MIT Sloan Management Review

A unifying framework for thinking about processes —or sequences of tasks and activities — that provides an integrated, dynamic picture of organizations and managerial behavior.

Commitment and competence are embedded in how each employee thinks about and does his or her work and in how a company is organized to accomplish work. This intellectual capital is, according to the author, a firm’s only appreciable asset. He outlines three ways to build employee commitment and five tools for increasing competence in a firm, site, business and plant.

Scholars and observers from disciplines as disparate as sociology, economics, and management science agree that a transformation has occurred — knowledge is at center stage.1 Knowledge is information combined with experience, context, interpretation, and reflection.

Microsoft’s approach to software product development allows teams to be creative and retain the autonomy of small groups by frequently synchronizing and stabilizing continuous design changes.

Three leading professional service firms have succeeded by creating capabilities for collaboration and learning that leverage individual competency into enhanced problem solving for clients.

Making an explicit link between people’s personal needs and business goals can be a catalyst for changing work practices. In the end, both the company and the employees benefit.

Are managers today less loyal to their companies? If so, can companies counter this trend? To retain loyal managers, companies must nurture an apolitical culture that places high priority on meeting career needs.