OK, gang,
Here is my summary of the support I got for my original question, �why won�t peole work?� One pair of respondents decide that peole were half way between peons and people. Close enough :)
A reference frequently mentioned was Mager, Robert Frank, and Pipe, Peter; _Analyzing performance problems, or You really oughta wanna_: how to figure out why people arent doing what they should be, and what to do about it_. (1997, 3rd. Ed. ISBN 1879618176). My material below is without their benefit, as I haven�t yet obtained the book. My understanding of the mechanism is also my own.
A company is a system. We know that. The people in it are part of the system, and everyone accomplishes tasks to get the work done. When someone doesn't do a task that someone else expected, we have a problem. In order to solve problems with the 'system,' we have to ask questions about that 'system.'
The questions below can be answered yes or no. I've included possible solutions for any 'no' answer. In every case so far where I have applied these questions, the solution to the problem fell out. We could apply a solution to the _system_ problem, and the _symptom_ problem 'went away.'
When a person doesn't do something as desired, ask the following:
Does the person know what is requested? Make the request in a way that they can respond that they understood it.
Does the person have appropriate tools and equipment?
List tools and equipment, make sure they work, and give the person access to all of them, including equipment training as needed.
Do they understand what is to be done, step by step? Write up a Work Instruction (a.k.a., a process sheet), review with a knowledgeable expert, and assure that the person doing the work has access to it and understands it.
Does the person have adequate information to accomplish the task?
Review the Work Instruction for input information & data, checking that the person can obtain all the needed information.
Can they tell when they have done the work well?
Assure that measures and tests of performance are included in the Work Instructions. Whoever does the testing, assure that results are provided to the person doing the work as soon as possible.
Are they rewarded for doing the job well (better than for doing the job poorly)?
Check that management understands the reward structure for the individual. It ain't always money. Find different, more specific, rewards. Remove rewards for poor jobs and non-accomplishments.
As an afterthought, I'm sure that managers everywhere have run into the syndrome named by _Games people play: the psychology of human relationships_, by Eric Berne, (1967, ISBN 0802140718) as "Help me - Yes but." There a person asks for help on a problem, but every proposed solution has been tried already and failed, or can't be used because.... The above questions, used in sequence, cut through this block.
Hope you all can use this, if only to exercise your delete key.
Jay
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Jay Warner
Principal Scientist
Warner Consulting, Inc.
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