My initial reaction to the concept "the best-performing companies
worry less about performance and more about their organizational
capabilities" (Bititci, 2015), I was rather skeptical if this idea is
entirely accurate. I do feel as if companies whom perform well, focus
on the input provided by all forms of employees from any level, as
well as implementing an organizational culture focused on
collaboration and feedback. "Organizational culture affects all aspects
of your business, from punctuality and tone to contract terms and
employee benefits. When workplace culture aligns with your
employees, they're more likely to feel more comfortable, supported,
and valued."(Wong 2020) These aspect contribute to a companies
success, but so does performance management. Performance
measurement is essential for fostering organizational improvement.
The significance of having an effective performance measurement
process has only grown as businesses large and small realize that
long-term success depends on reaching goals with limited failure in
today's highly competitive business world. The importance of
performance measurement isn't always easy to justify, but it's
necessary for performance improvement in the long run. Effective
performance measurement helps companies identify their strengths
and weaknesses, top high performers, areas for improvement, and
helps set benchmarks with historical data. I understand the aspects
the individual is attempting to portray, which is focusing on what the
organization is capable of rather than setting targets which can act as
limits.
A strong culture is a common denominator among the most
successful companies. All have consensus at the top regarding
cultural priorities, and those values focus not on individuals but on
the organization and its goals. "Leaders in successful companies live
their cultures every day and go out of their way to communicate their
cultural identities to employees as well as prospective new hires.
They are clear about their values and how those values define their
organizations and determine how the organizations run." (SRHM
2019) Organizations that are aligned in goals and the mission show
entrust in the leaders and a winning culture. The most important
success for any organization is having the buy-in culture at 100% and
focusing on investing in the employees capacity to provide insight
and suggestions that excite them. With employees seeking a
workplace that intertwines with their belief systems, common vision,
and purpose, it befalls upon the leaders to shape an organization that
unifies their people around a shared cause.
Company A offers some concerns about employee retention and
maintaining a strategic plan for their employees. The HR Director
states' "we’ve got a strong workforce, from the custodians and
cleaning crews all the way to the pilots and management team.
Everyone who needs to take annual refresher courses gets them …
but we have no budget for extras. Sometimes I worry that we’re
falling behind and that we’re losing our most valuable employees."
This individual makes it clear that the refreshers are not enough to
keep employees educated, limiting the capacities of the organization
as they can not budget in the on-going education. The HR director
made it clear that the company does not make substantial
investments in training and development beyond what is strictly
required for licensing and safety. She feels that this limits the
opportunities for creativity and innovation, but she also understands
budget restrictions. Among her concerns are the limited opportunities
for upward career mobility and too few career path opportunities in
the company. This is a sign that the organization lacks focus on their
employees education or rewarding their hard work with competitive
pay. The COO mentions that he is also concerned about recruitment,
especially for pilots and for skilled technicians. Because they operate
in a great location, they have not been keeping up on their
compensation levels, and this may make recruitment difficult soon.
Company B offers an enticing future with the new perspective
brought by the president. Her strongest beliefs are that the way to
move the company forward is through the adoption of an agile
culture, empowering employees, and placing emphasis on innovation.
This is evident as the firm has recently entered into a strategic
partnership with a software company and that they will soon bring
new levels of travel convenience to the customers right in the palms
of their hands. Notably, the operations and maintenance manager
also believes in the culture of the organization. This individual stated a
"the company has some very seasoned individuals in the maintenance
and operations areas, several of whom have prior military experience.
They pride themselves on a positive performance record, especially
pointing to the statistic that their aircraft, while older than many
fleets, are well maintained and average a 90% availability rate,
consistent with industry averages. The crew is innovative and hard
working, but there has been substantial turnover in recent years.
Several current mechanics are in probationary status, still acquiring
their technical certification credentials. There is some concern that
the core of expertise resides in the employees that are approaching
retirement age and that there is inadequate knowledge transfer."
After taking a look at both interviews, we see that Company B is more
focused on capabilities over performance, while Company A is the
other way around. The companies results show that Company A is
more success financial and performance wise than Company B,
seeing an increase in their business, rather than a decrease in sales
like Company B. This proves that organization capabilities does not
always translate to a well-performing organization.
Performance measurement: Simplify your process with the right
tools
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companies,set%20benchmarks%20with%20historical%20data.
Society for Human Resource Management
. (n.d.). Retrieved February
16, 2022, from https://www.shrm.org/ResourcesAndTools/tools-
and-
samples/toolkits/Pages/understandinganddevelopingorganizationalc
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Team, J. B. & C. (n.d.).
Performance management strategies: How
they impact culture
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Retrieved February 16, 2022, from
https://www.cascade.app/blog/performance-management-
organizational-culture
