What’s the major problem? It is fundamentally the confusion between effectiveness and efficiency that stands between doing the right things and doing things right. There is surely nothing quite so useless ad doing with great efficiency what should not be done at all. Yet our tools – especially our accounting concepts and data all focus on efficiency. What we need is (1) a way to identify the areas of effectiveness (of possible significant results), and (2) a method for concentrating on them. ((Drucker, Peter, June 12, 2006. “Peter Drucker on Managerial Courage.” HBS Working Knowledge. Retrieved from http://hbswk.hbs.edu on June 21, 2006.))
Certainly in HR, these days we talk about the effectiveness of our workforce. When we talk about developing talent, we talk about making them more effective, not more efficient (most of the time). Sure there are productivity gurus out there, but being effective is more important, and I believe the HR function realizes this.
However, when we talk about HR technology and service delivery, we are usually talking about efficiency, not effectiveness. More workflow allows us to manage activity in an automated fashion. Technology makes everything “easier” to access. It is possible though to have effectiveness enter the HR technology and service delivery process. Process optimization and redesign should be aligned and implemented to make the organization more effective rather than efficient. Take performance management for example. Performance is one of those clear examples where HR often automates process, but hands line managers more tasks while they are at it. A similar example is manager self service. The total workload for the performance task may actually have increased, making the organization as a whole less effective at the sacrifice of making HR more efficient.
HR has the mandate (well, it’s our role if we have the mandate or not) to promote effectiveness. While we should not be afraid of efficiency, efficiency should only be applied after the activity has actually been deemed effective. Workforce effectiveness as HR think about it, includes making not only HR more effective, but also employees and managers.
6 responses to “Peter Drucker on the Manager’s Major Problem”
systematicHR – Human Resources Strategy and Human Resources Technology » Peter Drucker on the Manager’s Major Problem
systematicHR – Human Resources Strategy and Human Resources Technology » Peter Drucker on the Manager’s Major Problem
Peter Drucker on the Manager’s Major Problem July 27, 2006 on 2:00 am | by Systematic HR What’s the major problem? It is fundamentally the confusion between effectiveness and efficiency that stands between doing the right things and doing things right. There is surely nothing quite so
A great article – managers today are looking for the smartest way to manage, not the most efficient. Interestingly I think you can also segment HR practitioners and their approach by efficiency and effectiveness – hence the conflict that is prevalent in business around HR contribution and value.
Great blog post…I wrote on this topic recently at the N2growth Blog in a post entitled Doing The Right Thing.
Working link to Mike Myatt’s Blog
http://www.n2growth.com/blog/index.php?p=51