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March
20, 2001 Issue 10
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FROM
THE FIELD Drastic Layoffs Don't Always Pay Off |
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SHOP
TALK What Are Some Tools to Help People Shift from a Short-Term to a Long-Term Perspective? and Reader Response to Introducing Group Bonuses |
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LEARNING
LINKS Integrating Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management: From an Interview with Peter Senge |
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FROM
THE FIELD Downsizing seems
to be a trend today for how companies handle the challenges of efficiency
and profitability. But according to Gary Chaison, professor of industrial
relations at Clark University's Graduate School of Management in
Worcester, MA, layoffs can have lasting negative consequences for
a business. Unfortunately, what companies hope to gain in short-term benefits—lower costs in anticipation of industry slowdowns or quick profits to impress investors—often backfires over the long run. A company breaks its social contract with workers by laying them off. Employees' feelings of betrayal, resentment, and dislocation can affect their productivity. In addition, those who remain are likely to be less loyal and innovative than before and more likely to seek new employment opportunities. How can we stop the spiral of layoffs that has become part of today's management strategy? Chaison says employers have to recognize the downside to downsizing—realizing that layoffs seldom save companies. To do so, they must ultimately change their assumptions about how a company survives and thrives in the new economy. Source: "Is
There a Downside to Downsizing? A Q&A with Professor Gary Chaison
on a New Corporate Trend," The MetroWest Daily News, Sunday,
February 11, 2001 |
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SHOP
TALK Most of our organizations and societal structures are oriented toward short-term fixes, without taking the long-term implications into account. What are some specific tools or methods we can use to help people shift their approach from a short-term to a long-term perspective? Please take a minute to share your thoughts about this issue in the Systems Thinking Forum. Selected comments will be shared in a future issue of LEVERAGE POINTS. FROM ISSUE #9 Team Bonus Program I am a consultant in Zurich and currently in contact with a fairly large hospital in Europe that wants to introduce a group-bonus program to honor interdisciplinary team efforts (e.g., doctors, nurses, technical personnel in operating rooms). Does anyone have field experience on this subject? Juerg Kuster Consider giving 25% (or so) of a team bonus to an individual member of a team who contributed most to fostering the team's dynamics. This person will be chosen by members of the team—not by some management "outsider." They will determine not the individual who "did more" or "produced more," but the one who, for this period of time, fostered the team synergies more. Timing-wise, distribute this "individualistic" bonus along with the team bonus. Encourage the group, but recognize the catalysts in the group and those striving to be catalysts. David L. Hanson, Ph.D. Consulting Psychologist Synergistic Psychology Associates, P.A. Charlotte, NC As the administrative director of the AIDS Center at Montefiore Medical Center with a multidisciplinary team of over 50 healthcare professionals serving over 1,700 adult HIV-infected patients, I have an interest in your query. In our setting, however, we are constrained because some of our team members are under union contract, which prohibits bonuses. This contract does not apply to management or physicians. What we have done is to offer team retreats (all expenses paid) and provide a generous reimbursement policy regarding team members' professional conference expenses. Obviously, this is not sufficient. I would welcome additional suggestions. Eli Camhi Readers who wish to view the complete responses to this question or to continue this discussion are invited to go to the Healthcare Community Forum. Selected comments will be shared in a future issue of LEVERAGE POINTS. |
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LEARNING LINKS Integrating Organizational Learning and Knowledge Management: From an Interview with Peter Senge by Lauren Keller Johnson In the business world, some observers claim that "knowledge management" is the wave of the future; others think that it's an idea whose time has passed. But there's been little discussion of how knowledge management may coordinate with and support existing corporate initiatives, such as organizational learning. According to Peter Senge, author of The Fifth Discipline, knowledge management historically consisted of capturing, storing, and retrieving information. But knowledge is less a thing than a process; it is "the capacity for effective action." Senge says that knowledge is "generated" when someone learns to do something better; when that person shares these new learnings with others, who then also improve their effectiveness, knowledge gets "diffused." These two processes occur most frequently in informal settings—through the interactions of people as they do their work. Thus, we can think of knowledge management as ways in which we enable and enhance the generation and diffusion of new learning, in other words, how working teams transform their capabilities in order to produce desired outcomes. How does organizational learning fit in? Its emphasis on improving learning capabilities supports internal networks— where knowledge gets diffused—in functioning effectively. It also helps managers overcome impediments to knowledge management, such as cultural differences, competition, and information hoarding. Knowledge management, in turn, can expand the focus of organizational learning from small groups to larger networks. Integrated together, the two have the potential to support large-scale change in our organizations. Read the complete source article or see LEVERAGE, No. 34, October 1999. Readers who wish to discuss this topic are invited to the Knowledge Cafe Forum. |
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| Copyright 2001 Pegasus Communications. LEVERAGE POINTS can be freely distributed in its entirety, or reproduced or excerpted for another publication with written permission from Pegasus Communications. Contact permissions@pegasuscom.com. | ||||||||||||||||
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"The
thread that binds together the fabric of life
is called relationships. Relationships exist
to challenge us, to teach us, to inspire us,
to guide us and enable us to participate in
the splendor and beauty of life. They offer
us an opportunity to give."
