Alumni Association

Are Wall Street Careers Just the Luck of the Draw?
The proportion of graduating MBAs hired into lucrative investment banking positions shrinks or expands depending on how well the stock market is performing, yet this bit of happenstance can have a dramatic effect on lifetime earnings, says GSB Professor Paul Oyer. Details

Teamwork Can Boost Manufacturing Productivity
Those who work in the most complex manufacturing environments have the most to gain from the use of problem-solving teams, according to research coauthored by GSB Professor Kathryn Shaw. Teams had the most impact when they worked on very high-quality products with complex manufacturing steps. Teamwork Can Boost Manufacturing Productivity Details

Financial Incentives Can Create Bad Employee Behavior
Financial incentives, including commissions, should be used only to recognize good employee performance. They can backfire if used to try to influence behavior, says GSB Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer. Financial Incentives Can Create Bad Employee Behavior Details

Wage Imbalance Between CEO and Workers
Sends a Bad Message
Huge salary imbalances between CEOs and the people who work for them can send bad vibes throughout an organization, weakening loyalty and eroding the talent pool, according to GSB Professor Charles O'Reilly. Imbalance Between CEO and Workers Details

The Key to a Successful Merger of Cultures -
Look at Employee Demographics
A merger can fail for any number of reasons, according to research by GSB Professor Glenn Carroll, but cultural differences are increasingly thought to be a major cause of post-merger dysfunction. Key to a Successful Merger of Cultures Details

CEO Skill and Excessive Pay:
A Breakdown in Corporate Governance?
A high salary doesn't necessarily mean that a CEO is more competent than his or her peers, says Robert Daines, GSB professor by courtesy. And the pattern of pay being linked negatively to job skill seems to affect more CEOs of large firms than small ones. CEO Skill and Excessive Pay Details

Positive News from Stanford's Managed Competition Health Plan
Stanford University employees select their health care coverage from a menu of services using the university's managed competition plan. The result, says Alain Enthoven, GSB professor emeritus, has been savings to the university and positive reactions from employees. Stanford's Managed Competition Health PlanDetails

Socially Conscious Employees Can Effect Corporate Change
According to GSB Professor Debra Meyerson, they are not heroic leaders of revolutionary action. They are under-the-radar rebels. They're corporate employees but they're also idealists. They believe their companies should be more socially responsible. And working in small ways from within corporate giants, they trigger big changes in how their companies do business. Socially Conscious Employees Details

When the CEO Leaves, Do Others Follow?
It may seem intuitive that top executives would pack their bags along with the CEO, but whether the whole executive team leaves depends on how long both the incoming CEO and the top executives have been at the firm. So says Paul Oyer, GSB associate professor of economics. When the CEO Leaves Details

Are Wall Street Careers Just the Luck of the Draw?
The proportion of graduating MBAs hired into lucrative investment banking positions shrinks or expands depending on how well the stock market is performing, yet this bit of happenstance can have a dramatic effect on lifetime earnings, according to GSB Professor Paul Oyer. Wall Street CareersDetails

MBA Graduates Want to Work for Caring and Ethical Employers
A survey of more than 800 MBAs from 11 leading North American and European schools found a substantial number were willing to forgo some financial benefits to work for an organization with a better reputation for corporate social responsibility and ethics says co-author David Montgomery, professor emeritus of Marketing Strategy. MBA Graduates Wanting to Work for Caring and Ethical EmployersDetails

Too Much Management Can Block Innovation
Some widely practiced management techniques can actually hamper company efforts to innovate and encourage creativity. Practices such as emphasizing individual accountability, encouraging internal competition, practicing goal setting, and emphasizing budgets may be counterproductive, advises GSB Professor Jeffery Pfeffer. Too Much ManagementDetails

Agents and Recruiters Improve Your Likeability and Bankability
Having someone else sing your praises can take the edge off in interpersonal negotiations where money, position, and status are at stake, says GSB Professor Jeffrey Pfeffer. Not only are you seen as more pleasant when flattering words on your behalf come out of a third party's mouth, but you're more likely to get a better salary or contract. Agents and Recruiters Improving Your Likeability and BankabilityDetails

Mexican Immigrants Don't Thrive Like Other Newcomers
Immigrants from Mexico fare far worse than other nationalities when they immigrate to the United States, but GSB Professor Edward Lazear says that's due more to U.S. immigration policy than the immigrants themselves. Mexican Immigrants Not Thriving Like Other NewcomersDetails

When First Impressions Flop: The Power of Getting
a Second Chance
Having the opportunity to show different sides of yourself to bosses and colleagues in numerous situations-both social and professional-is, in fact, critical to your career advancement according to according to GSB Assistant Professor Jerker Denrell. When First Impressions FlopDetails

John Gardner - GSB Classic Speech
John W. Gardner, a longtime activist, improved the lives of millions of Americans by helping to implement the sweeping social reforms of the 1960s. The following is a speech delivered at a GSB reunion event in 1989 when John was 77 years old. He remained highly active in public service until his death.

"I once wrote a book called Self-Renewal that deals with the decay and renewal of societies, organizations and individuals. I explored the question of why civilizations die and how they sometimes renew themselves, and the puzzle of why some men and women go to seed while others remain vital all of their lives. It's the latter question that I shall deal with this morning. I know that you as an individual are not going to seed. But the person seated on your right may be in fairly serious danger." Read entire speech