Dr. Merry, in Organizational lifespan LO17775, asked:
>Can anyone on this list tell us about other studies that either give some
>support or disconfirm the hypotheses.
Here are some random stats from my files that relate to some extxt and
that might be of interest. Not all are directly related to the question
at hand but do relate to issues of longevity. Apologies if I've posted
some of these before...
The Fortune 500 list is ever-whirling. Today, only 13 of the original top
50 from 1955 remain. More revealing than this attrition, however, is the
profile of the companies that have replaced yesterday's giants. Where once
the list was dominated by businesses that actually made stuff (US Steel,
Swift, Gulf Oil), these days the list belongs increasingly to
communications, health care, and insurance firms (AT&T, Columbia HCA,
Prudential), companies with inventories that can be hard to find.
- Jennifer HiIlner - Wired Magazine Feb, 98 page 70
Doing enough to get by might well become America's new work ethic
suggests a recent study that found only 10-20% of workforce truly
'engaged' in their work. Engaged employees are more productive and express
a high level of job satisfaction.
The Inventure Group, Eden Prairie, Minn., interviewed 5,000 people
from a variety of organizations and industries to discover how connected
people were with their jobs. The ideal employees are productive, truly
engaged in their work and profess a high level of job satisfaction. They
found engagement levels of employees fell between two extremes -- two
distinctly opposite and discomforting groups.
To one extreme, the 'burned out.". Here are those people suffering
from over-engagement, Too much work... too little, time. So much effort..
.so little reward. Great ideas... poor direction. The burned out employees
were characterized by disorientation (What do I do?), a loss of passion
(It doesn't matter what I do), and an overwhelming sense of tiredness (I
have too much to do.)
On the other side, "The rusted out employees were using the time
to avoid committing more than absolutely necessary to keeping their jobs.
Do the bare minimum, satisfy the management, and keep getting paid. These
employees are disengaged. They are committed to keeping their job, but
not to doing it to the best of their ability. There may be a lot of
talent, it's just misguided or not being used to its potential.
Sound like your workplace is filled with burn-outs? You might
think again. Surprisingly, the burned out side didn't account for many
employees. The overwhelming majority (80-90%) were disengaged-rustouts.
The impact of fully engaging only 10-20% of a workforce presents
significant management challenges in this era of doing more with less.'
- AQP newsletter, "News for a Change" November, 1997, page 4
Statistics from "Don't trust your boss? Join the crowd, U.S. Surveys
show" by Maggie Jackson, AP, September 2, 1997. Survey of 1000 workers by
The Marlin Company:
Little more than half of employees would recommend their company as a good
place to work, according to a survey of 9100 people by Watson Wyatt
61% of workers are satisfied or very satisfied with their jobs, but only
32% feel management makes good and timely decisions
Only 35% of workers would characterize the level of trust between senior
management and employees as favorable
Only 36% felt their companies actively sought workers' opinions
Just 38% said the information needed to accomplish their work is widely
shared
23% of those surveyed by Gallop for The Marlin Company said they were
extremely satisfied, 40% said they were satisfied and 26% somewhat
satisfied
A majority - 64% - said they were very loyal to their company, made up of
77% of those 50 and older compared to just 57% of those aged 18 to 34.
Sixty percent of people in their twenties say that they never want to work
for someone else.
The study ("Minds at Work: How Much Brainpower Are We Really Using?")
explores the attitudes and practices of 641 managers and 773 hourly
employees in companies with 100 or more employees.
Most workers say they are not trained to think better. Even 40% of manager
respondents admitted that workers don't receive training to improve their
thinking and problem-solving skills. Yet two-thirds of workers report when
problems and breakdowns occur, they are pressured for immediate solutions
and high-level trouble-shooting.
Half of the workers and 45% of managers say it's also not easy to get
access to information they need to solve problems, make decisions and draw
up work plans. And 47% of employees and 26% of managers in the study don't
believe their organizations anticipate potential problems well. If
original plans fail, more than half of workers claim their organization
doesn't always have a back-up plan.
For more information about the study, call Kepner-Tregoe in Princeton, NJ,
at 212/317-0710.--Training Directors' Forum
A survey of 1414 managers and workers, released by Kepner-Tregoe, Inc,
provided the following data- Nearly two-thirds of 773 hourly workers said
their organizations were operating with half or less than half the
employee brainpower available to them. 63% of the responding 641 managers
shared that observation. The barriers most commonly cited were
organizational politics, time pressure, and lack of involvement in the
decision-making process. Lack of training was another barrier frequently
cited. The Washington Employers Bulletin (Nov 97) was the source for this
article.
And some last little tidbits that have little to do with anything:
Tidbits of Information
**Contributed to Swenny's E-Mail Funnies by Carey Miller, Denver,
Colorado**
Panama is the narrowest part of Central America, yet has no mountains
where one can view both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; 11,325 foot Mount
Izaru in neighboring Costa Rica is the only point in the world from which
one can see both oceans.
It is against the law in California to set a trap for a mouse unless you
have a hunting license.
In Gary, Indiana its against the law to take a streetcar or go to theater
within four hours after eating garlic.
In Massachusetts, its against the law to use tomatoes when making clam
chowder.
St. Johns Lane, a street in Rome, is only 19 inches wide.
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