[From Fred Nickols (2001.09.08.0840)] --
A while back there was a brief discussion about "practical PCT." In that
vein, I've put together a brief two-pager and stuck it out on the
web. It's in .pdf format so anyone with Adobe Acrobat Reader can get at
it. It's just a start but I'd much appreciate any and all comments. I'm
particularly interested in (1) comments or suggestions that correct any
glaring errors in my understanding of PCT and (2) additional ideas and
illustrations consistent with the model I'm presenting. Although it is
brief, you should be able to see where I'm going with it.
The URL is http://home.att.net/~opsinc/Managing_Performance.pdf
Have at it, folks...
Regards,
Fred Nickols
The Distance Consulting Company
"Assistance at A Distance"
http://home.att.net/~nickols/distance.htm
nickols@att.net
(609) 490-0095
[From Bill Williams UMKC 9 September 2001 12:00 CST ]
To Fred Nichols,
When you draw the relationship between management input and the workers
reference level you've done so as if management input could be injected directly
into the workers head. Actually the worker has the option of listening or not
to management, acting up in various ways, or in general being contrary. So, I'd
be inclined to redraw management input as a worker's perceptual input.
Best
Bill Williams
···
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[From Fred Nickols (2001.09.11.1457)] --
> Bill Williams UMKC 9 September 2001 12:00 CST
When you draw the relationship between management input and the workers
reference level you've done so as if management input could be injected
directly
into the workers head. Actually the worker has the option of listening or not
to management, acting up in various ways, or in general being
contrary. So, I'd
be inclined to redraw management input as a worker's perceptual input.
Thanks, Bill. I understand your point and I certainly agree that
management's input would have to take the form of a perception on the part
of the worker. However, I probably wasn't as clear as I could have
been. The little "pointers" in the diagram are literally that, pointers to
those factors that management might try to influence and some possibilities
in that vein. More like things we can do and where their effects would be
meant to be felt, not necessarily the paths for exerting that influence.
Regards,
Fred Nickols
The Distance Consulting Company
"Assistance at A Distance"
http://home.att.net/~nickols/distance.htm
nickols@att.net
(609) 490-0095
[from Bill Williams UMKC 13 September 2001 0:30 CST ]
[From Fred Nickols (2001.09.11.1457)] --
Thanks, Bill. I understand your point and I certainly agree that
management's input would have to take the form of a perception on the part
of the worker. However, I probably wasn't as clear as I could have
been. The little "pointers" in the diagram are literally that, pointers to
those factors that management might try to influence and some possibilities
in that vein. More like things we can do and where their effects would be
meant to be felt, not necessarily the paths for exerting that influence.
My comment had its source in a recent mistake that I made in neglecting the
fact that a "worker" is constantly making choices about which "influences" to
take into account. As a result in the future I'll be more aware that the "path
for exerting ... influence" exists only if the "worker" chooses to open the
path. And, the fact that the path may be open for the time being doesn't mean
that it will continue in the future to be open. Given my recent misadventure
involving this issue, I'm much more impressed than I was previously that the
question of mutual expectations between "management" and "workers" is a complex
problem that is context dependent. A lot, of course, depends upon the nature
of the task. I would suppose that the more complex the task, and the larger
the element of "worker" descretion, the more significance would attach to how
well the mutual expectations match and whether these mutual expectations are
functional and productive. I can understand that both "management" and
"workers" might view emphasizing this issue as a distraction from turning out
widgets, but it seems to me that unless there is something approaching a
satsifactory aggreement in this regard things may go badly wrong.
best
Bill Williams
···
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