Human Performance System, Essay Example

Human Performance Systems are a highly valuable component to any job company’s development and maintenance of human resources. A company’s most valuable resources are the individuals performing the work for the company and this resource must be properly acquired, developed and evaluated for top performance. Geary A. Rummler has been credited with the creating and developing the definition of five components of a human performance system. These five components include the following categorical factors: input, performer, output, consequence and feedback. While each of these factors play an importance role in the human performance system, each one must act independently and interdependently of each other in order to provide the best possible performance system for a human workforce.

In order to effectively comprehend Rummler’s human performance system, it is necessary to understand each individual factor. First of all, the company is responsible for the input factor which essentially defines the roles, responsibilities, standards and job tasks throughout the company. Performance expectations should also be paired with SMART goals to effectively evaluate each employee. These tie in to the second factor – performer – in which the intangibles must be present and evaluated to ensure the input factors are performed correctly. The performer should be knowledgeable, well-trained or in a comprehensive training development program, and have the motivation and willingness to perform all required job tasks per the company’s standards. Without this interaction, input and performer factors cannot provide an adequate performance system.

The next three factors of Rummler’s human performance system each tie in together to evaluate the overall production or output performed by the employee. The output factors are the work that is being performed by the performer. This includes correct actions, advancements made within the job tasks, timeliness, organization and errors. The output factors play a key role in the consequence factors of the human performance system because they identify positive and negative outcomes associated with the employee’s actions. Motivational factors, both monetary and non-monetary, should be evaluated to understand the employee’s motivate and acceptance to perform at a high rate and efficiency. Disincentives should also be evaluated to determine what managerial or company actions de-motivate the employee. Finally, this evaluation must be communicated back to the employee through using formal feedback factors in the human performance system. Feedback must be provided timely and effectively by management. An employee’s development and more specifically advancement should be praised and noted in coordination with the employee’s specific SMART goals. Managerial reprimands are also key components to the feedback factors.

Communication of plans is important during intervention implementation in order to effectively ensure that all parties involved in the execution of the plans is knowledgeable and willing to execute accordingly. Failure to do so implies an inherent miscommunication effort and can open doors for the company, the implementation team and the employees to make errors in judgment and job task execution. Furthermore, communicating plans is important to ensure buy-in of the employees. This type of buy-in increases overall motivation and promotes a team-first environment within the company.

Finally, performance technology is a technological field in the sense that it refers to applying scientific methodologies and theories to the advancement and evaluation of performance. This specific technology involves a linkage between educational and instructional technologies which help managers track and implement performance systems for overall increased productivity and efficiency. Performance technology is a direct byproduct of efficiency models such as Six Sigma.