Group Performance

Group Performance

Introduction

Today, teams and organizations face rapid change like never before. Globalization has increased the markets and opportunities for more growth and revenue. However, increasingly diverse markets have a wide variety of needs and expectations that must be understood if they are to become strong customers and collaborators. Concurrently, scrutiny of stakeholders has increased as some executives have been convicted of illegal actions in their companies, and the compensation of executives seems to be increasing while wages of others seems to be decreasing or leveling off. Thus, the ability to manage change, while continuing to meet the needs of stakeholders, is a very important skill required by today's leaders and managers.[1]

Engaged Performance is defined as a result that is achieved by stimulating employees' enthusiasm for their work and directing it toward organizational success. This result can only be achieved when employers offer an implicit contract to their employees that elicits specific positive behaviors aligned with the organization's goals. Getting Engaged Performance is not just about investing financially in employees through perks or pay hikes. It is about striking a new contract in which the organization invests emotionally in its workforce. In exchange, employees make a similar emotional investment, pouring their “discretionary effort” into their work and delivering superior performance. The new contract says,“We'll make your job (and life) more meaningful. You give us your hearts and minds.” Organizational working relationships have changed since many of today's CEOs started work. Before the early 1990s recession an unspoken contract existed between employer and employee: Commit to working here for the long term and we will offer you job security, good pay and promotions. But the recession led to reengineering and downsizing, breaking that contract. Moreover, there is a new mindset among young people who began their careers in the boom years after the 1990 recession. They do not expect lifetime employment with a single employer. They consider personal fulfilment in their work as a birthright — and this is extremely unlikely to change during economic downturn. They will just take different options — for example, free agency or self employment — rather than work for a low-reputation employer. Many organizations that have not recognized this significant change in agenda are struggling to cope. Frustrated executives say,we raised their salaries, gave them performance-based incentives and instituted flextime — but we're still losing good employees and having productivity problems. What do these people want anyway? The demands of employees are beginning to mirror the demands customers now make on businesses. In the past two decades, customers have become increasingly demanding and businesses have responded by forging new “value propositions” for customers, usually through value-added service. Hay believes that you have to start thinking about the people you employ the same way you think about customers. That means offering them a rewarding environment to work in, not just financial rewards. [2]

Discussion

Significant organizational change occurs, for example, when an organization changes its overall strategy for success, adds or removes a major section or practice, and/or ...