Performance Management Summary of the Publication \"Performance

Performance Management

Summary of the Publication

"Performance Management: Integrating Strategy Execution, Methodologies, Risk, and Analytics" by Gary Cokins offers a form of map for helping to assess the performance of a company, while maintaining a practical discussion of all the issues which confront an individual in the planning and measuring stage of performance improvement. Cokins is also able to issue a strong message about the necessity of installing predictive metrics in a manner that makes sense to both analytic and non-analytic executives. Cokins is able to very aptly summarize some of the more pressing issues regarding performance management, while offering up the most basic and most fundamental ideas regarding performance management issues that are of pressing concern to the individual. Cokins is able to use his book to offer up more than just a standard conceptual explanation or simply via open questions the sheer benefit of the value in enterprise and the connection between business intelligence and PM. Cokins is able to achieve this by putting analytics to work through the usage of practical terms, and by showcasing the intellectual pillars which underscore all types of performance management, ultimately demonstrating the impact on the true and real challenges of life which are faced by organizations which just become more and more complex.

As Cokins shows, there is no magic recipe to improve performance but that there needs to be logic which is consistently applied and a certain level of objectivity which also needs to be applied so that results are achieved. All of these factors are discussed in such a way that it is completely clear and without a doubt how to achieve value within an organization in a sustained and applicable manner. Beyond all of these really important pillars, Cokins is able to illuminate some of the more important and fundamental aspects involved in making sure that a given organization is able to remain successful and effective. All team members need to be properly appraised of the particular strategy at work: this way they can all understand how the work they do is able to achieve specific and definable goals within that strategy so all are on the same page. Cokins also argues for keeping people accountable for their actions and achievements, and to allow for performance measures and other forms of evaluation to be kept in place. Much of what Cokins argues for so succinctly falls into the arena of good sound advice that's necessary for the success of any given company.

Criticism of the Author's Ideas

However, while the book that Cokins wrote is full of good ideas and demonstrates truly sound pieces of advice within the arena of performance management, it still has areas that need work, or which are repetitive or derivative. For example, Cokins bemoans the fact that there are so many diverse and contradictory definitions of performance management and tries to advocate the usage of a more succinct definition by pushing for what performance management does and on creating a much stronger definition of what performance management is all about through an understanding the forces and pillars which help to shape performance management (2010). Ultimately, Cokins asserts that the best way for performance management to be described is by doing: Cokins advocates actions and deeds of a company or firm as ultimately paving the way for the most succinct definition of performance management. However, there's still the danger of vagueness within this concept. This is a similar problem that Cokins runs into when he claims that performance management framework is more of a stew than anything else and that the full vision of performance management is something which can be achieved through a variety of routes (2010). However, Cokins does fall into the trap of making such general statements without being compelled to back them up with clear examples. Instead he just uses more and more metaphors with sporadic details tossed in here and there. For instance, "Performance management is like the gears in a machine: The more closely linked and better meshed the technologies are during implementation, the quicker the organization moves forward, because it is working better, faster, cheaper and smarter" (Cokins, 2010, p.77). This is another common trend Cokins engages in: he makes a range of promises about the results that will occur once performance management is engaged in with greater effectiveness and thoroughness, but there still isn't enough specificity present in his examples for any firm or entity to really implement these pillars. Essentially Cokins theories and ideas need to be presented with a greater level of simplicity so that people can use them with real effectiveness and efficacy in real world scenarios in business.