Smith Brain Trust

How best should companies seek to evolve? The Smith School's M. Susan Taylor says continuous organizational change is likely to have its roots at lower "work unit" levels and wind its way upward. Her model helps explain why.

BET Networks executive Donna Blackman applauds the courage of women who speak up about sexual harassment in the workplace. But she is cautious when it comes to giving advice to people who might face retaliation.

Setting your sales goals for the new year? The best way to get everyone motivated is to get them invested from the start. Smith School professor Christine Beckman recently studied how the process of setting budget goals is the key to motivating individuals to hit their numbers.

Conventional wisdom says firms are better off hiring people with prior experience and skills that mirror the job. But research co-authored by Smith School professor Rajshree Agarwal finds that many firms benefit from hiring rookies who are new to top management.

Retaining talent in the fast-changing field of information technology means understanding the factors that influence cultural fit. Smith School professor Kathryn M. Bartol says preferences often vary by gender.

Smith School experts bring you their fantasy M&A league — a list of potential tie-ups and explanations about what makes each one interesting. Imagine CVS teaming with 23andMe, or Daimler with Tesla, or Hilton with Airbnb.

This week, the eyes of the world are on the tiny Alpine town of Davos, Switzerland, where government and industry leaders, including the Smith School's Anil K. Gupta, are converged for the World Economic Forum's annual gathering.

When CVS announced it would ban heavily retouched photographs from its marketing campaigns, suggesting those images set unrealistic beauty standards for the millions of women who shop in its stores, it wasn't just a good deed. It was also good business.

Can cryptocurrency save the struggling Eastman Kodak? "Kodak is clearly trying to ride this wave," the Smith School's Brent Goldfarb says. "But I am at a loss as to the problem this solves." He thinks the effort will slowly disappear.

Is a smiley-face emoji in an e-mail to your boss ever a good idea? It can be, the Smith School's Trevor Foulk says. He offers some advice on when to use emojis and emoticons :) and when to leave them out :(