This is my first opportunity to reply to this discussion, admittedly not
privy to the original original correspondence. But I felt compelled to
respond to the next several comments.
>I have some concerns about quotes above. You may be right, but I have a
>different viewpoint. For example, you want to shift the focus of
>appraisal from the individual to the organization. This cannot work. As
>someone pointed out to this list just last week, there is nothing in an
>organization except its people. Therefore, we can appraise the
>organization, but we are only appraising the people. There is no escape
>from personal responsibility.
I couldn't agree more!! When we appraise the organization we ARE
appraising the people, from the top down!! I have seen the potential for
a comprehensive organizational self-assessment process (like the Malcolm
Baldridge National Quality Award criteria) to completely replace any
individual evaluations. Org self-assessment, when everyone understands
why and has the opportunity to participate, can't help but reveal who
should do what to whom to further the organizational goals.
>Deming said essentially what you say. He said systems are the problem 90%
>of the time, not people. This is a rare case where I think Deming is
>insufficient. Surely, systems and processes _are_ the problem 90% of the
>time, but systems and processes were created by people, and only people
>can improve them. What is wrong with asking someone to fix a system or
>process, and expecting -- providing it is within their skills -- that they
>will do so?
I believe you may have misunderstood Deming's point. The 'people' who
created and are responsible for the "systems and processes" are senior
management/leadership, not the line production worker you're trying to
evaluate. Nothing wrong with asking someone to fix a process, if you have
empowered them (which must be preceeded with enabling, i.e., providing the
requisite skills) to do so. However, I don't think any "systems" are for
the line worker to be tinkering with!! Again, a thorough org
self-assessment will reveal where the system needs attention, where the
process can be improved, and exactly where your employees lack necessary
skills. Also, it will be obvious where management/leadership is letting
the organization down. It takes personal mastery, a clear vision, and a
metanoia to arrive there, though.
>We have to be careful here not to hold people accountable for doing things
>that the system then prevents from doing. I know some of that occurs, but
>that is not a reason to eliminate expectations...
Again, I couldn't agree more. But in Deming's words--heck, in my own
words--HOW DO YOU KNOW? My knowledge journey has led me to discover the
need for decision-based data collection efforts (an information management
system ala Goldratt.) In other words, information coming from the system
should answer the questions asked--by workers, by management, by
leadership, by the self-assessment process.
>Written assessments are an excellent historical record. I refer back to
>my own self-evaluations all the time. I work in a complex process, and I
>can't always remember what the environment was two years ago, or how some
>activity worked out. The written record is an invaluable reference. It
>is also gratifying to go back and see how much I have learned in the last
>few years.
Now take that feeling and expand it beyond yourself to the whole
organization. That's what we're after in a learning organization and
self-assessment, at the organizational level, can be the shared record.
>I suspect that the biggest problem with performance assessment processes
>is captured in your last statement. "We need to learn how to give and
>receive feedback effectively." If we do that, the process will work. I
>suspect this is where most processes break down.
This is true whether we look within ourselves or throughout our
organization. You've got it! Just maybe a few degrees out of sync.
Ginger
The Leadership Dimension
"Bringing Leadership to Life"
vshafer@azstarnet.com
-- vshafer@AZStarNet.com (Virginia I. Shafer)