Category: Leadership

Jeff Moorad: Performance-enhancing management for the Arizona Diamondbacks

The Arizona Diamondbacks are fresh from a season during which they led the National League in victories, racking up 90 on the way to winning the National League West Division title. The team, which debuted in 1998, won the World Series in its fourth season, but at a high cost. Worsening finances and a record losing season followed. General Partner and CEO Jeff Moorad talks about the Diamondbacks’ new game plan, which includes winning on the field and on the balance sheet.

Kerrii Anderson: Taking care of business

Under pressure from activist investors, fast food restaurant chain Wendy’s International has been exploring options, including selling off the whole company, as a way to unlock value for shareholders. In a recent speech at the W. P. Carey School’s Economic Club of Phoenix, CEO Kerrii Anderson discussed the challenge of focusing on running the business for the long term when the company might be sold in the near term.

Fight or flight: How employees cope with organizational change

In a global marketplace, change isn’t just good. For many companies, says Angelo Kinicki, it’s necessary. In a recent paper Kinicki, a professor of management at the W. P. Carey School of Business, and his co-authors examined the effect of organizational change on workers in a large government office. They found that significant change greatly impacted both the psyche and performance of employees.Fail to take this into account and force changes that employees aren’t prepared to handle, and your company risks alienating its workers, losing money and, in the end, seeing those great strategic changes fall flat.

Reading allies like a book: How smart framing spreads education in India

By focusing on solutions rather than causes, Pratham — a non-profit organization dedicated to primary education in India — has been remarkably successful in motivating donors and volunteers, not to mention the children this program has brought back into classrooms. According to Balaji Koka, associate professor of management at the W. P. Carey School of Business, much of the organization’s effectiveness comes from wise framing of the problem and solutions at hand. What’s more, Pratham’s approach could serve as a primer for any business trouper trying to rally office forces.

They’re few and far between, but female executives benefit the firms they work for

Carly Fiorina was ousted from her role as CEO of Hewlett-Packard after the merger with Compaq, but that doesn’t mean that women can’t hold their own in the male-dominated corporate world. In fact, firms with female leaders may well be better off than firms without, according to recent research by W. P. Carey professor of management Amy Hillman. However, management professor Peggy Lee’s research shows that company shareholders react more negatively to female CEO appointments than to male CEO appointments.

Hands on management: Lifelong learning key to business success

Judi Hand, president and general manager of Direct Alliance, a business process outsourcer, visited the W. P. Carey School of Business recently to speak to an audience of students attending the Executive Luncheon Series. Her message — that success depends on your ability to keep learning and keep questioning — is as true for mid-career practitioners as it is for students.