It hasn't worked that well in business. In the public sector, it has sometimes been disastrous.
I started paying attention to business management in the late 1970s, and my timing could not have been better. I saw all the business fads of the late 20th century paraded before me, from "management by objectives," "Theory Z" and "in search of excellence" through "reengineering the corporation," "good to great" and "Six Sigma." At one point I wondered, are all these management theories actually the same ideas with new titles?
The fads seemed harmless enough -- and may have been useful if they encouraged executives to think about their businesses in new ways. But one struck me, then and now, as dangerous. And that was "pay for performance." Even more frightening, it has made its way into government, with terrible consequences.
In one sense, there's nothing new about paying people for performance. Factories have long paid for "piece work" -- that is, for each unit a worker turns out. Salespeople often receive commissions, which are a share of each sale. And if you tip a waiter, a hair stylist or a parking attendant, you're paying for performance.
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DelMarVa's Premier Source for News, Opinion, Analysis, and Human Interest Contact Publisher Joe Albero at alberobutzo@wmconnect.com or 410-430-5349
7 comments:
Otis have you ever worked in the real world?????
Trump says he wants to fix the government...
Here's a start:
Get rid of the portion of USAJOBS that prescreens applications - it currently drops the most qualified candidates out and prevents them from getting interviews.
Eliminate the hiring preferences for joining the federal workforce - except the Veterans - and they should only get it for initial entry. This will prevent internal candidates from moving around enhancing their peter principle scores while allowing hiring managers to get better candidates from anywhere instead of less qualified preferential hire candidates.
Enforce the job requirements - if the position says 'requires bachelors degree', current position holders should be terminated if they don't finish that degree by the next FY cycle!
Make every position open to the outside (instead of posting some twice.
Make every position direct hire eligible.
Eliminate federal employees unions (remember PATCO!).
Make federal workers firable for omission and commission.
Heard that the Town of Ocean City will be implementing pay for performance soon.
They had this policy at a local penal institution and the "supervisor" wanted half of the bonus for giving a subordinates a superior performance rating.
There are filthy dirt bags who take advantage of any situation.
But I can't "Pay for Performance" of a sex act on me, not fair!
Pay for performance won't be fair, to much favoritism and cronyism in government.
Loaded concept. Bogus goals. No downside to missing the 'goals'; continued employment or a promotion.
The entire culture of public employment, at any level, runs counter to the concept. Public employees seek and stay in their jobs because of the safety and security they offer.
Get rid of it.
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