HR Pulse - Spring 2008 - (Page 44) >> ACCOMPLISHING EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE Strategy 4: Management in organizations in which values and norms align spend less time combating aberrant behavior and more time working to improve the operation, etc. This is highly desirable. Strategy 6: Culture-guided behavior is much more consistent over longer periods of time than is behavior that is motivated by compensation. Strategy 5: No formal orientation/training time by the manager is required to get employees to behave in accordance with norms. Co-workers will provide this as their part of bringing the individual into the culture. Strategy 7: When motivational systems collide with culture, it gets ugly. Putting merit pay into an organization with such substantive norms as teamwork, helping others, and mutual concern will produce such a clash. Strategy 8: It is difficult to get to a culture that supports high levels of performance. It takes a lot of time and work. Moreover, there needs to be an effective system in place to modify the culture of a group that behaves in a manner that is inconsistent with the overall organizational values. However, once the culture of exceptional performance is in place, it is highly effective. Achieving cultures such as this requires leadership. It is required to create a culture that will align all of the efforts of employees toward the mission, vision, and values of the organization. As W. Edwards Deming pointed out, “There is no substitute for leadership.” Certainly, merit pay cannot be substituted for strong leadership. In summary, merit pay systems, as most are currently administered, are based on assessment systems that are seriously flawed, can damage co-worker relations, harm creativity, and—in general—don’t work. Performance driven by the norms and values—the culture—of an organization is much more reliable. While it is much more challenging to create a culture that drives high levels of performance, it is clearly the preferred approach to enhancing performance. n Lee Elliott is vice president of Human Resources and Fund Development at Saint Francis Medical Center, Grand Island, Neb. Mike McIntosh is vice president of Change Leadership at Catholic Health Initiatives, Sarasota, Fla. References Kohn, A. (1999) Punished by rewards. Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Amabile, T., Collins, M., Conti, R., Phillips, E., Picariello, M., Ruscio, J., & Whitney, D. (1996) Creativity in context: Update to the social psychology of creativity. Boulder, CO.: Perseus. 44 HR Pulse Spring 2008 Call us at 866-843-9555. www.constangy.com Class Action Defense • Litigation Prevention • Labor Relations • Employee Benefits OSHA • Wage Hour • Immigration • Affirmative Action 319555_Constangy.indd 1 3/9/07 5:19:24 PM http://www.constangy.com
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