Jeffrey Pfeffer (born July 23, 1946,
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...
) is an American business theorist and the Thomas D. Dee II Professor of
Organizational Behavior
Organizational behavior or organisational behaviour (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the "study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organiza ...
at the
Stanford Graduate School of Business
The Stanford Graduate School of Business is the Postgraduate education, graduate business school of Stanford University, a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. For several years it has been the most selective ...
.
Biography
Pfeffer graduated high school from the
Webb School of California. He received his BS and MS degrees from
Carnegie-Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a Private university, private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became t ...
and his PhD from
Stanford University
Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...
. He began his career at the business school at the
University of Illinois
The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...
and then taught at the
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...
from 1973 to 1979.
Pfeffer has given talks in 39 countries around the world and has taught management seminars for numerous companies and associations in the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
including
Sutter Health, the
Mayo Clinic
Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...
,
Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente (; KP) is an American integrated delivery system, integrated managed care consortium headquartered in Oakland, California. Founded in 1945 by industrialist Henry J. Kaiser and physician Sidney Garfield, Sidney R. Garfield, the ...
,
John Hancock
John Hancock ( – October 8, 1793) was an American Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father, merchant, statesman, and prominent Patriot (American Revolution), Patriot of the American Revolution. He was the longest-serving Presi ...
,
Hewlett-Packard
The Hewlett-Packard Company, commonly shortened to Hewlett-Packard ( ) or HP, was an American multinational information technology company. It was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard in 1939 in a one-car garage in Palo Alto, California ...
, and the Online Publishers Association now called
Digital Content Next (DCN).
Pfeffer has served on the boards of several
human capital
Human capital or human assets is a concept used by economists to designate personal attributes considered useful in the production process. It encompasses employee knowledge, skills, know-how, good health, and education. Human capital has a subs ...
management companies including Resumix,
Unicru, and Workstream. He also served on the board of publicly traded Sonosite (SONO) for ten years and on the boards of private high-technology companies Actify and
Audible Magic. He is currently on the board of directors of the nonprofit, Quantum Leap Healthcare, as well as on the advisory boards of several private companies.
Pfeffer has won numerous awards for his articles and books. He was elected a fellow of the
Academy of Management
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the g ...
more than 25 years ago, was a fellow at the
Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavioral Sciences, won the Richard D. Irwin award for scholarly contributions to management, is in the Thinker's 50 Hall of Fame, and in 2011, was awarded an honorary doctorate from
Tilburg University
Tilburg University is a Catholic research university specializing in the social and behavioral sciences, economics, law, business sciences, theology and humanities, located in Tilburg, Netherlands.
Tilburg has a student population of about 19,1 ...
in
The Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
.
Work
Pfeffer formalized the study of
resource dependence theory in his text ''The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence-Perspective'', which he co-authored with
Jerry Salancik.
Pfeffer has done theoretical and empirical research on the subjects of
human resource management
Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the effective and efficient management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business gain a competitive advantage. It is designed to maximize e ...
, power and politics in organizations,
evidence-based management
Evidence-based management (EBMgt) is an emerging movement to explicitly use the current, best evidence in management and decision-making. It is part of the larger movement towards evidence-based practices.
Overview
Evidence-based management en ...
, the knowing-doing gap,
leadership
Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations.
"Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...
, stratification and labor markets inside organizations, the
sociology of science, how and why theories become self-fulfilling, the psychological relationship between time and money, and economic evaluation.
Pfeffer has also been recognised for writing case studies, and was listed among the top 40 case authors published by The Case Centre in 2016. He was ranked 25th in 2015/16.
Elective on power in organizations
Pfeffer has taught both elective and core classes in
human resource management
Human resource management (HRM) is the strategic and coherent approach to the effective and efficient management of people in a company or organization such that they help their business gain a competitive advantage. It is designed to maximize e ...
and the core course in
organizational behavior
Organizational behavior or organisational behaviour (see American and British English spelling differences, spelling differences) is the "study of human behavior in organizational settings, the interface between human behavior and the organiza ...
. When he joined the Stanford faculty, he developed an elective on power in organizations. First called ''Power and Politics in Organizations'', some years ago the class was retitled ''The Paths to Power''. The elective has been consistently popular, with Pfeffer teaching two sections per year and, over the years, other colleagues teaching sections as well.
Rules of Power
In an interview, Pfeffer discussed the rules of power. "I would define power as the ability to get things done your way in contested situations," Pfeffer stated.
Power is getting your way in situations. There are different sources of power. Power can come from social relationships.
How you present yourself can also be a source of power.
Speaking confidently can show power, and dressing powerfully.
The way you brand yourself can also be a source of power. The reputation you have will help your brand.
Evidence-Based Management
Pfeffer discusses "Evidence-Based Management" in the Harvard Business Review. This is a form of managing where ideas are presented to managers who in turn asks the team to show them evidence that their ideas works.
This keeps managers from making decisions without having the right information to make a decision.
This strategy that Pfeffer talks about can help managers learn what works and what does not work.
Writings
Pfeffer has written more than 150 articles and book chapters. He is the author of 15 books including ''The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First, Managing with Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations, The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge Into Action, Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People, Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management, What Were They Thinking? Unconventional Wisdom About Management'', and ''Power: Why Some People Have It—And Others Don't'', published and released in September 2010. Pfeffer's book, entitled ''Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time'', was published in 2015 by
HarperBusiness. His latest book “Dying for a Paycheck” analyzes workplace practices that are detrimental to employees’ health. He estimates that such practices cause 120,000 excess deaths per year in the USA, about half of which might be preventable.
Pfeffer has written cases on how individuals acquire power and manage their careers, including cases on
Keith Ferrazzi,
Jeffrey Sonnenfeld, Ross Walker, Amir Dan Rubin, Zia Yusuf, and
Laura Esserman. Based on his research and that of others he advises people wanting to
advance their careers to "share perceptions" of their work and to encourage others to "sing their
praises".
[Pfeffer, J.]
Share Perceptions of Your Work, Early and Often
''Harvard Business Review'', published 21 October 2010, accessed 20 November 2023 He has also written cases on companies that practice high commitment/high performance work arrangements, including
Southwest Airlines
Southwest Airlines Co., or simply Southwest, is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States that formerly operated on a low-cost carrier model. It is headquartered in the Love Field, Dallas, Love Field neighborhood ...
,
DaVita Inc., the
Men's Wearhouse,
Holy Cross Hospital,
SAS Institute, and the Andean region of
Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark Corporation is an American multinational consumer goods and personal care corporation that produces mostly paper-based consumer products. The company manufactures sanitary paper products and surgical & medical instruments. Kimb ...
.
For five years, Pfeffer wrote a monthly column for the
Time-Warner magazine, ''Business 2.0''. For almost three years, he wrote a career advice column for ''Capital'', the leading economics and business magazine in
Turkey
Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...
. He currently writes an online column about twice a month for ''
Fortune
Fortune may refer to:
General
* Fortuna or Fortune, the Roman goddess of luck
* Luck
* Wealth
* Fate
* Fortune, a prediction made in fortune-telling
* Fortune, in a fortune cookie
Arts and entertainment Film and television
* ''The Fortune'' (19 ...
''.
Awards and Honors
* BP Faculty Fellow In Global Management for 2021-22
* Hank McKinnell-Pfizer Inc. Faculty Fellow for 2015-16
* Honorary Doctorate, Tilburg University, The Netherlands, 2011
* Richard D. Irwin Scholarly Contributions to Management Award, Academy of Management, 1989
* Terry Book Award, Academy of Management, 1984
Publications
* 1978. ''The External Control of Organizations: A Resource Dependence Perspective''. with
Gerald R. Salancik (
Harper & Row
Harper is an American publishing house, the flagship imprint of global publisher HarperCollins, based in New York City. Founded in New York in 1817 by James Harper and his brother John, the company operated as J. & J. Harper until 1833, when ...
)
* 1975. ''Organizational Design'' (A H M Publications)
* 1981. ''Power in Organizations'' (
HarperCollins
HarperCollins Publishers LLC is a British–American publishing company that is considered to be one of the "Big Five (publishers), Big Five" English-language publishers, along with Penguin Random House, Hachette Book Group USA, Hachette, Macmi ...
)
* 1982. ''Organizations and Organization Theory'' (HarperCollins)
* 1992. ''Managing with Power: Politics and Influence in Organizations'' (
Harvard Business School Press
Harvard Business Publishing (HBP) is a publisher founded in 1994 as a not-for-profit, independent corporation and an affiliate of Harvard Business School (distinct from Harvard University Press), with a focus on improving business management pr ...
)
* 1994. ''Competitive Advantage Through People: Unleashing the Power of the Work Force'' (Reed Business Information)
* 1997. ''New Directions for Organization Theory: Problems and Prospects'' (Oxford University Press USA)
* 1998. ''The Human Equation: Building Profits by Putting People First'' (Harvard Business School Press)
* 2000. ''The Knowing-Doing Gap: How Smart Companies Turn Knowledge into Action''. With
Robert I. Sutton (Harvard Business School Press)
* 2000. ''Hidden Value: How Great Companies Achieve Extraordinary Results with Ordinary People'' With
Charles A. O'Reilly III (Harvard Business School Press)
* 2006. ''Hard Facts, Dangerous Half-Truths, and Total Nonsense: Profiting from Evidence-Based Management'' With
Robert I. Sutton (Harvard Business School Press)
* 2007. ''What Were They Thinking: Unconventional Wisdom About Management'' (Harvard Business School Press)
* 2010. ''Power: Why Some People Have It and Others Don't'' (HarperBusiness)
* 2015. ''Leadership BS: Fixing Workplaces and Careers One Truth at a Time'' (HarperBusiness).
* 2018. ''Dying for a Paycheck: How Modern Management Harms Employee Health and Company Performance—and What We Can Do About It'' (HarperCollins)
* 2022. ''7 Rules of Power: Surprising–but true–advice on how to get things done and advance your career'' (Penguin Random House).
References
External links
Jeffrey Pfeffer's BiographyJeffrey Pfeffer’s personal home pageJeffrey Pfeffer's Stanford GSB websiteWebsite for evidence-based management
Pfeffer’s Business Educators Member Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pfeffer, Jeffrey
1946 births
Living people
American business theorists
Carnegie Mellon University alumni
Stanford University alumni
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign faculty
University of California, Berkeley faculty
Stanford University Graduate School of Business faculty
People from St. Louis
Bestselling case authors
Organizational behavior
Business educators