ABSTRACT
Part I discussed the powerful drive in our society for performance improvement by organizations that has led to massive expenditures of money and effort. It argued that years of experience and significant amounts of research indicate that a lot of performance improvement efforts have limited benefits to the organizations trying to improve. It identified three critical success factors for performance improvements to have a major impact on organizations and teams. The most important success factor is dedicated organizational leadership. In addition, Part I provided:
A definition of performance
A discussion of the importance of leadership providing a thorough strategic vision for the organization or team
A discussion of approaches for the identification of performance gaps
A model of planned change for identification and management of performance improvement where and when it is needed
A discussion of performance measurement processes that can be used in new organizations
A discussion of the benefits and characteristics of goal setting and its role in performance
Numerous cases to emphasize the main points made in Part I
Part II began with a discussion of the importance of building a culture and structure for a learning organization. Learning new concepts and skills is the basis for high performance by individuals, teams, and organizations. In addition, Part II provided discussion of a series of performance improvement interventions, including:
Selection and hiring
Strategic planning and cascading goals
A model for effective teamwork and team building
Developing leadership and management skills
Programs focused on improving effectiveness and efficiency
Technologies and approaches for performance improvement at the individual level
Training, development, and education as stand-alone performance improvement interventions
The use of training, development, and education to support other performance improvement interventions, a deficiency in many organizational efforts at improvement
Part III, which begins with this chapter, consists of three chapters, each dealing with extremely important topics regarding improving performance in organizations and teams.
