Communication in the workplace: dynamics, complexity and organizational implications
From Weick onward, research describes workplace communication as the process through which an organization builds meaning, identity, trust and power.
Motivation
What drives people to commit to their work, and what holds them back. The main theories of motivation and their practical consequences for anyone leading a team.
Group work vs. the individual approach: an in-depth analysis of productivity dynamics
A century of experiments, from Allport to Zajonc, shows which tasks benefit from the presence of other people and which ones suffer.
Free, but not too free
Ability differences between boys and girls are minimal, yet the expectations of teachers, families and employers shape their study and career choices.
5 traits of “toxic” companies
Five traits business owners should keep an eye on, because a negative environment hurts employees, customers and results in often indirect ways.
Bullying in the workplace
Workplace bullying harms people's health and the company's results; research points to the organizational and individual factors worth acting on.
The decision-making challenge in a complex world
Global markets, better-informed customers and fast-moving technology make quick decisions hard: a review of the obstacles and of ways to handle them.
Do we learn from our mistakes?
The need for esteem and our defense mechanisms explain why, with colleagues and staff, recognition gets more lasting results than reprimand.
Cohesion in the workplace
From Festinger's definition to the risks of groupthink, the factors that hold a team together and practical techniques for strengthening its cohesion.
How will we come out of this? The psychological impact of Covid in the workplace
Written in February 2021, mid-pandemic, it describes the collective emotions of people at work and the support companies were called on to give.
Do we work to win or to avoid losing?
Fear of losing outweighs the pleasure of winning: Bazerman's auction explains escalation of commitment and its effects on sales forecasts.
Governing change
In liquid modernity careers no longer follow a set track: self-esteem, self-efficacy, and monitored goals turn each change into real professional growth.
Why can’t companies change? The bystander effect
The more people notice a problem, the less likely anyone is to act: ambiguity and diffused responsibility hold back change inside organizations.
Planning errors: the planning fallacy
Students predicted 34 days to finish a thesis and took 55: the research on planning errors and a method for correcting project time estimates.
Herzberg’s theory of hygiene factors and motivators (satisfaction and motivation in the workplace)
Job satisfaction and dissatisfaction are not opposite ends of one scale, and that changes what managers should do first to motivate their people.
Deviance in the workplace
From theft to absenteeism, behavior that violates organizational norms: how researchers classify it and why job dissatisfaction often comes first.
Locus of control and motivation
People who feel in control of events respond to praise and rewards differently from those who credit luck, which matters before you try to motivate.
Internet marketing: how does it differ from mass marketing? The Cluetrain Manifesto
In 1999 four authors declared that markets are conversations: all ninety-five theses, and what mass marketing still has not learned from them.
A path to defining and reaching ambitious goals
Starting from who we want to become, rather than from the next deadline, makes goals more coherent and ambitious: the possible selves approach.
How do customers reason when we make our case? Why is it so hard to persuade, even on solid rational grounds?
Context, familiarity, and expectations shape judgment before reasoning starts: how impressions form and when an argument can actually change them.
Motivation and work: the importance of task, organization and goals
Only 11% of Italian employees say they are engaged: motivation theories show where to act before turning to training courses and incentives.
Individual and group performance compared: when is the group more efficient?
From Allport to Zajonc, a century of social facilitation research shows when working together pays off and why brainstorming groups so often disappoint.
Loss aversion in salespeople: do we play to win or not to lose?
Bazerman's $20 bill auction shows why we keep pushing deals that are already compromised, and how that habit distorts sales forecasts.