Problems Solved in Analyzing Human Performance by Robert Mager and Peter Pipe - Book Report/Review Example

Analyzing Human Performance: A Book Review A book for Masters level Improving human performance is talked about in the world of training anddevelopment, - focusing first on the results one wants to get, and then examining possible reasons why one is not getting those results. This book, Analyzing Performance Problems by Robert F. Mager, & Peter Pipe (1997 demystifies that focus and that examination. As such, this book is worth a resource for a graduate level course. When employees dont perform up to expectations, it is said managers start spinning and acting on theories that are often just plain wrong. Not only in countering wrong-headed theories, this book serves as a precise guide for what to do when employees perform below expectation. It addresses the notion that the gap between desired performance and actual performance is not fixed by training alone. Accordingly, what is required is a “solution strategy cocktail.” As the book covers solution strategies, graduate students may derive much from the discussions that include better information inputs and transfer, derivation of performance objectives and the provision of good modelling, provision of work stream performance supports, simplifying the task, relevant and sufficient practice opportunities, regular and frequent feedback on performance, better performance management and incentives, and appropriate state-of-the-art instruction. Summary. The authors explain what training is, and what its not. It is said that "training" wont fix a problem unless the problem stems from a lack of skill or knowledge. They explain why one cant train one’s way out of badly designed jobs, or out of idiotic incentive systems, or a lack of resources. They also show ways to deal with those barriers to accomplishment. Mager and Pike have created an advanced performance flowchart from previous editions which enable the trainer or manager to first identify if a problem exists, its importance, and then what to continue to do from that point. The result will be selecting the appropriate strategy to solve the problem. The number of performance problems in the brief case studies provided may guide the reader through the Performance Analysis Flow. The question is that, is training the solution to a problem in the workplace? Not always, the book says. A toolkit to help supervisors and managers intervene when work is not being done as it should be done, the book also helps to find out why there is a discrepancy, and then work with the employee to develop methods for improvement. Training as a possible solution does not appear until the middle of the book. Training is needed because a person has never performed as required and does not know how to perform as required. Training can also help when skills have decayed over time and training is needed to refresh them. Looking at human performance, it is said that one needs to remember that people will usually follow the path of least resistance. Accordingly, they do not choose wrong performance because they want to be wrong. Rather, they choose the wrong performance because it is the best solution for them. Mager and Pipe uncover why people make these choices and offer a way to achieve the correct performance one seeks. Strengths of the book. The book shows how supervisors and managers can resolve work performance problems without creating hostility and help them work through some difficult supervisory challenges. The Performance Flowchart is one commendable and one you would want to hang in your office. The authors’ approach speaks directly to the issue of not making the assumption that a performance discrepancy is the fault of the employee. Neither is it always the fault of a supervisor or the result of lack of training. Mager and Pipes book reminds one that there are many reasons for work performance issues, and it is crucial to know the reasons before we order "Improvement, or else!" The book tells one how to actually deal with an employees performance issue when the problem has gone on forever and no one seems to have handled it successfully. In a step-by-step manner, it tells one how to analyze a performance issue and how to work with others to correct it. Weaknesses. As there are more aspects to leadership and management than the authors describe, it is scary that a person with no people skills try to apply the techniques described in this work. I would suggest reading books by more principle-centered authors first - such as Coveys thoughts, One Minute Manager concepts, Who Moved My Cheese principles and anything else that may add to one’s effectiveness. Some of the time, the authors appear to say, if nobody seems to listen to you, this book can come in handy; manipulate the worker to do your own bidding! Further, the tone of the book at times is not exactly on the level. It assumes a sniffy voice. For example, "there probably isnt one worker in a thousand who can clearly describe the results or accomplishments they are expected to achieve." Realistic though as it promises, the book barely escapes from being somewhat disdainful of workers as in, "Its not uncommon for people to be expected to do things that they havent been given permission to do." Assumptions. The underlying assumption is that people are either motivated by rewards or punishment. There is a flowchart that helps one understand how to influence [actually manipulate] people into behaving as one wants them to. According to the authors, when we see a gap, we too easily jump to the conclusion that some training will be the solution. The authors show the multitude of other causes that may be at work – for example, issues around motivation, organizational or resource constraints, lack of clarity about what is expected, or temporary personal problems. Idea learned. If one uses the flowchart and the material in the book, it isnt likely to come to that full point. It is because the bottom line of this book is that at some level, work has to improve, or else. We learn that problems can be a result of invisible expectations (you didnt tell me how) or what the book calls "upside-down consequences" (doing it right is not as rewarding as doing it wrong). Using many common sense examples, this book demonstrates that solutions other than training can solve performance problems. In fact, one may discover that training is a useless solution that may not solve the problem. The authors warn that until you take apart the expected performance, look at the component parts, and identify why the performer chooses the wrong action, you cannot correct the performance deficiency. As such, the authors had dissected possible sources of error into six parts: task perception, capability and experience, work environment, mistake, motivation, and actions of others. Under actions of others, only four causes are mentioned: failure to communicate information, frustration of actions, incorrect or faulty components supplied, and insufficient quality of contribution. It is in motivation, however, that the authors zero in: lack of incentive for high level of performance, lack of concentration on a task, and personal objectives. In assessing these, they do not appear as new views. What is new and novel are the authors’ realistic views about reward and punishment and how people behave, that are somewhat brutally frank. Questions. If there’s a question I would ask the authors, it is about manipulation. Every time the authors speak about motivation, it is more like manipulation. I would like to know how they would differentiate the two. They were concerned that we often apply training solutions to many problems that are not rooted in training, especially motivational problems. They presented a model on how to analyze a performance discrepancy to determine if it is based in a skill deficiency or motivational problem. Quote. On the cover of the book are the words "How to figure out why people arent doing what they should be, and what to do about it.” Then in the text, it says - "People do things for the strangest reasons. For equally strange reasons, they also dont do things.... If we label others as having poor attitude and lack of motivation, we are finger-pointing, naming a culprit and hinting at a solution instead of probing for the problem by asking, Why is this so? What causes it? Similarly, we jump the gun if we look at inadequate performance and declare, Weve got a training problem. Again, this confuses problem and solution. Training isnt a problem; its just one of the solutions   used to solve problems that arise when people truly cannot do what is expected of them." I am intrigued by this quote as I had never thought training to be negative in anyway. It is true, it is often assumed that trainings could solve work problems without as much evaluating those trainings that come in expensive packages year in and year out. The book clearly makes a point even just by this aspect considered. The book shared. Mager and Pipe make the following observation: "People dont perform as desired for many reasons; for example: (a) they dont know whats expected;  (b) they dont have the tools, space, authority; (c) they dont get feedback about performance quality; (d) theyre punished when they do it right; (e) theyre rewarded when they do it wrong;  (f) theyre ignored whether they do it right or wrong; and  (g) they dont know how to do it." It takes, therefore, a manager to find out what’s really wrong. It is now clear that there are no uniform reasons for problems as each problem has its own context. As the authors state in their Preface, "Solutions to problems are like keys in locks; they dont work if they dont fit. And if solutions arent the right ones, the problem doesnt get solved." Often what people think is "the problem" isnt the problem at all. It is said that the authors, especially Mager, have been relentless in their critique of misdirected management and training interventions to solve performance problems. For this alone, management has a lot to thank them. Their step-by-step approach can be used in a broad range of situations, even with children! Reference Mager, Robert F. & Peter Pipe. (1997). Analyzing Performance Problems: or You Really Oughta Wanna. 3rd ed. Atlanta: The Center for Effective Performance, Inc. Read More