Performance+Measure

Performance Measure

Lets use this page to discuss how we can find numerical performance measures. I append the emails and relevant text from page 13 of Chapter One (Ref 3).

My email regarding Performance Measure and Gaps: The entire model of an HPT intervention depends on identification of a "gap". A gap is something that can be measured numerically. This may be a ratio, a target number, etc. - this means a scale of measure must be first established. So the first step is to set up this scale. Without a firm measure, a gap cannot be quantified. For example, the word "quality" by itself cannot be measured. What is meant by "quality" needs to be defined in numeric terms that is related to the process under study.

In the case study provided, the % of wastage was a measure that affected profit. This measure also allows the effect of the HPT intervention to be monitored and evaluated. The intervention was to allow each production line to become aware of its own productivity compared to others in the production floor. The effort put in was then rewarded appropriately.

Similarly, for each of the problems that you are studying, you need to analyze how a "measure" can be set up. Once this is set up, you can use this to identify the gap numerically and also specify how the intervention can be measured and evaluated. For each of your Organisational Problems, can you please let me know the measure that you feel can be used.

Enna's Question: Can you point out to me the chapter pertaining how to measure the gap in numeric term?

So far I use performance relationship + iceberg model to analyse the performance gap. I did put in that the biz intent to produce 1 courseware per month, instead of 4 courseware per year.

Response for Enna: 1 course-ware per month verses 4 course-ware per year is numeric. The gap is therefore 12 - 4 = 8 course-wares. This is tall order (tripling productivity) but a good start. This will serve the purpose of the assignment. You can look at all the factors that influence this figure.

Dear Prof, I have structured part of my content analysis as below, I hope I am moving in the right direction. I am using the Iceberg model to analyse the root cause of the team's productivity problem:

**// IT-Now Organizational Needs //**

// Business Needs: //


 * To increase productivity by using rapid eLearning method of producing courseware, utilizing “ACCURATELY” rapid eLearning development tool. Management seeks to increase productivity from 4 coursewares per year to 1 courseware per month, tripling its productivity.

// Performance Needs: //


 * All team members must be well versed in using “ACCURATELY” an eLearning authoring software.
 * Less or no errors are committed by team members (Instructional Designers) during the content writing and content development phase.
 * Graphic Designers to produce quality graphics.
 * Truancy among team members is eliminated or decreased. Team members arrive and leave work timely.

// Work Environment Needs: //


 * There must be a system to ensure errors are eliminated and proper work flow between team members. (ENNA)

Enna, you have moved forward and given the answer to analysis. Please review the guidelines for each part given in Questions. When you test the steps or when Jesvin tests your steps she should come up with answers such as you have given. Yousuf.

Jesvinder's Question: You said gap measuring numerically. I have the same question as Enna, is there a method or calculated used to measure gap in numeric terms? How do I measure the gap in numeric among the teachers and challenges face in class management? HPT is using technology tools to enhance teaching that will help directly with class management challenges faced. In addition, this will help to solve the gap faced between the teachers and students. Teachers especially in engaging the students. I am confuse, how can I apply numeric to this situation?

Jesvinder, pls study the quote from page 13 (Ref 3) below. Unless we can measure a gap, we cannot show an improvement in performance. Suggested measures in your case could be any of the following:
 * number of course drop-outs
 * number of students who achieve at least a pass
 * number of students who feel confident about the learning imparted
 * number of referred students who seek admission
 * number of batches or students enrolled

Pls consider the above and work out which of the above would be best understood by the management of your organization. Some of the above may be directly linked with revenue. For example, can you work out the loss in revenue from the current rate of drop-outs?

Hi Prof Yousuf, I have came up with this, please advice. I would also like to request if Prof can extend the deadline to end of this week (17th or 18th) as we are still clarifying the inputs to prepare assignment. Thank you. Please keep working. As you know, 4 complete weeks were given for the assignment. Thank you. Will hand in assignment by tomorrow, 15th March.

Interventions Intervention is carried by HPT to improve the performance of the teachers. HPT will need to make changes to the organisation (school) and the teachers must be able to adapt to the changes. Inventions will help to overcome the gaps in the school and will result a successfully outcome in the future. <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 12pt;">The results must be tangible and measurable. Performance problem is that students are complaining that the lessons are boring. Quality Improvement here will be that the teachers will need to increase the technology usage in classroom and make their lesson more interesting and exciting. Indirectly, this will increase the results of students. Challenge Business Opportunity here will be higher enrollment by students.

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Performance Measure <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">Performance Measure will be taken on number of students who feel satisfied about the lessons. Here a scale of 1 to 10 will be used to <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%; line-height: 24px;">measure <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif;"> the satisfaction of students from different level of classes. From there I will able to calculate the the total percentage o f <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 16px;">satisfaction <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 120%;">from each level. Example total up the percentage and divide by the number of classes to get and overall percentage. Current loss in revenue faced by management is the number unsatisfied students that result in low enrollment yearly. The solution set must maximise the effectiveness of the teachers in the usage of technology. (Jesvin)

Jesvin, how did you originally identify the performance problem? Drop-outs, low pass rates, poor attendance? Use one factor and find out what affects the factor to design the intervention. You are currently recommending steps to find gap and design intervention. Yousuf

The performance problem was identified by low pass rates among the students. The mission of the school was to obtain more than 90% passes but currently only 70% passes are achieved. <span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial,sans-serif;">In result, they did not take charge of their work and did not bother to put their effort as they were not satisfied with the lessons. But, principal of the school decided to make a change with the help of HPT technologist things started to change.Solution that took place is encourage teachers to use technology tools in their lessons to enhance lessons and make students more focussed in their lesson. Monitoring students grades and satisfaction of each teachers class gave them an ownership towards their lesson and responsibility. In addition, rewarding the teachers who manage to have 90% passes in his/her class with bonuses at the end of the year, motivated the teachers to improve their lessons. In result, teachers put in more effort to create a more interesting and exciting lesson. (Jesvin)

Quoting from Page 13 of Chapter One (Ref 3): =Interventions= An intervention is a course of action taken to improve performance. It is planned and purposeful, and requires organizations and the people in them to behave differently. Interventions have to be proactively planned for and managed, and people must adapt to them. Interventions are designed and developed to respond to specific needs, which are gaps between where an organization is and where it seeks to be in the future.

=Results-Oriented= An enduring and distinguishing principle of HPT is focusing first and focusing last on results. Results must be tangible and __//**measurable**//__, due to a performance improvement initiative, and must positively affect an organization. They must create value for the organization, its members, and its customers. In short, they must have a positive impact.

(Examples of numeric measures): There are many types of results. Some focus on an organization’s bottom line. Examples include increased production, reduced scrap, reduced backlog work, and reduced costs. Time savings also have an impact on the bottom line of an organization. The focus also can be on workers and work teams. Examples include reduction in accidents, increases in worker health and safety, improvements in morale and motivation, increases in knowledge and skills, and reductions in grievances and personnel turnover. Or the focus can be market-oriented, such as increased market share, maintaining and increasing satisfied customers and repeat business, long-term growth, and expanding partnerships.

Finally, organizations can focus externally and serve and give back to the community by being good corporate citizens and avoiding externalities such as air and water pollution, worker exploitation, and wasting of natural resources. All results must be legal, ethical, and morally defensible. Most important, they must be aligned with one or more of the values, missions, goals, and objectives of the organization.

Professor -Yousuf I think in my organizational problem the numeric representation is in the results. Due to poor results (only 70% passed) and to improve the results to 80% the team of developers developed multimedia resources and trained the tutors on how to use them. The results did not improve and therefore the HPT are called in. The gap in is therefore the 10% drop in performance. To improve certain measures should be put into place. The training in multimedia did not solve the problem and therefore the HPT practitioner are putting other measures in placed in the manual. (Wynand)

Ok, what could be the reasons behind the students doing well or otherwise? Also, do you know the dropout rate? Yousuf

Dear Prof., Thanks for this tip. I will use the next two days to ruminate on how to reduce the gap in my organizational problem to numeric representations. Thanks. (Olubiyi)

Olubiyi, noted. (Yousuf)

Dear Prof.,

I feel that for me to put the gap in numeric terms as you have suggested, it might be necessary for me to conduct an actual survey to get the feelings of the academic staff. Thus this questionnaire has been designed to solicit data for environmental analysis. Kindly take a look and critique. I want to administer it this morning and I would be happy if I can get this back in one and a half hours time.

Thanks.

Dear Olubiyi,

Have you read the comments in the wiki on the page?

http://hmhp5903.wikispaces.com/Organisational+Problem (Organisational Problem)

The survey is a good idea. However, you have assumed the problem to be unavailability of course materials. It may well be so, however, an HPT analyst would have to look at the whole picture.

As an HPT analyst may go for attrition rate of 80%. as a measure of performance. Using this figure it is also possible to determine a gap. For example, the loss in revenue may be calculated for 80% attrition rate. For example, if the management decide that the desirable attrition rate is 50%, then the gap is 80% - 50% = 30%. The management may even want a 0% attrition rate. In such a case the gap is 80%.

Then one should go for finding the causes. The best people to ask are the drop-outs themselves. If you can interview even 10 persons who have dropped out of a particular program it would help pin point some of the problems. For example,


 * Existing course material too difficult to understand
 * Existing course material not clear
 * Existing course material not align
 * Course material unavailable
 * Teachers do not give alternative resources
 * Exams not aligned to course material concepts and content
 * No time to study
 * Cannot keep up with assignment deadlines

If you want to survey the teachers on course material production and design, your questions have to be worded differently, i.e. they should specifically deal with course material, e.g.


 * 1) What course do you take?
 * 2) Do you think it is important to have course material for your course?
 * 3) How can such material be produced?
 * 4) Do you like to produce your own material. Is it difficult?
 * 5) If you have produced material, how long does it take?
 * 6) How many course material do you manage to produce in a year?
 * 7) Do you have any team members who help you? If not, what kind of team support would you need?
 * 8) Do you have any plans to produce course materials in the coming 12 months?
 * 9) How do you test your course material?
 * 10) The attrition rate of students is 80%. Why, in your opinion, do you think it is so high? What can be done to reduce this?
 * 11) Suggest how you would improve the attrition rate.

See if this is helpful

-Yousuf

Dear Prof.,

Thank you very much for your response.

The problem is that the attrition rate of the university is not known to anybody statistically. I have tried this using MBA as a case study but out of all the 400 students that registered for the course, I had the phone number or any means of contact of only 20 students out of which some are not even correct. Apart from this, the university changed her portal and thus we have no access to the old portal that would have given me the partial access to the students that have dropped out. Thus, I cannot use them for the research.

My assumption that course materials are the problem is based on even media reports, students reports and management reports too. Though I will agree that issues should be looked at holistically, the issue of course materials may be a starting point. I feel with some of the free response questions I would be able to get other issues from the academic staff.

The other avenue opened to me is the students. Should make a second questionnaire targetted at the students to gauge their response to the organizational environment?

Thanks

Olubiyi

Dear Olubiyi,

1. For the attrition rate, for three or four of the courses at NOUN is it possible to find out how many students initially registered and how many gave the final exam? This may give an estimated attrition rate = (Registered - Examinees)/Registered * 100.

2. At the same time, you may interview students who are currently enrolled and studying. You could ask them about their feelings on:
 * Course material (availability, timely availability, non-availability)
 * Ease of use
 * Usefulness
 * Alignment with exams
 * References selected from books and resources other than NOUN textbooks
 * Teacher feedback
 * Support for completing assignments
 * Alignment of assignments and tests to course material
 * Adequate time for completing assignments
 * Return of assignments
 * how motivated they are to complete the course/degree (if yes, why, if not, why not)

Their perception regarding the above would help you find reasons for the attrition rate.

See if this helps.

-Yousuf