Read the following article
Pfeffer. The Real Keys to High Performance
This discussion will be in the form of a reflection piece. Going through this process requires you to think about what you have read and articulate what you believe the author is saying. You then think about how conclusions and ideas that you develop because of the reading and then come up with ways that you can use the information. It is a great way to really think about an article. Follow the guidelines below for this assignment.
In your posting- Respond to 1 question or statement under each of the following sections – A, B, and C.
A. Reflect – your understanding of the article’s main points.
The most interesting part of this article for me was? Why?
The new “piece” of knowledge I came to see by reading this article was?
I liked/disliked….about this article…
B. Abstract – your conclusions & insightful generalizations.
From this information I can see the value of the following guidelines….
From this information I developed the following hunches…
From this information I learned the following principle(s)…
C. Active Experimentation – your decision of what to do next as a result of the conclusions
Of the items I noticed in the reflective process of the activity, I want to practice….
One or two new “pieces” of new knowledge that I experienced and I want to try out is …..
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A. Reflect – your understanding of the article’s main points.
ReplyDeleteThe new “piece” of knowledge I came to see by reading this article was?
“Across industries, the average correlation between size and two measures of profitability, return on assets and return on shareholders' equity, was only 0.1. This means that size is almost completely unrelated to firm profitability.” This is concept is very interesting to me.. I think a majority of society truly believes that size and profitability go hand in hand. When the article explained that they were virtually unrelated I was slightly shocked. I always knew that there are many successful businesses that aren’t multi-million dollar corporations, with businesses located internationally, but I also thought that it was more common than not. I wish that this concept was brought to the forefront more often, I think for small businesses this gives them a sense of hope, just because you’re a “small” business doesn’t mean you have small ideas, or profits for that matter. I really enjoyed this article!
B. Abstract – your conclusions & insightful generalizations.
From this information I learned the following principle(s)…
This article did a great job of articulating the importance of management, managerial roles, transparency, strategy, and commitment. I loved the statement,
“The evidence is also clear on the effects of downsizing and restructuring -- these actions will not increase stock price (over an 18-month or two-year period), nor will they increase productivity or efficiency. Rather, downsizing will do only one thing: make the organization smaller. So leaders would do well to spend less time worrying about finding the right competitive niche, searching for technological silver bullets, and massaging financial statements, and spend more time developing their people to provide the competitive edge.”
This section of the article was very interesting to me, I think that in times of economic downturn we often get rid of our most valuable resource- individuals, with hope of cutting costs and “saving” our organization… But as the article explains, truth be told, without a competitive management, without structure, strategy, and transparency business will suffer and during economic hardships it is even MORE important to strengthen these areas in order to secure the market that is available.
C. Active Experimentation – your decision of what to do next as a result of the conclusions
One or two new “pieces” of new knowledge that I experienced and I want to try out is …..
When I find myself in a managerial position, I want to express the importance of the individual and make sure that we treat our employees as a very valuable asset. I hope to develop committed individuals who are apart of a growing organization that understands the importance of management and the affect they have on profits. Another area of importance is “measuring what matters.” I think that we spend too much time focusing on the negatives or how to fix problems with money (either by pouring more money into a situation or laying off to “fix” a situation. For example, when the article talks about the Men’s Wearhouse and how the document sales, the article explains, “This measurement and comparison process stimulates internal benchmarking and the sharing of sales and merchandising ideas among people and across stores, providing a standard for continuous improvement.” I hope to be apart of an organization that encourages change and growth by utilizing management and employees, not by sacrificing individuals.