Articles

Andrew McAfee, the MIT researcher who coined the term Enterprise 2.0, discusses how CEOs see social tools.

Motivated by rising health-care costs and commitment to their staff's health and productivity, many companies are taking matters into their own hands.

Leaders and human resources professionals are searching for ways to generate more value from their employees. Recent studies show that companies perform at a higher level when they have integrated talent management programs that are aligned with business strategy and operations. Organizations can get more from their investments in talent management, the authors argue, by focusing on collaboration. Job design and performance management are typically based on individual accountability despite the fact that most work today is collaborative. Talent management practices tend to focus on individual competencies and experiences, while overlooking the importance of employee networks. By examining individual performance data together with the results of organizational network analysis, the authors say, senior managers can look at talent along two important dimensions. In addition to looking at individual employee performance for the purpose of succession or work force planning, they can take a network view to assess the same employees in terms of their broader collaborative contributions to the organization. The authors show how applying a network lens reveals a significant number of key players (including marginalized talent, hidden talent and underutilized talent) that traditional performance management systems miss. They identify best practices for nurturing networks through talent management initiatives, illustrating them with examples from organizations including IDEO, Nokia, Dow Chemical, Best Buy, Gallo and the U.S. Army.

Another method to pursue growth: Use thought experiments to assess new business model possibilities.

Leading companies are working with their Chinese suppliers to improve environmental performance.

For a decade, China was automatically the answer to many manufacturing questions. That's changing.

Tough economic times can lead to misguided perspectives.

From the editor: Reflections on making the most of your resources.

When is it smart for multinational companies to relocate top management to other countries?

Companies that are successful at global talent management subscribe to six key principles.