defining, analyzing, and applying performance models

3
EDITOR’S NOTES 2 DEFINING, ANALYZING, AND APPLYING PERFORMANCE MODELS Holly Burkett, CPT, PhD DANNY LANGDON BEGINS THIS ISSUE with a provocative feature that challenges our basic assumptions about performance. Langdon presents the need for a commonly understood and applied model of performance to practice the profession of performance technology and proposes a dialogue towards a common performance formula or model that works with management and workers in any organization. According to Langdon, it’s time we put a stake in the ground to define performance, if for no other reason than to argue about it and determine how to make performance more accurate and useful. Next, John Turner builds on existing performance improvement literature by present- ing strategic feedback and feedforward loops, at the process level, as a way to transform existing systems into more adaptive ones. Incorporating a feed process into an existing performance improvement system reduces the number of disconnects, provides a self- regulating process to address dynamic performance issues, and improves decision qual- ity by providing a model of the task prior to performing the task. Once you and your clients agree on performance or feedback criteria, the right tools are needed to help individuals and organizations hit their performance targets. In our next feature, Fred Nickols presents the target model of human behavior and perfor- mance, a tool representing a closed-loop, feedback-governed view of human behavior and performance. The author describes features of this framework and gives an example of its application that can be replicated by performance improvement professionals. Christin Lundberg, Jennifer Elderman, Pat Ferrell, and Leslie Harper follow with a feature describing how data gathering and analysis methods assisted with a thorough needs assessment for the parts and service department of a large power tool and equip- ment retailer based in the Midwestern United States. Conducting this needs assessment reminds us of the importance of many best practices, including the use of ethnographic research methods for data gathering and the need to consider using the critical incident technique during open-ended interviews. Jerry Harbour closes this issue with a case study showing how generically developed models can be adapted to context-specific applications that have great practical value. As illustrated in the case study, the key in developing any good model is to first identify those key variables—the critical few—that truly account for the greatest variance in performance. [email protected] INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OFFICERS Miki Lane, President Judith Hale, President-elect Darlene Van Tiem, Past President Lisa Toenniges, Treasurer & Director Paul Cook, Director Carol Lynn Judge, Director Dawn Papaila, Director Luise Schneider, Director April Syring Davis, Executive Director PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT EDITORIAL GROUP April Syring Davis, Publisher Holly Burkett, Editor John Y. Chen, Publications Manager INTERNATIONAL MARKETING Kinam Sung, Korea EDITORIAL, ADVERTISING, AND MEMBERSHIP OFFICE International Society for Performance Improvement 1400 Spring Street, Suite 400 Silver Spring, MD 20910 Phone 301-587-8570 Fax 301-587-8573 Performance Improvement (formerly Performance & Instruction) (ISSN: 1090-8811, electronic ISSN: 1930-8272) is published monthly except for combined May/June and November/December issues by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley Company. Copyright © 2010, International Society for Performance Improvement. All rights reserved. Periodicals Postage Paid at Hoboken, NJ, and additional mailing offices. Indexed in ABI/INFORM, Current Abstracts (EBSCO), ERIC Database (Education Resources Information Center), Proquest 5000 (ProQuest), Proquest Education Journals (ProQuest), and Proquest Research Library (ProQuest). Subscriptions: $80 for individuals and $345 for institutions in the U.S. For all subscription inquiries contact: Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741. Phone: 888-378-2537 (toll-free); 415-433-1767 (toll call). Fax: 888-481-2665 (toll-free); 415-951-8553 (toll number). Email: [email protected]. Postmaster: Send address changes to the subscription address above. Performance Improvement is com- mitted to presenting multiple voices and perspectives related to the prac- tice of human performance technol- ogy. Opinions of the authors do not necessarily represent the beliefs of ISPI or the editor. Performance Improvement, vol. 49, no. 8, September 2010 ©2010 International Society for Performance Improvement Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) DOI: 10.1002/pfi.20166

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ED I TOR ’S NOTES

2

DEFINING, ANALYZING, AND APPLYING

PERFORMANCE MODELSHolly Burkett, CPT, PhD

DANNY LANGDON BEGINS THIS ISSUE with a provocative feature that challenges our basic assumptions about performance. Langdon presents the need for a commonly understood and applied model of performance to practice the profession of performance technology and proposes a dialogue towards a common performance formula or model that works with management and workers in any organization. According to Langdon, it’s time we put a stake in the ground to define performance, if for no other reason than to argue about it and determine how to make performance more accurate and useful.

Next, John Turner builds on existing performance improvement literature by present-ing strategic feedback and feedforward loops, at the process level, as a way to transform existing systems into more adaptive ones. Incorporating a feed process into an existing performance improvement system reduces the number of disconnects, provides a self-regulating process to address dynamic performance issues, and improves decision qual-ity by providing a model of the task prior to performing the task.

Once you and your clients agree on performance or feedback criteria, the right tools are needed to help individuals and organizations hit their performance targets. In our next feature, Fred Nickols presents the target model of human behavior and perfor-mance, a tool representing a closed-loop, feedback-governed view of human behavior and performance. The author describes features of this framework and gives an example of its application that can be replicated by performance improvement professionals.

Christin Lundberg, Jennifer Elderman, Pat Ferrell, and Leslie Harper follow with a feature describing how data gathering and analysis methods assisted with a thorough needs assessment for the parts and service department of a large power tool and equip-ment retailer based in the Midwestern United States. Conducting this needs assessment reminds us of the importance of many best practices, including the use of ethnographic research methods for data gathering and the need to consider using the critical incident technique during open-ended interviews.

Jerry Harbour closes this issue with a case study showing how generically developed models can be adapted to context-specific applications that have great practical value. As illustrated in the case study, the key in developing any good model is to first identify those key variables—the critical few—that truly account for the greatest variance in performance.

[email protected]

INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT OFFICERS

Miki Lane, PresidentJudith Hale, President-electDarlene Van Tiem, Past PresidentLisa Toenniges, Treasurer & DirectorPaul Cook, DirectorCarol Lynn Judge, DirectorDawn Papaila, DirectorLuise Schneider, DirectorApril Syring Davis, Executive Director

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT EDITORIAL GROUPApril Syring Davis, PublisherHolly Burkett, EditorJohn Y. Chen, Publications Manager

INTERNATIONAL MARKETINGKinam Sung, Korea

EDITORIAL, ADVERTISING, AND MEMBERSHIP OFFICEInternational Society for Performance Improvement1400 Spring Street, Suite 400Silver Spring, MD 20910Phone 301-587-8570Fax 301-587-8573

Performance Improvement (formerly Performance & Instruction) (ISSN: 1090-8811, electronic ISSN: 1930-8272) is published monthly except for combined May/June and November/December issues by Wiley Periodicals, Inc., a Wiley Company.

Copyright © 2010, International Society for Performance Improvement. All rights reserved.

Periodicals Postage Paid at Hoboken, NJ, and additional mailing offices.

Indexed in ABI/INFORM, Current Abstracts (EBSCO), ERIC Database (Education Resources Information Center), Proquest 5000 (ProQuest), Proquest Education Journals (ProQuest), and Proquest Research Library (ProQuest).

Subscriptions: $80 for individuals and $345 for institutions in the U.S. For all subscription inquiries contact: Wiley Periodicals, Inc., 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741.Phone: 888-378-2537 (toll-free); 415-433-1767 (toll call).Fax: 888-481-2665 (toll-free); 415-951-8553 (toll number).Email: [email protected].

Postmaster: Send address changes to the subscription address above.

Performance Improvement is com-mitted to presenting multiple voices and perspectives related to the prac-tice of human performance technol-ogy. Opinions of the authors do not necessarily represent the beliefs of ISPI or the editor.

Performance Improvement, vol. 49, no. 8, September 2010©2010 International Society for Performance ImprovementPublished online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/pfi.20166

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I SP I ADVOCATES

DEFENSE INTELLIGENCE AGENCYHCL-HQ200 MacDill BoulevardWashington, DC 20340Ph: 202-231-5281Deborah Harrisemail: [email protected]

LOWE’S 1000 Lowe’s Boulevard, 2WTDMooresville, NC 28117Cedric T. Coco, CPTemail: [email protected]

MARITZ PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT COMPANY1400 South Highway DriveFenton, MO 63099Ph: 636-827-5720Pierre Politte, Solution Consulting Directoremail: [email protected]

MICROSOFT CORPORATIONOne Microsoft Way, 21/2193Redmond, WA 98052-6399Ph: 425-722-8506 Irada Sadykhova, Director of Learningand Performance Development Strategies email: [email protected]

ADMINISTAFF 19001 Crescent Springs DriveKingwood, TX 77339Ph: 281-348-2840Charles A. Ginn, Organizational Developmentemail: [email protected]

AMERIGROUP CORPORATION1330 Amerigroup WayVirginia Beach, VA 23464Ph: 757-321-3503BJ Vaughn, Vice President & Chief Learning Officeemail: [email protected]

AMGENOne Amgen Center DriveThousand Oaks, CA 91320-1799Ph: 805-313-1335Bill Blunt, Director-Operations Learning & Performanceemail: [email protected]

CARLSON MARKETING 2800 Livernois, Suite 600 Troy, MI 48083 Ph: 248-824-8443 Janet Viselli, Performance Improvement Consultant email: [email protected]

Performance Improvement • Volume 49 • Number 8 3

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I SP I PATRON MEMBERS

ISP I ORGANIZAT IONAL MEMBERSACADEMY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, 1825 Connecticut Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 202-884-8139

ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS GROUP, 14 Stibitz Street, Westlake 7945, Cape Town, South Africa 27-21-700-2300

ADMINISTAFF, 19001 Crescent Spring Drive, Humble, TX 77339-3802 800-237-3710

AMGEN INC., 1 Amgen Center Drive, MS 92-2-A, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320 805-313-0717

ASTRAZENECA, 1800 Concord Pike, Wilmington, DE 19850 302-886-3000

CHEVERON, 1400 Smith Street, Suite 14618, Houston, TX 77002 713-372-5307

DARRYL L. SINK & ASSOCIATES, INC., 1 Cielo Visto Pl, Monterey, CA 93940 831-649-8384

DLA TRAINING CENTER, PO Box 3990, Bldg. 11, Section 5, Columbus, OH 43218 614-692-6155

DLS GROUP, 3773 Cherry Creek N Drive #575, Denver, CO 80209 303-333-4513

FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20590-0001 202-366-0500

GENENTECH, INC., 1 DNA Way, M/S 8210, South San Francisco, CA 94080 650-467-9324

GLOBAL PLANNING SOLUTIONS, PO Box 507, La Jolla, CA 92308

GOOGLE, 1600 Amphitheater Pkwy, Mountain View, CA 94043 650-253-7706

HALE ASSOCIATES, 9s211 Graceland Street, Downers Grove, IL 60516 630-235-0195

HARKON LLC, 1390 Chain Bridge Road #570, McLean, VA 22101 703-507-5625

HUMANA, PO Box 1438, Louisville, KY 40201 800-486-2620

INSTITUTE OF INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION (IIE), 1400 K Street, NW, Washington, DC 20005 202-326-7715

INSTRUCTIONAL & PERFORMANCE TECHNOLOGY, Boise State University, Online and On Campus Graduate Programs, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83725-2070 208-426-2339

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS INTERNATIONAL, 60 Water Street, SW, Washington, DC 20015 202-484-7170

MERCK & CO., 351 N. Sumneytown Pike, UG-2D34, North Wales, PA 19454 267-305-8164

MMHA THE MANAGERS’ MENTORS INC., 2317 Mastlands Drive #A, Oakland, CA 94611-2713 510-531-9453

NATIONAL GEOSPATIAL-INTELLIGENCE AGENCY, 5855 21st Street, Bldg 215, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060 703-805-2943

THE NORTHERN TRUST COMPANY, 50 S LaSalle, CB1S, Chicago, IL 60603-1006 312-630-1562

PERFORMANCE DESIGN INTERNATIONAL GMBH, Venusbergweg 48, Bonn, Germany 53115 49-228-243-900

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP, 400 Campus Drive, Florham Park, NJ 07932 215-348-1150

SCHWAN’S FOOD COMPANY, 800 E. Southview Court, Marshall, MN 56258 507-537-8470

USDA, APHIS PPQ PDC, 69 Thomas Johnson Drive, Suite 100, Frederick, MD 21702-4856 240-629-1900

WALGREENS COMPANY, 304 Wilmot Road, MS-3165, Deerfield, IL 60015 847-914-8187

WELLPOINT, 4361 Irwin Simpson Road, Mason, OH 45040 513-336-4695

WORLD LEARNING, 1015 15th Street NW, Suite 700, Washington, DC 20005-2636 202-223-4291

YESP AB, Stensturegatan 44, S-41252 Gothenburg, Sweden 46-31-7600-609

4 www.ispi.org • SEPTEMBER 2010

INNOVATIVE LEARNING GROUP, 514 E 4th Street, Royal Oak, MI 48067-2847 248-544-1568

KNO WORLDWIDE, Tolsteho 7, 811 06 Bratislava, Slovak Republic 421-2-5443-2303

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