Employee Ranking Systems LO17805

Leslie Lax (leslax@cnx.net)
Fri, 17 Apr 1998 01:14:28 -0700

Replying to LO17801 --

Rol, you wrote

> 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.

Now semantics may be getting in the way here, but as I understand it, one
can begin to appreciate systemic differences through emergence.
Emergence, is that which results from the various and varying
relationships between people and people and their environment / context.
With two different human beings, how can we fail to detect systemic
differences?

It would seem to me that it is not only the external view of the system in
which one operates that influences our relationships but our own
understanding of those relationships as well as others understanding
etc... Please do not confuse this with a reductionist perspective, or
analysis paralysis. All I am trying to point out is that as we construct
systems / mental models of systems we tend to assume that others have
similar understanding of those systems. Perhaps it is a lack of
convergence of understanding that leads us to assess others as lacking in
competency?

To use an analogy with which I am not entirely comfortable - perhaps as
assessors, we may expect certain parts of the system to act as attractors,
that is enable people to find the best path to a reasonably productive
contribution. But what if the initial condition (our weltanschaung (sp?))
is not the same for all. Surely this would lead to different if not
divergent paths. I believe that is is the role of leadership (as opposed
to leaders) to manage this divergence, rather than funnel all into the
same starting point.

In my mind, this is what facilitates the continuing emergence of a LO.

-- 

"Leslie Lax" <leslax@cnx.net>

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