Obsession with Quantifying Human Performance



Performance Management (Appraisals)
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Gary Wong
Consultant, Canada

Obsession with Quantifying Human Performance

In his book Tyranny of Metrics (2018), Jerry Muller describes the damage our obsession with metrics is causing. Today, a lot of organizations of all kinds are ruled by the belief that the path to success is quantifying the results, and dividing up the rewards based on the numbers.
But in our zeal to instill the evaluation process with scientific rigour, we’ve gone from measuring performance to fixating on measuring itself.
The result is a tyranny of metrics that threatens the quality of our lives and our institutions.

Pressure encourages “gaming the stats” or “teaching to the test.” Muller explains:
- Why paying for measured performance doesn't work,
- Why surgical scorecards may increase deaths, and
- When transparency can be the enemy of performance.

On the other hand, metrics can be beneficial when used to complement rather than replace judgment based on personal relationships and experiences.
⇒ What are your experiences with the usefulness of quantifying human performance?
 

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4
Dr. Alan Williams
Professor, Thailand
 

How Human Performance Measurement Can Work

My long-term experience is that step 1 is taking the time to ensure the purpose, goals, strategies, ... Sign up

 
3
Norman Dragt
Netherlands
 

Quantifying Works if You Know How

Jerry Muller is completely right when he states that quantifying leads to unwanted effects. However ... Sign up

 
0
Christopher St. Cyr
Analyst, United States
 

The Golden Spike

Years ago, the US government aspired to build a transcontinental railroad. They rewarded the contrac... Sign up

 
4
MUNI DAVE
Business Consultant, India
 

Obsession with Metrics

Yes. An obsession with metrics is not useful. But it depends on the conditions. If all are working ... Sign up

 
0
Dr. Alan Williams
Professor, Thailand
 

Problem with Performance Metrics

Performance metrics can be way too complicated and sometimes take the focus away from what really ma... Sign up

 
1
Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands
 

Transcontinental Railway Disconnect Due to Wrong Metrics

@Christopher St. Cyr: Nice anecdote. Could you or someone else please share a source to read more ab... Sign up

 
2
Borje Vickberg, Sweden
 

Obsession with Metrics

The obsession with metrics forces teachers to produce irrelevant documentations instead of teaching,... Sign up

 
-1
Milan Grkovic
Strategy Consultant, Croatia
 

Metrics is a Prerequisite for Success

Metrics is unavoidable because it is practically impossible to reach a goal if we do not use metrics... Sign up

 
3
Delfor Ibarra
Consultant, Argentina
 

Labor Performance Assessment (Valoración de Desempeño Laboral)

The samples on which Statistic science weighs the factors each evaluation method uses to measure the... Sign up

 
2
Gabi Levin
Israel
 

Don’t forget the Management Responsibility when Measuring Employee Performance

Of course metrics are essential, of course calibrating for effectiveness as well as numbers is impor... Sign up

 
2
Mallika T R
Manager, India
 

Quantifying Employee Performance

Every single organisation with an HR department would insist on quantifying performance. It is good... Sign up

 
2
Norman Dragt
Netherlands
 

Formative or Normative Metrics

@Milan Grkovic: What you are addressing here Milan are what educational scientists call normative or... Sign up

 
0
Doug Marriner
HR Consultant
 

Assessing OGSM's

Now retired, my experience in several very large organisations is that come performance review time,... Sign up

 
3
David Stehlik
Professor, United States
 

Reference for Railroads Passing Each Other

@Jaap de Jonge: "One year into the Civil War, a Republican-controlled Congress passed the Pacific R... Sign up

 
2
Dr. Alan Williams
Professor, Thailand
 

HR Dept., Insist on Quantifying Performance?

@Mallika T R: In what country is this the norm (HR insisting on quantifying the performance of the e... Sign up

 
1
FREDDY VILLAVICENCIO
Business Consultant, Venezuela
 

All That Obsesses You is Becoming a Trouble

Performance metrics are needed to have a comparison tool between individuals who are doing the same ... Sign up

 
1
eduardo oliva
Professor, Mexico
 

Performance Measurement of Managers is a Must

Organizations grow and excel through the achievement of defined goals and objectives. Consequently, ... Sign up

 
2
Gabi Levin
Israel
 

Metrics are Essential for Managers as Well

Hi Eduardo, Your point about assessing managers is well taken, but let us examine what are the goal... Sign up

 
1
Maurice Hogarth
Consultant, United Kingdom
 

Quantities versus Qualities in Human Performance

I believe that quantities i.e. measurability, are important. However in relation to PEOPLE, the qua... Sign up

 
6
Jaap de Jonge
Editor, Netherlands
 

Measuring or Quantifying the Efficiency of Knowledge Workers and/or Innovators

Of course it depends on the situation, but overall I am not a believer in using exact, quantitative ... Sign up

 
0
Gabi Levin
Israel
 

Metrics in the Innovative Realm

I agree that metrics in an innovative realm are more problematic, and as you suggest, the manager ha... Sign up

 
1
Gary Wong
Consultant, Canada
 

Working in the Cynefin Complex Domain

@Gabi Levin: The innovation realm you described is the "Complex" domain of the Cynefin Framework. Th... Sign up

 
1
Norman Dragt
Netherlands
 

Managers Needed that are Creative with Benchmarks

In essence as @Gary Wong and @Jaap de Jonge state, it takes a different kind of manager to get quali... Sign up

 
2
eduardo oliva
Professor, Mexico
 

Cyclic Assessments Needed

Some 20 years ago, when applying root-cause analysis in a set of industrial case studies, my postgra... Sign up

 
2
Gary Wong
Consultant, Canada
 

Distributed Ethnography as Cyclic Assessment

@Eduardo oliva: Actually there is one approach that does exist. It’s called Distributed Ethnography.... Sign up

 
1
Norman Dragt
Netherlands
 

A Growth Mindset to Fight Problems with Network Actions and Impacts

@Eduardo oliva: In away what you state is that to prevent problems you need co-workers that are able... Sign up

 
1
eduardo oliva
Professor, Mexico
 

Progress Evaluation is Situational

@Milan Grkovic: A good manager always has some means for evaluating most activities and, of course, ... Sign up

 
1
FREDDY VILLAVICENCIO
Business Consultant, Venezuela
 

Traditional Structures Plays Against Managers

@Jaap de Jonge: I am pretty much agreeing with Jaap. Managers should become coaches rather than cont... Sign up

 
1
Dr. Alan Williams
Professor, Thailand
 

Traditional Structure Plays Against Managers

I agree managers (including HR managers) must get away from being controllers. Working as senior con... Sign up

 
1
Gabi Levin
Israel
 

Traditional Structure not Playing Against Managers

This statement can easily be mistaken - I don't think it is the structure that plays against manager... Sign up

 
5
Gary Wong
Consultant, Canada
 

Questions when Quantifying or Measuring Human Performance

Thanks everyone for sharing your experiences and insights. Metrics are not to reward nor punish, but... Sign up

 
0
FREDDY VILLAVICENCIO
Business Consultant, Venezuela
 

Traditional Structures Plays Against Managers

@Gabi Levin: I love this part "So what is playing against managers if not the structure? It is the ... Sign up

 
1
Norman Dragt
Netherlands
 

Start with Question #7 when Considering Using Metrics

@Gary Wong: I recommend every time you come up with the idea to use metrics, start with asking ques... Sign up

 
0
eduardo oliva
Professor, Mexico
 

Distributed Ethnography as Cyclic Assessment

I would very much appreciate one of your recent papers on this topic. So far, my search on managemen... Sign up

 
2
Gary Wong
Consultant, Canada
 

Distributed Ethnography Projects

@Eduardo oliva: “Ethnography” seeks to systematically study and describe an organization from the pe... Sign up

 
1
FREDDY VILLAVICENCIO
Business Consultant, Venezuela
 

Human Talent Cannot Be Harmonized to Create a Metric Rule

@Gary Wong: From my point of view it is hard to define metrics for human performance. Human talent ... Sign up

 
1
Gary Wong
Consultant, Canada
 

Shift the Paradigm

@FREDDY VILLAVICENCIO: What you are lamenting is the essence of the book. We are under a tyrannical ... Sign up

 
0
Melchiorre Calabrese
Business Consultant, Italy
 

Quantifying Performance

Guiding an organization without easuring the performance of individual collaborators or teams would ... Sign up

 
1
eduardo oliva
Professor, Mexico
 

Quantifying Human Performance

Simply quantifying performance is fine. An obsession with it is not really necessary, as long as we ... Sign up

 
1
Mallika T R
Manager, India
 

Quantifying Performance

@Dr. Alan Williams: Companies from IT and real estate majors have adopted sophisticated benchmarking... Sign up

 
0
Melchiorre Calabrese
Business Consultant, Italy
 

Quantifying Human Performance

@eduardo oliva: "Obsession" is when the costs of measurement of performance are more than the benefi... Sign up

 
1
PeterMaria van Herpen
Switzerland
 

People Behave as they are Measured

People are behaving in the ways they are measured. This is an old truth, but often forgotten. The tr... Sign up

   

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