A perspective adjustment to add value to external clients (including society)

✍ Scribed by Roger Kaufman; Ingrid Guerra

• Book ID: 102256916
• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2001
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 38 KB
• Volume: 12
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1044-8004
• DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.17

✦ Synopsis

What used to be "good enough" is not anymore. Working harder and following the conventional models and approaches to performance improvement and human resource development that are the industry standards are no longer viable guides for success. We have entered a new era in which both achieving useful results and proving that they add value to the organization and our shared society are required. Although there are still some organizations-perhaps in some ways more powerful than many governments (Estes, 1996)-that can affect the lives of many individuals with little or no accountability, a few others are now embracing social responsibility (Hatcher, 2000). For example, U.S. governmental agencies are required to prove the value they add to their external clients. Recent research suggests that organizations are beginning to include social "value-added" as a component in their organizational purpose (Kaufman, Watkins, Triner, and Stith, 1998). A new perspective is required; efficiency or cost savings alone are no longer sufficient.

Current performance improvement approaches and methods, including the language we use in describing our profession, commonly leave unanswered questions about value-added (Kaufman and Watkins, 2000). At best we talk about profits, "business needs," client satisfaction, and funding levels, but we seem to miss the emerging paradigm (