A General Framework for Performance Management Systems: Structure,Design, and Analysis

Employees may spend their time on the job behaving in a variety of ways. The purpose of a well‐designed performance management system should be to channel and motivate employees to concentrate their energies on value‐added performance. The extent to which an organization achieves this outcome depends upon the design and structure of its performance management system. The basic framework of any performance management system as presented here involves four levels of operations, policies, and practices: (1) executive leadership; (2) the infrastructure of strategy, measurement and control, and work process; (3) human resource policies and practices in attracting, hiring, developing, and compensating employees; and (4) workplace working conditions shaped and driven by the practices of managers and supervisors and the dynamics of the work group or team. The issues that performance improvement specialists need to consider in analyzing an organization's performance management system are noted.     

Measuring the ROI on Knowledge Management Systems

Illustrating the return‐on‐investment (ROI) for a portal solution or knowledge management (KM) system has proven an elusive target. This paper will demonstrate that ROI can be found for portals and KM systems in measuring the ROI on improved processes and increased economic value of employee performance. Thus, rather than employing traditional notions of value and assets as noted in standard accounting practices, KM solutions are tools managers should use to support opportunities for process improvement and redesign. ROI that measures value from this perspective creates new areas of value from an organization's existing, undervalued assets. A well‐developed measurement methodology for implementing a KM system may illustrate ROI, justify expenditures for implementing the system, and provide a format to ensure that process improvement occurs. A well‐thought‐out KM system has the capability of becoming the “digital nervous system” of an organization, tying all areas to the strategic goals of an organization.     

Two Models of Educational Assessment

Many educational developments in recent decades pose a serious challenge to the traditional scientific measurement model that has dominated assessment practices. The scientific measurement model has led to an over‐emphasis on statistical tests and the reification of single measure test scores. The educational developments that challenge the scientific measurement model include problem‐based learning, newer understandings of cognition, and the rise of performance assessment. These developments reflect widespread attempts by educators to reform assessment practices so as to encourage more effective learning. As a result, a new model of educational assessment, which we call the judgemental model, is emerging. The basic assumptions, features and appropriate uses of these two assessment models are compared and contrasted by referring them to a three‐level conceptual model of education, training and assessment for workplace performance.     

A comprehensive performance analysis and improvement method

Performance analysis and improvement are critical skills for the performance technologist. A comprehensive approach to these tasks, which includes techniques from industrial and organizational psychology, industrial engineering, and organizational behavior management, is described. The approach comprises four steps: (1) conducting an organization‐wide survey to identify general improvement areas, (2) objectively pinpointing performance improvement potentials, (3) systematically identifying performance constraints, and (4) selecting or designing an improvement technique. Survey results for 63 organizations are presented and the effect of management practices on management span of control are examined. Eighteen performance constraints are organized into a decision tree that is used to select 1 of 27 improvement techniques. The results of this approach to performance analysis and improvement are described for 58 improvement projects in a medium‐sized bank.     

The ROI fieldbook: Strategies for implementing ROI in HR and training by Patti Pulliam Phillips,CPT, Jack J. Phillips,Ron Drew Stone,and Holly Burkett,CPT

Patti Pulliam Phillips, CPT, PhD, CEO of the ROI Institute, Inc., consults with U.S. and international organizations on implementing the ROI Methodology. Jack J. Phillips, PhD, a world‐renowned expert on measurement and evaluation, developed the ROI Methodology; his expertise in measurement and evaluation comes from nearly 30 years of experience. Ron Drew Stone is an author, international consultant, and authority on improving and measuring performance improvement interventions. Holly Burkett, CPT, MA, SPHR, principal of Evaluation Works, has more than 20 years' experience assisting in the design and measurement of performance improvement initiatives. The ROI Fieldbook: Strategies for Implementing ROI in HR and Training (ISBN: 978‐0‐7506‐7622‐9) is published by Elsevier Butterworth‐Heinemann (price: $44.95; paperback with a CD). This publisher may be reached online at http://www.elsevier.com.     

The key to organizational performance improvement: A perspective of organizational knowledge creation

The primary purpose of this research is to explore the impacts of knowledge creation practices on organizational performance improvement. Research has been empirically assessed on the basis of the collected data from three Korean private organizations. The concept of knowledge creation theory was adapted as the theoretical framework of this research (Nonaka & Takeuchi, 1995). Structural equation modeling has been used in order to assess the fit of the hypothesized model with the collected data. The result of the confirmatory factor analysis suggests that the hypothesized measurement model is a reliable and valid construct in the Korean context; multiple regression analysis reveals that knowledge creation practices have a positive and strong influence on performance improvement. Conclusions, limitations, and implications for human resource development are discussed.     

Analyzing time‐critical team motor skill performance: A case study

The ability to improve team motor skill performance is predicated on the corresponding ability to accurately identify areas for improvement. Unfortunately, in many time‐critical, rapid‐paced environments, accurately identifying areas for improvement is often problematic. The technique described in this case study seeks to overcome these difficulties in a systematic manner by employing a video‐recorded, mapping‐and‐measurement‐based approach that can discern details normally missed by human observation.     

How the Organizational Learning Process Mediates the Impact of Strategic Human Resource Management Practices on Performance in Korean Organizations

The primary purpose of this research is to examine the structural relationships among several workplace‐related constructs, including strategic human resource management (HRM) practices, organizational learning processes, and performance improvement in the Korean business context. More specifically, the research examined the mediating effect of the organizational learning processes at three levels—individual, group, and organizational—to explain the relationship between strategic HRM practices and performance improvement. A total of 640 cases were used for data analysis, with general multivariate analyses and structural equation modeling. The results suggest that the learning processes at the three levels have a significant direct impact on organizational performance and that they also serve as a mediating interaction construct to maximize the effect of strategic HRM practices. The article provides conclusions, discusses the limitations of the research, and makes further recommendations.     

Using electronic portfolios

The digitized collections of artifacts known as electronic portfolios are creating solutions to a variety of performance improvement needs in ways that are cost‐effective and improve both individual and group learning and performance. When social media functionality is embedded in e‐portfolios, the tools support collaboration, social learning, collection and sharing of best practices, and coaching. By eliminating the constraints of time and geography, electronic portfolios can support organizations' performance management and talent management strategies.     

Better Solutions Through Better Requirements: The Link Between HPT and Business Analysis

G2000's HR Execution Excellence was one of the innovative projects to receive the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) Award of Excellence 2016. It is a continuous‐improvement project that applies holistic human performance improvement using an ISPI human performance technology model (ISPI, 2012) to streamline the front‐end and back‐end processes of a retail attendance system (RAS). Thus, it improved one of G2000's strategic capabilities: regulatory and social practices. During the process of developing the strategic capabilities and assembling the right combination of processes, knowledge, skills, and organizational fabric, working group and its system of play become critical. The question is how to reshape the work environment to sustain high performance from the strategic change. One way to position a change agent for success is by managing holistic requirements and intensely promoting and developing the bridge to the future.     

Performance‐based measurement: Action for organizations and HPT accountability

Basic measurements and applications of six selected general but critical operational performance‐based indicators—effectiveness, efficiency, productivity, profitability, return on investment, and benefit‐cost ratio—are presented. With each measurement, goals and potential impact are explored. Errors, risks, limitations to measurements, and a final check for validity, applicability, accountability, and usability of these measurements are discussed. This article provides a simple, practical guide to performance measurement for organizations and human performance technology practitioners' accountability and continuous improvement.     

Improving the Effectiveness of Educational Development: Concerns,Constraints and Recommendations

A Higher Education Research and Development Unit (HERDU) is a specialised sub‐unit within higher education institutions whose members collectively act as a visionary, educational interest group. They aim to be critically reflective, dynamic agents of educational development and help to develop the practices and potential of individuals and groups. This paper defines HERDUs in organisation terms, clarifies educational development, and assesses the web of contexts that educational developers experience. The paper then canvasses international perspectives on improvement and effectiveness of educational development theory, practice and outcomes. Finally, it is suggested that coming to grips with long‐standing concerns might be aided by a set of performance indicators, a model of self‐review, and enhanced cooperation among educational developers to share research, theories, practices and experiences.     

Learning,Training, and Performance Timeline: A Walk Through History

Does your professional tool bag include the well‐known ideas, models, and practices that training and performance improvement professionals use? This article organizes the advent of essential tools using the Learning, Training, and Performance Timeline, describes the major patterns that developed during historical periods, and explores relevant practical and scholarly uses for the Timeline. Resources are provided for those who have further inquiries about the historical background of training and performance improvement.     

The interactive effects of personal traits and guided practices on preservice teachers' changes in personal teaching efficacy

Personal teaching efficacy is associated with a teacher’s effectiveness in the classroom. To enhance this efficacy in a computer‐simulated training program, both personal traits and guided practices need to be considered concurrently. In this study, it was hypothesised that the interactive effects from the coupling of personal traits with guided practices would be a reliable predictor of the degree of improvement in personal teaching efficacy during computer‐simulated training. One hundred and seventy‐eight preservice teachers completed an interactive teaching experience via the Computer Simulation for Teaching General Critical‐thinking Skills in which guided practices were integrated via specially designed teaching sequences and loops. The findings suggest that intrapersonal intelligence, critical‐thinking dispositions and a judicial thinking style are related to self‐awareness, analytical learning and reflective thinking and that in this study, these personal qualities seemingly interacted with guided practices, which resulted in reflective teaching and mastery experience. This, in turn, may very well have brought about improvement in the preservice teachers’ personal teaching efficacy during the computer‐simulated teaching.     

Historical background for HPT Certification Standard 2, take a systems view,part 2

The theory, research, and validated application literatures show that systems concepts have been part of the field for more than 50 years. Relevant practices, including use of a validated systems model, specific process improvement and management technology, and organization performance improvement technology, were first developed during the 1960s and 1970s. ISPI Certification Standards were developed in that historical context and require exemplary work in the field to take a systems view to achieve value‐adding results.     

Measuring the Results of Performance Improvement Interventions

In this study, a web‐based questionnaire was used to measure attitudes of members of a professional performance improvement organization relative to adoption and implementation of Level 4 or results‐oriented evaluation. Participants were 274 members of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI). It was expected that frequency of Level 4 evaluation use could be explained by innovation diffusion or change variables. Findings suggest that the adoption of effective performance improvement measurement systems and processes at the organizational level is relatively low compared to other types of evaluation. This level of adoption is impacted by a complex array of factors. Stakeholder participation in the adaptation of evaluation systems to increase their compatibility with current practices, and experimentation with this type of evaluation on a limited or trial basis may increase the rate of adoption. Management support of the development and adaptation of a results‐oriented evaluation system is seen as providing the opportunity for the change process to move forward. Implications for diffusion of this type of evaluation within organizations will be discussed within the context of a HPT Change framework.     

The University of North Texas Program of Applied Technology and Performance Improvement

The University of North Texas offers the prestigious Applied Technology and Performance Improvement (ATPI) program at both undergraduate and graduate levels in the department of Learning Technologies, College of Information. The ATPI program focuses on the multidisciplinary nature of human resource development, performance improvement, and workforce innovations, preparing students for careers as scholars in academic settings or as corporate training consultants and practitioners in business and industry. As a public research university, the ATPI program prepares both scholars and scholar‐practitioners to lead their field through research‐based practices and research dissemination under the mentorship and guidance of strong faculty. Graduates of the program hold high‐level professional and leadership positions both nationally and internationally.     

What contemporary work are student ratings actually doing in higher education?

It is conventionally assumed that student ratings perform a significant function in driving improvement in pedagogical practices in higher education. As a result, this form of evaluation has gradually become institutionalised in recent decades as an essential proxy for understanding teaching and course quality in universities across the world. However, with the rise of market-based models in higher education and heightened expectations for accountability mechanisms, the role and functional purpose of ratings-based student evaluation have become increasingly confused. This rising ambiguity has created strong tensions between the seminal drive of student ratings as a tool of quality improvement, and the emerging demands for its use as a transparent accountability measure for the comparative assessment of academic performativity. So are student ratings now largely a tool of quality assurance or performance measurement, or do they remain a legitimate tool for pedagogical improvement? This paper reports on a study that responded to this critical question by considering the contemporary work of student ratings in a major Australian university. The outcomes of this research demonstrate that tension between improvement and accountability motives is causing considerable confusion and discord around the role and value of the student voice. It also reveals that academics are tending to discount the often critical insights of students on the implications of their pedagogical practices as a result of the elevating institutional role of student ratings as a proxy for teaching quality. In considering these outcomes, rising levels of academic dissonance around student ratings would suggest a necessity to consider broadened evaluative strategies that are able to more effectively capture the improvement potential offered by the student voice.     

Leadership Practices,Cultural Values,and Organizational Performance

I investigated the relationship between transformational leadership practices, culture, and organizational effectiveness in 12 small manufacturing and service companies. Companies were separated into high‐and mixed‐performance groups based upon sales revenue, manpower levels, and above‐industry‐average profit margins. Only management completed the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). All respondents completed the Organizational Culture Profile (OCP). I expected to find high‐performance companies differed from mixed‐performance companies on leadership and culture. I expected to find a relationship between leadership and culture that explained performance. I expected to find high performance affected by multiple leaders and multiple cultures. Findings concluded no significant differences in leadership practices, although a pattern of responses suggested multiple levels of leadership only in high‐performance companies. On the OCP, high‐performance companies differed significantly on the value Emphasis on Rewards. Mixed‐performance companies differed significantly on Attention to Detail, Outcome Orientation, and Team Orientation. A relationship between Challenging the Process, Aggressiveness, and Team Orientation accounted for only 14% of the variance in effectiveness.     

School violence,school differences and school discourses

This article highlights one strand of a study which investigated the concept of the violence‐resilient school. In six inner‐city secondary schools, data on violent incidents in school and violent crime in the neighbourhood were gathered, and compared with school practices to minimise violence, accessed through interviews. Some degree of association between the patterns of behaviour and school practices was found: schools with a wider range of well‐connected practices seemed to have less difficult behaviour. Interviews also showed that the different schools had different organisational discourses for construing school violence, its possible causes and the possible solutions. Differences in practices are best understood in connection with differences in these discourses. Some of the features of school discourses are outlined, including their range, their core metaphor and their silences. The authors suggest that organisational discourse is an important concept in explaining school effects and school differences, and that improvement attempts could have clearer regard to this concept.