Synopses & Reviews
Part One lays out the framework for Improving Performance, including viewing organizations as systems and introducing the three levels of Performance: Organization, Process, and Job/Performer.
Part Two digs deep into the what and how of the Three Levels.
Part Three shows how to apply the Three Levels of Performance, including:
· Linking Performance to Strategy
· Moving from annual programs to sustained Performance Improvement
· Diagnosing and improving performance case study
· Redesigning Processes
· Overcoming the Seven Deadly Sins of Performance Improvement
· Measuring Performance
· Managing Processes and Organizations as Systems
· Designing Organizational Structures that work
· Creating a Performance-based HRD Function
· Developing an Action Plan
New content to this edition includes:
· Two new real-world Case Studies
· A new Chapter on How Process Innovations Are Enabled in a Digital World
· Many additional proven-to-work tools from real-world consulting experience.
Synopsis
Improving Performance is recognized as the book that launched the Process Improvement revolution. It was the first such approach to bridge the gap between organization strategy and the individual. Now, in this revised and expanded new edition, Gary Rummler reflects on the key needs of organizations faced with today's challenge of managing change in today's complex world. The book shows how to apply the three levels of performance and link performance to strategy, move from annual programs to sustained performance improvement, redesign processes, overcome the seven deadly sins of performance improvement and much more.
Synopsis
Improving PerformanceWith more than 150,000 units of two prior editions sold worldwide, Improving Performance: How to Manage the White Space on the Organization Chart is recognized as the book that launched the Process Improvement revolution. This seminal work by the cofounders of the Rummler-Brache Group emphasizes that the greatest opportunities for performance improvement often lie in the functional interfacesthose points at which the baton is being passed from one department to another.
Through case studies and examples, Improving Performance shows how the Rummler-Brache approach can:
- Resolve nagging white space issues
- Forge a stronger link between strategy and process redesign
- Install a measurement system that provides a foundation for continuous improvement and growth
- Overcome the common pitfalls in process redesign efforts
- Implement the significant changes that result from process improvement projects
- Develop a customer-focused, participative, accountability-based culture
With multiple charts, checklists, and new hands-on tools, the third edition of Improving Performance will enable you to better understand your organization and bring about top-to-bottom productivity gains.
Synopsis
Which is more important your people, or your processes?
Over the long haul, even strong people can't compensate for a weak process. Sure, some occasional success may come from team or individual heroics. But if you pit a good performer against a bad process, the process will win almost every time.
The expanded and revised third edition of Improving Performance provides step-by-step detailed instruction on how to apply the Rummler-Brache methodology to reconstruct processes so they boost rather than impede productivity.
Praise for Improving Performance
"Tower's ability to grow from a startup in 1990 to one of the fifty largest property/casualty insurance writers in the United States was the result of combining clear, strategic goals and effective process design and execution. Rummler and Brache's Improving Performance, specifically the Nine Performance Variables, provided a comprehensive framework to help Tower deliver on the commitment to growth and allow us to serve the needs of agents, insureds, and employees."
Michael H. Lee, president and chief executive officer, Tower Group Companies
"Times change. People conceive new products and services. Organizations shift to dramatically different business models. But what doesn't change is that managers and executives still rely on processes to conduct their business . . . . Improving Performance remains the sacred text on process design, and this new edition offers state-of-the-art insights to make sure your processes are sleek and strong."
Price Pritchett, Ph.D., chairman and chief executive officer, PRITCHETT, LP
Synopsis
Improving Performance is recognized as the book that launched the Process Improvement revolution. It was the first such approach to bridge the gap between organization strategy and the individual. Now, in this revised and expanded new edition, Gary Rummler reflects on the key needs of organizations faced with today's challenge of managing change in today’s complex world. The book shows how to apply the three levels of performance and link performance to strategy, move from annual programs to sustained performance improvement, redesign processes, overcome the seven deadly sins of performance improvement and much more. |
About the Author
Geary Rummler, a pioneer in the application of instructional and performance technologies to organizations, cofounded the Rummler-Brache Group, a global leader in process management consulting and training.
Alan Brache, cofounder of the Rummler-Brache Group, focuses his consulting and writing on a methodology for resolving critical issues through the identification, documentation, analysis, design, measurement, and continuous improvement of business processes.
The Rummler-Brache Group, exclusive owner of the trademarked Rummler-Brache methodology, is a consulting and training firm specializing in process improvement and management. Rummler-Brache employs a wide range of interventions that span the delivery spectrumfrom "do it for you" hands-on consulting, all the way to "do it with you" coaching and facilitation. A key differentiator is our core competency: we transfer the knowledge and technology you need to become self-sufficient at delivering business results through performance improvement projects. For more information, please visit www.RummlerBrache.com or call 800-992-8849.
Table of Contents
List of Figures and Tables v
Foreword ix
Preface xi
The Authors xvii
PART ONE: A FRAMEWORK FOR IMPROVING PERFORMANCE 1
1 Viewing Organizations as Systems 3
2 Three Levels of Performance: Organization, Process, and Job/Performer 12
PART TWO: EXPLORING THE THREE LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE 27
3 The Organization Level of Performance 29
4 The Process Level of Performance 42
5 The Job/Performer Level of Performance 62
PART THREE: APPLYING THE THREE LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE 75
6 Linking Performance to Strategy 77
7 Moving from Annual Programs to Sustained Performance Improvement 86
8 Diagnosing and Improving Performance: A Case Study 97
9 Project Definition: The Ten Essential Steps 110
10 Process Analysis and Design: The Ten Essential Steps 140
11 Overcoming the Seven Deadly Sins of Process Improvement 174
12 Measuring Performance and Designing a Performance Management System 182
13 Managing Processes and Organizations as Systems 211
14 Designing an Organization Structure That Works 226
15 Creating a Performance-Based Human Resource Development Function 244
16 Developing an Action Plan for Performance Improvement 259
Index 264
Instructor’s Guide 270