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Fostering employee engagement in large organizations is a formidable problem that gets even more challenging in a sluggish economy, when the standard lever of monetary incentives are not a viable option for boosting employee engagement and motivation. As the organization gets larger, building emotional connectedness or bonding becomes challenging as teams expand to operate in different time zones. The overwhelming pace of work in the modern workplace can also hamper bonding. Yet emotional connectedness, when present, serves as a catalyst in driving superior performance and employee loyalty. The culture of many large organizations discourages innovation and out-of-the-box thinking because their institutional structures encourage risk aversion. Even though large organizations are best positioned to absorb the ups and downs of intelligent risk-taking, their talent processes enforce conformity, legitimize mediocrity and penalize failed attempts at innovative thinking. Performance appraisals tend to promote employees who take the path of least resistance. Managers, of course, help perpetuate this risk-averse cycle of mediocrity. Either they have been conditioned to think only in a linear fashion or organizational systems perpetuate managerial insecurity at all levels. This insecurity manifests in several ways: managers may take credit for the work performed by a subordinate; shoot down ideas a subordinate may have; or deflect opportunities that a subordinate may get. Survival in such an environment is based on being average and staying within the system. As a result, the spirit of entrepreneurship is lost. The authors designed a creative and playful contest called “Maverick” to tackle employee engagement in large organizations. The contest deeper goals include: shifting culture and behavior, talent discovery, brand building and meaningful engagement. The impact of the program on a broader organizational culture parameters were assessed through a survey. The survey results validate the impact of the program.

The paper develops a conceptual approach that underlies the design of the Maverick program. Surveys were deployed to determine the perceived impact of the program on the broader culture.

The secret ingredient in employee engagement is gaining the “emotional share of wallet” of employees to drive meaningful, enduring organizational change. Emotional wallet share is the sweet spot that lies at the intersection of employees’ skill sets, their aspirations and the value they generate for the organization. Proactively identifying the sweet spot empowers an organization to capture employees’ emotional wallet share to identify enablers and catalysts that can unlock motivation and performance. The survey results indicate that the Maverick contest was perceived to have a positive impact on all the identified attributes. This is a testament to the program’s success as a pivotal driver of a positive organizational culture. Further, it validates that the Maverick contest identifies several levers that leaders can use to positively influence organizational culture.

The organizations can adapt the proposed conceptual framework in designing meaningful programs to tackle employee engagement and motivation.

The paper provides a meaningful framework to tackle employee engagement in large organizations. The Maverick approach is of interest to leaders of large organizations that are struggling to increase employee engagement with limited resources and that wish to foster creativity to drive innovation. The program offers a compelling way for talented professionals to meaningfully contribute to their organization that is agnostic to their position in the hierarchy. It gives employees the freedom to strive without being paralyzed by fear of failure; the chance to build their personal brand and pride; and a safe environment in which they can question received wisdom and attempt an unconventional approach to problem-solving. It creates a playful environment to bust stress, foster innovation and encourage an entrepreneurial mindset.

This paper offers a superior alternative to the standard gamification solutions that are routinely applied to business situations. Gamification mechanics work effectively in roles that are transactional, instead of roles that demand autonomy, mastery and a sense of purpose. Maverick program is designed while being mindful of the intrinsic motivation of the professionals.

This paper aims to review the latest management developments across the globe and pinpoint practical implications from cutting-edge research and case studies.

This briefing is prepared by an independent writer who adds their own impartial comments and places the articles in context.

Very few business leaders or experts would give much credence to the typically rather gnomic, contradictory pearls of wisdom so often seen in Easter philosophy or Hallmark greetings cards – “you will find light in the darkness” and “only by looking into the distance do you see that closest to you”. However there is an irony present that is all too real to those involved and experienced at the highest level in corporations, which is that whatever a firm specializes in to its customers, it is probably the worst practitioner internally.

The paper provides strategic insights and practical thinking that have influenced some of the world’s leading organizations.

The briefing saves busy executives and researchers hours of reading time by selecting only the very best, most pertinent information and presenting it in a condensed and easy-to-digest format.

The purpose of this paper is to describe the impact of the DHL Express CIS Foundation program, a globally consistent learning program, which was developed and delivered to 100,000 employees in 220 countries in 42 languages in less than 18 months. The intention was to motivate, invigorate and inspire those employees to be the best that they could be,

Results‐driven learning and development agency NKD Learning created a breakthrough training program designed to invigorate employee engagement, instill a truly customer‐centric mindset and deliver measurable success to international company, DHL Express. The blended learning approach of the bespoke Certified International Specialist (CIS) Foundation Program included a one and a half day experiential event, supported by stand‐alone, hour‐long interactive training modules and painstakingly crafted trainer scripts – which could be easily adapted and translated into 42 languages and still be effective.

In less than 18 months, all 100,000 DHL Express employees had been through the CIS Foundation and all project deliverables had been achieved to agreed quality, cost and timeline standards. End of program feedback scores averaged 5.8 out of 6. Key employee opinion scores significantly exceeded the agreed targets for Strategy, Employee Engagement, and Learning & Development. The actual scores showed year‐on‐year increases of between 7 and 11 percent, compared to the 1 to 3 percent target increases.

The DHL Express CIS Foundation module course incorporates innovative learning methodologies and approaches, cutting‐edge film and animation support messaging, and hi‐impact learning materials.

Highlights some of the new techniques being implemented across the USA in the area of team training. Some are revolutionary but some are just fine tuning on already successful methods. Gives suggestions for trainers on how to deal with resistant, reluctant or resentful trainees. Reviews the methods used at one firm to train its trainers, and at another where a company‐wide policy was adopted to create a new value‐added training system. Concludes that some of the most effective training techniques are not new ‐ merely the application of old‐fashioned common sense to training problems.

This paper seeks to explore a host of straight‐to‐DVD and direct‐download motion picture marketing, production, and distribution strategies deployed by Florida‐based Maverick Entertainment. The focus is Maverick's most prominent and successful sub‐genre “urban teen gangsta” films.

The somewhat wide‐ranging and eclectic approach taken in this paper draws from two emergent academic subdisciplines: consumer culture theory (CCT), largely on the business‐school side, and media industry studies (MIS), largely on the communications‐school side. The project thus attempts to bridge the interpretive poetics and eclecticism of CCT with the interpretive aesthetics and eclecticism of MIS and relies on a blend of filmic, marketing, PR, journalistic, trade publication, and academic evidence.

It is argued that “marketing mimicry” – where Maverick imitates specific successful urban‐teen themed cross‐over film marketing strategies of major and mini‐major Hollywood studio titles – was crucial to the start‐up's success.

Marketers outside the USA will find it somewhat difficult to glean generalizable lessons based on the strategies and principles evaluated here. Future research should be conducted in the area of direct‐download of urban teen filmed content, particularly vis‐à‐vis Maverick's new direct‐download partners such as Hulu, YouTube, Amazon VOD, Facebook Store, and Gigaplex. Future research should also look into the extent to which the somewhat pervasive notion of a “global teen audience” is valid for this sub‐genre of films.

Marketers are advised to thin‐slice the appeals of their teen‐themed product‐lines to maximize the appeal to given sub‐segments. Marketers may beneifit by developing ethical non‐harmful iterations of marketing‐mimicry in their market space.

Scholars who analyze teen‐themed marketing strategies often tend to construct some version of the “global teenager”. The current paper focuses largely on African American and Latino American teens.

This is the first paper to analyse how a small firm successfully markets to the urban American teen film audience. It is also the first academic paper to explore the concept of marketing‐mimicry.

The paper's purpose is to explore a theoretical and methodological dilemma.

Commencing doctoral research, and committed to an orthodox grounded theory approach, a unique story was uncovered which, to do it and the research justice, required an alternative form of representation. Intuition decreed that this should be narrative. However, grounded theory and narrative entail epistemologically and ontologically incommensurate paradigms. The paper seeks to consider whether inclusion of the unique story would compromise, or subvert, the already emergent grounded theory. An exploration of the relationship between different epistemological and ontological traditions is also to be made, based on the assumption that method “slurring,” and a more eclectic approach to using incommensurate paradigms, may be valuable.

In transcribing and coding data using strictly orthodox grounded theory methods, the researcher runs the risk of “stripping” the research story of some critical dimension(s). However, combining a narrative approach with that of grounded theory, the paper allows for the representation of an atypical “Maverick” case, along‐side other more typical cases.

The paper points out, to the early career qualitative researcher in particular, that it is legitimate to combine seemingly incommensurate methodologies, notably where not to do so would result in the loss of enriching and powerful insights into basic social processes.

In an era of global sourcing, the firm’s success often hinges on the most appropriate selection of its suppliers. Supplier selection is sometimes very complicated, owing to a variety of uncontrollable and unpredictable factors which affect the decision. Describes a multiple attribute utility theory based on the use of data envelopment analysis (DEA), aimed at helping purchasing managers to formulate viable sourcing strategies in the changing market place. An application of the methodology using actual data retrieved from a firm operating in the bottling industry is illustrated. DEA has proved to be capable of handling multiple conflicting attributes inherent in supplier selection while simultaneously trading‐off key supplier selection criteria.

Ricardo Semler discusses with Bruce Lloyd the way he has turned conventional business rules upside down. His ideas, and the operating performance of his family‐owned company which makes pumps, valves and other industrial equipment, are described in detail in his best‐selling book, Maverick!

This paper aims to demonstrate how logistics company DHL's work on incorporating events into its internal‐communications strategy has enhanced employee engagement.

Draws specifically on one campaign within the company's Europe, Middle East and Africa (EEMEA) regions. Examines how this helped DHL to communicate with its diverse and widespread employee audience.

Highlights the benefits of incorporating events into an internal‐communications strategy. Reveals that DHL decided that one of the best ways to communicate with its selection of employees across the EEMEA region was physically to take the message to them.

Shows how investing in staff communication can have an impact on staff morale, communication and attitudes towards the company.

Highlights an increase in employee morale and engagement.