Organizations should know their people: a behavioral economics approach

Public and private organizations are increasingly applying behavioral economics methods to a variety of issues such as mechanism design and incentive architecture. However, there has been little focus on how experimental tools used in behavioral economics can help companies learn more about their (current or prospective) workforce and, more specifically, about their employees’ tastes and inclinations. This has important implications for broader organizational performance since some designs/incentives are likely to affect only individuals with a particular disposition (e.g. risk averse or fairness oriented) but not others, or can even have opposite effects on individuals with different sets of preferences. In this commentary, we point out a number of promising avenues for the application of a behavioral economics lens to understand and manage people within organizations. A comprehensive case study is also provided

Rho1 is involved in Pmk1 activation in response to cell wall stress.

<p>Strains MI200 (<i>pmk1-HA6H</i>, WT), LS201 (<i>rho1-596</i>), MI700 (<i>rho2Δ</i>), and LS202 (<i>rho1-596 rho2Δ</i>) were grown in YES medium to mid log-phase, and treated with (A) 0.6 M KCl, (B) 1 mM H₂O₂, or (C) 1 µg/ml Caspofungin. At different times Pmk1-HA6H was purified and both activated and total Pmk1 were detected by immunoblotting with anti-phospho-p42/44 and anti-HA antibodies, respectively. (D) Rho1 and Pmk1 play additive roles in cell survival during cell wall stress. Strains MI200 (WT), MI700 (<i>rho2Δ</i>), GB3 (<i>pck2Δ</i>), GB29 (<i>rho2Δ pck2Δ</i>), LS201 (<i>rho1-596</i>), LS202 (<i>rho1-596 rho2Δ</i>), LS203 (<i>rho1-596 pck2Δ</i>), MI102 (<i>pmk1Δ</i>) and LS209 (<i>rho1-596 pmk1Δ</i>) were grown in YES medium, and 10⁴, 10³, 10² and 10 cells were spotted onto YES plates supplemented with increased concentrations of Caspofungin. The plates were incubated for 4 days at 28°C before being photographed.</p

<i>S. pombe</i> strains.

a<p>All strains are <i>ade- ura4D-18 leu1-32</i>.</p