Andy Bassett said:
....If you work in a established, well-managed company, where the company strategy is clearly known and implemented and motivation is high, them maybe Individual Performance Measurements are not needed or even counter productive.
If however your company is not so well structured, or operating in a changing business environment with a low discipline and a strong focus on the importance of the individual (ie said to be a trait of the Western World) then Individual Performance Measurements can provide some focus and channel some energy in the right direction. Maybe not an approach with a good theoretical foundation i know, but realistic i feel....
Hello Andy,
I hope you don't mind but I took your quote and shortened it a bit. Here is some thought for the group.
For the first paragraph, I believe you are right. The organizational AIM is clear, well communicated, and leadership is present. A good foundation for good organizational and individual performance! Measurements are not necessary.
For the second paragraph, the AIM is not clear. The associate can not perform well in this atmosphere. Guidance through good leadership, management and some level of supervision is necessary, but missing. A poor work environment. Here, even a person with a good work ethic will be reduced to less. Things required to bring about good performance are out of the reach of the individual. They are management's responsibiility. Deming gave an example in The New Economics about a woman who tried as hard as she could to overcome these obstacles. She ended up frustrated. She did not know that the System was responsible for her problems. She thought she could change the outcome if she just worked harder!
Some would argue that you can evaluate a persons demeanor and state of mind. Measure them on individual traits and characteristics. A personal evaluation and compare them to the rest. Very few of us have the training or understanding to fairly label an individual. So who will do it? What scaling system will they use? Most managers charged with the task of evaluations lack both.
Sure, we all can determine the difference between those that make you feel happy and those who anger you. Placing a number to them is purely arbitrary. How would one rate my post here? A one or a ten? I'll bet I could get both! So which is right? Probably both.
Management should focus on the AIM of the organization and help associate achieve this AIM. I recommended Deming's Red Bead Experiment. If anyone is interested in a video presentation of this experiment, I have the name and address of a resource which sells them for $18. Or you can read the experiment in Out of the Crisis. It is a simple, but great way of learning that the System is responsible for most of the performance issues. Deming's figures on this in his estimation were 94%/6%. I believe he was right!!
Regards,
Kevin