Comments on: Employees Experience Your Organization at the Hands of Its Systems http://www.missionmindedmanagement.com/employees-experience-your-organization-at-the-hands-of-its-systems Equipping Managers via Requisite Organization Systems Design. Talent Management, Leadership, Organization Design. Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:30:40 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.3 By: Michelle Malay Carter http://www.missionmindedmanagement.com/employees-experience-your-organization-at-the-hands-of-its-systems/comment-page-1#comment-213 Michelle Malay Carter Wed, 26 Mar 2008 18:01:58 +0000 http://69.89.31.143/~organja8/missionmindedmanagement/employees-experience-your-organization-at-the-hands-of-its-systems#comment-213 Hi Will, I agree. I've written a post that's in the hopper for next week about training. I've made some similar observations. If we could redeploy the time, energy, and money spent on misguided training into fixing systems, we'd be on to something! Michelle Hi Will,

I agree. I’ve written a post that’s in the hopper for next week about training. I’ve made some similar observations.

If we could redeploy the time, energy, and money spent on misguided training into fixing systems, we’d be on to something!

Michelle

]]> By: Will Pearce http://www.missionmindedmanagement.com/employees-experience-your-organization-at-the-hands-of-its-systems/comment-page-1#comment-212 Will Pearce Wed, 26 Mar 2008 14:49:15 +0000 http://69.89.31.143/~organja8/missionmindedmanagement/employees-experience-your-organization-at-the-hands-of-its-systems#comment-212 Geary Rummler also is credited for asserting that 90% of performance shortfalls have their root causes in something other than an employee's lack of necessary skills or knowledge. But what's the typical manager's first response to a serious performance problem? Training--which can address only employee skills or knowledge! Why is this? I'm guessing that there are two factors in play: * Our culture tends to personalize problems (we focus on people rather than on the circumstances; look at how most news coverage is handled). * Most people tend to oversimplify issues (making an individual the locus of a performance problem is a lot simpler than addressing the abstract of a "system"; call this "systems blindness," if you will). Both factors may have some relationship to capacity for processing complexity, but I suspect that there's also a good bit of cultural conditioning involved (at least, that's my hopeful explanation for why the problem is so pervasive!). Geary Rummler also is credited for asserting that 90% of performance shortfalls have their root causes in something other than an employee’s lack of necessary skills or knowledge. But what’s the typical manager’s first response to a serious performance problem? Training–which can address only employee skills or knowledge!

Why is this? I’m guessing that there are two factors in play:

* Our culture tends to personalize problems (we focus on people rather than on the circumstances; look at how most news coverage is handled).

* Most people tend to oversimplify issues (making an individual the locus of a performance problem is a lot simpler than addressing the abstract of a “system”; call this “systems blindness,” if you will).

Both factors may have some relationship to capacity for processing complexity, but I suspect that there’s also a good bit of cultural conditioning involved (at least, that’s my hopeful explanation for why the problem is so pervasive!).

]]> By: Michelle Malay Carter http://www.missionmindedmanagement.com/employees-experience-your-organization-at-the-hands-of-its-systems/comment-page-1#comment-211 Michelle Malay Carter Tue, 25 Mar 2008 11:01:49 +0000 http://69.89.31.143/~organja8/missionmindedmanagement/employees-experience-your-organization-at-the-hands-of-its-systems#comment-211 Hi Keith, Thanks for stopping by. Your point is valid. Gearry Rumler says: "Pit the most motivated employee against a poor system and my money is on the system every time." Thank you for your comment. Michelle Hi Keith,

Thanks for stopping by. Your point is valid. Gearry Rumler says: “Pit the most motivated employee against a poor system and my money is on the system every time.” Thank you for your comment.

Michelle

]]> By: Keith Bossey http://www.missionmindedmanagement.com/employees-experience-your-organization-at-the-hands-of-its-systems/comment-page-1#comment-210 Keith Bossey Tue, 25 Mar 2008 01:08:53 +0000 http://69.89.31.143/~organja8/missionmindedmanagement/employees-experience-your-organization-at-the-hands-of-its-systems#comment-210 Michelle - you couldn't be more dead on and your point can be expanded beyond management and leadership systems to include physical systems. Think of an industrial setting where management tries to promote safety. No matter how much behavioral training is done, poor workplace design trumps all. Michelle – you couldn’t be more dead on and your point can be expanded beyond management and leadership systems to include physical systems. Think of an industrial setting where management tries to promote safety. No matter how much behavioral training is done, poor workplace design trumps all.

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