An Ounce of Good Assessment is Worth a Pound of Analysis and a Ton of Cure

Kaufman, Roger

doi:10.1002/pfi.21396

Cited by 6 publications

(11 citation statements)

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“…• Risk Aversion bias: We tend to choose a sure or familiar solution over what we perceive to be unfamiliar or risky options. Kaufman (2014) cited the work of Daniel Kahneman, known for his work on the psychology of judgement and decision-making, and behavioral economics for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize, to explain two different modes of thinking-and, by extension, two different ways of approaching problem-solving. In his 2013 best-selling book, Thinking, Fast and Slow, Kahneman (2013) distinguishes the quick System 1 from the slow System 2 and provides an integrative framework from which we can recognize the various decision-making biases listed above.…”

Section: Reflecting On Our Thinkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In a keen and succinct overview of needs assessment fundamentals, Kaufman (2014) provides performance improvement practitioners with a frame for approaching the solutions vs. problems conversation. He references Joe Harless' iconic An Ounce of Analysis Is Worth a Pound of Cure to highlight the importance of starting with a clear Email: ingrid.guerra-lopez@wayne.edu understanding of the problem we want to fix.…”

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confidence: 99%

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An Ounce of Good Assessment is Worth a Pound of Analysis and a Ton of Cure: Revisiting Seminal Insights in Performance Improvement

Guerra-López¹

2021

Perf. Improv.

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Roger Kaufman's 2014 article, An Ounce of Good Assessment Is Worth a Pound of Analysis and a Ton of Cure reminds us that before embarking on any endeavor, it is vital to know where we are headed and how to tell when we have successfully arrived. In our work lives, it is not uncommon to hear individuals espouse the importance of never bringing a problem to others without also offering a solution. This "conventional wisdom," Kaufman would argue, reinforces the belief that value is inherently found in solutions, and blurs the line between experiencing a symptom and defining the problem. Regrettably, our sense of urgency to focus on organizational solutions and change initiatives is accompanied by failure rate estimates as high as 70%. Certainly solutions are important, but where we start our performance improvement efforts can and does influence our success, particularly when we start with "solutions in search of no-known problems."

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Section: Reflecting On Our Thinkingmentioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

An Ounce of Good Assessment is Worth a Pound of Analysis and a Ton of Cure: Revisiting Seminal Insights in Performance Improvement

Guerra-López¹

2021

Perf. Improv.

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“…as well as to assess the performance outcomes (i.e., the degree of effectiveness of the local ergonomic committees). Assessing only the existing course and training transfer would yield improvement opportunities but miss the opportunity to improve the intervention—and the value of the investment, which was aligned with the organization's strategic goals (described by Kaufman as macro‐level assessment; see Kaufman, ; Kaufman et al, ).…”

Section: Case Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Evaluation and Needs Assessment: A Case Study of an Ergonomics Program

Kalman¹

2016

Perf Improvement Qrtly

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This case study focuses on the relationship between evaluation and needs assessment and how both processes were integrated in one project. The project involved evaluating a 10‐year‐old ergonomics course. The course was one component of a broader organizational change initiative, aimed to reduce or eliminate on‐the‐job injuries. The success of the change initiative depended on applying knowledge from the course as well as other workplace variables, such as management commitment, plant communications, and the relationship between management and union labor. Robert Stake's (1967) countenance framework was modified to consider both instructional and performance issues in the research design. Data collection included observing the course, conducting focus groups with past course attendees who were ergonomic committee members, interviewing ergonomic teams in manufacturing plants, and reviewing course materials and other related documents. The findings illustrate the overlap between the needs assessment and evaluation processes. The discussion addresses how these labels can limit perception of the system of interest, the importance of adapting the research design to take advantage of naturally occurring organizational events, the value of integrating both needs assessment and evaluation perspectives, and the importance of differentiating evaluation and needs assessment recommendations.

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“…Single‐issue thinking, planning, doing, and evaluating reflect a Whac‐A‐Mole mindset, which is currently the hallmark of most organizational planning, doing, delivering, and rewarding. It is utterly reactive and risks assuming that the goals and objectives of the organization are valid and useful, when in fact they might not be (Kaufman, ). Such assumptions, as is well known, have led many organizations to their demise and ruin.…”

Section: Shifting From the Conventional Wisdom To What Pays Off For Ementioning

confidence: 99%

Responsive and Responsible Motivation: Overcoming the Whac-A-Mole Approach to Performance Improvement

Kaufman¹

2015

Perf. Improv.

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WHEN AARON FECHTER in 1976 invented the game Whac-A-Mole, he probably did not realize that he was also portraying the basic model of organizational performance improvement, including motivation: You whack one mole at a time, and another randomly pops up.Let us explain this model. In our organizations we usually try to fix individual problems one at a time. That means we conceptually break the organization into splinters, pieces, hunks, or stovepipes.For example, if we see a performance problem in production, we initiate a process to find the cause of that particular problem and fix it. In other words, we whack that individual performance mole. And before long, another mole pops up and then we use our conventional technology to fix that. And then another. And another. By looking at individual performance problems, including our associated motivational schemes, in isolation from each other and apart from the total system's contribution to external clients and our shared society, we are playing Whac-A-Mole. We reward something other than what allows the organization to add value to its immediate external clients and our shared world (Addison & Haig, 2012 ; Kaufman, 2006Kaufman, , 2011. Thus, it is whacking individual moles that gets rewarded, not efforts aimed at the common good.On the ill-fated Titanic , training was apparently chosen to meet the limited performance criteria for rearranging the deck chairs, just as it did with other jobs on the ship. This approach likely earned each manager a desired reward. Nevertheless, all of these individual performance improvements did not result in the ship's being steered safely through icebergs. In the process of fixing individual problems, the larger issues of safety and survival were overlooked.Similarly, when affordable housing was the solution of the day , salespersons were rewarded to sign up as many mortgage loans as possible. Because the sales incentives were tied to the number of sales closed and not to the quality of the loans, including questions as to whether the home buyers could ever pay back the loans, many It is conventional to start performance improvement with analysis (i.e., breaking something down into its components and determining how each part works with the others). This is counterproductive. Once you attempt to unscramble something, it is almost impossible to relate the fragments to their original purpose and their usefulness to the organization. And once those unifying links are broken, attempts to improve the organization, including pinpointing appropriate motivational incentives, may become compromised. That causes trouble in defining and delivering useful performance. This article deals with that as a problem. It examines how conventional motivation schemes encourage fragmentation, seeks to explain what causes that fragmentation, and suggests some remedies. We have to overcome the conventional wisdom about performance improvement. H. L. Mencken was right when he said, "For every problem, there is a solution that is simple, neat, and wrong." 10 ww...

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An Ounce of Good Assessment is Worth a Pound of Analysis and a Ton of Cure

Cited by 6 publications

References 3 publications

An Ounce of Good Assessment is Worth a Pound of Analysis and a Ton of Cure: Revisiting Seminal Insights in Performance Improvement

An Ounce of Good Assessment is Worth a Pound of Analysis and a Ton of Cure: Revisiting Seminal Insights in Performance Improvement

Integrating Evaluation and Needs Assessment: A Case Study of an Ergonomics Program

Responsive and Responsible Motivation: Overcoming the Whac-A-Mole Approach to Performance Improvement

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