Hi! Thanks for the interesting question.
Workplace accountability has been a perennial problem whether it is a
small or large company.
In this article from Daniel Robin and Associates, it emphasizes that
getting cooperation and a rewards program for your company could ease
management pressures on your part.
“To effectively manage and motivate people when there is a policy
non-compliance issue, or when serious mistakes are made, remember to
focus on recognition and praise in balance with any corrective
measures and "feedback." Ideally, give 80% recognition and 20%
feedback and constructive criticism. The only exception: when you’ve
tried all other approaches, including making a direct request, and you
get no cooperation. At times like this, explain the consequence – that
you have no choice but to issue a verbal written warning or other
disciplinary action – so there is a proper record.”
“Help them feel supported and safe enough to openly acknowledge the
problem and their part in it. Even if they are unwilling to take
responsibility, or they feel it is unfair, having them feel bad
(blamed and shamed, criticized, put down…) must be reserved for the
absolute last choice as a motivation or persuasion tool. To do
otherwise will create a struggle where the other person waits for an
ultimatum (like disciplinary action) to begin to improve.”
In a workplace study, it is found that workers become more accountable
for their decisions due to some degree of punishment. For example,
company auditors.
“…when the salespeople were held accountable for their decisions, akin
to a supervisory review, their predecisional distortion was cut nearly
in half. Auditors, on the other hand, showed roughly the same amount
of predecisional distortion when told they would be held accountable
for their decisions by a supervisory review as they did without that
extra layer of accountability. The researchers linked that second
finding with the auditors' belief that they were always accountable,
with or without immediate oversight.”
CU workplace study: Accountability helps foster better decisions by
Linda Myers
http://www.news.cornell.edu/Chronicle/00/5.18.00/accountability_study.html
You might say that everybody is sold on the philosophy but how could
one really do it so as to improve an organization?
Well one way is to consult your people. Even though the following
article mentions rank and file employees which you definitely do not
have, the article still provides valuable insights whatever the size
of a workplace is.
“Nutt says companies fail to involve employees in even simple,
low-cost decisions. When new trucks are purchased at FedEx, for
example, the drivers get no say over who gets the trucks.”
“Poor decisions get compounded because companies either won't admit
that a mistake was made or because managers want to distance
themselves from any mistakes, Nutt said. ‘The decisions get buried in
the back yard because of blame.’”
Involve rank-and-file workers to avoid poor decision-making by Dave
Murphy
http://www.azstarnet.com/star/fri/20823murphy2fpmb2fmst2f.html
In this article about Anticipatory Management, it discusses how this
model relies on processes and responsibilities to get the job done.
“It is important to understand how strategic information flows from
outside to inside your organization. Otherwise, you may find yourself
befuddled by an issue for which ample information already exists
somewhere in the organization. A sports trainer may know that the star
player has a degenerative back condition, but if he or she does not
tell the coach, the team may suffer when the condition becomes serious
later on. In the late 1980s, Motorola had an enormous amount of
information about the relationship between cellular phones and
possible neurological damage. But the company did not use the
information to manage this potential issue. Instead, an outsider
presented the case for a positive link between the two and set off a
somewhat hysterical public debate, in which Motorola took a real
bashing.
Anticipatory management relies heavily on processes and
responsibilities. The decision process model described earlier helps
you follow the flow of strategic intelligence through an organization
and assign accountability or responsibility for responding to that
intelligence.”
Anticipatory Management by William C. Ashley and James L. Morrison
http://horizon.unc.edu/courses/papers/AnticipatoryManagement.asp
---------------
As you have already noted, a rewards program could do wonders for your
small organization. I feel that this true provided it be executed very
carefully and with much study. I will post here some links to
different reward programs and mechanisms which you could implement and
avoid since eventually it is you who has a true knowledge of your
organization and staff’s strengths and weaknesses.
Performance Management Reward
http://www.p-management.com/reward.htm
Principle of Performance Management Reward: “From a performance
management point of view, the ultimate objective is to create a
workplace environment that is filled with both natural work
reinforcers (intrinsic) and external rewards and recognition, all
directed to those behaviors necessary to achieve results that make a
difference. (Wilson). In achieving this, rethinking the reward-systems
is crucial. We have to step out of the standard ways of thinking about
reward-systems and try to see this instrument as a product. A product
for the internal customer, the employee. It means seeing the reward
system as an instrument that supports those behaviors of employees
which make a difference in achieving business-goals. It goes beyond
making sure that people are getting paid and includes understanding
the messages that are being sent and the behaviors that are being
reinforced (Wilson). It also means seeing the compensation program
differently then 'just paying for performance'. “
--------
Innovative Reward Systems for the Changing Workplace
by Thomas B. Wilson
http://www.opm.gov/perform/articles/026.htm
Principle of Workplace Reward Systems: “Wilson views rewards programs
as including base pay, appraisals, and various kinds of awards. That
is why his book, which would appear to be solely about reward systems,
includes an in-depth chapter on managing performance. While the
chapters on base pay and stock options don't apply to Federal
employees, the rest of the book is rich in practical, useful wisdom
and guidelines for designing new programs in any work situation.”
“The process of performance management reflects how the work gets done
and creates the environment in which people feel valued for their
achievements.”
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Motivation Theory
http://www.accel-team.com/motivation/
Principle of Motivation Theories: “Performance is considered to be a
function of ability and motivation.”
---------
Why Employee Ranking Systems Lead To Disaster
http://www.work911.com/performance/particles/rank.htm
Principle of Employee Ranking: “The core element of the use of
rankings is that employees are compared to each other, and given some
number that supposedly indicates whether they are better than, about
the same, or less effective than their colleagues. That ranking is
often used to determine who will receive pay raises from a limited
pool of money, or for other decision-making processes."
"The criteria for ranking can range from specific and objective to
totally fuzzy and subjective. For example, it is possible to rank
sales staff objectively, in terms of the sales generated in a year,
and identify the top salesperson, the next best, down to the bottom
based on some reasonably meaningful numbers. Or, one can rank people
on a set of fuzzy criteria such as ‘gets along well with team
members’.”
-------------------
The following links provide software to check on workplace
accountability.
ASDTek
http://www.asdtek.com/employees.html
Profiler from Mercator Software
http://www.mercator.com.au/product/profiler.htm
People Systems Software
http://www.people-systems.com/index_new.html
WebMBO Software
http://www.webmbo.com/products.asp
---------------
One very bright spot I see in your group is that you are a staff of 4
and management and accountability and structure are being addressed in
the organization. In this stage a number of possibilities to instill a
positive corporate culture is still achievable, and that could help
the company in good times and bad in the future. Aside from the
software or rewards program you could setup, adopting a management
system is also very important and critical at this point.
It is helpful to read on different management disciplines and theories
so that you could determine what style you would be comfortable with.
Here are some of them:
Management By Objectives
http://www.1000ventures.com/business_guide/mgmt_mbo_main.html
Principle of MBO: “MBO is a systematic and organized approach that
allows management to focus on achievable goals and to attain the best
possible results from available resources. The principle behind MBO is
to make sure that everybody within the organization has a clear
understanding of the aims, or objectives, of that organization, as
well as awareness of their own roles and responsibilities in achieving
those aims. The complete MBO system is to get managers acting to
implement and achieve their plans, which automatically achieve those
of the organization.”
-------
The Gallup Workplace Management Program
http://education.gallup.com/develop/gwm.asp
Principle of Gallup Management: “The workplace survey provides the
baseline data to determine the current status of workgroups by
identifying areas of strength and areas needing improvement. Gallup's
program provides you with an empirical research base for knowing what
to measure and which questions to ask. Then, Gallup provides intensive
training for workgroup leaders to use to involve everyone in their
workgroups in action planning and implementation, and provides
materials to assist in this process.”
----
Total Quality Management
http://www.improve.org/tqm.html
http://www.emeraldinsight.com/tqm.htm
The 9 TQM Tools
http://www.iqd.com/pfttools.htm
Principle of TQM: “…TQM is also a change in an organization's culture
its norms, values, and belief systems about how organizations
function. And finally, it is a change in an organization's political
system: decision making processes and power bases. For substantive
change to occur, changes in these three dimensions must be aligned:
TQM as a technological change will not be successful unless cultural
and political dimensions are attended to as well (Tichey, 1983).”
Business Process Reengineering
http://hsb.baylor.edu/ramsower/acis/papers/orman.htm
Principle of Business Process Reengineering: “Business Process
Reengineering is the popular term for reoptimization of organizational
processes and structures following the introduction of new information
technologies into an organization.”
This site provides insights on different management theories and
styles that could also start you off on what to use for your company.
Various Styles of Management
http://www.mapnp.org/library/mng_thry/styles.htm
Search terms used:
Workplace accountability management software
Management rewards program
Management theories
I hope these links would help you in your research and most especially
in your business. Before rating this answer, please ask for a
clarification if you have a question or if you would need further
information. Thanks for visiting us at Google Answers.
Regards,
Easterangel-ga |
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