I want to add to Virginia's comments that a firm understanding of how
various levels of measurement can affect organizational performance is
another area of applying LO principles. If the level of measurement is
focused at a low level (activity indicators rather than high-level
indicators, the degree of change will be more pronounced and extensive.
Another aspect of this is whether directed change is desired. There is a
difference between measuring performance for progress toward a goal or
objective and simply observing performance (activity) from a more
anthropological perspective. Sometimes it is desirable to intervene in a
system to create change. When that persppective is taken, well-designed
performance measures and indicators, properly used, can move performance
in the desired direction.
Virginia's other point is important here, too, though. Once performance
has been affected in a desired direction, what other changes have been
brought about as either direct or indirect consequences of that attention?
--Clyde Howell orgpsych@csra.net
Learning-org -- An Internet Dialog on Learning Organizations For info: <rkarash@karash.com> -or- <http://world.std.com/~lo/>