{"id":2068,"date":"2026-10-05T23:49:25","date_gmt":"2026-10-05T23:49:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/mrowe\/?page_id=2068"},"modified":"2026-10-08T16:21:54","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T16:21:54","slug":"the-effectiveness-and-value-of-organizational-ombuds","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/mrowe\/the-effectiveness-and-value-of-organizational-ombuds\/","title":{"rendered":"The Effectiveness and Value of Organizational Ombuds"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This page contains articles (in reverse chronological order) that cover such topics as:<\/p>\n<ul style=\"list-style-type: square\">\n<li>\u00a0the importance\u2014for all the members of an organization and the organization\u2019s image and reputation\u2014of having a safe, accessible, fair, and credible professional with whom to discuss any work-related issue and develop options going forward.<\/li>\n<li>the ombuds\u2019 role in reducing risk for all constituents who wish to discuss a concern or a good idea and how this helps the organization manage risk by helping to surface information to leadership.<\/li>\n<li>the role of an ombuds in responsive listening throughout an organization, identifying and assessing new concerns, good ideas, and issues needing attention.<\/li>\n<li>the ombuds\u2019 role in sustaining attention to recurring problems like racism; discrimination on the basis of gender, identity, or religion; xenophobia; ableism; ageism; myriad forms of abuse and retaliation; unfair processes; and integrity issues.<\/li>\n<li>the importance of ombuds office data collection and especially a) collecting benchmark data before an ombuds office starts, and b) data about an ombuds\u2019 most serious cases.<\/li>\n<li>the ombuds\u2019 roles in dispute resolution, including as sounding board, interpreter, go-between, catalyst, bridge-builder, informal fact finder, facilitator, and expert resource (as an \u201cinside outsider\u201d) for the conflict management system.<\/li>\n<li>the ombuds&#8217; role in providing informal and largely invisible coordination for all the units in a conflict management system in the context of constant referrals to and from the office.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<hr \/>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/mrowe\/operationally-useful-data-about-the-value-and-effectiveness-of-organizational-ombuds\/\"><em>Operationally Useful Data About the Value and Effectiveness of Organizational Ombuds: A Resource Repository of Working Papers for Comment.<\/em><\/a>\u00a0 Rowe, Mary, Timothy Hedeen, Jennifer Schneider, and Hector Escalante (with additional contributions from AI). March 2026.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitsloan-php.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-faculty\/sites\/84\/2026\/01\/02220112\/Rowe-Operationally-Useful-Data-and-OO-Value-1-2026.pdf\">&#8220;Using Operationally Useful Data to Communicate Ombuds Value and Effectiveness.&#8221;<\/a> Rowe, Mary.\u00a0 Working paper, January 2026.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=10505\">&#8220;The Most Serious Cases Reported by Organizational Ombuds: Data From Surveys and Interviews.&#8221;<\/a> Rowe, Mary, Timothy Hedeen, Jennifer Schneider, and Hector Escalante. Working paper, December 2024.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=10506\">&#8220;Some Organizational Ombuds Achievements Reported in the 2024 IOA Survey.&#8221;<\/a> Rowe, Mary, Timothy Hedeen, Jennifer Schneider, and Hector Escalante. Working paper, December 2024.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=7915\">&#8220;Organizational Ombuds Data: Helping to Understand Ombuds Effectiveness.&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0Rowe, Mary. MIT Sloan Working Paper 6464-21. Cambridge, MA: MIT Sloan School of Management, August 2021.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=7906\">&#8220;The Importance of Bystanders in Threat Assessment and Management.&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0Borum, Randy, and Mary Rowe. Chapter 24 in <em>The International Handbook of Threat Assessment<\/em>, 2<sup>nd<\/sup>\u00a0ed., edited by J. Reid Meloy and Jens Hoffmann. New York: Oxford University Press, 2021. <em>(Note: This article addresses the importance of an ombuds in helping vulnerable people act or come forward in the context of national security.)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=5586\">&#8220;A Framework For Communicating How Organizational Ombuds Help to Manage Risk.\u201d<\/a> Rowe, Mary, Timothy Hedeen, and Jennifer Schneider. Working paper, \u00a92019. (<em>Note: Among other things, this article examines the importance of the International Ombudsman Association Standards of Practice in helping all constituents manage risks.<\/em>)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?DocumentID=4272\">&#8220;A Reappraisal \u2014 The Nature and Value of Ombudsmen in Federal Agencies, Part 1: Executive Summary.&#8221;<\/a> Houk, Carole S., Mary P. Rowe, Deborah A. Katz, Neil H. Katz, Lauren Marx, and Timothy Hedeen. In <em>Final Report to ACUS for Conference Consideration<\/em>, November 14, 2016.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?DocumentID=4273\">&#8220;A Reappraisal \u2014 The Nature and Value of Ombudsmen in Federal Agencies, Part 2: Research Report.&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0Houk, Carole S., Mary P. Rowe, Deborah A. Katz, Neil H. Katz, Lauren Marx, and Timothy Hedeen. In\u00a0<em>Final Report to ACUS for Conference Consideration<\/em>, November 14, 2016.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=5406\">\u201cIdentifying and Communicating the Usefulness of Organizational Ombuds, With Ideas about OO Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness\u201d (PDF).<\/a> Rowe, Mary. <em>Journal of the International Ombudsman Association<\/em> 3, No. 1 (Winter 2010): 9-23. <em>(Note: This article reviews many of the methodological problems in assessing the effectiveness of an ombuds office and emphasizes the importance of the \u201cmost serious cases\u201d in demonstrating effectiveness and the importance of benchmarking before an ombuds office opens.)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=5407\">\u201cEffectiveness of Organizational Ombudsmen\u201d (PDF).<\/a>\u00a0Rowe, Mary, and Mary Simon. Chapter IV in\u00a0<em>The Ombudsman Association Handbook<\/em>, 1-22. Hillsborough, NJ: The Ombudsman Association, 2001, update dated April 2002.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=9397\">\u201cOptions and Choice for Conflict Resolution in the Workplace.\u201d<\/a> Rowe, Mary P. \u00a0In\u00a0<em>Negotiation Strategies for Mutual Gain: The Basic Seminar of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School<\/em>, edited by Lavinia Hall, 105-119. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, 1993. <em>(Note: This chapter focuses on the need for providing choices for complainants.)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/www.jstor.org\/stable\/25780535\">&#8220;Corporate Ombudsmen: Functions, Caseloads, Approaches and Outcomes.&#8221;<\/a> Ziegenfuss, James T., Jr., Mary Rowe, and Robert F. Munzenrider. <em>Journal of Health and Human Resources Administration<\/em> 15, No. 3 (Winter 1993): 261-280.<em> (Note: Includes results of a 1989 survey of 55 corporate ombudsmen.)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"http:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?DocumentID=4391\">&#8220;Perspectives on Costs and Cost Effectiveness of Ombudsman Programs in Four Fields.&#8221;<\/a> Rowe, Mary P., James T. Ziegenfuss, Jr., A. J. Perneski, Gary Hall, and Marshall Lux. <em>Journal of Health and Human Resources Administration<\/em> 15, No. 3 (Winter 1993): 281-312. <em>(Note: These articles include analyses of five types of ombudsman offices.)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=7873\">&#8220;Cost-Effectiveness of Ombudsman Offices.&#8221;<\/a>\u00a0Perneski, Tony, and Mary Rowe, in <em>Ombudsman\u00a0News <\/em>(newsletter of the Corporate Ombudsman Association), Spring 1990. <em>(Note: This issue contains other articles as well.)<\/em><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/mitsloan.mit.edu\/shared\/ods\/documents\/?PublicationDocumentID=3980\">&#8220;Organizational Response to Assessed Risk: Complaint Channels.&#8221;<\/a> Rowe, Mary P. In the Program Record of the 1988 IEEE Electro\/88 Conference, Boston, MA, May 10-12, 1988.<\/li>\n<hr \/>\n<p style=\"text-align: center\"><a href=\"http:\/\/mitmgmtfaculty.mit.edu\/mrowe\/research\"><span class=\"style13\"><strong>Back to Main Research Page<\/strong><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This page contains articles (in reverse chronological order) that cover such topics as: \u00a0the importance\u2014for all the members of an organization and the organization\u2019s image and reputation\u2014of having a safe, accessible, fair, and credible professional with whom to discuss any work-related issue and develop options going forward. the ombuds\u2019 role in reducing risk for all [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":523,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-2068","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - 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