Terri,
I really enjoy and value your involvement in these discussions. On this
one, you say,
> Does differentiation need to rely on ranking? I don't believe so, but
>again it seems to rest with how we define the term. What is different
>about these types of assessment (or whatever you want to call them) is
>that it is not automatically presumed that the individual being assessed
>is alone in his/her deficit. That there is an organizational
>responsibility as well, to help ensure the individual can be most
>effective.
I take it from this that you assume that ranking presumes the individual
is alone in his/her need. This is not my assumption. Ranking may imply
that to most people, I cannot say. Just to be clear, ranking to me is
just a way to identify interesting variances. The variances may result
from many, many circumstances, some, but not most, revolving around
compentency of the individual. On the other hand, competency is not at
all irrelevant, and must be considered. This is especially true when one
can detect no systemic differences between one employee and another, and
yet one performs better than the other.
> Addressing those long- neglected humanizing concerns does not
>necessitate the elimination of broader business concerns. I don't see us
>as somehow 'glorifying' humanistic work; rather, it's recognizing (as
>you further described in your note) the need to integrate the two.
Yes, yes, yes, yes. Actually, the very best companies tend to assess,
have high expectations for performance, and simultaneously deal with the
"humanizing concerns." This is not a paradox, any more than having high
expectations leads to more satisfied workers. Separate research shows
that most people really want to be challenged in their work. There is a
special, non-monetary reward from wrestling with a tough problem and
succeeding. So assessment is not counter-human in some undefined way, it
is very human.
--Rol Fessenden
Learning-org -- Hosted by Rick Karash <rkarash@karash.com> Public Dialog on Learning Organizations -- <http://www.learning-org.com>