Harvard Business Review

Why We Love to Hate HR… and What HR Can Do About It

Five smart moves that will help, by Peter Cappelli Summary. Complaints against Human Resources (HR), which are nothing new, have a cyclical quality. They’re driven largely by the business context. When companies are struggling with labor issues, HR is seen as a valued leadership partner. When things are smoother all around, managers wonder what the function…

The future of freight: Transforming the movement of goods

The future of freight: Transforming the movement of goods

Supply chain issues and production bottlenecks brought to the fore by the pandemic presented opportunities to reshape freight operations Introduction In the years that led up to 2019, the twin rise of e-commerce and consumer expectations began placing unprecedented strain on global transportation networks and logistics providers.  Manufacturers and retailers responded by pushing their existing systems—a…

9 Trends in the Transportation and Logistics Industry to Look Out for in 2023

9 Trends in the Transportation and Logistics Industry to Look Out for in 2023

In recent years the supply chain of today has met with unprecedented levels of disruption, from an inexorable and exponential rise in consumer demand, fuel shortages, to a global pandemic. Thankfully, we seem to be emerging out of the latter, yet still, such factors have caused the supply chain to grow ever-increasingly more complex. And,…

4 ways to boost enterprise resilience with systems thinking

4 ways to boost enterprise resilience with systems thinking

Why It Matters. It’s not enough to excel at a steady state — firms also need the resilience to respond to irregular operations and conditions. Systems thinking can help. Fresh off a year-plus of supply chain disruptions and irregular operations precipitated by the global pandemic, organizations should make time to rethink resiliency and risk management….

A risk management playbook for improving organizational resilience

A risk management playbook for improving organizational resilience

Why It Matters. MIT Sloan experts offer a systematic approach to organizational resilience that can help leaders manage risk and rebound rapidly when catastrophic events strike. Consider the recent system failures at Southwest Airlines that put the brakes on holiday travel. Or the Deepwater Horizon oil spill or the Norfolk Southern freight train derailment, both of which rapidly became…

Harvard Business Review

Productivity Is About Your Systems, Not Your People

Summary. The pursuit of individual productivity is healthy and worthwhile. However, unless you work independently outside of an organization, the benefits of most “tricks” will be limited. To make a real impact on performance, you have to work at the system level. The author recommends four ways to improve productivity and efficiency by making changes…