Hi Gray
I totally agree - I believe that it's my job to develop and deliver on the
"rational indicators" that we have in organisations while also protecting
and nurturing the things that cannot easily be measured but which are
essential for organisational performance and people's lives.
Amanda
-----Original Message-----
From: Gray Southon [mailto:
gsouthon@ozemail.com.au]
Sent: Monday, 15 April 2002 9:00 PM
To:
MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
Subject: Re: Reference search
Hi Amanda,
Perhaps I have projected something onto you that was not appropriate.
However, the way that you were talking about measures were thst it seemed
that they were expected to stand by themselves as objective evaluations.
I would also like to comment on your statemet:
>But we are also accountable and therefore wanted to
>identify how we would know if these things are delivering performance
>outcomes.
I realise that there are many demands for indicators to demonstrate level
of performance from both managers and public. But there is a very real
issue of how validly one can present a complex process by a few parameters.
It seems many assume that if you present some information that is better
than nothing. However, a few convenient parameters may grossly distort
reality, especially if they are used as incentives (e.g. mortality figures
for hospitals act as an incentive to minimise critical admissions).
Not that measure are necessarily bad, but there is plenty of evidence that
they are often highly problematic, and i see little evidence that people
are aware of the complexities of measures.
Yours
Gray Southon
At 05:27 PM 4/12/02 +1000, you wrote:
>Hi Gary
>
>I would agree if this was the only thing we are doing - it is in fact
>probably the smallest part of a change agenda that includes leadership
>development, building learning networks and communities, creating better
>relationships across our organisation and working collaboratively on key
>strategic initiatives. >
>NB your question tells me that I shouldn't write emails quite so quickly as
>I seem to have come across as focusing on something I didn't think I was
>going for.
>
>Amanda
>
>-----Original Message-----
>From: Gray Southon [mailto:
gsouthon@ozemail.com.au]
>Sent: Friday, 12 April 2002 1:17 PM
>To:
MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
>Subject: Re: Reference search
>
>
>Amanda,
>
>I am concerend about the attention given to measurement as a method of
>understanding. It seems that managers are not expected to have any tacit or
>intuitive understanding of their organisations.
>
>What would happen of you llimited your understanding of your family or your
>workmates, or even your work perofrmance my measurements.
>
>Would it not be better to see measurements as merely supplemental to a
>deeper knoweldge of the organisation and its innovation?
>
>Yours
>
>Gray Southon
>
>
>At 08:39 AM 4/12/02 +1000, you wrote:
>>Hi
>>
>>We've just been looking at measures of innovation and of network
capability
>>and found some great stuff in Results-Based Leadership by Dave Uhlrich and
>>others, and Horizontal Networks by Ostroff, Building Social Capital in
>>Organisations by Cohen and Prusak, the Balanced scorecard by Kaplan and
>>Norton and the Corporate Soul (on the application of complexity theory to
>>organisations).
>>
>>The central idea being that if your networks are working effectively both
>>within the organisation and outside of the organisation, if your culture
>>supports trusta and staff are engaged at work, and if your leaders are
>>working effectively, innovation will be an outcome.
>>
>>However, there doesn't appear to any easy way of identifying indicators
>>except by taking what these authors and others are saying about how
>>organisations release innovation and turning this around to say, what
>>therefore should we be seeing in the organisation and how would we measure
>>this.
>>
>>I believe that measuring innovation would be easier in organsations such
as
>>IT or manufacturing where you could easily measure the time to market and
>>number of new ideas, but I'm working with public sector organisations,
>where
>>these distinctions aren't as clear.
>>
>>Hope this helps
>>
>>Amanda Martin
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Charles Wankel [mailto:
wankelc@optonline.net]
>>Sent: Friday, 12 April 2002 1:04 AM
>>To:
MG-ED-DV@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
>>Subject: Re: Reference search
>>
>>
>>From: Leslie, Annette [mailto:
A.LESLIE@cranfield.ac.uk]
>>
>>Help! - I've got just the same question - can anyone input plse?
>>regards Annette Leslie, Cranfield University, UK
>>
>>-----Original Message-----
>>From: Theo. R. Leverenz [mailto:
eppa@juno.com]
>>
>>I've come across several "what is" and "how to" articles, articles with
>>showcase examples, and articles encouraging innovation. However, I've
>>found very, very, very few articles addressing the issue of MEASUREMENT
>>of innovation. Anyone have any directions to places I should check?
>>
>>.....Theo
>>
>-----------------------------------------------------------
>Gray Southon
>Honorary Research Associate
>University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
>Director, Southon Consulting.
>Ph 02 9524 7822, mobile: 0416 295 056 Fax 02 9531 0781
> email:
gsouthon@ozemail.com.au
>Personal Web Site
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gsouthon/
>---------------------------------------------------------------------
>
-----------------------------------------------------------
Gray Southon
Honorary Research Associate
University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Director, Southon Consulting.
Ph 02 9524 7822, mobile: 0416 295 056 Fax 02 9531 0781
email:
gsouthon@ozemail.com.au
Personal Web Site
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~gsouthon/