Stretch goals and the distribution of organizational performance

Many academics, consultants, and managers advocate stretch goals to attain superior organizational performance. However, existing theory speculates that, although stretch goals may benefit some organizations, they are not a “rule for riches” for all organizations. To address this speculation, we use two experimental studies to explore the effects on the mean, median, variance, and skewness of performance of stretch compared with moderate goals. Participants were assigned moderate or stretch goals to manage a widely used business simulation. Compared with moderate goals, stretch goals improve performance for a few participants, but many abandon the stretch goals in favor of lower self-set goals, or adopt a survival goal when faced with the threat of bankruptcy. Consequently, stretch goals generate higher performance variance across organizations and a right-skewed performance distribution. Contrary to conventional wisdom, we find no positive stretch goal main effect on performance. Instead, stretch goals compared with moderate goals generate large attainment discrepancies that increase willingness to take risks, undermine goal commitment, and generate lower risk-adjusted performance. The results provide a richer theoretical and empirical appreciation of how stretch goals influence performance

Performance Management and Employee Outcomes: What Performance Management Processes Drive Improvement of Employee Performance?

[Excerpt] Performance management (PM) systems can be a key driver of employee performance when designed strategically to go beyond operational or legal requirements. Organizations aspire for performance management processes to help employees develop, improve employee-manager communications, align individual and organizational goals, and help employees and teams reach their highest potential (Pulakos). These four items all drive employee performance and, ultimately, business performance. To align PM to organizational aspirations, companies are changing their PM processes in new ways (see Figure 1). Sometimes they do so with limited data on results, like when dropping performance ratings. Changes, even in uncharted territory, do generally improve individual performance. Of companies that participated in Deloitte’s 2017 Human Capital Survey, 90% that have redesigned performance management see direct improvements in engagement, 96% say the processes are simpler, and 83% say they see the quality of conversations between employees and managers increases (Schwartz et al.). This is because organizations are strategically implementing effective PM versus doing the bare minimum. To highlight improvements made to PM systems, we will point out changes and results in three key areas: employee evaluation, goal setting, and feedback

Collaborative Development within Open Source Communities

Open source communities are one of the most successful-- and least appreciated--examples of high-performance collaboration and community building on the Internet today. Open source communities began as loosely organized, ad-hoc communities of contributors from all over the world who shared an interest in meeting a common need. However, the organization of these communities has proven to be very flexible and capable of carrying out all kind of developments, ranging from minor projects to huge programs such as Apache (Höhn, & Herr, 2004; Mockus, Fielding, & Herbsleb, 2005

An Assessment of the Impact of Distribution Channel Conflict on Channel Efficiency - Few Improvised Conceptual Models

The primary purpose of this study is to enhance the understanding of the impact of distribution channel conflicts on the channel efficiency, which has hitherto received little attention in distribution channel literature. Although ‘channel conflict’ as a construct is fairly well researched and its relationship with channel efficiency is explored to some extent, yet the moderating effect of the conflict resolution strategies on the channel efficiency is largely absent in the channel literature. From a behavioral science perspective, the article models the channel conflict-efficiency relationship, for three different types of conflict resolution methods-problem solving, bargaining and politics, in the context of asymmetric power relationships. The managerial implications of these conceptual models lie in making organizations (channel captains), dealing with their channel partners, foresee the possible impacts of their adopted conflict resolution strategies, on their channel efficiency and accordingly maximize returns on the channel investments.

Learning in Strategic Alliances

{Excerpt} Strategic alliances that bring organizations together promise unique opportunities for partners. The reality is often otherwise. Successful strategic alliances manage the partnership, not just the agreement,for collaborative advantage. Above all, they also pay attentionto learning priorities in alliance evolution. The resource-based view of the firm that gained currency in the mid-1980s considered that the competitive advantage of an organization rests on the application of the strategic resources at its disposal. These days, orthodoxy recognizes the merits of the dynamic, knowledge-based capabilities underpinning the positions organizations occupy in a sector or market. Strategic alliances—meaning cooperative agreements between two or more organizations—are a means to enhance strategic resources: self-sufficiency is becoming increasingly difficult in a complex, uncertain, and discontinuous external environment that calls for focus and flexibility in equal measure. Everywhere, organizations are discovering that they cannot “go” it alone and must now often turn to others to survive

Organizational Climate as a Predictor of Employee Job Satisfaction:Evidence from Covenant University

The study aim to explore organizational climate as a predictor of employee job satisfaction of academic staff from a private Nigerian University. The study of the antecedents of job satisfaction is important because of the role it plays in job satisfaction of employees which in turn affects organizational productivity. Data were collected from three hundred and eighty-four academic staff of the university with the aid of questionnaire out of which a total of two hundred and ninety-three questionnaires were returned fully and appropriately filled. Three hypotheses were tested and the results of the finding showed a significant positive relationship between these two variables. Thus, the study then paves way into other research opportunities in the field to stretch the depth of knowledge into public universities- i.e. the federal and state universities. It also serves as eye opener to conduct the research into other zones in Nigeria to see whether their organizational climate in relation to job satisfaction of the academics in those places will differ from what we have in the south-west Nigeria. Therefore, apart from confirming a theoretical proposition, the findings of this study are likely to have significant practical value

Organizational tension between static and dynamic efficiency, The

Efficiency has been defined in at least two different ways: in terms of the refinement of existing products, processes or capabilities (static efficiency) or the development of new ones (dynamic efficiency). This paper analyzes the organizational trade-off between these two forms of efficiency. It shows that there is a tendency towards extremes, and that the irreversibility of efficiency orientations tends to tip the balance to be struck between static and dynamic efficiency toward the latter. The paper also advances hypotheses about the industry, business and corporate factors that mediate between the choice of a particular efficiency orientation and organizational performance.organizational trade-off; efficiency;

Is There a New HRM? Contemporary Evidence and Future Directions

[Excerpt] Is there a new human resource management? Yo. That is, yes and no. A new perspective -- strategic human resource management -- emerged during the 80s to take its place alongside the more traditional operational and programmatic perspectives as a major influence on the field. This perspective has rapidly progressed in terms of theory and research (if not practice). But, it continues to take many shapes and forms, and even with its various permutations, is far from universally embraced by scholars or practitioners. What follows is a brief look at the strategic perspective of the field. It begins with a summary of some common themes. This is followed by an illustrative review of extant theory,which in particular distinguishes between the two dominant theoretical streams which have thus far emerged: (1) the multiple model theorists (MMTs) who are given to building typologies of human resource strategies and describing or prescribing the conditions under which the various types work or should work best and (2) the dominant model theorists (DMTs) who are rather less preoccupied with contingencies and rather more concerned with the details and promulgation of their preferred models or strategies within and across firms. Next comes a look at the extent to which these two views show up in actual practice.The evidence is sparse, but their diffusion appears to be rather limited thus far. This naturally gives rise to a discussion of the factors which seem to encourage and, especially, discourage diffusion. Particular attention is paid to the adoption of the so-called strategic business partner role by human resource executives, managers, and professionals, and to the adequacy of this role as a catalyst for the diffusion of the strategic perspective across the U. S. and Canadian economies. Finally, suggestions are made regarding future theoretical and empirical work which might help keep the strategic perspective moving ahead

Scaling Up Inclusive Business -- Solutions to Overcome Internal Barriers

Sustainability challenges including poverty, social unrest, climate change and environmental degradation have become ever more urgent. Business has the technology, innovation capacity, resources, and skills to play a key role in providing the radical solutions the world desperately needs.The objective of this brief is to kick off greater dialogue on the internal barriers companies face along the pathway to scale in inclusive business and how to overcome them. Building on the hands-on experience of businesses active in this space and the valuable insights of experts, the following pages identify some of the most common internal barriers and the solutions that leading companies are using to tackle them. We gained new insights by looking at the work of thirteen companies: CEMEX, Grundfos, Grupo Corona, ITC Ltd., Lafarge, Masisa, Nestlé, Novartis, Novozymes, SABMiller, Schneider Electric, The Coca-Cola Company, and Vodafone. We also interviewed two leading academics doing research in this area, Cornell University's Erik Simanis (United States) and Universidad de los Andes' Ezequiel Reficco (Colombia)

The knowledge needs of innovating organisations

The sustainable management of innovation is perhaps the single most vital element of executive work in today's business environment. This has driven knowledge management theorists to revitalise interest in the concept of 'competency'. However, this theoretical domain continues to be fragmented by definitional debate. At a micro-level of analysis, Human Resources Management theorists have embraced the idea of managerial competencies, resulting in the elaboration of frameworks and standards of performance for the targeted development of individual knowledge. By contrast, at the macrolevel the Strategic Management literature has focussed on developing new concepts of competition and cooperation that emphasise organisational knowledge as the driver of strategic change. In this context, competence-based competition implies that competitive advantage is bestowed by an organisation's unique combination of core competencies. This definitional debate is a major obstacle to the development of an integrated perspective on competency and the knowledge needs of innovating organisations. This conceptual article asserts that, since innovation involves a learning process, it is necessary to develop process-based theory rather than the static categorisations that currently dominate thinking in this area. Drawing on theories from the field of learning, the article proposes a three-dimensional framework of knowledge-based competencies that are interlinked and meaningful across levels of analysis