September 17, 2020 Do you have a difficult subordinate who needs coaching? In this episode of HBR’s advice podcast, Dear HBR:, cohosts Alison Beard and Dan McGinn answer your questions with the help of Melvin Smith, a professor at the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University and coauthor of the book Helping People…
Sandipkumar Patel/Getty Images Quantum physics has already changed our lives. Thanks to the invention of the laser and the transistor — both products of quantum theory — almost every electronic device we use today is an example of quantum physics in action. We may now be on the brink of a second quantum revolution as…
Erik Dreyer/Getty Images In these difficult times, we’ve made a number of our coronavirus articles free for all readers. To get all of HBR’s content delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Daily Alert newsletter. America’s nonprofits are under enormous pressure. More than six months into the pandemic, those that provide direct social services…
Helen H. Richardson/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post/Getty Images In these difficult times, we’ve made a number of our coronavirus articles free for all readers. To get all of HBR’s content delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Daily Alert newsletter. It may be hard to believe after all these months, but the shortages of personal…
Employees who specialize in demanding and dangerous lines of work—manufacturing, construction, handling cargo, and other hazardous environments—face the constant threat of physical risk. In these roles, on-the-job “hard skills” training can be costly and dangerous. But organizations increasingly see how virtual reality solutions can help them provide invaluable hands-on training safely, efficiently, and economically. Far from being used primarily for gaming and entertainment, VR is…
HBR Staff/Henrik Sorensen/Getty Images In these difficult times, we’ve made a number of our coronavirus articles free for all readers. To get all of HBR’s content delivered to your inbox, sign up for the Daily Alert newsletter. Progress towards greater gender equality has been hesitant and halting over the past five years and the Covid-19…
Justin Sullivan/Getty Images At an automation conference in late 2018, a high-ranking banking official looked up from his buffet plate and stated his objective without hesitation: I’m here, he told me, to eliminate full-time employees. I was at the conference because after spending months researching how Amazon automates work at its headquarters, I was eager to learn how…
N. Beckerman/Getty Images In the past few months, we’ve seen a stark contrast between the modest pace of typical change management projects and the rapid innovation that is stimulated by a crisis. Take, for example, a large retailer that in 2018 began working on the concept of curbside pickup as a way to reinvigorate deteriorating…
Unwarranted variations. Among health care systems and payers—both government and private—this term implies unnecessary risk to patients, diminished quality of care, and increased health care costs. From the numerous studies and papers published on the topic, a common description emerges: unwarranted variations are not directly due to the inherent variations of a given patient; rather…
September 15, 2020 Katina Sawyer, assistant professor at the George Washington University, says transgender workers continue to be overlooked even as organizational diversity initiatives become more widespread. Her research shows that many trans employees experience ongoing discrimination, from microaggression to job loss. Sawyer shares effective formal policies and details the informal ways managers can make…