Katherine Klein - Faculty Research in Knowledge@Wharton

Wanted: A President Who Can Lead During a Time of 'Daunting' Challenges

Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:54:21 EST

The new president's job, says one Wharton professor, "will be as hard as any job any person has ever had." For the 44^th president of the United States, extraordinary managerial and cognitive abilities will be needed to tackle unprecedented challenges, including wars being waged in two countries and a financial system on the verge of collapse. Wharton and University of Pennsylvania faculty members offer their views on which leadership qualities will be most important over the next four years, and why. This article is the third in a series about economic and leadership issues focusing on the November 4 election.

CEO Succession: Has Grooming Talent on the Inside Gone by the Wayside?

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 15:54:07 EST

The recent departures of two chief executives -- Stanley O'Neal of Merrill Lynch and Charles Prince of Citigroup -- in the wake of major financial losses at their firms, have focused renewed attention on the issue of succession planning. Published reports speculated that both positions would be filled by outside candidates, and on November 14, Merrill Lynch announced that it had chosen John Thain, CEO of NYSE Euronext, to succeed O'Neal. While such a move is not surprising for a board wanting to signal a fresh start to investors, Wharton faculty say that, increasingly, companies are looking to fill top spots with external candidates, while spending less time on grooming future leaders and managing talent in general.

Workplace Loyalties Change, but the Value of Mentoring Doesn't

Wed, 16 May 2007 15:35:19 EST

In Homer's poem "The Odyssey," Odysseus had a tough time finding his way home after the Trojan War, what with all those monsters threatening to derail his journey. But Odysseus at least had left a wise and trusted fellow named Mentor to be the guardian and teacher of his son, Telemachus. Modern employees need mentors as much as Telemachus, especially in these times of upheaval. In fact, mentoring is just as important as ever for younger workers -- and for organizations themselves -- according to experts at Wharton and elsewhere.

Something Old, Something New: How Will Microsoft's Changing of the Guard Play Out?

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 15:11:00 EST

Ray Ozzie is in. Bill Gates is heading out (but not entirely). And Steve Ballmer is staying right where he is (at least for now). What does this game of musical chairs among the members of Microsoft's high command portend for the world's biggest software company? Far from being a source of confusion and uncertainty, Gates' recently announced decision that he will relinquish his full-time, day-to-day involvement in the company in July 2008 may be just the breath of fresh air needed for a firm facing major challenges to its core business, according to Wharton experts. At the same time, it's not yet clear just how successful Gates will be in removing himself from a company that has been his life for three decades.

Is Your Team Too Big? Too Small? What's the Right Number?

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 15:41:34 EST

When it comes to athletics, sports teams have a specific number of team players: A basketball team needs five, baseball nine, and soccer 11. But when it comes to the workplace, there is no hard-and-fast rule to determine the optimal number to have on each team. Should the most productive team have 4.6 members, as suggested in a recent magazine article? What about naming five or six individuals to each team, which is the number of MBA students chosen each year by Wharton for its learning teams? Is it true that larger teams simply break down, reflecting a tendency towards "social loafing" and loss of coordination? Or is it that the best number of people for a team is driven by the task at hand and by the roles each person plays? Research by Wharton faculty offers some insights.

Brand Rehab: How Companies Can Restore a Tarnished Image

Wed, 21 Sep 2005 15:26:48 EST

Martha Stewart, accounting firm KPMG, insurance broker Marsh & McLennan, and Merck, manufacturer of the troubled painkiller Vioxx, are among the most recent examples of companies that face the challenge of restoring damaged reputations. How best to do that? According to Wharton faculty and others, companies that acknowledge they have problems and launch communication programs to repair tarnished reputations stand the best chance of rehabilitation. And the worst way? Hide the problem, lie or appeal only to special interest constituencies.

Clash of the Titans: When Top Executives Don't Get Along with the Team

Wed, 12 Jan 2005 15:15:21 EST

Testifying in a Delaware court last month, Stanley P. Gold, a former Walt Disney Co. director, joined a long list of company executives who had dirty laundry to air regarding the 1995 hiring of Michael Ovitz as Disney's president and his subsequent firing in 1996. "This was two big volatile egos banging against each other and they just didn't get along," Gold testified, referring to Eisner and Ovitz. While the Eisner/Ovitz scenario presents an extreme case of management dysfunction, it contains all the elements of what companies seeking to build successful management teams should avoid, say Wharton professors and executive coaches.

Teamwork in a Shock Trauma Unit: New Lessons in Leadership

Wed, 06 Oct 2004 15:59:56 EST

Imagine that you have been assigned to a six-person team in your company and asked to complete a top-priority project on a very short deadline. Some of the people have never worked together before, team members change every hour or so, leadership constantly shifts between three different individuals, and any mistake could have disastrous, even fatal, consequences, for the project. Wharton management professor Katherine J. Klein spent 10 months studying such teams in action at the Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore, Md. Her research, presented in a new co-authored paper, suggests a novel view of leadership different from that offered in traditional leadership models.