GE’s use of goodwill is puzzling

This piece discusses that GE’s puzzling use of goodwill. (WSJ, March 2019). The article reminds me of the case in the book where OVI inflated estimates of oil reserves. I think the decision was bad. “Increasing goodwill had the effect of enabling GE to avoid costs that would have reduced its earnings. Not writing it down delayed investors’ realization of how deep the conglomerate’s problems ran.” Three questions:

1. Who made the decision to inflate goodwill?
2. What information did they have?
3. What incentives did they face?

The process Boeing used to design 737 MAX

Here is a description of the The describes the process Boeing used to design 737 MAX (WSJ, March 2019).

1. What bad decisions did Boeing make?
2. Who make each decision?
3. What information did they have?
4. What incentives did they face?

Managers who apply the rational actor paradigm help their firms perform better

VoxDev reports that firms “that [set] sensible targets, [provide] proper incentives, and credibly [monitor]i performance”  and “boast rigorous performance monitoring, systems geared to optimize the flow of information across and within functions, motivational short- and long-run targets, and a performance system that rewards and promotes great employees while helping underperformers to turn around or move on” “are more productive, grow at a faster pace, and are less likely to die” (Vox, Jan. 2018).

How to ask for a raise or promotion

Here is a money quote: “Learning how to convince other people to give you what you want requires that you first figure out what scratches their itch. This means figuring out how to frame your raise as a win for your boss. The more closely your promotion is tied to fulfilling the boss’s needs, the more successful you will be” (WSJ, June 2020).

Olly has died

This obituary of Oliver Williamson describes the focus of his work and some of his main conclusions (WSJ, June 2020).

"All feasible forms of organization are flawed. We need to understand the trade-offs that are going on, the factors that are responsible for using one form of governance rather than another, the strengths and weaknesses that are associated with each of them.”

Post-coronavirus office space

How will office space be different when people return to work there (WSJ, May 2020)? Will it even be there?

Investment bankers WFH

This article describes how investment bankers are working from home during the coronavirus pandemic and discusses the reasons that they may or may not continue doing so after the pandemic (WSJ, May 2020).