How assertive should you be? Research by Fisher's Jasmine Hu showed that informal leaders were more liked and respected when they had “a moderate amount of assertiveness and warmth.”

The proliferation of Offices of Patient Experience at some of the nation’s top facilities and leading healthcare networks is designed to improve delivery of care and patient outcomes. But do these offices actually improve patient experience? Are there certain conditions that make these offices more important in some hospital settings, and less so in others? Research by Fisher's Elliot Bendoly, Aravind Chandrasekaran and a colleague provide some answers.

Tanya Menon urges us in her TED Talk to change our “habitual daily footpath,” which exposes us to the same daily physical environments, people and ideas.” A loss of efficiency and convenience will likely mean a gain of diversity. “A simple change in planning, a huge difference in the traffic of people and the accidental bumps in the [social] network,” she explains.

Research by Fisher's Kate Keeler and her colleagues reveals the best types of music to listen to at work, and why the task at hand matters.

If the idea of needing to dissociate from your dreary plight as someone with an abusive boss seems a little too soul-destroying to be a viable solution, studies suggest you can, in fact, fight fire with fire. Research by Fisher's Bennett Tepper, the Abramowitz Memorial Professor, found that employees with hostile bosses are better off when they respond with passive aggression.

Employee training is the top risk-management strategy for many HR leaders, according to a report from the Risk Institute at Fisher College of Business.

As part of the “There’s a Better Way” podcast, Aravind Chandrasekaran, associate director of the Center for Operational Excellence, talks with Billy Taylor, global head of diversity and inclusion at Goodyear, to discuss the cliché that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” and to argue for why culture actually controls strategy, and how converting a company’s “my way” into “our way” leads to operational success.

Past research on failure by Fisher's Selin Malkoc adds context to a new study that shows failures early in a scientist’s career can lead to greater long-term success.

In examining the role of "culture fit" in diversity hiring, Tim Judge, the Joseph A. Alutto Chair in Leadership Effectiveness at Fisher, says that properly defining and understanding what "culture fit" is can help employers improve their talent strategies.

Setting goals is the easy part. Actually accomplishing them is an entirely different story. To help stick to your goals, research led by Professor Howard Klein found that people showed greater goal commitment and performance when they told their goal to someone they believed had higher status than themselves.

If you want to achieve a goal, make sure you share your objective with the right person. “Contrary to what you may have heard, in most cases you get more benefit from sharing your goal than if you don’t – as long as you share it with someone whose opinion you value,” said Howard Klein, lead author of anew study and professor of management and human resources.

Research by Steffanie Wilk, associate dean for diversity and inclusion at Fisher, shows that workers with more diverse personal relationships were, not surprisingly, better at building a racially diverse network on the job. This broader network is invaluable in improving career outcomes.

As part of the "There's a Better Way" podcast, Aravind Chandrasekaran, associate director of the Center for Operational Excellence, talks with Tanya Menon, associate professor of management and human resources at Fisher, about team building, micro- vs.

According to a forthcoming publication, extroverts tend to have consistent advantages over everyone else in the workplace, which jibes with other research on the benefits associated with extroversion. For example, extroverts are more likely to become leaders and to lead effectively, according Timothy Judge, the Joseph A. Alutto Chair in Leadership Effectiveness and executive director of the Fisher Leadership Initiative.

A good leader needs some kind of presence around the office—how else do you communicate that there’s an authority around? But it seems that while a little attitude can go a long way, too much of it can be counterproductive, according to research by Fisher's Jasmine Hu.

Fisher's Tracy Dumas gives research-backed advice for responding to bias and unrealistic expectations, as she joins a discussion about single, childless professionals. 

Bennett Tepper, the Irving Abramowitz Memorial Professorship at Fisher, coined the term abusive supervision. Complaints about bosses may be age old, but Tepper helped formalize the field by developing a 15-point checklist of bad-boss behavior, including “tells me my thoughts or feelings are stupid,” “tells me I’m incompetent,” and “lies to me.”

Extroverts are often seen as natural leaders in organizations. But a new study by Fisher's Jasmine Hu suggests that some leaders may have too much of a good thing. Researchers found that informal leaders were better liked and more sought after for advice when they hit a middle “sweet spot” on levels of assertiveness and warmth, two facets of extroversion. 

Selin Malkoc, a professor of marketing at Fisher, and her colleague discovered that when a leisure activity is planned, it’s less enjoyable than if it had taken place spontaneously: “It becomes a part of our to-do list. As an outcome, they [the activity] becomes less enjoyable," Malkoc said.

As part of the "There's a Better Way" podcast, Aravind Chandrasekaran, associate director of the Center for Operational Excellence, talks with Dr. David Rushlow, chief medical officer at Mayo Health Systems Southwest Wisconsin region and MBOE alumnus, about how adding 5-10 minute daily care team huddles has proven to be incredibly effective in improving performance in patient safety, quality and satisfaction.

A study conducted by marketing PhD student Junha Kim and a colleague shows that when creative professionals or participants received criticism from a boss or a peer, they had a tendency to be hurt by that criticism, showing less creativity in what they produced next. However, if they received criticism from an employee who was lower on the totem pole than them, they became more creative.

Research by Grant Donnelly, assistant professor of marketing, suggests that simply telling colleagues "I don't have time" for their requests can make them feel less valued and less likely to trust you.

Corporate culture is built over time and defines the unique business values, traditions, beliefs and attitudes of a company. In fact, according to new research from the National Center for the Middle Market, nearly three-quarters of middle market business leaders say culture is a top priority for their firm.

The social events we get invited to usually require the investment of time, money or both. Research by Grant Donnelly, assistant professor of marketing, and his colleagues shows that giving an excuse about not having enough time can hurt relationships, whereas giving an excuse about not having enough money can help them.