The High Performance Organization

&
Self Realization

Dr R Ramakrishnan
ramarkish54@gmail.com
Cell: 9952669656

The High Performance Organization

Questions.
What is a high performance organization?
What are the management challenges of high

performance organizations?
How do high performance organizations
operate?

What is a high performance

organization?
High performance organizations (HPOs).
HPOs intentionally designed to:
Bring out the best in people.
Produce organizational capability that delivers

sustainable organizational results.

HPOs place people first.

What is a high performance

organization?
Emphasis on intellectual capital.
Intellectual capital is the foundation for HPOs.
To utilize intellectual capital, HPOs often

organize work-flow around key business

processes and use work teams within these
processes.

What is a high performance

organization?
Key components utilized in HPOs.
Employee involvement.
Self-directing work teams.
Integrated production technologies.
Organizational learning.
Total quality management.

What is a high performance

organization?
Employee involvement.
The amount of decision making delegated to
workers at all levels.
Employment involvement can be visualized on
a continuum.
No involvement or parallel involvement.
Moderate involvement or participative

management.
High involvement or employee empowerment.

What is a high performance

organization?
Self-directing work teams.
Empowered to make decisions about planning,

doing, and evaluating their work.

Sometimes called self-managing or selfleading work teams.
Important in HPOs due to:
Need to tap employees expertise and knowledge.
Need for employees to manage themselves.

What is a high performance

organization?
Integrated production technologies.
Focus on providing flexibility in

manufacturing and services and involves job

design and information technology.
Key components:
Just-in-time systems.
Use of computers.

What is a high performance

organization?
Organizational learning.
A way for organizations to adapt to their

settings and to gather information to anticipate

future changes.
HPOs are designed for organizational learning.

What is a high performance

organization?
Total quality management (TQM).
A total commitment to:
High-quality results.
Continuous improvement.
Meeting customer needs.
TQM is a a tightly integrated part of HPOs.
Encourages all workers to do their own quality

planning and checking.

What are the management challenges of

high performance organizations?
Challenges of environmental linkages.
HPOs are open systems influenced by a

rapidly moving external environment.

Open systems components.
Inputs: worksite problems and opportunities, and
vision, mission, and strategy.
Transformation processes: five HPO components.
Outputs: individual, group, and organizational
effectiveness, and contributions.

What are the management challenges of

high performance organizations?
Challenges of internal integration.
Challenge of integrating five HPO

components.
Top-down and bottom-up decision making in

HPOs.
HPO islands.

What are the management challenges of

high performance organizations?
Challenges for middle manager roles.
Helping implement HPO components.
HPO changes may alter middle managers

jobs.
Dealing with employee resistance to selfmanaging teams.
Resolving tensions among HPO components.

What are the management challenges of

high performance organizations?
Challenges for high level leadership.
Deciding how far to go in becoming a HPO.
Internationalizing United States business

practices.

What are the management challenges of

high performance organizations?
Challenges of greenfield sites versus

redesigns.
Greenfield sites start from scratch at a new

site.
Redesigns start as more traditional
organizations and change toward HPOs.
Greenfield sites result in better financial
performance for organizations.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
HPO component: employee involvement.
Flat and lean hierarchy.
Heavy team emphasis throughout organization.
Paper work minimized.
Rapid decision making emphasized.
People were empowered to do whatever it takes
to get the job done.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
HPO component: self-directing work teams.
Longer term service teams.
Ad hoc teams for given projects or duties.
Culture promotes cooperative activities.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
HPO component: integrated production

technologies.
Integrated use of information technology in

distribution, order entry, crew pairings, dispatching

of flights, revenue management, schedule
planning, and parts replacement.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
HPO component: organizational learning.
Deeply rooted in Southwests culture.
Letters and newsletters about company business.
Managers encourage workers to spend time at jobs

other than their own.

Southwests University for People.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
HPO component: total quality management.
Southwest Spirit focusing on a strong work

ethic, a strong desire for quality work, going

beyond the call of duty, helping others, and doing
the right thing.
TQM qualities are reinforced by empowerment,

learning, and communications devices.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
Other HPO considerations: vision/direction

setting package.
The mission of Southwest Airlines is dedication

to the highest quality of Customer Service

delivered with a sense of warmth, friendliness,
individual pride, and Company Spirit.
Strategic elements in direction setting.
Core values.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
Other HPO considerations: the people.
Attitude reflecting Southwest Spirit is a key

hiring requirement.
Attitude more important than other hiring

qualifications.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
Other HPO considerations: compensation.
Flight attendants paid by the trip.
Incentives for employee performance.
Pilots salaries are comparable to other airlines but
they fly 40% more hours.
Profit sharing and pension plans.
Usual airline fringe benefits.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
Other HPO considerations: dealing with the

environment.
Southwest flourishes in a deregulated environment.
Southwests HPO attributes serve it well in dealing

with a highly competitive environment.

How do high performance

organizations operate?
Southwest Airlines as an HPO.
Other HPO considerations: outcomes.
Highly satisfied employees.
Strong commitment to the company.
Low turnover.
Strong performance on various productivity
measures.
Active in contributing to the communities in which
it operates.