-eminent organization for conducting after-the-fact investigations that laid the groundwork for the prosecution of criminal cases. What remained to be seen was whether the FBI could build on its strengths to extend its capabilities to intelligence gathering and analysis. Describes the FBI organization, career incentives in the agency, and two attempts at organizational restructuring: The 1998 strategic plan (and the creation of the Investigative Services Division) and MAXCAP 05. Also examines the traditional law enforcement approach and how this manifested itself in the agency's organizational structures and systems. Lays the groundwork for discussion of the incentives related to the decentralized management structure, the recruiting and training of new analysts, information sharing and coordination, performance measurement and rewards, and budgeting. Ends with the appointment of Robert Mueller as the new director and his charge to reform the organization.

Examines the organizational strategy of a professional football team that contributed to the team's sustained success. Considers several aspects of the team's "blueprint" with respect to players: recruitment, retention, task structure, training, culture, and compensation. Presents opportunities to explore: the potential complementarities between multiple human resources systems, the role of intrinsic motivation and extrinsic incentives, whether star players are incompatible with well-functioning teams, and the establishment and maintenance of a culture that reinforces goal alignment.