Issue Vol.

1 (2015)
No. 2

INTERVIEWS
ACADEMICS.
PRACTITIONERS.
CONSULTANTS.
Insights from practice

AROUND THE WORLD

GRUMA MEXICO:
A performance model
built on innovation

GOVERNMENTAL
PERFORMANCE:
The Illinois Department
Public of Health

ARTICLES
HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR
DECISION-MAKING PROCESS?

EMERGING PERFORMANCE
MANAGEMENT TRENDS IN 2015

+ LIFESTYLE, HARDWARE &

SOFTWARE, AND RECOMMENDED
RESOURCES

PORTRAIT

RAVEE RAMAMOOTHIE
Commitment to performance, commitment to people.
 INDEMNITY STATEMENT
2015 The KPI Institute Ltd.
All Rights Reserved.
ID Number: TKI0151051
ISBN-13: 978-1519204837
ISBN-10: 1519204833

An appropriate citation for this magazine is:

The KPI Institute, Performance Magazine, no. 2, December, 2015, Melbourne, Australia

Indemnity statement:
The KPI Institute has taken due care in preparing the analysis contained in this publication. However, noting that some of the data
used for the analysis has been provided by third parties, The KPI Institute gives no warranty to the accuracy, reliability, fitness for
purpose, or otherwise of the information. The KPI Institute shall have no liability for errors, omissions, or inadequacies in the
information contained herein or for interpretations thereof. The opinions expressed herein are subject to change without notice.

Published by:

The KPI Institute

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DECEMBER 2015 2
CONTENTS

RAVEE RAMAMOOTHIE
Commitment to performance, commitment to people.

PORTRAIT 30

INTERVIEWS 14 AROUND THE WORLD 34

EDITORS NOTE 3 ARTICLES 44

NEWS 6 Strategy and Performance Management 44

Strategy and Business Planning 50
COVER STORY 12 Employee Performance Management 54
Performance Measurement 60
INTERVIEWS 14 Innovation Performance 64
Performance Improvement 66
Ahmed Ragab 15 Risk Management 68
Bert de Winter 16
Luis Gargalo 17
Michael J. Sutton 19 ASK THE EXPERTS 70
Mohammed Yassine 22
Musa Bulus 25 LIFESTYLE 71

PORTRAIT 30 HARDWARE 80

AROUND THE WORLD 34 SOFTWARE 83

USA 34 RECOMMENDED RESOURCES 85

Mexico 36
North America 38 Books 85
UAE 40 Films 86

3 DECEMBER 2015
 STAFF

EDITORS NOTE
With the final month of 2015 under way, the time is
just right to look back and remember what this year
has introduced in terms of discipline evolution,
milestones breached and relevant changes. Its
also a time of renewal, when we can peek into
what lies in store for 2016 and find out about the
trends we have isolated for the future period. One
constancy is that we are closing in on a new age
for Performance Management, an age defined by
maturity, engagement and connectivity.

EDITORIAL COORDINATION With these thoughts in mind, we proudly announce the launch of our second issue
of Performance Magazine, the winter edition. Performance Magazine is The KPI
Aurel Brudan Institutes prime resource for insights into the discipline of Performance Management.
CEO, The KPI Institute
Encompassing The KPI Institutes experience, research and expertise,
Adrian Brudan PERFORMANCE Magazine Printed Edition, transfers its knowledge into
General Manager TKI EMEA a multitude of resources made accessible to a worldwide readership. The
content published in Performance Magazine pursues high and wide for some
Diana Zrnescu of the best, the latest and the most pressing topics of discussion in Performance
Head of Publishing & Media Management and in adjacent areas of interest.

This winters number plunged into the subjects of Performance Measurement

and Improvement, KPIs, Balanced Scorecard Systems, Strategic Planning,
EDITORIAL TEAM Innovation and Risk Management, among others.

Andrei Costea Flip through pages of interviews with renowned experts, extensive research studies,
Editor & Publisher Specialist concept presentations, insights from practice, alongside software or hardware reviews,
and books and movie recommendations, all related to performance management.
Decembers Performance Magazine focused on one subject matter expert who is
close to The KPI Institute and its numerous connections: Ravee Ramamoothie, a lead
MARKETING figure in the world of automatized Performance Management, integrating people,
operations and strategies into intuitive and organic platforms. Through his passion
Diana Butean for education, poeple and work ambition, Ravee models the mentalities of those
Head of Marketing surrounding him, on an everyday basis.

Lastly, as the year 2015 draws its final breaths, we also look back on ourselves
and our personal development, within the past 12 months. Where was I in
DESIGN December, 2014? What was I doing differently then and what have I improved
since that moment in time? Certainly, we all have grown and improved and,
Javier Rocha often enough, we made our fair share of mistakes. But we never stopped
Head of Graphic Design learning, evolving, and most importantly, we improved And if you recognize
yourself in the above sequence of events, then 2015 was a good year because it
concludes with improvement.

So now we invite you to take part in a world dedicated to integrating performance

and all that is comprised in the search for improvement, in its smallest details.
Enjoy this Decembers Performance Magazine!

We are always interested in gaining insights from practitioners who activate

in a multitude of environments. Contact us at editor@kpiinstitute.org if you are
interested in becoming a Guest Editor, or having your interview featured in
PERFORMANCE Magazine.

Diana Zrnescu
Head of Publishing & Media, The KPI Institute

DECEMBER 2015 4
SCHEDULED COURSES IN 2016
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THE KPI INSTITUTES PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS
Certified Strategy and Business Planning Professional
The course will help improve the business
planning process and long-term organizational
performance, through the use of strategic
planning tools that will ultimately lead to smarter
and quicker strategic decisions.
Certified KPI Professional and Practitioner
This program is meant to improve the practical skills
in working with KPIs and developing instruments
like scorecards and dashboards. Participants will
acquire a sound framework to measure KPIs, starting
from the moment they are selected, until results are
collected in performance reports.
Certified Performance Improvement Professional
This course offers insights and best practices for
improving performance in different scenarios,
from data analysis and reporting, decision
making and initiative management, to building a
performance culture.
Certified Employee Performance Management Professional
Attendees will gain exposure to best practices and
key concepts and will learn how to establish and
use criteria for performance evaluations, from
implementation to improvement and maintenance of
the companys employee performance management
system.
Certified Personal Performance Professional
The two-day interactive program will help
you understand personal performance, by
explaining the benefits and clarifying the process
of measuring it. It focuses on identifying ways to
boost your performance outside working hours.
Certified Data Visualization Professional
An exclusive framework that provides insights on
effective visual communication, through a rigorous
approach to creating visual representations of vast
information, techniques of standardization and
tailored data visualization tools.
To browse through our upcoming training courses visit our online store at: store.kpiinstitute.org/scheduled-courses
Certified Data Analysis Professional
Attendants will understand through practical learning
how to effectively collect, analyze and interpret data
by enabling managers/ analysts to draw insights
from both quantitative and qualitative data, based on
historical statistics and trend analysis.
Certified Benchmarking Professional
Benchmarking methodological uniqueness is
represented by the identification and analysis of
the processes that lead to a superior performance
of a company, offering the opportunity to compare
an organizations performance against industry
competitors.
Certified Supplier Performance Professional
Participants skills in managing supplier
performance and developing a strategic approach
to procurement will be developed by enabling
the identification of performance gaps and
implementing action agreements with suppliers.
Certified Customer Service Performance Professional
Participants will not only understand the importance
and implementation phases for the Customer
Service Excellence standards, but they will be given
the necessary tools to implement it internally and
measure its impact externally.
Certified Innovation Performance Professional
This course provides an interactive practice-
based learning environment, focusing on best
practices for developing and maintaining an
innovation-oriented organizational culture within
organizations.
Certified Balanced Scorecard Management System Professional
The course focuses on delivering all the
information needed to fully comprehend the
value of the Balanced Scorecard, as well as on
developing the necessary skills for a successful
implementation.
NEWS

> Can you hear the music?

NEWS
or how KPIs can alter
reality
The mobile music app, Shazam,
although highly popular
among music enthusiasts and
not only, is now facing serious
performance pitfalls as, despite
a clearly registered growth rate,
has turned little to no profit.

The losing perspective:

Although with over 120 million
users worldwide, the enterprise
reported heavy losses over an
extended period of time, as
Music Business Worldwide puts
out for the record.

In the second quarter of 2013,

Shazam reported net losses
of 5.76 million pounds, a
downfall which only deepened
from thereon to 14.84 million
pounds, in 2014. The total
amount leaked by Shazam sums
up to approximately 25 million
pounds in net losses.
The wining perspective:
But the people at Shazam arent
too concerned. Their main KPI
for measuring the companys
performance is revenue and,
with that in mind, their 2014
was, in fact, a good fiscal year,
having reported revenues of up
to 16.89 million pounds for the
last 6 months of 2013, a sum
which only grew in 2014 by
another 16%, thus leading to a
total turnover of 36.01 million
pounds.
The realistic perspective:
So what for some seemed as a
very grim reality, turned out to
be a successful path, for others.
This is why KPIs can make
or break a business. Selecting
the proper KPIs to measure
performance levels of the
elements that show real success
of ones actions will be the light
at the end of the tunnel.
> Performance in the big league An Enel strategy
Performance and sustainability all in one
package. These are the hallmarks of Enels
vision for the future. When Francesco Starace,
CEO of Enel Italys largest power company
and the second largest utility listed in Europe,
spoke at the United Nations Sustainable
Development Summit of 2015, many were
eager to hear the business leaders ideas for
shaping a better tomorrow. And he delivered.
Starace announced that he, together with
his company, plan on undergoing a dual-
sided transformation, in order to attain and
maintain a certain level of performance and
sustainability. One transformation takes
place internally, while the other focuses on
an external perspective.
First off, he will be asking some 70.000
employees to find new and engaging ways
to revitalize their workplace. Having
reimagined his internal management
system, he asked for a greater degree of
control and authority on behalf of the
consumer, coupled with more ideating
from his staff, in order to discover novel
methods of delivering their services.
Thus, Enel repurposed their 37 million
meters, across all of Italy, to serve as
smart grids, allowing Italians enhanced
administration over their consumption of
energy. Enels Telegestore meters display the
energy used, the power being drawn, and
the tariff and contract the customer is on.
This way, disputes regarding contracts, bills,
payments of any sorts. As such, the company
reaped many benefits:
a greater focus on meeting performance targets;
more leeway to focus on renewables research;
the ability to further expand their services.
Secondly, regarding any external transformations
and plans, Enel is set to outperform its competitors
by ascribing to some of the UNs 17 Sustainable
Development Goals:
the 4th (ensure inclusive and equitable
quality education);
the 7th (ensure access to energy);
the 8th (promoting sustained, inclusive
and sustainable economic growth and
entrepreneurial development);
the 13th (taking urgent action to combat
climate change).
So, at the end of the day, Enel shows why they
are so dominant on the market having a plan
for everything, both for self-development and
helping others reach higher levels of growth,
pays great social and financial dividends at
the end of the day. Ensuring that the company
is performing at max capability, whilst
maintaining a protective gaze over those in
need, make Enel a role model among its peers.

7 DECEMBER 2015

> Volkswagen: improving performance the wrong way
Following a worldwide recalling scandal
which disgraced the car manufacturer
Toyota in the public eye, this year yet another
industry peer has drawn public attention to
their unethical business conduct.
Volkswagen misinformed about the fuel
emission levels for several car models.
These were 40 times higher than initially
declared. The manufacturer directed energy
and money into creating a device that could
deceive the standard emission measurement
tools into thinking that the cars emissions
were actually within limits.
The VW scandal began in the US, when
the Environment Protection Agency (EPA)
first found out about what is now called the
diesel dupe. After that, it spread to the UK,
Italy, France, South Korea, Canada and, of
course, Germany.
Given the dimensions of this scandal and
the popularity that the carmaker enjoyed
prior to its unraveling, the manner in which
VW manages this situation will define how
their image will come out.
The previously mentioned Toyota car
recalling scandal showed how through
transparency and openness, one company
can obtain public forgiveness and redeem
itself in front of its fans and customers.
However, VW may already be stepping side-
ways. Their financial estimates resulted in
$7.3 billion costs, which the company said
they would put aside to cover all expenses
the emissions scandal had set loose.
However, the Swiss from Credit Suisse, a
financial services holding, calculated VWs
overall costs to $86 billion. As opposed to the
$7.3 billion VW first approximated, this second
estimation seems ludicrous. The numbers
point out that at least one of these 2 estimations
has not been accurately calculated.
However, the first outcomes following
the emissions revealing has not shown
any strains on Volkswagen. Although the
manufacturer did not register huge profits, it
did not register any pitfalls either.
Whats more surprising is the fact that the
company sold 156 more cars this year, in
comparison to the previous year. From their
point of view, their business is currently
stagnating. However, according to Autodata,
VW has been selling 18.17 million vehicles
annually, a figure which did not decrease as of
august, 2015, after the diesel dupe came to light.
The true figure though, is that in the last 7
years, VW has been shipping out cars with 40
times more nitrogen oxides than currently
permitted by the USAs EPA standards.
NEWS
> Performance Management in
Namibia: contracts for all ministers
The Government of Namibia has prepared
performance contracts to be signed by all
ministers, as Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-
Amadhila announced earlier this week.
These contracts, together with other
performance requirements that have already
come into action, will consign government
representatives to assist and support citizens by
implementing what is called a citizen charter.
These charters are public agreements that
create a link between service providers
and citizens in terms of standards and
expectations that the latter have concerning
the formers service delivery quality.
A citizen charter will typically focus on
the commitment of an OMA (e.n. offices,
ministries, and agencies) towards its
citizens in respect of standard of services,
information, choice and consultation, non-
discrimination and accessibility, grievance
redress, courtesy and value for money,
explained Kuugongelwa-Amadhila.
These performance contracts and other
similar agreements are all part of the
Performance Management System that the
Namibian Government implemented back
in 2004. Setting aside the natural fluctuations
in initiatives that have been launched and
dropped, ever since its implementation, the
present contracts bring a fresh dimension
to performance management, in the Prime
Ministers words.
Most importantly, these contracts pave
the way towards cascading the obligations
that ministers share with the president,
and ensuring a greater degree of activity
synchronicity between higher and lower
hierarchical levels.
DECEMBER 2015 8
NEWS
> Sweden said Yes!
to the 6-hour working day
As of October, 2015, the Swedish workforce
underwent a change that brought about a
major impact on its organizational culture:
switching to a 6-hour working day.
Sweden took this change believing that
employees will become happier and
productivity levels will rise.
Employers across Sweden, from hospitals, to
car centers and even to retirement homes are
embracing this switch open-heartedly.
Two companies who had already
implemented the 6-hour working day for a
year or more reported that turnover rates
collapsed after this change, their staff was
increasingly more engaged and satisfied and
profits registered a boost.
On the other hand, in order for this 6-hour
schedule to function, distractions such as
social media need to be kept to a minimum,
as well as meetings, along with all other
productivity downers.
As the advantages of the 6-hour schedule are
quite obvious, the benefits of the traditional
8-hour working interval are rooted in the
18th century when civil rights activist Robert
Owen demanded an 8-hour working day
based on the: Eight hours labor, eight hours
recreation, eight hours rest slogan, since
the employees of that time used to labor
for as long as 16 hours a day. However, this
schedule might not address the 21st century
needs of organizations and employees alike.
With cooperation and understanding, both
employees and employers can garner more
benefits from a 6-hour working day than
from the classic 8-hour one.
9 DECEMBER 2015
> Reaping rewards, increasing productivity
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy,
is how an English saying goes. Fast-forward
to the 21st century and we can adapt it to
sound less catchy, but equally valuable:
all work and no reward makes people
unengaged.
When it comes to effort, we seldom enjoy working
in vain, because it essentially means we are doing
something for nothing; as such, rewards are a
significant part of todays work environment and
culture. But dont be mistaken, rewards dont have
to be merely monetary.
For journalists, it can be the number of views
or comments on a piece of writing. For those
who work in design, architecture or the
construction industry, seeing a project come
to life can also count as a reward.
To give this train of thought more substance,
Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist, states
that: When we think about labor, we usually
think about motivation and payment as the
same thing, but the reality is that we should
probably add all kinds of things to it: meaning,
creation, challenges, ownership, identity, pride
etc. In 2008, he designed an experiment, in
which he invited groups of students from Duke
University and gave them a paid assignment
> Business Development Manager reaches the top 3 best jobs in
America, in 2015
Apparently, if you are employed as Business
Development Manager, then you are lucky to
have one of the best job titles in USA, in 2015.
Glassdoor, a worldwide platform for jobs and
recruitment, ranked the best jobs to have in
America right now.
With 11,616 job openings and an average
salary that reaches $94,907, the Business
Development Manager ranked as the
third best job to have, alongside Physician
Assistant and Software Engineer. However,
Glassdoor did not limit to ranking jobs based
to build Bionicles, which are action figure toys.
With the first group, after the toys were built,
he put them one besides the other, so the
students can compare their progress; when
it came to the second group, he instantly
dismantled the toys and gave the parts back
to the students. The results? The second
group started to build fewer Bionicles, due
to a lack of motivation, knowing it will be
quickly torn appart.
Adding to this, Pacific Standard Magazine
interviewed a few journalists in this years
July, asking what goes through their minds
when they publish a new piece of writing.
Most of them said that they live for the
high of seeing their article become
viral and that a whole array of emotions
flow through them when looking at stats
such as comments, likes, shares general
online traffic numbers.
So, as we can see, financial rewards are
important, but more often than not, we tend
to disconsider the motivational part of our
work. Feeling that you are making a change
for the better or adding something new and
useful into this world can generally be just as
important as getting paid at the end of the day
for that particular workpiece.
solely on average pay and the number of jobs
available, at a certain time.
They have taken into account more complex
needs that people have and expect from their
professions, such as career opportunity or job
review. As far as these go, being a Business
Development Manager gives you a 3.5, out of
a maximum of 5, career opportunity chances,
and a job score of 4.6 out of 5.
Big companies such as General Electric, Facebook
and Google, to name just a few, have sought to hire
Business Development Managers in 2015.

> Connecting the dots: lack of innovation leads to failure of new products
Innovation is a concept that has been glued
to the perception of progress. However, as
easy as the theory may be, as difficult and
complex it proves to be in practice. This is
how companies such as Wazoku are born.
Wazoku is a software company which helps
organisations of every type to achieve their
desired goals and attain higher degrees
of innovation. They recently released a
survey that sought to measure the state of
innovation within large scale organizations.
On one end, they found out that, regarding
leadership, 72% of the surveyed employees
had no idea what innovation means for
their respective employer, with 32% stating
that board-level members drive innovation
for their company. Moreover, 80-90% of
every 100 new products entering the market
generally tend to fail to catch on.
On the other end, 53% of the managers who
responded said that they are unaware of
their organisations definition of innovation
or how it fits into the greater picture of
corporate goals; 38% of them did not see
innovation as being their responsability,
since it was not part of their job description.
Whats even more interesting is the fact that 79%
of respondents argue that ideas are improved
via collaboration and not by relying solely on
lone thinkers or leaders. 76% of them also feel
at home within an organisation if their ideas are
taken into consideration. The study comprises
1.000 UK board members and senior managers
(4%), middle managers (22%), junior managers
(24%), and rank-and-file workers (50%). As to
the organizations themselves, 25% of them were
public sector companies, with the remaining 75%
being private.
The survey mainly assessed 5 specific areas,
analyzing different variables for each of
these, in order to see the impact on an
enterprises ability to innovate:
Culture
Transparency, risk tolerance, collaboration,
innovative DNA;
Leadership
Vision, capability, communication;
Management
Empowerment, enablement, champions;
Strategy
Corporate goals, innovation mix, language;
Tools & Processest
Technology, working practices.
All of these factors were measured at each
individual level of innovative maturity:
Novice
Apprentice
Professional
EveryDay innovator
NEWS
On one end, they found out that regarding
leadership, 72% of the surveyed employees
had no idea what innovation means for
their respective employer, with 32% stating
that board-level members drive innovation
for their company. Moreover, 80-90% of
every 100 new products entering the market
generally tend to fail to catch on.
On the other end, 53% of the managers who
responded said that they are unaware of
their organisations definition of innovation
or how it fits into the greater picture of
corporate goals; 38% of them did not see
innovation as being their responsability,
since it was not part of their job description.
Whats even more interesting is the fact that
79% of respondents argue that ideas are
improved via collaboration and not by relying
solely on lone thinkers or leaders. 76% of them
also feel at home within an organisation if their
ideas are taken into consideration.
All in all, what does this show us? Well, we
can see that managers at all levels are either
unaware of their companys vision, goals or
objectives, not willing to get too involved, or
simply prefer to grind out ideas on their own
which, given the aforementioned numbers of
product failure, do not seem like good tactics.
It might be high time to set out a round table
with your peers and employees and find
out what can propel your company further
ahead of its competitors.
DECEMBER 2015 10
NEWS

> Managers engaging employees on social media increase change success rates
Recent studies researching the link
between social media and organizations
concluded that an active behavior on social
media platforms increases engagement,
transparency, job satisfaction, while also
facilitating sensitive operations such as
change initiatives, layoffs and resignations,
among others.
As such, 55% of employees wished that
management would have engaged them
more often on social media, during a time
in which they underwent changes within
their organization.
Another 42% said that they would have
accepted the changes more easily if they
would have been approached in a face-to-
face conversation.
Basically, the study conducted by the Weber
Shandwick company shows that - as we already
spend an average of 3 hours per day on social
media, managers and leaders might as well
start engaging employees more often on these
dedicated communication platforms. By doing
so, employees can feel safer, cared for and their
role within the company becomes more visible
for themselves as well as others.
As for managers, having a more interactive
behavior on social media can positively
impact their role within the company,
enhancing the transparency of their
decision-making process, which in turn
boosts employee confidence on matters
related to job safety and security.
Harvard Business Review looked back
on 3 examples when communication met
the digital world and helped companies
successfully conquer existing challenges.
The first the case was when Ciscos CEO
started two conversation threads, one to
announce his resignation and another
to gather advice for the new CEO. Four
days later, the threads collected over 1,000
comments and 20,000 views.
Pfizer asked 10 employees to record how
organizational changes made them feel and
how they were coping with them. These 10 drew
internal popularity as everyone followed their
journey and transmitted a sense of security and
confidence in the changes experienced.
Symantec developed an app called Applause
to align and correlate the managements
organizational objectives to the employees
way of working. Before the years end,
satisfaction levels had risen by 16%.
Overall, more communication means fewer
problems, regardless of the mediums used,
whether this means social media platforms, face-
to-face meetings or mail sent via post `service.

> Study links professional success to high EQ

An extensive study that surveyed more than
1 million people for EQ, concluded that high
performers also registered high Emotional
Intelligence levels.
Apparently, the more emotionally open you
are, the more successful you are in your
profession, whichever that is, and the more you
earn at your job. Performed by TalentSmart, a
USA-based EQ training organization, the study
assessed the emotional intelligence of over 1
million people.
Emotional Intelligence, or EQ, is the ability of
a person to understand, relate and empathize
with other people. This enables someone to
become a better communicator, negotiator
and understand the social environment he or
she activates in. In todays global, multicultural
context, such abilities are necessary to ensure
ones success at work and at home.
Results of the research developed by
TalentSmart showed that EQ is responsible for
successful experiences in all types of jobs. To
be more accurate than that, people with high
EQ levels earn bigger salaries than those with
lower EQ. The difference in pay may vary with
as much as $29,000 per year, for EQ.
However, there is a twist to this. Dr. Travis
Bradberry, President of TalentSmart,
mentions the one requirement for EQ to win
you better career paths: it has to be genuine.
No faked emotions, and you have to prove to
others that your EQ is real.
The same Bradberry then lists some features
of what it means to genuinely have EQ and
how it manifests in society:
Having a genuine EQ basically means being
who you are and not constantly trying to
make yourself liked, being approachable and
not passing on judgment so easily, relying on
no one other than yourself to forge a path in
life, being generous and treating others with
respect. Moreover, material possessions are
not the ones to motivate them, they are not
insulted easily and they are not revengeful,
they are committed to their activities and
will not be caught peeking at their phone
in mid-conversation, they dont need the
admiration of others and they know exactly of a leader, the kind of person that people
how to value themselves and their qualities, generally look up to. Confident and firm,
without either bragging or being hypocrites. exigent but at the same time ethical and fair.
Naturally, hard work and ambition,
What this profiles becomes, when all of combined with a dedicated set of personal
these features are put together, is the portrait qualities leads to being a better professional.

11 DECEMBER 2015
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DECEMBER 2015 12
 EVENTS
COVER STORY
COVER STORY

THE STATE OF THE

PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT AND
KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS IN 2015
Operational level
1 (at departmental
and process level)
We dont have a Performance
Management System in place 3 43% Improvement - objectively evaluate
the level of results achievement

18% Focus - outline what

requires attention

49% 39% 12%

17% Clarity - provide a detailed numerical
view of the desired results
Strategic level
(the performance of
the entire organization) 13% Engagement - generate a sense of results ownership
through nurturing responsibility and accountability

39% Positive impact 6% Communication - convey key messages to

2 internal and external stakeholders
15% I dont know

14% No impact Learning - facilitate a better

3%
understanding of the business
3% Negative impact

4.1 32% KPI selection 19% KPI target setting 5% KPI documentation

28% KPI data gathering 14% KPI analysis 2% KPI data visualization

T Improvement
he study, entitled State of the Performance
and Key Performance
Indicators Practice Report offers insight
from 4 key sections related to KPIs:
KPI Lifecycle
Analyzes different stages of the performance
management cycle: KPI selection, documentation,
target setting, data gathering, reporting and
decision-making.
Performance Improvement System
A key section which provides knowledgeable insights
into how performance improvement systems are
organized within various organizations.
Governance
Assess communication and accountability levels
met during performance management.
Context
Analyzes and evaluates the overall contexts in
which KPIs and performance improvement
initiatives are usually used and / or implemented.
In order to gather information on these
topics, a survey consisting of 28 questions was
disseminated throughout the world. The targeted
audience was our online community which is
made up of 73,000 members. Among them, 391
professionals have shared their tips and tricks
in managing performance by answering our
questionnaire. The findings are as follows:
1. Operational excellence with Performance
Management Systems
The latest trends in performance improvement
indicate that Performance Management Systems
are used by organizations worldwide mainly at an
operational (49%) and strategic level (39%). The
most common methodology used in structuring
such a system is The Balanced Scorecard, present
in 42% of our respondents replies.
2. KPIs drive value for businesses
The study reveals a strong argument for
supporting the implementation of KPIs, as
68% of professionals admitted having noticed
a positive impact on business development
following the KPI Framework implementation.
3. Improvement the main reason to use KPIs
The survey reveals that professionals use
3 main arguments to promote and justify
the utilization of KPIs: improvement,
focus and clarity. Improvement is by
far the most commonly used argument
for implementing KPIs among survey
respondents. Moreover, 43% agreed that
it is important to objectively evaluate
the current level of results in order to
ensure business development. Last but
not least, Focus and Clarity are
common reasons to promote the use of
KPIs among 17% - 18 % of professionals.

13 DECEMBER 2015
 COVER STORY

32% Building and operating 16% Performance data analysis

4.2 a performance culture

22% 6% Performance reporting

18% Performance data analysis 6% Learning from performance results

32% Organizational culture

5 6 6% 16% 23% 56%
10% Contribution of the entire executive team
Partial Alignment Total Misalignment
10%
Complete Alignment I dont know
9%

74% 56%
9% Structuring and formalizing the performance
management system 7 Cloud based solution
8
(internet login) 45%
8% Support from the executive manager
Client-server solution

7% Data quality I dont know

9% 10%
4% 7%

11% Other obstacles or key drivers No Yes

4. KPI selection and building a performance
culture are the most challenging aspects
when it comes to performance management
32% of the respondents stated that the
most challenging aspect in performance
measurement has to do with identifying
the right KPIs for their business. This
challenge seems to be common among
organizations regardless of their size
or industry. In practice, what sets apart
successful KPI selections from the rest
is the organizations ability to engage the
right people in this process and to clarify
its strategy. In terms of performance
improvement, building a performance-
oriented culture is the most difficult
endeavor, based on the responses collected
from 32% of professionals.
5. Organizational culture is seen as a
key factor for developing a successful
performance management system
The survey findings (32%) highlight
organizational culture as being the
premier factor when it comes to
facilitating the implementation of a
successful performance management
system. According to these results,
the alignment of employees values to
those of the companys, coupled with an
understanding of the companys mission,
vision and core principles can either
consolidate performance or constitute
an obstacle in the implementation of a
performance management system.
6. Partial alignment between employee
performance plans and corporate strategy
Complete alignment between organizational
strategy and employee performance plans is
common only among 23% of respondents,
while partial alignment seems to be the most
popular scenario, with 56%.
7. Microsoft Excel as the main data gathering
and reporting tool
74% of professionals admitted using Microsoft
Excel for data gathering and reporting. In
terms of automated software, the most cited
Business Intelligence tools were: Oracle, SAP,
PeopleSoft or QPR Software.
8. Predictive analytics: easier said than done!
Although predictive analytics and data
modelling are popular topics nowadays, only
18 % of professionals claimed to use predictive
analytics extensively. Capitalizing on data
modelling allows us to use trend forecasting
and pattern recognition on big data sets;
having those tools readily available means that
organizations can be one step ahead of their
competitors, as well as their clients.
In practice however, the use of predictive
analytics requires substantial investments
in software tools and in finding or
developing the necessary competencies
which data-handling requires.
9. Data-based decision-making
The study shows that 33% of professionals
integrate KPI results into their decision-
making process, while support for a
standardized template in which to report the
implementation of decisions and initiatives
only appears in 32% of the cases.
10. A dedicated office to govern the
Performance Management System
More than 50% of the organizations
analyzed have a dedicated office which
handles all strategic and performance
related aspects. A dedicated team
for implementing and governing the
performance management system
ensures a consistent, structured and
logical approach to improve strategy
alignment and coherent decision-making.
The Performance Management Office
should provide support in reporting
performance-related information to all
stakeholders and build a performance
culture in the organization.

DECEMBER 2015 14
EVENTS
INTERVIEWS

Ahmed Ragab Michael J. Sutton

Kuwait USA
Performance Management is the upcoming Performance Management is the mobilization trigger for
Organization Orchestrator! continuous improvement in any enterprise [...]

Bert de Winter Mohamad Yassine

Belgium Kuwait

We are developing and bringing the skill sets of our Performance management is part of the daily work,
teams up to the level to actually help us transform and daily work is managing performance.
the data intobusinessinformation.

Lus Gargalo Musa Bulus

Portugal Nigeria

[...] the Performance Management system will show Performance Management is the art of reviewing how
where the organization is going, how fast it is moving well an organization has performed.
and how it compares to the competition.

The more this departmental goal can be linked to the individuals
tasks/roles, the more traceable and achievable that goal is.
Organization Orchestrator
Ahmed Ragab
Principal Partner,
Resilience&,
Kuwait
As Performance Management is continuously
growing in popularity and maturity, any
advancements in the field cannot be achieved
without the collective support and insights of
academics, practitioners and consultants.
In 2015, Ahmed Ragab was one of the experts
who offered Performance Magazine, and
its readership, insights on the state of the
discipline. Ahmed Ragab is the Principal
Partner of Resilience& Middle East operation.
His areas of expertise cover the following fields:
Information Security Management System and
Data Classification, Business Continuity and
Disaster Recovery, Quality Systems, Balanced
Scorecard, Key Performance Indicators (KPIs),
and Dashboards, among others.
1. What does the term Performance
Management mean to you?
Optimization! Many companies are wasting
hundreds of thousands of USD annually in
order to satisfy their clients or to achieve
their targeted annual goals, however some
performance management frameworks could
help in optimizing the costs vs. returns.
Performance Management, to me, means the
Organization Orchestrator.
2. What drives interest in Performance
Management?
Cost saving, people engagement, stakeholders
evaluation and organizational governance!
3. What are your thoughts on the relationship
between Performance Management at
organizational, departmental and individual
level?
Any organizational strategic dimension shall
be cascaded down to departmental goals/
targets. The more this departmental goal can
be linked to the individuals tasks/roles, the
more traceable and achievable that goal is.
Accordingly, the simple insight about this
relationship is a top-down strategy for setting
individual performance indicators. And a
Bottom-up approach in evaluating these
indicators and getting the organizational
cumulative ones!
4. What are the 2015 key trends in Performance
Management from your point of view?
In order to position the Organizational
Orchestrator, I see the following trend
could change the equation in terms of the
products design, consulting approaches as
well as implementation methodologies: how
to softly automate the entire organizational
performance management typology covering
the following contexts: people performance,
technology applications, support operations,
regulatory compliance, customer engagement
management, investors relationships and
suppliers engagement. We can say the entire
value chain of the organization shall be
reflected in one balanced scorecard, but this
time it shall be with clear demarcation of the
automated results of the mentioned contexts.
5. What aspects of Performance Management
should be explored more through research?
Supplier performance management, Regulatory
Compliance Operations Performance
Management and Processes Benchmarking.
6. Which companies would you recommend
to be looked at, due to their particular
approach to Performance Management and
subsequent results?
INTERVIEWS
As per my coverage of the Middle East,
especially the Gulf region, Id highly
recommend following the performance
management practice of Retail Industries,
as this sector has the majority of diversified
operations that could be under one retail
umbrella, and some of the market leaders
started to seek operational excellence awards.
And this, by itself, will bring more insights
bout new approaches to the performance
management culture in Middle East.
7. Which are the main challenges in todays
Performance Management practice?
Lack of awareness about the value of such
practices for business owners, as well as the
lack of certified professionals in this domain
who could advise different industries.
8. What do you think should be improved in
the use of Performance Management tools
and processes?
Any attempt to have different languages tools/
applications interfaces would greatly impact
idea spreading in the Middle East. Also the
ease of using and filling the dashboard details,
so people can be encouraged to participate in
such tools/processes-automation.
9. What would you consider best practices
in Performance Management?
PDCA, Six-Sigma (for processes
improvement), as well as benchmarking as
per industry relevance.
10. Which aspects of Performance
Management should be emphasized during
educational programs?
Different types of KPIs design and
understanding the nature of organizational
business processes as there are dramatic
differences between private sectors and the
governmental ones.
DECEMBER 2015 16
INTERVIEWS
We have actually put in place a Supply Chain Academy,
where once a year we give the core of our talent
those 5-6 challenges, to work on them for 5-6 months
and then they come back with recommendations.
11. Which are the limits in order to achieve
higher levels of proficiency in Performance
Management among practitioners?
(a) Awareness and Advanced Programs
availability (lack of outreach), (b) Clear
learning and accreditation paths, (c) Back-
to-community contributions from the
practitioners, and (d) Lack of published
articles with tangible frameworks, tools and
case studies.
12. If you are to name, in a few words,
the main aspects governing Performance
Management today, what would they be?
Balanced Scorecard, KPIs, Process Analysis/
Mapping, Processes Automation and
Improvement.
13. What is your opinion on the emerging
trend of measuring performance outside
working hours?
I can agree, only if the way of doing this
is interesting (I mean using interactive
technology, programs/interfaces) and
the results are directly mapped to the
employees work improvement in a
SINCERE manner.
14. Are you using any kind of personal
performance measurement tools? If yes, please
describe how this has influenced your life.
Yes, I do, but with limited functionalities,
as it requires some unnecessary details that
do not impact the purposed dashboard
structure. It helps on an abstract level, but
when I want to get into details, itll require
some customization.
15. Do you have any tips for successfully
managing ones work-life balance? What are
your thoughts?
Id recommend reading my published article with
University of Liverpool, titled Personal KPIs.
17 DECEMBER 2015
16. As a consultant, what are the most common
issues that your customers have signaled,
related to Performance Management?
Lack of clear goals, identification (to be more
aligned with corporate strategic dimensions)
and weighting the objectives in a relatively
reasonable manner.
Bert de Winter
Director of Logistics Operations for
Printing & Personal Systems Hardware
& Supplies EMEA,
Hewlett-Packard,
Belgium
The Performance Management team was
present during 3 5 June, 2015, at the Supply
Chain Analytics conference from Amsterdam.
Consequently, the insights gathered from experts
present at the event had been gathered and
exposed in a series of interviews and articles.
Bert de Winter, Logistics Director at Hewlett-
Packard EMEA, was among the experts
interviewed by our team on the scene.
1. . What is your opinion on the importance
of improving the supply chain performance?
I think its something that we need to do on
a continuous basis, because we have a lot
competitive pressure and we just need to make
sure we can either improve several levels to
satisfy our customers, or find ways to improve
our cache as well as bring down our costs.
2. What are your thoughts on the usage
of performance management for supply
chains?
I think its a key thing to understand how your
supply chain is operating, to make sure that
you monitor the performance levels so you
can find opportunities for further innovation
solutions and also find opportunities for
further improvement, so we can continue to
delight our customers, to bring the produce
to the market in a quicker way, or maybe at
a better quality level, or at a lower cost level.
3. In your experience, what are some good
practices in the supply chain analytics?
We have also invested quite a lot in training
our people to deal with Lean, or Six Sigma
approaches, for instance, in order to drive
continuous improvement.
We have also invested in giving some of
our top talented people some Big Business
challenges to figure out; we have actually
put in place a Supply Chain Academy, where
once a year we give the core of our talent
those 5-6 challenges, to work on them for
5-6 months and then they come back with
recommendations.
4. What are some key trends in 2015, in
supply chain analytics, in your opinion?
One of the things that I see is the pressure for
getting more real-time visibility, but also to
get more easy-to-connect connectivity for on-
board partners, providers, as well as ship sites
and logistics carriers in a quicker way.
Also getting social collaboration from end
to end, is one other trend. So, all the way
from supply to manufacturers to logistics
providers and to customers, I think that end-
to-end collaboration is one of the key trends
that I see emerging. Additionally, we need to
be able to be ready to offer support and get
ahead of the game.
5. What are the main difficulties in supply
chain analytics?
One of the key things is actually that we need
to have data accuracy and also an all-time

To me, the best practice is to make sure that the organizational
strategy is truly connected to people. Communication is the key.
availability of the data as well, to give us
the insight of how to actually manage and
further improve performance. So thats one
of our key challenges, basically. And also, one
other thing is that we are having a lot of data,
at the moment, and transforming that data
into business information is one of our other
key challenges.
For this, we are developing and bringing
the skill sets of our teams up to the level to
actually help us transform data into business
information, so that we can drive better
business decisions.
That is one of our key challenges, but also
where were also focusing on investing in.
6. What companies would you recommend to
be looked at, due to their approach to supply
chain analytics and their subsequent results?
I cant really name any companies, but it would
be good to keep an eye out for whats happening,
especially in the whole Internet industry.
There we see Google, for instance, sitting on
a lot of information and actually using that
to their advantage, but also providing a lot of
data for building Business Intelligence and I
think that is one of the companies to look at.
It may not be directly related to supply chain,
but I think the way they are managing data,
especially Big Data, is a good example.
That is also where HP is developing their own
core set of business propositions, as well.
On the one side, we are trying to have these
kind of capabilities to manage our supply
chain; on the other hand, we are also helping
customers to build these kind of capabilities
by offering Big Data, analytical skills and
tools ourselves.
Lus Gargalo
Management Control Systems
Department Coordinator,
Wayfield, Trading Internacional,
SA - Grupo Refriango,
Portugal
The KPI Institutes Performance
Management in 2014 report is built on the
belief that a balanced approach in such
research endeavours can only be achieved by
triangulating the opinions of practitioners,
academics and consultants alike.
In 2014, Lus Gargalo, Management
Control Systems Department Coordinator
for Wayfield, Trading Internacional, SA
Grupo Refriango, Portugal, was one of the
practitioners who offered us rich insights into
performance related research and trends.
1. What does the term Performance
Management mean to you?
Performance Management is business
improvement, Balanced Scorecards, planning
and budgeting, forecasting, the ABC and also
strategy, but to me, it is much more than
that - it is the way you connect people to
strategy. If well designed, the Performance
Management system will show where the
organization is going, how fast it is moving
and how it compares to the competition.
Performance Management, to me, means the
Organization Orchestrator.
2. What drives interest in Performance
Management?
In Africa, we can currently witness a strong
interest in Performance Management
systems. The goal is to make operations
and activities more effective and efficient.
Sometimes, there is more interest in specific
INTERVIEWS
tools, like the Balanced Scorecard or a simple
KPI system but this is just the romantic way
that some people choose to view it as.
3. What are your thoughts on the
relationship between Performance
Management at organizational,
departmental and individual level?
I believe in people as a companys most valuable
asset and I see, at a corporate level, performance
management as the result of the work, passion
and determination of people. Performance
Management at the organizational level must be
intimately linked to Performance Management
at the individual level.
4. What are the 2015 key trends in Performance
Management from your point of view?
It depends on the development stage of the
organization as also the market and the
country. For example in Africa nowadays,
the focus goes to operations and activities,
but in Portugal or in Europe we find focus
on strategy and communication.
I believe in people as a
companys most valuable asset.
5. What aspects of Performance Management
should be explored more through research?
We should be able to measure the
immeasurable and evaluate the consequences
of uncertainty in a much better way. I must say
that I am not satisfied with the instruments
that are currently used for dealing with
uncertainty and I think we should all invest
more time and money in order to get better
instruments to evaluate the uncertainty and
measure of what we deem immeasurable.
DECEMBER 2015 18
INTERVIEWS
Performance Management at the organizational level must
be intimately linked to Performance Management at the
6. Which companies would you recommend
to be looked at, due to their particular
approach to Performance Management and
subsequent results?
There are plenty of examples. In Angola
I would say Refriango. It is an incredible
example of the relationship between
individual Performance Management and
the organizational level of performance.
7. Which are the main challenges in todays
Performance Management practice?
I would say that the challenges are more or less
the same as before, maybe now we need to cope
with globalization and be flexible enough to
understand that different cultures and different
economies require different approaches to
Performance Management, but I think that the
main challenge will be the same for a long time:
dealing with the risk of uncertainty and finding
how to measure the immeasurable.
8. What do you think should be improved
in the use of Performance Management
tools and processes?
We could use the network effect in order
to improve the way we use Performance
Management within organizations. I am
not saying that we are not making use of the
network at all, but I think we should work it
better and deeper. Imagine that you could share
what you are doing today with other guys from
different organizations and vice versa, imagine
that we could all use the same platform to share
performance metrics and compare results. That
would be a huge improvement.
9. What would you consider best practices
in Performance Management?
To me, the best practice is to make sure that
the organizational strategy is truly connected
to people. Communication is key.
19 DECEMBER 2015
individual level.
10. Which aspects of Performance
Management should be emphasized during
educational programs?
First of all, students should be taught to develop
their critical thinking ability and then, they
will learn that each organization is different
from another and the same organization is
different when working in different countries.
Students will realize that the best Performance
Management system for one organization is not
necessarily the best for another.
11. Which are the limits in order to achieve
higher levels of proficiency in Performance
Management among practitioners?
I dont see any limits; some do it with passion
and achieve great results, others have passion
for other fields of knowledge and they wont
be the best in Performance Management.
Passion and determination are the keys to
achieving the best results, whatever you
choose to follow.
Performance management is
the way you connect people to
strategy.
12. If you are to name, in a few words,
the main aspects governing Performance
Management today, what would they be?
Leadership is one of the main aspects that
drive Performance Management to the next
level; if the leadership is not fully committed
with Performance Management, it will not
get the most out of it.
13. What is your opinion on the emerging
trend of measuring performance outside
working hours?
To be honest, I must say that I leave
Performance Management inside working
hours. I admit that it is appealing to bring
it to your personal life and I believe we do it
already unconsciously but I prefer to at least
try to keep it inside working hours.
14. Are you using any kind of personal
performance measurement tools? If yes, please
describe how this has influenced your life.
No, definitely not. Some friends and I
frequently join for jogging and some of
them use mobile apps that measure their
performance, race after race, pace after pace,
but I keep saying to them: that is not healthy
guys, seize the running, without always
looking to the cell phone.
15. Do you have any tips for successfully
managing ones work-life balance? What are
your thoughts?
Leave your work in the office, do your best
every day, live your work with passion. Love
your family, your friends and your dog as if
today is the last day of your life. Dont mix it
together. Leave the work in the office.
16. Which are the recent achievements in
generating value as result of Performance
Management put in practice in your
organization?
I have been implementing a Performance
Management system in Angola since 2010 and
today we know that more than 6.000 employees in
the organization are aware of what they are doing,
how their input generates value to the organization,
they know where we were yesterday, where we are
today and where we expect to be tomorrow. We
all know how we compare to the competition and
what we should do next.

We face a mosaic of global educational systems for employees,
management, and executives that over-emphasizes competition
and hinders to reward collaboration and cooperation through
smartnerships (smart partnerships).
Michael J. Sutton
Associate Professor of Management
Gamification, Serious Games, and
Simulations,
Westminster College,
USA
Michael J. Sutton, Associate Professor of
Management Gamification, Serious Games,
and Simulations at Westminster College, USA,
is one of the academics who, in 2015, offered
valuable insights for Performance Magazine.
His vast experience in the Performance
Management field, correlated with the
increasingly more interesting component of
Gamification, resulted in a very intriguing
interview which you can read below.
Trends
1. Which are the 2015 key trends in Performance
Management, from your point of view?
My work is that of a boundary spanner associated
with Knowledge Management, Business and
Competitive Intelligences, Organizational
Transformation, Entrepreneurship, and
Organizational Analysis and Design. Over the
last 5 years, I have watched the emergence of
a cross-disciplinary field that encompasses all
of my areas of interest, and is building visibility
and profile that many would have never
expected. That cross-disciplinary field has been
ascribed the label Gamification, Serious Games,
Augmented/Virtual Reality, and Simulations
(GSA/VRS).
2. What are your thoughts on the integration of
Performance Management at organizational,
departmental and employee level?
Performance Management (PM) is the
mobilization trigger for continuous
improvement in any enterprise that wishes
to be recognized and respected as a Learning
Organization. The goal of Performance
Management is to increase the clarity of
strategic, tactical, and operational thinking,
employee job satisfaction, and organizational
commitment. Culture will either enable
or constrain the application of single and
double loop learning, coaching, mentoring,
and feedback to continuous improvement.
My anecdotal, but extensive experience over
the last 45 years in private sector, public
sector, military sector, and the educational
sector would suggest that PM is an ethereal
concept that seldom is anchored to the
foundational principles and values of our
global, national, and local businesses and
institutions. Others may have experienced
a more positive engagement by enterprises
within each sector, but I have seldom seen
any significant relationship and commitment
devised to connect these three levels.
Often I have observed top-down, bottom-
up and middle-out attempts at constructing
a PM framework. However, each business
transformation required to accommodate PM
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) more often
than not remains incomplete. Many of the
barriers are cultural, and this organizational
trait in terms of poorly defined accountability,
lack of responsibility, and implied authority
will impede any transformation. Nevertheless,
to me a significant barrier is behavioural. We
face a mosaic of global educational systems for
employees, management, and executives that
over-emphasizes competition and hinders
to reward of collaboration and cooperation
through smartnerships (smart partnerships).
3. Which will be the major changes in
managing performance, in the future?
Smartnerships are an emerging mobilization
trigger for individuals, departments, and
organizations. Enterprises, such as Gore
INTERVIEWS
& Associates, Zappos, Valve Software,
and Morning Star, have demonstrated the
success of holacracy (flat management). This
emerging trend in management structures
has the power to construct smartnerships
that can benefit both individual employees,
as well as the teams and the organizational
entity itself. Nonetheless, such an approach
to organizational structure is more easily
deployed within an entrepreneurial firm or
small to medium-sized enterprise. Large,
bureaucratic organizations lack the agility
and capacity to handle significant change
and pivoting without critical organizational
implosions, since the cultural imperative
does not exist.
Research
4. What aspects of Performance Management
should be explored more through research?
That cross-disciplinary field I have previously
identified, Gamification, Serious Games,
Augmented/Virtual Reality, and Simulations
(GSA/VRS), needs to be explored through
more research for a number of performance
management reasons. Although many
enterprises are implementing these
techniques, tools, learning strategies, and
applications quickly within their Training
and Development business units, (Gartner
indicates that 50% of all enterprises have
implemented these approaches to training as
of 2015), metrics are still sketchy that could
point to success. Most current evaluations
of these tools are anecdotal at best and
qualitative at worst.
Much of the imperative for implementing these
tools and techniques has been increasing the
engagement of staff, managers, and executives
in their work and learning activities. This
outcome, coupled with increasing retention
of employees by increasing job satisfaction
DECEMBER 2015 20
INTERVIEWS
Performance Management (PM) is the mobilization trigger for continuous
improvement in any enterprise that wishes to be recognized
and respected as a Learning Organization.
through extrinsic and intrinsic rewards,
suggest an immediate requirement for
increasing the validity of KPIs for both the
learning organization, as well as qualitative
measures on the sustainable impact within
the workplace.
For example, an emerging learning organization
will construct learning communities and
Communities-of-Practice (COPs) to exchange
existing knowledge nuggets within the minds
of the knowledge workers and to cultivate new
knowledge as a means to trigger innovation
throughout the firm. Such communities
provide the basis for building new competitive
advantages for the enterprise.
The same holds true for higher educational
institutions, who are experiencing decreased
enrollments in North America, and here the
price and ROI for degrees has come under
increased scrutiny. Many faculty members
have been experimenting over the last 5+
years with gamification in classroom-based
courses, hybrid courses, and online in
courses. An increasing number of bachelor,
masters, and doctoral programs are strictly
online, and more effective than on campus
courses because of the flexibility and cost of
the programs. Thus, assessing and evaluating
the educational impact for gamification,
serious games, augmented/virtual reality,
and simulations (GSA/VRS) to address
learning outcomes effectively is paramount
for increasing engagement and retention in
universities and colleges.
5. Which organizations would you
recommend to be looked at, due to
their particular approach to managing
performance, and their subsequent results?
In terms of gamification in corporate and
business environments, no clear leaders are yet
21 DECEMBER 2015
identifiable, because of the flux in different
platforms and delivery models demonstrating
the business value proposition for GSA/VRS.
However, prominent players can be identified:
Muzzy Lane Software, Microsoft HoloLens,
IBM SmartPlay, BreakAway Games, Caspian
Learning, Innovation Games, GamEffective,
PlayGen, Virtual Heroes, Morf Media,
Badgeville, ExperiencePoint, Artemat,
Designing Digitally, Growth Engineering,
and PlanetJockey.
Additionally, many higher education
institutions are building professional
certification, bachelors, masters, and
doctoral gamification degree programs.
The innovative leaders appear to be:
Michigan State University, University of
Wisconsin, Savannah College of Art and
Design, Bloomsburg University, Columbia
University, Excelsior College, Hong Kong
Polytechnic University, University of Malta,
Aalborg University (Denmark), University
of Utrecht (Netherlands), HKU University
of the Arts (Netherlands), Turku University
of Applied Sciences (Finland), University of
Tampere (Finland), Institute of Technology,
Carlow (Ireland), Mahidol University
(Thailand), U-tad - Centro Universitario de
Tecnologa y Arte Digital (Spain).
6. What Performance Management question
would you like to ask researchers?
I think three significant questions related
to assessing the value of xx to Performance
Management might be useful in launching
useful research in this emerging GSA/VRS area:
1. What are the KPIs that are useful for
measuring the impact of GSA/VRS on
individual employee engagement, retention,
efficiency, and effectiveness?
2. What KPIs could be useful to demonstrate
team-based and business unit performance
increases when GSA/VRS, as applied to
Training and Development in an enterprise?
3. Which KPIs can be identified or developed
for assessing and evaluating the educational
impact of GSA/VRS on learning outcomes,
student engagement, student retention, and
post-graduation success in the workplace
within institutions of higher education?
Practice
7. Which are main challenges of Performance
Management in practice, today?
The critical challenges of practice-based
Performance Management are surfacing
quickly to include:
Teaching managers to be effective
development coaches for improving
performance of their staff.
Seriously engaging executives in
performance management beyond
dashboards and scorecards.
Creating and enforcing accountability in
our business and educational leaders for
developing further the strengths of employees
and educators.
Increasing alignment of performance goals
with strategic and tactical business goals.
Improving the ability of a manager to
furnish real-time feedback.
8. What should be improved in the use
of Performance Management tools and
processes?
Performance Management tools and
processes need to be improved to:
1. Clearly communicate performance goals
and expectations to all employees (in the
cases of business environments) and faculty
(in the cases of educational environments)
on a timely, periodic basis.

Encourage innovation though employee and management
engagement in enterprises or in the case of educational
institutions
2. Identify and increase methods for
improving the return on Human Capital,
(such as performance coaching, mentoring,
and timely feedback).
3. Apply KPIs to identify performance gaps
internally (employee satisfaction) and externally
(stakeholder, regulator, customer, and supplier
satisfaction), and resolve the emergent issues
and concerns within a finite timeframe.
4. Encourage innovation though employee
and management engagement in
enterprises; or in the case of educational
institutions, through student participation
in the development of educational gaming
environments.
5. Transparently post results and outcomes
and celebrate the achievements taking place
9. What would you consider as a best
practice in Performance Management?
The following, to me, are some of the best
practices in Performance Management:
1. Integrate GSA/VRS KPIs into critical
business and educational processes to
demonstrate the validity of gamification
within the firm and university.
2. Construct and deploy coaching and
mentoring development programs to managers,
employees, and higher education faculty, thus
building sustainable internal expertise, while
increasing engagement and retention.
3. Identify, recognize, foster, and incentivize
the innovative leaders in the enterprise
or university, whether the individuals are
experienced or junior executives, managers,
employees, staff, faculty, or students.
Education
10. Which aspects of Performance
Management should be emphasized during
educational programs?
I am totally biased in my response to this
question. In my professional opinion, the
cross-disciplinary emergent fieldlabeled
Gamification, Serious Games, Augmented/
Virtual Reality, and Simulationswill
have the greatest impact globally on the
performance and success of global economic
outcomes in terms of our workplaces and
educational institutions.
11. What are the limits that prevent
practitioners from achieving higher
levels of proficiency in Performance
Management?
To me, the most critical constraints our
enterprises and educational institutions
face are managing underperformance and
mediocrity, along with the blatant lack of
innovative and agile organizational cultures.
The most critical
constraints our enterprises
and educational institutions
face are managing
underperformance.
Personal Performance
12. What is your opinion on the emerging
trend of measuring performance outside
working hours?
Many of the Gen X, Y, Z and Millennials
are embracing new forms of performance
monitoring of their lives outside of the
workplace, e.g., FitBit, Nike+, Facebook,
LinkedIn, and Starbucks Rewards. Most of
these generations are comfortable with this
personal information not being private. The
GI and Baby Boomer generations are much
less trusting of seeing personal performance
INTERVIEWS
indicators available to the public, or hackable
to prying eyes.
13. What personal performance
measurement tools do you use?
Very early in my career I adopted Lateral
Thinking, as taught by Edward De Bono, as a
means of increasing my creativity quotient to
perform better in my coursework. Later, an
author, who eventually became a colleague
(Bill Jensen), introduced me to the pragmatic
implementation of a concept for streamlining my
work activitiesSimplicity. As my professional
life became much more hectic, I adopted the
GTD (Getting Things Done) Method by David
Allen to increase my workplace performance.
Most recently, I adapted an approach created
by Ronen Gafni and Simcha Gluck: The New
EntrepreneurzChanging the Way You Play
Life, resulting in a personal, revolutionary
performance increase that will drive my next
decade of life-long education, mentoring,
coaching, and consulting.
Specific Question
14. For Consultants: What are the processes
and tools you look at, in order to differentiate
a successful performance management
system, from a superficial one?
Being that my career has encompassed the
academy, the practitioner environment, and
the consulting world, I was challenged by this
question. Without a touch of reservation, I
propose that for any performance management
system to be successful, it must incorporate
a framework and paradigm based upon
Gamification, Serious Games, Augmented/
Virtual Reality, and Simulations (GSA/VRS).
These techniques will increase motivation,
bolster the capability to incorporate double-
loop learning, build micro learning feedback,
and permit graceful failure within a learning
and operational environment.
DECEMBER 2015 22
INTERVIEWS
The main challenges are always related to humans, arent
they? And thats basically something that we face every
day: the resistance to change, to accountable teams and
transparency, the resistance to learning.
Mohamad Yassine
Director of Institutional Effectiveness,
Adjunct Professor,
Gulf University for Science &
Technology,
Kuwait
The KPI Institutes Performance Management
in 2014: GCC Special Edition report is built
on the belief that a balanced approach in such
research endeavours can only be achieved by
triangulating the opinions of practitioners,
academics and consultants alike.
In 2014, Mohamad Yassine, Director of
Institutional Effectiveness and Adjunct
Professor at Gulf University for Science
& Technology in Kuwait, was one of the
academics who offered us rich insights into
performance related research and trends.
1. What does the term Performance
Management mean to you?
Performance management, to me, is
basically an integrated function that seeks
to successfully capture the business value
proposition of the company, the elements
in the organizational business strategy. And
this happens through thorough execution
and alignment of the business objectives and
incentives, of the stakeholders throughout the
organization, all the way down to employees
and linking that to the daily activities.
Performance management includes
building and maintaining the organizational
infrastructure. It also includes training and
coaching employees and keeping the right
information, which is very important to the
right stakeholders, at the right time.
Performance Management, to me, means the
Organization Orchestrator.
23 DECEMBER 2015
2. What drives interest in Performance
Management?
Well, not only nowadays but always and
it will forever be this way: what will drive
interest in performance management is
basically competition, harsh competition and
profitability, because at the end of the day, no
matter what type of approach or balanced
scorecard you look at, the business is always
generating money and the due amount will
basically be the final decider. Also, another renewed
interest in performance management is the need
for more transparency and accountability alongside
compliance with regulations, more recently. Its also
another reason, or another driver, for performance
management.
3. What are your thoughts on the
relationship between Performance
Management at organizational,
departmental and individual level?
Organizations are operated by employees,
which are usually organized in departments
or units. So ideally, each employee contributes
to the performance of his/her unit which in
turn, contributes to the performance of the
organization. Thats the simple physics of
the problem. So, a successful performance
management system should capture explicitly
this relationship and it should catalyze and
improve its performance, by showing each
individual and each department what role
they play in the big picture.
4. What are the 2015 key trends in Performance
Management from your point of view?
In 2014, the main trends were a continuation
of the previous trends, which are mainly
new developments in the IT sector or are
affected by the new developments in the IT
sector. Specifically speaking, the new trends
in business intelligence, big data analytics,
also business mobility, for example, are very
important nowadays, as most businesses and
most tools are mobile. Also, a lot of data is
being generated nowadays and it makes sense
that through business intelligence, it is being
used for performance management. So, thats
the main new trend.
5. What aspects of Performance Management
should be explored more through research?
I think that some of the most important
aspects that should be investigated more
is how strategies between performance
management and other emerging business
practices, such as HR talent management,
for example, can be captured. That is the
synergy between talent management and
performance management. How employee
incentives can be successfully aligned with
performance and organizational incentives,
without negatively affecting performance
itself or without triggering unfavorable
behaviors of employees, such as gaming. Also,
some of the important aspects that need to be
investigated are how the investment costs of
setting a performance management can be
further minimized or even at least optimized.
How performance management can achieve
a state-of-the-art learning environment and
adapt to organizations which basically utilize
and disseminate knowledge effectively. These
are my current thoughts about the present,
most demanding aspects that need to be
investigated through research.
6. Which companies would you recommend
to be looked at, due to their particular
approach to Performance Management and
subsequent results?
There are plenty of examples, of course, but
this is something that I had recently looked
at. I would suggest to look at what the higher
education sector is doing with performance
management because with the shrinkage of

When performance management is introduced to the user, a coherent framework
of the way of doing work should also be introduced to that user so that he does not
have to do performance management beyond and above the daily work.
funding, higher education institutions really
came under huge pressure to optimize their
resources and to know where to allocate
resources; this in turn triggers huge
performance management initiatives. As
we all know, higher education institutions
are big organizations and they tend to be
very complex and very rigid in terms of
structure. Also, another industry I would
suggest to look at is the healthcare industry.
What these people are doing in performance
management and the reason why they are
doing a good job is because its a big industry
and they want to minimize risk. They always
seek to minimize risk, as it is related to
human health, and they are really doing
some good work in terms of performance
and enterprise risk management. One
company I suggest to look at is Comic Relief,
which was founded in the 80s. Comic Relief
is a non-profit charity organization that
managed to really stick to the state-of-the-
art strategy and performance management
systems. It became one of the leading and
most innovative charitable organizations in
the United Kingdom. Of course, there are
many other examples, but thats pretty much
what comes to my mind.
7. Which are the main challenges in todays
Performance Management practice?
The main challenges are always related to
humans, arent they? And thats basically
something that we face every day: the
resistance to change, to accountable teams
and transparency, the resistance to learning,
because with performance management and
the new tools of performance management,
people are required to learn more. And
usually, people are not happy about learning
more. People like to remain in the comfort
zone. So these are the main challenges I see.
Of course, there are some hot challenges in
terms of competition and budget which,
again, are physical challenges. Major
challenges that I see have to do with
resistance and organizational culture.
8. What do you think should be improved in
the use of Performance Management tools
and processes?
I think the user interface, the user
friendliness of the concepts of performance
management definitely need to be improved.
Performance management is being seen as a
very hard thing to do and something that we
should do on top of our daily work. When
performance management is introduced to
the user, a coherent framework of the way
of doing work should also be introduced
to that user so that he does not have to do
performance management beyond and above
the daily work. Performance management
is part of the daily work and daily work is
managing performance; that is one aspect
that I can see being improved in performance
management. Another thing is, and I know
this might be hard, the standardization of
performance management, maybe not as
status scope standard system, but maybe as a
multiple system of performance management,
which really looks for the needs, demands
and requirements of every institution or
organization. In terms of tools, I think we are
doing well. In terms of technology, as far as
performance management is concerned, it is
in fact even ahead of us. Whatever technology
you want, whatever data acquisition system
you want, you just name it at whatever
provider you want. You can have it. It is not
about technology anymore. The bottom line,
now, is the user and the operator.
9. What would you consider best practices
in Performance Management?
The practice of performance management
INTERVIEWS
is very context-dependent. But I would
say the best methodology of performance
management or best approach is that which
really simplifies the problem, simply eases
performance management in the eyes of
the user. It delivers consistent results and
it connects daily operations with long term
strategy. Those are, I think, the main criteria
of what a good performance management
mechanism should achieve. You can
have the most sophisticated performance
management system and, in terms of design,
its really doing a marvelous job. But once
implemented, it could fail. I would give the
example of GE. The company GE is one of
the leading technology companies in the
world. They have a very simple performance
management and goal setting system that
was developed by Jack Welch himself. He
basically demanded that the strategy or the
objectives of the unit should not exceed
one page. And measures and achievements
should be another one page. And the reason
for this is that he wanted to emphasize that
the performance management system is not
another documentation requirement, but it
is a tool that needs to really makes you think
about tomorrow, about how I am going to
get there and how I know what I have there.
10. Which aspects of Performance
Management should be emphasized during
educational programs?
I do not think that an undergraduate level
education in performance management is
sufficient. Maybe, a Masters level of business
administration or project management. This is
what I think of in terms of graduate education.
But, in terms of bodies of knowledge, I
can rephrase this question: what bodies
of knowledge I think should be included
into the performance management body of
knowledge? I would look at, for example,
DECEMBER 2015 24
INTERVIEWS
Ideally, each employee contributes to the performance of his/her unit which,
in turn, contributes to the performance of the organization. Thats the simple
physics of the problem.
Quality Management. That is one important field,
in terms of managing performance. Another is
Information Management Systems: looking at how
information can be managed, accessed, retrieved
and communicated. Thats another important
thing. Of course, strategy, operational research
and management, data analysis, software design,
all of these are really important aspects that should
be part of the education, in terms of performance
management. And, again, we should focus on who
is the audience. Are we talking about the user or the
practitioners? We are talking about practitioners.
To summarize, strategic and operational
management, performance research or
operational research, quality management,
data analysis, information management,
innovation, a structured enterprise should all
be considered in the educational programs of
performance management.
11. Which are the limits in order to achieve
higher levels of proficiency in Performance
Management among practitioners?
How are you measuring proficiency? If we
are measuring proficiency in terms of exam
grades, I think theyre limitless, because it
depends on the exam, doesnt it? The limit,
in that case, is the exam certification and the
skills of the practitioner. But, if we are talking
about limits in terms of actual results, there
would be - theoretically speaking, two poles
to the limits. There are hard and soft limits.
I would group technologies, systems and
processes in the hard limits category. And I
dont see limits in here. I see no limits in the
current and future trends in technology, as far
as performance management is concerned.
In the soft factors or aspects category I would
group competencies, people and managing
change, managing the market, surviving the
competition. Competition nowadays is very
harsh. And employees, talent migration or
25 DECEMBER 2015
talent retention is a major issue. A company
can develop a system that is championed by
one of their key thought leaders or thought
leaders, as we call them. However, tomorrow,
this employee might leave somewhere else.
And these are the real challenges to a team:
the ability to gather up change agents, system
architects and competencies.
12. If you are to name, in a few words,
the main aspects governing Performance
Management today, what would they be?
I wouldnt say that technology is a main aspect
anymore because, you see, technology is in
excess. I think the main aspects nowadays are
talent, competency and basically, surviving
the competition or being competitive. Lets
frame it as competitiveness, effectiveness,
talent and sustainability.
13. What is your opinion on the emerging
trend of measuring performance outside
working hours?
I think its a great idea. But, of course, it does
not come without a risk free tag, doesnt
it? Its really interesting. Actually, Ive just
ordered my Fitbit Tracker yesterday. And its
a great idea to have these things. But, again,
we are generating tons of information about
ourselves. And the way this information is
being used, regarding identity and personal
security, isnt truly clear. However, I think that
the issue of security, personal identity and
all this type of information classification will
become irrelevant because of the internet. All
things and all the developed interconnections,
our online identity, is revealed more with
every hour and whatever information you
need to find about somebody youve seen,
you can just Google that persons name and
find it. So, I think we should worry less about
information security nowadays and focus more
on how to utilize this. And Im totally for this
type of personal performance management, as
long as its really tied with true science, not just
another scam or a hoax.
14. Are you using any kind of personal
performance measurement tools? If yes, please
describe how this has influenced your life.
Well, I keep talking on my cell phone
nowadays, dont I? How many steps have I
been going back and forth? There are a lot of
trackers embedded in cell phones nowadays
and, without mentioning a brand, most of
the trackers are really not very effective,
unfortunately. However, tracking your sleep
is a good idea because Im sure that if you live
on Earth, you like sleep, dont you?
Our sleep might be and is, a KPI of
performance - personal performance. There
are truly plenty of things that, in terms of
personal devices and personal trackers, will
really change the shape of human interactions
and of humanity. I would just give it another
couple of years, 2 to 3 years, and this is
really in terms of personal devices, personal
trackers, connections for whatever census,
wherever you want. Specifically, because Im
tightly informed about science, I tend to side
with the development of Nano-technology.
Nano-technology offers great and efficient
technology in terms of data acquisition and
basically all these type of things. I would use
whatever tools that are available, in order to
measure performance or at least try it and see
if I like them because my personal goal is to
be the best I can. And I need to manage this.
15. Do you have any tips for successfully
managing ones work-life balance? What are
your thoughts?
There is one piece of advice I always give to
my employees. And this is what I tell them:
The day Im going to die, if I dont die, I will

In most organizations, performance is only considered from
the financial perspective and the other aspects that lead to
sustainable performance are not taken into consideration.
be working. So, work is never finished. We
package work into projects, into activities,
but work is always there and it will always
be there. And one day, if you dont die, youll
most likely be sitting at your desk working.
Therefore, in order to manage and succeed at
work and in your personal life, do not focus
on work - focus on your personal life. In order
to get better performance at work, give your
employees training outside work. Let them
learn music, focus on something that they love
so that they excel on other parts because you are
the same person outside and inside the working
environment, and whatever you do outside, will
affect your work. And whatever you do at work,
will affect your life. So, my piece of advice is to
focus less on work and focus more on life, so
that you succeed more in work and in your life.
16. We are developing a database of
Performance Management subjects and
degrees. Which are the subjects/degrees you
have come across and at which university?
(i.e. subjects or degrees such as the Masters
in Managing Organizational Performance)
Good degrees to look at are those in high
educational leadership and in workforce
development. These are really good places to
look at. I would add to this, of course, all those
that have a Masters at the postgraduate level. I
would add to these degrees or programs those
that have to do with business sustainability.
Its a very new, emerging concept in terms of
sustainability, morals, environmental aspects,
environmental sustainability, and try to embed
these in terms of business sustainability is
fascinating. I would add also to this a degree
in industrial engineering that focuses on lean
management, lean production systems and
lean transformation. All these fields are very
important. They have, in fact, contributed to
my skills development.
Musa Bulus
Senior Strategy Analyst,
Central Bank of Nigeria,
Nigeria
The KPI Institutes Performance Management
in 2014 report is built on the belief that a
balanced approach in such research endeavors
can only be achieved by triangulating the
opinions of practitioners, academics and
consultants alike. In 2014, Musa Bulus,
Senior Strategy Analyst at the Central Bank
of Nigeria, was one of the practitioners who
offered us rich insights into performance
related research and trends.
1. What does the term Performance
Management mean to you?
Performance Management is the art of
reviewing how well an organization has
performed. It is a field of management that
considers the performance of an organization,
as well as that of the individuals, given an
agreed target. To the public sector it considers
the performance in the following areas:
Political performance (how well a political
party does);
Organizational/Municipal Performance;
Managerial performance;
Unit/department/group performance;
Programs, policies, initiatives performance;
Individual performance.
A performance management system is said
to be effective if there is an effective feedback
mechanism.
2. What drives interest in Performance
Management?
In the private sector, the desire to know where
the organization is vis--vis its competitors
drives the interest in performance management.
INTERVIEWS
For the individuals, rewards could facilitate the
need for performance management. In the
public sector, it helps the government know how
well it is doing in its programs, projects as well
as its efforts to care for its citizens.
3. What are your thoughts on the relationship
between Performance Management at
organizational, departmental and individual
level?
High performance individuals will lead
to a high performance department,
which will ultimately lead to a high
performance organization. However,
the overall performance of individuals
in the organization can fully impact the
organizational performance only when the
strategic objectives of the organization are
rightly cascaded to the department and then
to the individuals.
Organizations can only benefit from the high
capability of their employees if their potential
is properly aligned towards achieving the
organizations mandate.
4. What are the 2015 key trends in Performance
Management from your point of view?
Performance Management is beginning to
gather the attention it requires and many
organizations are now thinking about measuring
their performance holistically. In my view, the
key trends in performance management in 2014
revolve around the following:
The behavioral implications of performance
measurement;
The use of performance measurement in the
public sector and the effect on performance;
The role of performance measurement in
the management of transformational change;
Fit between organizational context, strategy
and performance measurement.
DECEMBER 2015 26
INTERVIEWS
In most organizations, performance is only considered from the financial
perspective and the other aspects that lead to sustainable performance are not
taken into consideration.
5. What aspects of Performance Management
should be explored more through research?
The aspect of Performance Management
that should be explored in research is
how organizations could use Strategic
Performance Measurement System to re-
adapt their strategy and close the execution
gap during strategy implementation.
Another area that needs research is
developing a performance measurement
system that dynamically relates to its volatile
environment, through its feedback and feed-
forward mechanism.
6. Which companies would you recommend
to be looked at, due to their particular
approach to Performance Management and
subsequent results?
I have not been privileged to view the
Performance management system in
any other organizations apart from the
organization I am working in. In my view, a
model performance management system is
the system that is able to come out with the
right performance metrics, which measures
the organizational objectives and builds
intelligence from the metrics that are used
for decision making and which gives the
organization a competitive advantage.
7. Which are the main challenges in todays
Performance Management practice?
The challenges depend on the sector that
the Performance Manager is reporting
on. When it comes to the public sector
Performance Manager, the challenge he/she
may be confronted with is determining the
informational expectations of the various
stakeholders in order to build a performance
measurement system that meets these needs.
In most organizations, performance is
viewed from the financial perspective only
and does not consider the other aspects that
27 DECEMBER 2015
lead to sustainable performance. In most public
sector organizations, performance management
is considered a nuisance, especially when the
organization does not see the reason why it
should report on performance.
8. What do you think should be improved in
the use of Performance Management tools
and processes?
Most Performance Management tools are
concerned with what to measure and how
to structure the PMS, i.e. they try to answer
the question How to design the PMS?.
Some are only concerned about the metrics
that are generated, they do not take into
consideration the intelligence factor, needed
in building the required tools.
In most instances, the tools do not have a
feedback and feed-forward mechanism.
I expect significant improvement in the
performance management tools in the
following areas:
Intelligence generation mechanism should
be built into the system in order to assist
management in its decision-making;
A scenario-generating mechanism should
also be built in the performance management
system that could help management in
planning for uncertainties;
A feedback and feed-forward mechanism
should be built into the system.
9. What would you consider best practices
in Performance Management?
What I consider best practice in Performance
Management is a Performance Management
System that comes out with timely, relevant
metrics and also adds intelligence to them,
which helps management in making
decisions.
10. Which aspects of Performance
Management should be emphasized during
educational programs?
The aspects of performance management
I think that should be emphasized during
educational programs are:
How to determine the KPIs;
How to build up a dynamic performance
measurement system;
How to evaluate the performance gap
during strategy implementation;
Gathering Business Intelligence from
Performance measures.
What I consider best practice
in Performance Management
is a Performance Management
System that comes out with
timely, relevant metrics and
also adds intelligence to them,
which helps management in
making decisions.
11. Which are the limits in order to achieve
higher levels of proficiency in Performance
Management among practitioners?
The major limit in achieving higher levels of
proficiency in Performance Management
is the inability to cascade organizational

Managing ones work-life balance is actually not an easy task. One is bound
most often to abuse his social life because of the pressure in the office and the
need to meet up with a specific target in the metrics.
strategic objectives down to the various
divisions/units and then to the individuals.
This failure to properly cascade the strategic
objective affects the organizations ability to
execute its strategy.
12. If you are to name, in a few words,
the main aspects governing Performance
Management today, what would they be?
Good performance management governance
should make room for the following:
Stakeholders engagement they should agree
on the metrics for performance measurement;
Stakeholders information mapping for
public sector organization (this indicates
the metrics that are needed to supply the
stakeholders with the expected information);
Strategic communication and awareness;
A feedback mechanism to re-adapt the strategy;
Dynamic strategic performance measurement;
Strategy renewal and re-adaptation.
13. What is your opinion on the emerging
trend of measuring performance outside
working hours?
Measuring performance outside working
hours may not be as easy as you think; it is
like telling a staff that no matter where he
or she is, he is being monitored. This kind
of performance measurement will put staff
under pressure to deliver and also affect his
social life, which could affect his ability to
deliver in the long run.
14. Are you using any kind of personal
performance measurement tools? If yes, please
describe how this has influenced your life.
No.
15. Do you have any tips for successfully
managing ones work-life balance? What are
your thoughts?
INTERVIEWS
Managing ones work-life balance is actually
not an easy task. One is bound most often to
abuse his social life because of the pressure
in the office and the need to meet up with
a specific target in the metrics. My tips for
successfully balancing my work-life are:
Never postpone an assignment, execute it
as it comes;
Monitor your personal performance weekly
and adjust before it is too late.
16. Which are the recent achievements in
generating value as result of Performance
Management put in practice in your
organization?
We have been able to develop a performance
measurement system that monitors the
organizations performance. We have been able to
distinguish between the organizations operational
performance from its strategic performance.
The operational performance was developed
from the act that sets up the organization,
whereas the strategic performance comes
up from the strategic direction of the
organization over a medium term period.
The strategic objectives are actually cascaded
to various Departments and each department
is expected to execute its mandate in order
to ensure that the organization achieves its
various strategic objectives. This has helped
us to know whether we are on course to
achieving our strategic objectives.
Never postpone an assignment,
execute it as it comes.
DECEMBER 2015 28
INTERVIEWS

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DECEMBER 2015 30
 PORTRAIT
EVENTS

RAVEE RAMAMOOTHIE
Founding Partner & Management Consultant at KPISOFT International Pte Ltd

Commitment
to performance,
commitment to
people.
DIANA ZARNESCU

Introduction into the world of a

Performance Management expert

It was in 1990 that Ravee Ramamoothie first started working in the

field of management. It took him no less than 2 months to occupy
a managerial position. Hence begun his activity in the discipline
that will ultimately end up shaping so many aspects of his life,
conduct and philosophy.

4 years into his management career, Ravee became a CEO and

held that position up until 2004, when the time had come for him

My view of performance
to migrate towards an advisory position within a management
consulting firm. From that point in time onwards, Ravee has

management took a 360

funnelled his energy into conducting research studies and
providing consultancy services within the complex discipline that
is Performance Management.

2008 marked the next milestone that Ravee had pinned to his career. degree turn and changed
forever since.
Together with a group of partners, he had founded what was to
become KPIsoft, a global cloud software services firm specializing
on performance management, as Ravee himself explains.

Today finds Ravee constantly involved in managerial activities, along

consultancy services, research projects and speaking engagements.

31 DECEMBER 2015

We are dealing with people and humanity at large
resonates better with heart and inspiration.
Turning points in a two-decade career
The year 1997 fell under the negative
influence of an economic downfall in the
ASEAN region, which gave way to a sudden
currency crisis. While most organizations
had found themselves dangling from a
thread in their battle for survival, some
realized that it was high time to plan and
implement unconventional strategies.
It was thinking outside the box that enabled
Ravee to push his company out of the corner,
and into a new existence. By maintaining the
Asian headquarters on a total standstill, he
transmuted the sales operation onto European
territory. The lesson was learnt, and Ravee
continues to hold that experience close to him,
regarding it as one of the greatest lessons he had
received in Performance Management.
Holding true to the complexity of the
Performance Management discipline,
Ravee remembers his departure from the
corporate world, only to join the other side
of performance, the side which is built on
consultancy and advisory services. For him, this
adjustment in the field approach had inflicted
a 360 degree turn of his perspective and view.
Ever since, Performance Management was
forever changed for this dedicated professional.
Inspiration is a book of many pages
However, a leader in a certain field is never
born as the sole result of his activity in a specific
domain. We all strive towards excellence
because we look up to individuals who we
believe have already achieved this status.
Ravee Ramamoothie talks about research
as an area of great importance. We are all a
part of what we admire, because we strive to
achieve a prominent status. Often enough,
this desired condition is revealed to us while
being engaged in research activities.
Inspiration comes from many sources. The
one which probably bears the biggest influence
for us all, is born from the people themselves:
leaders, thought shapers, educators.
As a dedicated reader, Ravee recognizes
the presence of multiple personalities that
have applied a certain degree of influence
on his approach. Among these, one peer
stands out, namely Herb Kelleher, the CEO
of Southwest Airlines. Herb sought the
simplification of an airline business model
while simultaneously seeking innovative
approaches. As time had passed, Herbs
method proved to be so successful that
it was further adopted and implemented
by multiple international organizations.
Thus, in one career time, Herb Keller had
revolutionized the air travel industry. Today,
we can see organizational giants such as Air
Asia functioning on the very principles and
strategies that Herb Keller had put forth.
Other sources that we often reach out to
are books. Ravee mentions one title that
might not fit into the usual Performance
Management library. The Yoga Sutras of
Patanjali is a 1000-year old manuscript
detailing the tools and processes you
can apply to find peace and happiness,
through yoga. However, the connection to
Performance Management begins to reveal
PORTRAIT
itself more clearly, the more importance we
give to personal performance, or improvement
outside working hours.
We all have our ways of reaching balance and
gaining knowledge and, if reading is close to
your heart, then you have that one book that
sheds different knowledge with every single
read. This allows you to keep coming back to
it, but extract new knowledge with each new
turn of a page.
However, we live in an age where cinema
constitutes a valuable source for learning.
Shawshank Redemption is a story which
teaches that patience and determination can
alter even the direst of circumstances and
Ravee lists this films among those that teach
a valuable life lesson.
Stepping into a Performance
Management career
Ravees early days of being a management trainee
allowed him to make the connection between a
paper-bound organizational strategy, and real-life
implementation alongside goals achievement.
Developing scorecards, monitoring, coaching
and actually achieving established goals are all
aspects that Ravee has faced in his early days of his
management career.
Soon enough though, Ravee came to his own
understanding of Performance Management
or, as he regards it, the alignment of the people
of the organization to the organizations goals
through individual goals scorecard, coaching
and development to achieve companys goals.
DECEMBER 2015 32
PORTRAIT
Alignment
is the heart of
performance
management.
About not having a Performance
Management System
Instead of enlisting the benefits of having one,
imagine the lack of a Performance Management
System within an organization.
Without this mechanism, an organization
can only evolve for so long, before collapsing
underneath its own processes. As such,
Performance Management becomes a
crucial element that drives and ensures
organizational development.
For once, with more departments within an
organization, come more various strategies
which will eventually arise. Each business
unit seeks to follow its own interests,
which might not overlap with those of the
companys. This status quo is known as
alignment, or lack of it, to be more precise.
Goals in such situation will most probably
take longer periods of time to be achieved.
As such, alignment becomes a sensitive
aspect since it is crucial to the organizations
continuous development and even to its proper
functioning. Benefitting from an existing
Performance Management system must pass
the stage of being merely an annual salary /
review instrument and become the system
that provides a rightful perspective upon the
organizational, departmental and individual
performance. Only then can it push a company
from its status quo into an ascending trajectory.
Thus, by simply imagining what the lack of
a Performance Management system, or the
improper use of one, Ravee is able to further
isolate the most important challenges in todays
practice: alignment and misuse.
However, having a non-functional Performance
Management System is, in the contemporary
33 DECEMBER 2015
context, either a temporary solution, either
proof of lack of expertise, or ignorance. Bottom
line, its either improve or remove. Alignment
Approaching Performance
Management is approaching people
Improvement begins with feedback and double
Measurable results
loop learning. Expected results from such
processes, as Ravee explains, are visible in the
Review and feedback
enhanced performance shown by a certain
department. Motivation to improve is only
created through a sense of purpose within the
organization, and a transparent view of the Coaching and contextual
execution capabilities of each organization. collaboration
Reward in itself is also the starting point
of Performance Management. By ensuring
rewards, you ensure work enthusiasm and, Analytics
intrinsically, enhanced performance, as Ravee
points out.
Thus, a total of 5 elements rise above other, Goals
in terms of Performance Management best
practices. As Ravee Ramamoothie explains,
alignment sits at the core of such a system,
making possible all the auxiliary practices.
Following alignment, come measurable Purpose
results which, in turn, give way to regular
review and feedback loop. Linked to review
is coaching and contextual collaboration,
as a fifth element, followed by the last Motivation
unit in terms of best practices, which is
analytics, a trend setter in todays business
environment, linking processes to people
and performance.
Balance
Ultimately, when the functionality of the
Performance Management system increases
exponentially, certain side-effects are
triggered and begin to become more visible: Happiness
people become happier at their workplaces.
The balance is maintained, on the one hand,
by the organization having clear goals set
and, on the other hand, by people having a Trust
clear understanding of their contribution to
these goals. This balance enables employees
to feel, above all tasks, processes and projects,
that they are part of a wider plan. They hold Leadership
the power to make a change and influence
the outcomes of the companys strategy.
This state is translated into purpose, reward
and achievement. As Ravee Ramamoothie
clearly explains: ultimately, this chain of Humanity
events, sustained over a period of time,
provides contentment and happiness.

Goals may take much longer to achieve or, at worst,
strategy may remain a mere academic exercise.
And this is also what he considers to be his
greatest achievement. It is not the functionality
of the Performance Management System in
itself, but the results that a functional system
ultimately leads to. And these results can be
seen within the people of an organization: it
is recognizable by a shift in mentality, attitude
and behaviour that will eventually generate
tangible results, and enable the entire
organization to strive towards achieving the
same goals.
Ultimately, however difficult it may be
to trigger this chain of events, Ravees
experience show us that it is realizable. The
results are worthy of the efforts and energy
engulfed by sustaining a Performance
Management System.
Drawing the lines on what Ravee listed as
the greatest achievement of Performance
Management in practice, is becomes highly
visible that it is the people who ultimately
reflect the outcomes of this system. As
such, Individual Performance Management
becomes a crucial approach to overall
performance.
Ravees perspective on managing people is
based on humanity, above all. What he calls
as the foundational social architecture to the
hard factors of Performance Management
needs understanding, trust and good
leadership, among others, to grow. In his
own words: We are dealing with people and
humanity at large resonate better with heart
and inspiration.
Obtaining the employees buy-in is a very
important step in this process and, often
enough, it is an obstacle in the way of
reaching higher performance levels. In this
sense, participative management, along with
having clear goals and alignment between
employees and organizational strategy will
guarantee, in most cases, to bring employees
on the same page with the company.
Ravees experience has taught him that,
by being able to participate, put forth
ideas as goals and connect the employees
contribution to the overall achievement of
the organizational strategy, employees will
offer their buy-in and also increase their
sustained efforts.
Connecting work performance to
personal performance
Turning the page to managing performance
outside working hours, Ravee draws
attention to one aspect encountered in
todays environment: gadgets or applications,
such as health apps and trackers, allow the
user to record not only the evolution of his
efforts, but also to set milestones of goals and
embed push content notifications to bring
forth reminders and encourage motivational
levels to go upwards.
If at first, organizational elements migrated
towards personal performance, it is now
time to give back to the business world. As
Ravee explains, these very features, that offer
functionality to the gadgets and apps we use,
will also enhance the business environment
by making it a personalised performance
space with push content notifications which
are contextual, time relevant and inspiring.
PORTRAIT
Overall, as emotional beings, people strive
mostly towards balance. To this respect,
attaining equilibrium between work and
personal life is one goal we all try to achieve.
However, this balance reflects an ideal
condition that is bound to be broken, at
one point or another. Work has the habit of
spilling into our personal lives.
Ravee is oftentimes confronted, in his line
of work, with situations where personal life
becomes supressed under the burdens that
work brings along. To this, Ravee keeps
reminding himself whenever these situations
arise that this is temporary and I need to step
out of this cycle. So this thought process keeps
me aligned to my long term goals and not get
caught up and perpetuate it without realizing.
In addition, understanding your line of work
and having a noble vision regarding the nature of
your activities can push you forward in the direst
of situations. My vision is to help people and
organizations perform better through my work.
So this keeps me going and contented even during
most trying times, is Ravees insight on this matter.
Ravee Ramamoothies ends with one valuable
career advice, which is revelatory in itself:
education, continuous reading, researching
and peer engaging, alongside practicing the
job in itself, are key factors to enlisting into
an upwards professional trajectory, while
also maintaining high satisfaction levels
with your career performance.
He is a man who, despite numbering over
20 years in the same field, he has still kept
in sight what is of utmost importance to
Performance Management: the people.
DECEMBER 2015 34
 EVENTS
AROUND THE WORLD

GOVERNMENTAL PERFORMANCE:
The Illinois Department of Public Health
ANDREEA VECERDEA

R a novelty anymore. States have understood

eporting governmental performance is not
that future development can only be achieved
by monitoring and improving present actions.
The State of Illinois is no exception.
It has developed a reporting system
aimed at assessing the performance of
all governmental agencies. The Illinois
Performance Reporting System (IPRS)
is coordinated by the Governors Office
of Management and Budget, responsible
for analyzing state agency programs
and budgets, allocating resources and
measuring any progress achieved. The areas
monitored range from education and health,
to social services and public assistance,
debt management, public safety and the
environment. Another government with
highly visible performance improvement
results is the Namibian one, which has just
implemented contracts for all ministries.
You can read more on that in this article.
preoccupation for safeguarding citizens targets. For each of the programs rolled out,
health is also shown by the various programs an in-depth description is available, to serve
undertaken recent years. as a presentation for the outcomes generated.
The most recent performance report shows The structure of the report describing one of
the 2014 and 2015 results, as well as the 2016 these programs is available below:
8/5/2015 2:45 PM ILLINOIS PERFORMANCE REPORTING SYSTEM Page #1
Agency Department Of Public Health
Program Name Health Care Regulation
Health Care Regulation performance licensing, inspections and Medicare and Medicaid
certifications of long term care facilities, hospitals and other health care providers that
Program Description
are subject to state and federal regulations. The office also operates a 24-hour hotline,
which people can call to register complaints regarding health care facilities.
Target Population State of Illinois
Licensing, Medicare, Medicaid certification, inspections of health facilities that are
Activities
subject to state and federal regulations.
Goals To ensure quality health delivery systems in Illinois

In what follows, one can review the Outcome Improve Overall Health of Illinoisans

performance results for the Department of

Public Health. The structure of the report PROGRAM FUNDING

is the same for all agencies, which facilitates Appropriations ($ thousands)

comparison across agencies.
FY 2014 Actual FY 2015 Actual FY 2016 Recommended FY 2016 Enacted
58,170 69,147.9 73,676.9
The Illinois Department of Public Health has
as its core mission the following objective: to MEASURES
promote the health of citizens through the
Number of Licensed Long-Term Care Beds
prevention and control of diseases and injury.
To achieve its goal, the department is actively Reported: Annually Key Indicator: Yes Desired Direction: Maintain Benchmark: 117,000
involved in setting standards for hospital and Source: IDPH Baseline: 119,000 Baseline Date: 6/30/2010 Methodology: Count
nursing home care, in checking the safety of
FY 2014 FY 2015 FY 2016 Est. FY 2017 Proj.
recreation areas or the quality of the food, by
111,219 112,000 112,000
inspecting farms and plants. This constant

35 DECEMBER 2015

Highlights of the reports:
It states both the name of the program
and the agency undertaking it;
The programs description, thus providing
a better understanding of what it strives to
achieve;
The activities that are going to take place
during the project are referenced, in
order to identify the steps needed to be
followed, so as to ensure a proper project
deployment;
The target population and goals addressed
by the program are mentioned as well;
The outcomes expected at the completion date.
Thus, it is clear from the beginning what are
the benefits of the project, to whom they are
addressed and which steps need to be followed
to ensure its successful deployment.
The next part of the performance report
refers to the financial resources needed
for this project. It provides details about the
funds allocated in the previous and current
year, as well as a projection for the next one.
The last part of the report contains
information in regards to the KPIs used to
measure the success rate of this project. In
the example provided, the indicator used
to track the progress of the initiative is #
Licensed long-term care beds. Besides the
name of the KPI, other important fields
are used to better comprehend how the
KPI is calculated, how often it is reported
and what is its target.
For the KPI mentioned above # Licensed
long-term care beds, the reporting frequency
is annual, which means that the indicator
is reviewed only once a year and the trend
should be maintained just the same.
Moreover, a benchmarking level of 117,000 is
provided for # Licensed long-term care beds. The
benchmarked data source is either a national
organization, a near-peer state agency or a specific
source for the established best practice.
AROUND THE WORLD
In addition, the baseline, referring to the
earliest data registered for the KPI, is also
mentioned as being as early as 2010. The
methodology explains how the KPI is
calculated, which are the previous results,
current results and any future predictions.
This performance report format is similar
to a Documentation Form, but with
the added benefit of having embedded
results. It comprises categories for both
an Initiative Documentation Form and
a KPI Documentation Form, but with
performance data attached, making this a
much more complex report model.
Having such a format for all running
programs across governmental agencies aids
in understanding the initiatives taking place
at state level, their impact and the financial
resources needed to be allocated. This
way, the government can better distribute
budgets, easily assess the initiatives that
led to desired outputs and take corrective
actions for the ones that did not achieve
their goals.
DECEMBER 2015 36
AROUND THE WORLD
GRUMA MEXICO:
A performance model built on innovation
MARCELA PRESECAN
My father taught me something invaluable
Research is the mother of development for a country, for a company and for people.
Roberto Gonzlez Barrera, Founder,
GRUMA Mexico
H Performance
aving understood the significance of
Management System
implementation, the Mexican business
environment is setting out to be increasingly
attractive to analysts and investors worldwide.
A world leader in corn flower and tortillas,
GRUMA is a multinational company that
has succeeded in conquering the world
with its traditional Mexican products. Due
to its unique two-way communication
strategy with its stakeholders, the Great
place to work management research and
consultancy firm, awarded GRUMA Best
place to work at in Mexico in both 2011
and 2013. Moreover, the World Finance
magazine gratifies GRUMA with an award
that recognizes the companys achievement
of the highest levels of performance in its
respective fields of operation.
The birth of the corn flower and tortilla
colossus began with Roberto Gonzales
Barrera, who quit school to work in the
groceries warehouses built by his father. In
1948, Don Roberto had his first encounter
with corn flower. He bought a mill and started
processing corn flour, in a time when cotton
was the main product ruling all markets.
Having started as a family-owned enterprise,
GRUMA is nowadays a multinational that
37 DECEMBER 2015
operates in over 40 countries around the
world, and tortilla is one of the leading
products in Mexico.
So how does GRUMA do it? How has it
managed to build on traditional values
and grow into a role model for outstanding
performance achievements? Well first
off, GRUMA has a well-defined strategy,
integrating at its core the key components of
any successful business: a clear and focused
vision around its values and mission.
GRUMA Mission
To contribute to the quality of life of our
customers and consumers everywhere we
operate, by offering high-quality products
and services that fit their lifestyles, cultures,
and needs, generating dynamic and
profitable long-term growth to create the
greatest value for our shareholders, focusing
mainly on our core businesses: corn flour,
tortillas, and flatbreads.
GRUMA Vision
To be the absolute worldwide leader in the
production, sale, and distribution of corn
flour and tortillas, as well as one of the main
producers of flatbreads and other related
products in Mexico, the United States,
Central America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania.
GRUMA Values
EFFORT, COMMITMENT,
PERSEVERANCE, TRANSCENDENCE
Second of all, GRUMA Mexico is built
on a clearly-defined sustainability model
meeting the needs of GRUMAs customers,
shareholders, employees and those of the
general community. To ensure that these
needs are well-attended for, GRUMAs
executives developed a stakeholder
communication framework, which allows a
close monitoring of all parties:
Innovation is a vital component of GRUMA
Mexicos strategy for performance. Innovation
is prevalent in the production and engineering
processes, as well as marketplace practices.
The companys research and development
department is currently designing a line of
pizzas, supplementing GRUMAs product
portfolio. Due to its deep understanding of
worldwide markets, the Mexican company
has become a lead innovator in country-
personalized service models, products and
packaging solutions:
In Mexico: GRUMA launched the
MASECA Antojitos, with low grease
absorption, for a healthier alternative to
flavor and better quality.

In the United States: Due to an increased
demand for organic, gluten-free products,
the company launched its Gluten Free
Flour Tortilla and the Tortilla for a Healthy
Digestion. Recognizing the growing trends
in chips consumption within the United
States, GRUMA is continuously exploring
options for snack production expansion.
In Central America: GRUMA launched
its Maseca Roasted Tamale with Coconut
(Maseca Tamal Asado con Coco) in
Costa Rica and focused their efforts on
improving the softness and flavor of
TortiRica. In Honduras and Guatemala,
GRUMA launched Maseca Tamale Ready
Mix and packages were updated to display
the Gluten Free and No Preservatives signs.
In Europe: GRUMA is looking to expand
its brand image by targeting new markets
such as Russia and Spain. In England, they
launched three new lines of wraps from the
Mission Deli Super Soft brand: Wholemeal,
Mini Original, and Mini Tomatoes.
In Asia and Oceania: GRUMA is focusing
on innovative publicity strategies to
consolidate its position on the market and
increase customer loyalty. For example, in
Singapore, GRUMA sponsored the Asian
Basketball Championship and in Australia,
the company launched a new Facebook page
that presents GRUMA as the innovative,
quality brand that it is.
Technological capacity is another significant
dimension of the GRUMA Mexico operations,
and for this reason the company sees technology
as the main driver for both innovation and
market position consolidation. Their information
technology development effort is focused on
supporting new initiatives in the communications
field of operation, such as: social networking,
on-line discount programs, increases in the
companys fan base etc. In 2014, BRUMA
also developed a new Mission webpage,
www.missionmenus.com, with the goal of
further connecting with their consumers through
useful content such as recipes, nutrition tips and
news. Whats more so, beyond generating a higher
degree` of loyalty for the company brand on behalf
of consumers, this website was presented with the
silver award for having the best design among the
food and beverages websites.
Working environment quality of life within the
company is monitored through key performance
indicators such as: # Employees, # Employees with
collective bargaining agreement, % Employees per
business unit, # Man-hours of training and $ Capital
invested in training.
AROUND THE WORLD
The GRUMA Mexico Company
stands as an example of the
Mexican business environment,
which is becoming more aware of
the tools and techniques diligently
used by performance management
professionals, specialists and
companies alike. Performance
management terminology, such as
strategy formulation, management
by objective and economic value
add, is no longer a challenge
to most of the players in the
Mexican business environment.
Although disconsidered in many
of the todays varying business
environments, innovation seems
to be the core value driver for
multiple top-performing Mexican
companies. At the same time, there
is an increased need for refinement
of individual performance
evaluations at both employee and
management level, since current
appraisal models seem to lack
consistency. In spite of the fact that
a productive and efficient working
environment is encouraged, the
rewards and recognition programs
are not always a part of human
capital nurturing strategies. As
much as there is a perceived
affiliation with company-wide key
performance indicators, reflecting
on the human dimension of the
organization, there seem to be
only a few systems that accurately
reflect on individual employee
satisfaction and retention.
DECEMBER 2015 38
AROUND THE WORLD
REACHING THE RIGHT AUDIENCE IN
NORTH AMERICA: A digital marketing perspective
MIHAI PACULEA & ADRIAN SUTEU
,
M the last years, due to the evolution of the
arketing has significantly changed during
World Wide Web. Nowadays, it is much easier
to reach the desired audience, at the right
time. When thinking about the means of mass
communication, such as newspapers, radio
broadcasting and television, which have been
present in our lives for many years now, we
stumble upon some very relevant marketing-
related questions: who is a company actually
targeting through its mass communication
campaigns? How can it know if the targeted
consumers have seen the message or have paid
attention to it? And, most importantly, how
can a company measure the impact of its mass
advertising campaigns?
This uncertainty paradigm has changed
in the era of Digital Marketing, which has
become a marketers dream tool, due to the
following activities it enables:
Easy and fast data gathering: information
about both current and potential customers,
regardless of the distance between them and
the company, can be collected;
Creating databases by using this information;
Sending customized emails to the database
members;
Creating groups of discussion on social
media platforms, which only host the
targeted audience members. Invite
them to communicate with you in a
place of honesty, where anyone can see
what everyone else is sharing and react
accordingly;
39 DECEMBER 2015
Promoting events to your social media
connections;
Promptly answering to complaints and
suggestions;
Placing ads for the targeted audience only,
by using the Internet;
Engaging consumers by developing different
product-related games or apps for Facebook
or smartphones. This enables creativity and
it provides the consumers with both your
message and means to have fun;
No expensive physical input needed all
it takes is a computer, including the well-
developed skills to use it;
Not wasting resources by promoting
products to people who are not interested
in your company or offer;
Measuring the impact of your campaigns
by analyzing the consumers online
behaviour: how many of them clicked on
your links, when do they click on your
Call to Action buttons, how much effort
needs to be invested in turning them into
actual customers of the company etc.
Targeting, measurement and lack of constraints
when it comes to creativity are just some of the
reasons why Digital Marketing is better than
its older cousin, mass media communication
tools. High-performing companies are
nowadays aware of the importance of Digital
Marketing, and they use it in order to obtain
the best possible results, with less effort.
Digital Marketing in North America
With some of the highest Human
Development Index (HDI) and Gross
Domestic Product (GDP), the United States of
America and Canada represent powerful states,
with huge potential for business development
and consumer empowerment. According to
The United Nations Development Program,
the USAs HDI value was 0.914, while Canada
had a HDI of 0.902. As shown on Statista, The
United States of America ranked the 1st in
the 2014 top of the countries by GDP (with
17,416.25 billion U.S. dollars). Canada had a
GDP of 1,793.8 billion U.S. dollars, reaching
the 11thplace in the same top.
The high values of the HDI and GDP are
coming from intense social and economic
activities. But in the same time, they are
leading to even more intense activities,
as marketers need to know exactly how
to communicate with these developed
communities. Therefore, marketers need
to play their role in the efforts of creating a
brand-related competitive advantage, as well
as in attracting and maintaining as many
customers as possible.

What social networks do North Americans use?
As mentioned before, Digital Marketing is more
efficient than any other form of marketing.
In 2014, it was estimated that 86.75% of
the United States citizens had access to the
internet. Canada had an even higher estimated
percentage, namely 92.89% of the population.
Therefore, the majority of the consumers can
be reached through Digital Marketing means.
When it comes to the development of social
media in the United States, in March 2015,
Facebook had the highest share of visits
(53.4%), followed by YouTube (17.2%),
Google+ (4.06%) and Twitter (3.1%). Each
of the other analyzed social media networks
(Reddit, LinkedIn, Yahoo! Answers,
Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr) had shares of
visits under 2%.
On the other hand, a study conducted this
January in Canada by Forum Research shows
that Facebook leads by number of users in
this area as well. It also leads when it comes
to the average number of visits/week (9). This
study took into consideration 4 social media
networks: Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and
Instagram. The results show that 59% of the
Canadians have Facebook accounts, 30% have
LinkedIn accounts, 25% have Twitter accounts
and 16% have Instagram accounts. However,
while Facebook has the highest penetration,
Instagram leads in user satisfaction, 39% of
users saying that they are Very satisfied by
this network, while only 27% of the Facebook
users stated the same. Instagram is also the
second most visited social media network, with
6 visits/week.
Knowing as much information as possible
about the social media behaviour of
potential buyers in your area is essential
in developing a successful social media
marketing campaign. It is important to
analyze the use of these networks and all
the variables included (e.g. gender, age,
AROUND THE WORLD
education, occupation, income of the users, personal blogs, therefore ensuring more
frequency and time of use). This way, you attention will be paid to your platform.
can make sure that you choose the right According to a 2012 BlogHer and Vision
network for promoting your brand to the Critical study, 61% of United States online
consumers and to get a high ROI. consumers have made a purchase based
on recommendations from a blog.
Of course, social media represents a powerful tool
for promoting non-profit organizations too, as Content is very important for official
well as politicians, celebrities, cities, sport teams websites. Having the right content can lead
or anything else that needs attention and a strong to higher awareness, better user experience
base of supporters. The key is to research, gather and better results. Another Pew Research
and analyze information and use it for developing study showed that the Internet is an
successful marketing campaigns, targeted on the extremely important information source to
right people, at the right time. Americans: 72% of them are satisfied with
the amount of information available online
today, while only 26% feel overwhelmed,
and 81% of Americans report their internet
and cell phone use have helped them in
being better informed about products and
services today than they were five years ago.
Paying attention to the characteristics of the
North America internet users is essential
in developing your Digital Marketing
mix. This way you can reach the right
audience, get their attention, nurture their
Newslettering and blogging your way to engagement and eventually turn them into
success in North America customers and advocates. Without knowing
who you are trying to reach it is impossible
Sending email-based newsletters represents to succeed and Digital Marketing solves
another way of promoting your products. this issue once and for all.
But you have to pay attention to the
different time zones in the United States
(which has 5 different time zones) and
Canada (6 time zones). You can easily
discover which time zone the people from
your database come from by asking them
to fill in their location when registering for
the newsletter. According to a September
2014 Pew Research study, 61% of American
workers consider the Internet Very
important for their job, 35% described
landline phones as Very important, 24%
cell phones and smartphones and only 4%
described social networks as being of high
importance for their job.
Creating a blog and posting relevant
content for your organization is another
way of getting more customers. The
important fact about blogs is that they
are great ways of nurturing engagement,
and they have an important role in taking
people further through the sales funnel:
from prospects to actual customers. If
you create great content and stories,
people will refer to this content on their
DECEMBER 2015 40
AROUND THE WORLD
STRATEGY FORMULATION:
Emirates Identity Authority Strategic Plan 2014-2016
MIHAI TOMA
T is an independent federal authority in
he Emirates Identity Authority (EIDA)
the UAE that was established in 2004. EIDAs
main purpose as a governmental agency is
focused on the establishment of a modern
population register in order to facilitate
the obtainment of government services as
well as to provide the required information
for supporting decision-making, strategic
planning and the allocation of sources in all
vital sectors in the UAE, as documented on
their website.
Back in 2010, when the Population Register
and ID Card System were their priorities
in terms of strategic agenda, The Emirates
Identity Authority was one of the first
public institutions in the UAE that have
developed and implemented a strategy and
performance management system based on
the Balanced Scorecard methodology and
directives from the UAE Prime Ministers
office (PMO).
Since 2010, EIDA has already successfully
developed and executed their 2010-2013
strategy and, in order to keep in line with
governmental wide strategic directions, they
set forward in developing their 2014-216
Strategic Plan.
This undertaking has been based on an
approach containing five phases:
1. Strategic Analysis;
2. Vision, Themes, Objectives & Targets;
3. Strategic Initiatives;
4. Roadmap;
5. Change Plan.
41 DECEMBER 2015
The main activities within each of the five phases can be observed in the accompanying extract
from the Strategic Plan.
Strategic analysis
Analyze socio-economic and technological trends;
Run stakeholder analysis;
Benchmark leading organizations globally;
Understand federal requirements and
impact on strategy;
Analyze Emirates IDs internal strategy;
Conduct PESTLE & SWOT analysis.
Vision, Themes, Objectives & Targets
Update and enhance Vision statement going
forward in light of the strategic analysis and
of the country vision and strategy;
Update strategic themes & objectives for
20142016;
Define Strategic Key Performance Indicators
and targets to track and measure progress
towards objectives.
Strategic Initiatives
Define strategic initiatives to accomplish
defined goals;
Define Operating Key Performance Indicators
to track and measure the impact of strategic
initiatives.
Roadmap
Detail implementation requirements
(costs, resources, risk mitigation);
Define detailed implementation roadmap
(timeline, milestones, owners).
Change Plan
Craft change management plan to enable
Emirates IDs organization to undertake
revised strategy.
In order to maximize the relevance of the
strategic planning process, EIDAs strategic
analysis phase was based on reviewing five
main sources of information:
Reviewing the Prime Ministers Office
2014-2016 strategic guidance and 2021
Vision;
External and industry environmental scan;
Benchmarking against global ID
management leaders;
Assessment of Emirates IDs existing
strategy;
PESTLE and SWOT summarizing
findings from all sources.
Results from the Strategy Analysis were used
as key inputs in formulating the Emirates
 AROUND THE WORLD

Mission Vision
Provide an integrated and advanced personal
To Establish, Manage and Authenticate Personal Identity Whats our final identity management system that contributes to the
Why do we exist?
In The UAE. Destination? transformation of the government and the economy and
promotes security and global competitiveness of the UAE.
Strategic

1. Reliability 2. Integration 3. Enablement

What are our Ensure the application of the highest quality, Reinforce & expand the uses of the identity card Support decision-makers with accurate and
coordinates for currency and privacy of personal data in the in the various sectors in the state & activate it innovative solutions related to population
the next 3 years? population register. as a key reference in the authentification and demographics.
validation of personal identity.

Objectives

1.1. Focus on data accuracy & integrity; 2.1. Offer authentification & validation services 3.1. Conduct innovative analysis to provide
through multi-channel delivery; new & high-demand services linked to
Where should our 1.2. Shift focus from mass enrollment
population demographic;
crew focus their to enhancing operational quality; 2.2. Extend service enablement beyond public
efforts during sector of UAE; 3.2. Leverage current assets to enable
1.3. Enhance understanding of customers
this journey? government decision-making.
service requirements. 2.3. Progress Emirates IDs brand & educate
public on capabilities & services.

1. EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS AND EFFICACY Ensure that all administrative services are delivered in accordance with thee standards of quality, efficiency & transparency

1.1. Promote organizational 1.2. Consolidate Emirates 1.3. Develop talent 1.4. Further leverage
What will enable
excellence & learning. ID as a self-sufficient & focusing on enhancing strategic partnerships.
us to do so?
sustainable organization. customer satisfaction.

Value

Commitment to Quality Integrity & Accountability Innovation Confidence Teamwork Customer Centricity

ID strategy for the upcoming three years. 1. RELIABILITY 3. ENABLEMENT

In correlation with the mandate EIDA was
given by the UAEs federal government, the
management team identified 10 key areas
to address through the 2014-2016 strategy.
These were arranged in four Strategic
Themes which are considered to stand at the
basis of the Strategic Plan.
The four themes are detailed below, as
described in the 2014-2016 Strategic Plan:
(Identity Lifecycle & Data Management)
Ensure the application of the highest quality,
currency and privacy of personal data in the
population register;
2. INTEGRATION
(Primary Identity Authenticator) Reinforce and
expand the uses of the identity card in the various
state sectors and activate it as a key reference in the
authentication and validation of personal identity;
(Supporting Decision Making) Support decision-
makers with accurate information and innovative
solutions related to population demographics;
4. EFFICIENCY, EFFECTIVENESS AND
EFFICACY
(Organizational Excellence) Ensure that all
administrative services are delivered in accordance
with the standards of quality, efficiency and
transparency.

DECEMBER 2015 42
AROUND THE WORLD
Their vision statement, another key aspect
in formulating EIDAs strategy, was also
reviewed and redesigned. The question
that they made sure their updated vision
answered was Whats our final destination?
By answering this question and considering
alignment with the federal mandate, the
Emirates Identity Authority finalized
their vision statement as follows: Provide
an integrated and advanced identity
management system that contributes to the
transformation of the government and the
economy and promotes security and global
competitiveness of the UAE.
In their journey towards articulating the
Strategic Plan, one key aspect was developing
clear strategic objectives that translate their
vision and mission into concise items and
provide the main focus of the organizations
for the upcoming period.
Clustering the objectives on the four
Strategic Themes was the last step in the
process of structuring a crucial strategic
tool: The Emirates ID Strategy Map.
Provide an integrated and advanced
personal identity management
system that contributes to the
transformation of the government
and the economy and promotes
security and global competitiveness
of the UAE.
43 DECEMBER 2015
The final step in the process was to ensure
that the achievement of each of the
objectives included in the Strategy Map can
be monitored, measured and facilitated. To
this end, the Emirates ID team selected Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs) that would
measure achievement against established
targets and established Strategic Initiatives
that would serve as the catalyst for bridging
the gap between current and desired
performance levels.
As we can see, Emirates ID has selected
three KPIs in order to measure its Reliability
Strategic Objective:
% Accuracy of basic data in population
register;
% Currency of data;
% Number of incidents related to identity
theft and identity database breakthroughs.
Furthermore, the accomplishment of the
objective is supported by a set of four
Strategic Initiatives:
1. Enrollment business process optimization;
2. Migration to Next Generation
technology for Population Register, Identity
management system, and data protection;
3. Enhancement of the Customer Experience;
4. Enhancement of the Back Office Management
Processes.
The same approach was followed for all
of the objectives included in the 2014-
2016 Strategy Map, resulting in a clear and
documented Scorecard for the organization.
Emirates Identity Authoritys strategic
planning process represents a good practice
approach in formulating and structuring the
strategy of a governmental agency. This case
study shows the positive direction that public
institutions in the UAE are moving towards,
in adopting a clear, strategic and performant
management system that will allow them to
actively monitor and improve performance
and, at the same time, provide a transparent
and reliable reporting framework that the
public can access.
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STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

EVENTS
STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR

DECISION-MAKING PROCESS?
ANDREEA VECERDEA

M irrespective of their context. A womans

aking decisions is not an easy job,
decision to buy a certain pair of shoes may take
as long as it takes a manager to decide upon a
major organizational problem. The difference,
however, lies in the data behind the decision.
On the one hand, choosing the perfect pair of
shoes does not require any data - its a matter of
taste. On the other hand, a managers decision
has to be based on numbers and a hefty load
of information, otherwise you might end up
changing whats not broken.
A survey conducted in 2012, by the Economist
Intelligence Unit, on 607 executives worldwide,
revealed an increasing need for data regarding
organizational decision-making processes; it
further highlighted the need to transition from
decisions based on intuition, background and past
experience, to decisions based on data:
According to the same survey, respondents
expressed, on average, the opinion that
Big Data has improved their organizations
performance by 26% in the past 3 years,
and they believe that it will further improve
performance by 41% in the next 3 years.
The idea that data leads to better decisions
is also supported by other studies. Another
such example is an academic survey
conducted in 2008, on 179 large publicly
traded firms from the U.S., which revealed
that companies oriented towards more Data-
Images/graphics 8% 8%
Telemetry - detailed
activity data from 5% 10%
plant/equipment
10% 15%
Driven Decisions (DDD) have increased
productivity with 6%.
If data is so important, how do we collect it?
From where do we gather what we need, in
order to base our decisions on something
palpable? As it can be seen from the graphic
below, the first set of data details on business
activities, followed by office documentation
and social media. For consumer goods and
retail companies, the most important source
of information is the point-of-sale figures,
followed by social media.
Consumer goods & details
Total

50% of the interviewed executives argued

that management decisions that are based Geospatial data 13% 15%
only on intuition, or experience are seen as
suspect; Website
21% 18%
clickstream data
66% of them thought that decisions are
more and more based on hard analytic Website
18% 21%
clickstream data
information;

9/10 of the interviewed executives Point of sale 71% 25%

concluded that any of the decisions theyve

made in the last 3 years would have been Social media 42% 27%
better if theyd had all the relevant data
available; 7% 32%

Of course, data does not make decisions on Business

its own - people make decisions. However, it 57%
activity data 68%
is important to make relevant decisions!

45 DECEMBER 2015
 STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

designed by Freepik.com

Now, here comes another issue: how do In the beginning of this article, we decision-making process and the intricacies
we integrate all this data? One must not emphasized the need to base decisions on of making decisions in certain scenarios.
forget that too much information can data, as this leads to improved results.
also be a problem. 40% of the interviewed In the graph below we can see the 7 steps
executives complained that they have too In what follows, we will talk about the which need to be followed so as to ensure
much unstructured data, making it difficult specific steps that need to be taken in the that proper decisions are made:
to analyze and use it for proper, fact-based
decisions. Moreover, 85% of the interviewed
executives stated that the problem is not so
much the volume of data, but the ability to
analyze and act on it in real time.

For this, it is crucial to develop a system

where data can be easily integrated. CRM and
ERP are examples of systems which enhance
data integration and facilitate its analysis.
Furthermore, we need the right tools to
properly analyze it and for this we can use any
of todays well-known Business Intelligence
(BI) tools. Although these are mainly good for
aggregating and analyzing structured data - not
so useful when dealing with unstructured data,
they still can come in handy.

Professor Alex Pentland, Director of the

Human Dynamics Laboratory at MIT, stated
that: Data is turning the process of decision-
making inside out. Instead of starting with
a question or hypothesis, people data mine
to see what patterns they can find. If the
patterns reveal a business opportunity or a
threat, then a decision is made about how to
act on the information.

So as we can see, we need data to make correct

and informed decisions. What lies next for
us? Read below about the 7 step decision-
making process and the intricacies of making
decisions in specific scenarios.

DECEMBER 2015 46
STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
The first step is to assess the present situation
and identify the problem. Afterwards, you need
to search for solutions and come up with ideas.
Once you have identified several solutions, you
have to evaluate each of them and find pros
and cons for every alternative on the table. In
order to choose the proper one, you have to
decide which option minimizes risk and costs
and maximizes benefits. The next step is to
implement the chosen alternative and monitor
its execution, ensuring that it is implemented
as agreed. The last step that needs to be taken
is impact assessment, which means measuring
the results of the implementation process, since
by building on successful past experiences, any
decisions you make in the future will have a
higher chance of being successfully integrated.
Listed in the next paragraphs, there
are some of the most commonly used
techniques for ensuring that our proposed
solutions are relevant, meaningful, and fit
our organizational values and objectives, to
offer a better understanding of how one can
approach this process.
Brainstorming
Used to increase creativity and generate as
many ideas as possible. Its benefit is that
the entire group participates. Ideas are
not criticized, as the focus is on finding
a solution and not on the person who
generated it. This method is quite beneficial,
since once all options are noted down and
discussed, everyone can understand all of
the viewpoints in the workplace. This way,
either they improve their own ideas or
end up combining two or more into one
enhanced, comprehensive solution.
Affinity Diagram
Used to structure the decision-making
process. Besides stimulating creativity, this
technique also clusters ideas into logical
items, based on which decisions are easier
to make. Group members usually post
their suggestions on walls using post-it
notes and then, based on the links that may
appear between ideas, they are clustered
under relevant labels. The resulting diagram
provides a graphical representation of
the proposed solutions, which eases the
decision-making process.
Force field analysis
Used to analyze driving and restraining
forces in a given situation in order to have
47 DECEMBER 2015
an overview of the decisions pros and cons.
Group members list all factors (forces)
for and against the decision (resources
needed in terms of money, time and people,
easiness of implementation, implementation
support, benefits, risks etc.) and then they
assign scores to each of them, based on their
importance/influence. In the end, they add
up the numbers and the one with the highest
score gets implemented.
Flow chart
Used to identify the specific steps needed to
implement each and every idea. The benefit
of this technique is that it is a logical (it has
a starting and an ending point), structured
(clear tasks that have to be achieved) and
focused problem-solving method.
Planning matrix
Used to analyze the necessary steps, the persons
responsible for ensuring their implementation,
the deadlines and the necessary resources to
achieve all of the aforementioned.
Unilateral decision-making
Used when decisions need to be made
immediately and there is no time for
further analysis, or meetings. In this case,
the decision is based on the background,
knowledge, experience and intuition of the
person deciding what works and what not.
Consultative/participative decision-making
Used when a person makes a decision
based on the added contribution of his co-
workers. It allows everyones perspective to
be presented and in the end, for efficiency
purposes, only one person makes the final
call, based on the information shared
between him/her and the rest.
Consensus decision-making
Used to allow all of the groups individuals
to freely express their ideas. This technique
encourages debate and negotiation among
members.
Vote decision-making
A decision-making process used for large groups,
due to its increased efficiency. The final solution
is decided upon by the groups majority, not
necessarily based on a rigorous analysis.
All in all, what needs to be kept in mind is
that although one might have a wide variety
of techniques which can be used to smooth out
FLOW
CHART
designed by Freepik.com
the decision-making process, this does not
entail using them all, but rather choosing the
most relevant ones for every given situation.
More often than not, a combination of
techniques is recommended, in order to
avoid any bias.
But this begs the following question: how do
we adopt decisions in different scenarios? Is
the process the same? Do we use the same
techniques? Find the answer below.
So far, we emphasized the need to base
decisions on data, as this leads to improved
results. We also discussed about the decision-
making process and techniques we can use
to ensure relevant decisions are made.
But what do we do when confronted with
different scenarios? Is the process the same? Do
we use the same techniques? In what follows,
we shall present 12 different scenarios, grouped
together based on their similarities regarding
the decision-making process.
At organizational, divisional and
departmental level and in the case of joint
ventures, decisions are usually made formally,
during performance review meetings, on a
monthly basis. Consensus decision-making
is used, because it allows all participants to
express their opinions, and it is also time
efficient. For these scenarios, prior to the
meeting, we conduct analyses, identify causes
and offer suggestions for improvement.
Therefore, the role of these meetings is to
decide which alternative is the best so there
will be no need to brainstorm one.

PLANNING MATRIX
3
06
At employee level, decisions are formally
made, during performance review
discussions, but this time on a quarterly
basis. Brainstorming can be used at the
beginning of the meeting to come up with
solutions for boosting current performance
results. In the end, consensus decision-
making is used to agree on the actions that
need to be implemented. Both the evaluated
employee and his/her supervisor are actively
involved in this process.
In regards to projects, decisions are made both
formally, during the operational meetings of
the project team, and on the spot, if deemed
necessary. If these are decided upon in meetings,
force field analysis is usually used, in order to
analyze not only ideas, but also constraints,
responsible personnel and deadlines. If
decisions are made on the spot, either the
unilateral or the consultative decision-making
technique is employed.
When talking about processes, decisions
are only made when required to optimize
a certain process. We cannot plan a certain
date to make decisions regarding a process,
as the need for process improvement emerges
the moment employees identify bottlenecks
in the system. Once the issue is identified,
an official meeting can take place to come
up with solutions and flow charts are used to
make the right call in this scenario.
Moving on, in the quality management
scenario, decisions are made every time
there are quality checks on a product/
service. Decision-making, in this instance,
is not a formalized process, usually taking
place on the spot, either through unilateral
decree or consultative consensus, when
the employee in charge of quality control
requests the aid of another colleague. The
decision is most often than not easy to
make, as the product/service has to fulfill a
precise set of requirements.
Another scenario is in the customer service
department, where decisions are made both
on the spot, during client meetings and
monthly, during departmental performance
review meetings. If decisions are made while
negotiating with a client, then unilateral
decision-making is used, as there is no time
to make additional analyses or call colleagues
to ask for support. In meetings, consensus
decision-making is considered superior.
In relation to suppliers, decisions are made
formally, during suppliers performance
review meetings, on a quarterly/yearly
basis, depending on the companys policy. If
suppliers results are not in accordance with
the figures prescribed in the contract, the
collaboration can be renegotiated or even
closed. Usually, consensus decision-making
is used in this scenario.
In relation to the Board of Executives,
decisions are again formally undertaken,
during Board performance review meetings.
These meetings take place yearly, to have an
overview of all the coordinated activities.
Vote decision-making is usually used, but a
consensus system can also come in handy.
In case one of the members performance
STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
AFFINITY
DIAGRAM
is lacking, the premier solution here is to
replace that particular individual; in more
extreme cases, a complete reshuffle can take
place if the entirety of the Board has had
underwhelming results.
The last scenario refers to our personal
level, meaning the individual outside the
workplace, in his/her daily life. In this case,
decisions are made both on the spot and
during a family meeting held as often as
required. Depending on the complexity
of the decisions being made and on the
allocated budget, brainstorming, force-field
analysis, unilateral, consultative, consensus
or vote decision-making can be used to
reach a satisfactory conclusion for one or all
family members.
Since there is such a diversity of scenarios
where we have to make decisions, we might
be confused about what has to be done,
when and how.
To summarize, we should keep in mind
the following aspects, irrespective of the
scenario in which we find ourselves:
Base decisions on prior analyzed data;
Make decisions as often as required by
each and every given context;
Follow the 7-steps decision-making process;
Use the technique that you consider the
most relevant for your situation.
DECEMBER 2015 48
STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
EMERGING PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
TRENDS IN 2015
NATALIA NISTOR
1 CLOUD
COMPUTING
I old trends are left behind or revamped
n every sector new trends emerge, while
into something new to fit the overall theme
of that specific area of activity. Performance
management is no exception in that sense.
In 2014, the trends having the biggest toll on
2 MOBILE performance management and its development
were those in the IT field of operation and the
TECHNOLOGY usage of different performance management-
related tools, along with Big Data.
The 2015 buzzwords have somewhat changed
as compared to last year, the emphasis being
3
on rethinking and reinventing the whole
BIG DATA system. In 2015, performance management
trends revolve around the cloud, Big Data,
modern planning practices or redesign of
performance management systems. In what
follows, we shall delve into analyzing several
Enterprise Performance Management
trends, along with a few general Performance
4
Management trends.
NUMBERS
IN CONTEXT Oracle, a computer technology corporation
and provider of enterprise resources planning
solution, tackled the subject of emerging
trends in this years Enterprise Performance
Management report. Following a survey
conducted among decision makers who are
part of their industry and consumer base, the
company managed to get valuable insights on
the most important aspects seen by decision
makers as having an effect on performance
designed management practices within the field.
by Freepik.com
49 DECEMBER 2015
1. Increase in cloud computing
Enterprise performance management is
estimated to register an important increase in
the usage of cloud computing, with adoption
rates going up from 12% to 22%, the main
reason for switching to the cloud being
speed and agility. Decision makers want
their business to run quickly and efficiently.
They want to stop focusing on running the
infrastructure and focus more on the growth
of their business.
2. Mobile technology as a strategic tool
With the development of the telecom industry
and increased availability of smartphones,
mobile technology represents nowadays an
efficient information delivery tool that can
reach anyone, anywhere, in no time. And it does
not stop here - what started as an information-
delivery tool has now turned into an
comprehensive one, comprising workflow and
approvals for core processes such as planning
or financial closure. The great advantage of
embracing mobile technology is related to the
fact that it brings growth opportunities and a
competitive advantage.
3. Big Data a major player
2014 saw a boom in terms of Big Data and
nowadays the percentage of decision makers
who intend to include Big Data in their
planning processes increased three times
more compared to last years. Big Data is
therefore acknowledged by executives as

immensely important, since it could give
any business an advantage in front of their
competitors. The greatest benefit of Big Data
is represented by its endless possibilities.
4. Putting numbers in context
Numbers in financial reports should be
accompanied by qualitative and constructive
criticism so that anyone interested could
fully understand the figures that are being
reported. Decision makers find it critical to
associate numbers with qualitative analysis.
Apart from these, some other important trends
observed are the need to be able to adapt and
shift planning processes quickly, given the
current business environment, the desire to
understand costs practices in detail and the
need to improve data governance. Looking at
performance management as a whole, another
emerging trend is giving more responsibility
to employees. At InMobi, for example, a
performance-based mobile ad network, they
have decided to build on culture and values in
order to keep their employees motivated and
ensure they reach their full potential. Therefore,
the company decided to put its employees
in the drivers seat by allowing them to be
entrepreneurs and think big, take ownership
and be accountable.
Moreover, InMobi, like many other important
companies such as Adobe, Accenture, General
Electric or Zappos, decided to change their old
STRATEGY AND PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
performance management system. Having
this in mind, apart from performance
ratings, the company also resorted to other
tools of obtaining insight and feedback from
employees, such as participating in informal
discussions across all organizational levels,
which are also used for differentiating
between employees.
Some other features of InMobis approach
to performance management, which can be
found to a certain extent in the approach of
other organizations undertaking this shift,
are the incorporation of variable pay in their
fixed pay instead of falling back on quarterly
bonuses, or the empowerment of managers
to decide on pay increases and/or rewards
for their staff.
In time, perspectives and trends change
along with the overall contexts in which
they emerge. Big Data and analytics, cloud
computing and mobile technology, all of
these tools are empowering both managers
and employees in making decisions and
rethinking the performance system.
Even more so, all the aforementioned
elements have spurred great interest
nowadays in the realm of performance
management and as such, we only have to
wait and measure the outcomes of these
new developments, keeping a keen eye on
what might come next year.
DECEMBER 2015 50
STRATEGY AND BUSINESS PLANNING

STRATEGY AND BUSINESS PLANNING

CHANGE MANAGEMENT
AND THE TRANSITIONAL
PROCESS IN ORGANIZATIONS
RADU FLOREA

Employees seek to work for

organizations just as customers seek
to do business with them:
when they feel that the organization
offers what they desire.

Edward E. Lawler III &

Christopher G. Worley

T organizational change seems to be one

he lack of vision in implementing

of the main causes for which organizational

change operations fail.

Edward E. Lawler III, a major comtributor

to the research and theory of organizational
AVAILABILITY development and effectiveness, saw change
FOR CHANGE management without vision as a reactionary
reesponse to resistance to change. Acknowledging
this, Buchanan and McCalman, both PhD in
organizational strategy and management, have
introduced the practice of management through
constant transition.

This requires regular interventions from

INNOVATION AND WELL-ESTABLISHED management in order to capitalize on the
PERFORMANCE VISION importance of organizational development
for stable and structured growth. Also, having
a management system which focuses on
continual transition is considered, by modern
standards, to be a premier requirement for
achieving organizational performance.

In order for a company to nurture a

TRANSITION TO development-driven culture, it needs to
DESIRED STATUS
ensure the presence of the following factors:

51 DECEMBER 2015

An availability for change (perceived as
development) has to be present among
the ranks of the organisations personnel;
The change process must rely on a well-
established vision. An organisations
vision can be defined as the main goal and
it needs to be in direct connection with
the companys general objectives;
A transition from the current status to the
desired status, known as the conversion
level, which translates as the bridge
between the need for change and the
vision of the organisation;
The establishment of the transition
process as a permanent cultural element,
which solidifies the organisations interest
in promoting innovation and achieving
performance.
Management processes and actions, focused on
constant transition are the the most powerful
elements within Change Management Theory,
demonstrating results in multiple industry
sectors and organizational archetypes. The
consistent improvement of a companys
performance needs to rely on innovation. This
latter factor can only be obtained by undergoing
a cycle of steady and sustained shifts.
Therefore, organisational change (perceived
as development) is seen as a must in order
to reach further progress in todays business
world. Companies need to permanently
expand and if they wish to ensure a smooth
transition, an effective change management
strategy needs to be deployed.
Also, perpetual growth requires leadership
capabilities on behalf of a companys managing
staff, which need to be manifested in a
structured and development-oriented manner.
Leadership is thought to be the quintessential
requirement for the succesful implementation
of a change & improvement process.
John Kotter, a Harvard Business School
professor, defines leadership as being the
most important factor for implementing
progression. Considering his eight-step
theory for succesful change, leadership is
the only element directly influencing the
sucessful transition to a superior step.
A transitional process implicitly the actual change
process refered to as development, relies heavily on
leadership. This can be manifested in two different
ways: through pulling and pushing; each of the
two affect the transition process differently and
can have contrasting results, depending on each
organisations system.
STRATEGY AND BUSINESS PLANNING
A. The push method involves the passing of
information without soliciting opinions from
employees. Although this kind of approach
has short term results, it is not consistent with
an effective transitional process. A leadership
push method is an autocratic management
approach that cannot be considered as
a sustainable solution for implementing
development programs.
B. The pull method has the tendency to
reduce resistance to change from employees.
From a leadership perspective, pull methods
are considered to be desirable in long term
transition processes, oriented on development.
Pull methods generate win-win situations,
and are considered as being customary of
participative leaders who focus on people
management. Pull leadership in a change
scenario must focus on the contribution
brought by the enterprises management on the
changeover mechanism.
Considering the fact that constant shifts
are inevitable nowadays, leadership can be
seen as the key factor for enhancing business
processes, deploying development programs
and achieving superior performance
standards in a fluctuating environment.
Strong leaders are the backbone of any
reliable development process.
DECEMBER 2015 52
STRATEGY AND BUSINESS PLANNING
5 EMERGING MANUFACTURING TRENDS
TUDOR MODRUZ
T crucial development stage driven by modern trends.
he manufacturing industry is heading towards a
Production facilities have evolved from being dirty and
unsafe workplaces, into modern and sophisticated plants
with powerful technology and complex data systems. State-
of-the-art manufacturing systems have rendered human
intervention to mere button pressing at the beginning of the
production cycle.
The vast application of new technologies such as: Internet
of Things, SMAC Stack and Next-shoring are pushing
the concept of manufacturing to new heights. Advanced
technologies provide more speed and precision alongside
efficiency and flexibility to the production cycle. The
entire environment around a manufacturing plant is
undergoing important business transformations, which
are also influencing distributors and retailers. Shifting
consumer expectations determined a more aggressive and
competitive behavior among the entire supply
chain ecosystem.
53 DECEMBER 2015
The continuous shifting of labor demographics, combined
with todays tech development are steadily shaping a
new business model. In order to be economically stable,
retailers must find new paths to sell their products faster
and at affordable prices, which will make it so that
manufacturers produce more, with distributors having to
reduce their delivery times. Therefore, everyone through
the supply chain must adjust their business model to be
able to cope with consumer demands and expectations.
However, new options and strategies are emerging, which
will help supply chain stakeholders to remain viable
and active on the market. The following 5 upcoming
manufacturing trends are promising quick improvements
to each and every organization that is willing to embrace
them.
1. Internet of Things (IoT):
Is a cutting-edge manufacturing technology which
enables machines to connect and
communicate with each other
via an internet infrastructure,
designed by Freepik.com
 STRATEGY AND BUSINESS PLANNING

ultimately eliminating human intervention. Machines
can detect problems and send instant notifications to
other devices or users, calling for immediate action.
Implementing Internet of Things technology will result
in swift improvements for any manufacturing plants by
generating less waste, increasing quality and developing
greater visibility of the production cycle by using data
analytics.
2. SMAC Stack:
Represents the linked strategy of social, mobile, analytics and
cloud approach, an essential new technological toolkit for
improving organizational efficiency, customer engagement and
growth opportunity. Todays economic forces are pressuring
manufacturers to change their conservative approach of if
its not broken, dont fix it to a more modern, innovative one.
The tools offered by SMAC stack are of different importance to
different organizations, but its main objective remains helping
them increase production efficiency and results.
3. Social Media:
Represents the virtual network for peoples interactions
and opinions. Social media networking determined
organizations to become more consumer-oriented
and abandon the classical outdated business-to-
business model. Thanks to the evolving social network
environment, customers are able to search, compare and
purchase various products with just a few mouse clicks or
finger taps. Manufacturers must have an active presence
on these online platforms and use them for commercial
aims or for increasing the awareness of their brand and
products.
connectivity issues. Nowadays, cloud computing software
is reliable, safe and stable, which determined overseas
organizations to embrace them due to their efficiency and
quick access to information. By implementing this type
of technology, manufacturers will gain enhanced control
over the quality of data production, increase the speed of
production and eventually reduce costs.
Todays emerging technology is the cornerstone behind
the growth we are witnessing in the manufacturing
industries, and will play an even greater role in the future.
Early adopters of these revolutionary innovations will
have secured a strong position on the market, leaving
their competitors trailing until they realize that all the
above-mentioned developments will actually help them
survive. Whats more so, all this new technology shall
completely alter the manufacturing industry in the near
future, by further developing 3D printing to suit large
scale purposes, which will forever transform the way
companies design, manufacture and sell their products.
In addition, one must not forget that consumers are
becoming increasingly aware of the environment inside
the manufacturing department and of the fact that
companies can measure every aspect of the production
cycle, from inputs and outputs to waste and cost reduction.
As a result, they are demanding wider transparency from
a production, labor and cost standpoint, which in turn
puts great pressure on all supply chain stakeholders to
outperform their competitors.

4. Next-shoring:
Is the strategy of moving the production closer to the
end customer. Due to the need of a more specialized
workforce to handle todays modern equipment and the
continuous rise of wages in Asia, many organizations
are thinking about bringing the production plants closer
to the customer. Furthermore, the growing demand of
customers, combined with increased shipping costs and
the need to deliver products faster, made next-shoring a
viable development strategy to be taken into consideration.
Implementing this strategy will allow manufacturers
to substantially decrease the costs of shipping and
warehousing, by increasing product replenishment on the
retailers shelves.

5. Cloud Computing:
Represents an internet based technology that enables
connected devices to gather, manage and process data.
Some manufacturing sites are still concerned about using
cloud computing to store their data, fearing security and
designed by Freepik.com

DECEMBER 2015 54
 EVENTS
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
EMOTIONAL BRANDING OR
HOW TO ENGAGE CUSTOMERS EMOTIONALLY
ROXANA BARBU
D
o companies know how to engage their
customers? Or do they lose that battle in
front of their competitors, who sell the same
products and services? It is no secret that
customers emotionally filter what they buy
namely, if they like or appreciate something,
they will buy it. As such, companies should
be able to trigger positive emotions in their
clients and build strong connections with
them.
It is well-known that long-term relationships
are very hard to break and leave behind, but
this raises another question: how should
companies build a proper emotional
connection with their customers? One can
try many different methods for achieving
this goal but, from my perspective, the most
important are the following:
1. 5-D branding
For a long time, marketers created bi-
dimensional brands, focusing only on two
senses: sight and smell. But in this changing
business world, companies need to have a
greater sensory approach to include all five
senses: taste, smell, touch, sight and hearing.
Products or services which incorporate most
of the five senses have a larger success rate
on the market. Let us explain each of them:
Taste: Brands may find it difficult to
incorporate taste in their products, if
they are not fit for consumption and, as a
result, the food industry has a very solid
foothold in this area of expertise. The
products generated by this industry can
55 DECEMBER 2015
be sour, sweet or bitter the challenge lies
in forecasting the tastes which potential
customers may appreciate. After the taste
test, a client decides if an item is worth
his/her money, or not. In this case, the
emotional response triggered by their
sense of taste plays a big role.
Smell: Specialists estimate that 75% of
clients emotions are generated by what
they smell. It is a noteworthy trigger in
the emotional memory of a customer and
it may develop a willingness to buy large
quantities, repeatedly. The perfume and
food industries take advantage of the way
they can recreate this sensory addiction
and try to attract more clients by placing
their products in front of shops or in big
commercial venues, where their aromas
can charm more individuals.
Touch: Packaging is an essential element
for a product. Many customers want to
touch what they buy, to feel the shape
of the product held in their hands.
Some brands succeed in creating an
unforgettable package that even if broken,
can still be easily recognized. Many clients
consider this sense the most important
one after sight, because they can evaluate
goods via touch.
Sight: Brands focus their attention on
the image of their products or services:
shapes, colours, sizes, because they know
how important appearance is to their
clients. The first sense used by customers,
 when checking out a product is sight. If a
product has an innovative design and the
right hues, then the chances to be bought
by prospective clients will increase. A
very important element to be taken
into consideration is the colour used
on packages or in the logos. All brands
know that coloration can trigger different
emotional responses in a clients mind
and influence moods and behaviours. For
example, red makes clients feel energized
and alert, blue means peace, sincerity and
confidence, green stands for nature and
life and so forth. It is crucial for brands
to use the right colour in their logos and
products in order to communicate the
most suitable message for their buyers.
Sound: This sense can trigger many
emotional retorts in a client. Sounds can
make him smile or cry, thus generating
a plethora of emotions from happiness
and fascination to sadness and boredom.
Customers like to listen to music, dance
or even play an instrument and in this
way, brands can leverage an advantage
in their own favour, by using specific and
unique sounds to win over clients.
2. Building trust
The second method for creating a strong
emotional connection with clients is by
meeting their expectations. This way, they
garner fidelity for your brand and trust it.
If a brand has quality products or services
and it is client-oriented, then the company
becomes more trustworthy and reliable.
Although these elements cannot be obtained
overnight, that firm may gain respect and
loyalty from their customers in time by
being patient and strengthening its existing
patterns, if they prove successful.
3. Triggering positive emotions
When a customer buys a product, the entire
process is filtered through his emotions. If
he/she loves a brand, then he/she will buy
its products or services, no matter what. A
company should focus on this aspect and
make people need its products. A brand
must stimulate emotions like amazement,
joy, happiness, surprise, curiosity and
satisfaction, in relation to the companys
products. It is not easy, but its vital for a
company to do this and the straightway is by
creating innovative products and services.
By using a full sensory palette in a product,
being creative and meeting clients
expectations, brands are able to build strong
emotional connections with their clients,
ties which are very difficult to break. Any
business triggering positive emotional
responses in their customers can become
a dominant force on the market and,
consequently, their return on investment
will be increased. A more humanized brand
can create a closer relationship with its
customers, it can empathize with them, and
offer well-suited products for the market.
By combining these factors, it is safe to
assume that any company will be well on its
way to becoming a market leader.
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
THE CHALLENGES IN BUILDING AN EMPLOYEE
PERFORMANCE CENTERED ECOSYSTEM
MARIUS BOGHIAN
I one
have recently had a discussion with
Human Resources representative,
looking to recalibrate the KPIs for
employees in his company, in order to get
a more accurate representation of their
performances. As the discussion went on, it
turned out to be a far more exciting project
than a simple implementation of KPIs across
the organization.
Both for this company and for others, the
actual challenges theyre facing are typically
related to a wider range of aspects - from
employee retention and talent acquisition,
to covering the skills gap needed to design
a work environment suitable for reaching
higher levels of engagement.
57 DECEMBER 2015
Having KPIs in place is not the all-in-one
solution. Basically, KPIs provide the snapshot
of your current performance. By measuring
and comparing it to the set targets, you add just
one piece of a complex organizational puzzle.
Now that you have the results, the real question
is: what will you do with them?
This is where all major stakeholders, from
CEOs to line managers, come and take their
share of responsibility to build an employee
performance centered ecosystem. It simply isnt
limited to just another HR responsibility.
Together with a robust and unbiased use of key
performance management tools (strategy maps,
scorecards, dashboards, KPIs, performance
designed by Freepik.com
discussions and evaluations etc.), organizations
have to put in place and align all the others
pieces of the puzzle, such as their compensation
and benefits system, rewards system, talent and
leadership management strategies, learning
and development frameworks and so on,
in order to consolidate their human capital
quality, engagement and retention plans and
moreover, their availability for future growth.
Putting head to head the findings of large scale
reports, such as the Global Human Capital Trends
in 2015, Global Talent Management Rewards
Study (2014) or Global Workforce Study (2014),
significant similarities come to surface, especially
regarding the concerns and challenges faced by
companies in their endeavors to create a stable

and sustainable performance ecosystem. Some of
these challenges:
Are directly linked with employee
performance practices;
Have a direct impact on organizational
growth, on the long run;
Seem to now be a part of the HR and the
Top Management strategic objectives.
A shift in driving sustainable employee
performance
As seen in various research articles and also
highlighted by the Global Human Capital
Trends in 2015 report, evaluating employees
against some meaningless targets is not
enough to support a performance culture.
Numbers carry their own weight, but they
are limited when talking about unleashing
an employees latent potential.
This is why performance discussions with
direct and real-time feedback focused on
developing employee potential are the
new tools to be used for linking employee
aspirations to organizational goals and
strategies. Of course, we still need to monitor
results, but it serves no purpose to wait six
months until the next round of appraisals
for outperformers, or reassessments for
underperformers. Waiting too much could
be interpreted as a sign of acceptance of
low performance, which in turn leads to the
demotivation of high achievers. There is an
explicit need for managers to differentiate
between employees in their efforts to
cultivate performance and reward it.
Rewards vs compensation
One of the tendencies noticed by the
Global Talent Management and Rewards
Study (2014) was related to level of rewards
for employees with outstanding results
(exceeding or far exceeding their targets)
that arent significantly different when
compared to the ones for average and low
performers. As such, it is not surprising to
read that more than half of the total 1,600
organizations participating in the study
declared having problems in retaining high-
potential employees and top performers.
One solution for this might be to give
managers access to discretionary budgets,
which will place them in a suitable position
to reward outstanding performances
throughout the year, thus stimulating a very
good practice. At the same time, you get
to maintain a differentiation mechanism
between the compensation system, and
each specific performance discussion and
evaluation, which will serve to underline the
new organizational focus.
Retention, a challenge in keeping the
highly qualified personnel in-house
A well thought-out career planning
structure, where job architecture is combined
with specific competences requirements -
adapted to different positions, levels and
overall talent mobility, becomes a key driver
in fostering retention in a global context,
characterized by volatile labor market. Just
above 40% out of the 32,000 employees
surveyed in the Global Workforce Study
(2014) see their organization as doing a good
job at retaining highly qualified employees.
In a very interesting comparison between
retention drivers, from an employers vs an
employees perspective, one can isolate some
very clear indicators that should draw more
attention from organizations:
Retention Drivers
Employee
Salary
Career advancement opportunities
Trust/Confidence in senior leadership
Job security
Length of commute
Relationship with supervisor/manager
Manage/limit work-related stress
Source: Global Workforce Study (2014)
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT
While net payment, as a reflection of rank,
together with a constant influx of promotion
opportunities are commonly seen as
premier work stability factors from both
perspectives, the differences start appearing
from the 3rd point onwards.
One of the starkest differences is the length
of commute factor: while seen as important
by employees, it was not even identified
by employers as being a valid driver. To a
large extent, length of commute could be
associated with a high awareness-over-time
value, related to work costs. Metaphorically
speaking, it is part of the price paid for
getting a salary and, as time goes on -
employees, as well as organizations, tend to
become more and more cost efficient.
Another difference we can see is the learning
and development opportunities answer on
behalf of the employees and the prospect of
challenging work, supported by employers.
Its not that employees no longer appreciate
L&D initiatives; they are simply more and
more interested in their effectiveness and
ROI over their work.
By crossing these findings with the
information in the above-mentioned studies,
I noticed some interesting trends on the
redesign of internal learning experiences,
which are aimed at addressing an employees
needs for development, and avoiding critical
skills shortages in the medium and long run.
In my next article, the L&D challenge in
creating a performance ecosystem will
be scrutinized, alongside another subject
of interest: the key role of leadership
and management in sustaining a solid
performance infrastructure and building
up success.
Employer
Salary
Career advancement opportunities
Relationship with supervisor/manager
Manage/limit work-related stress
Learning and development opportunities
Short-term incentives
Challenging work
DECEMBER 2015 58
EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

Some of the most frequently mentioned traits

identified by researchers, characterizing
these difficult personalities are: negativity,

MANAGING DIFFICULT unsociability, exploitation, victimization,

indifference andnarcissism. As per Kaye and

EMPLOYEES Loehrs interpretation, the most demanding

employee profiles are as follows:

A topnotch leadership skill The AWOL:

This type of employee neglects his/
her job, by constantly forgetting
important tasks, having things come
CEZARINA BARBIERU up at the last minute, being often late
or even disappearing altogether. His/
her deadlines are missed, tasks remain
unfinished and tensions rise among
the rest of the staff, because everyone
knows that somebody has to cover his/
her duties again and again;

The Grumbler:
It is very hard to communicate
with The Grumbler in an office
environment, and even outside it.
They constantly complain about
everything and their tasks hardly meet
the deadlines. Most often, a grumbler
squashes not only a teams enthusiasm,
but also kills every good idea with his/
her negative feedback;

The Rude-nik:
Raised voice, hissy fits, name-calling,
rudeness, aggressiveness, all of
these are the gifts such a person
shares with his/her teammates at the

N difficult-employees challenge, in which their managerial skills

owadays, more and more entrepreneurs have to undertake the workplace. Difficulties arise especially
when trying to communicate with a
will be thoroughly tested. Rude-nik, since this tends to flare up
his/her arrogance.
Although it is believed that their workplace can staunchly defend
itself against such a trial by permanently developing and nurturing The Wallflower:
a strong organizational culture, characterized by transparency, there Usually it is hard to say if this type of
are many different and trying personalities you have to keep track of person is either extremely insecure,
so as not to end this process in failure. extremely shy or simply not interested
in being proactive at work. This
To help out busy managers handle difficult employees, Jezra Kaye and employee may be found sitting alone
Anne Loehr wrote Managing the Unmanageable: How to Motivate even at lunch and not willing to build a
Even the Most Unruly Employee. The book does not only present relationship with teammates. In time, it
strategies for dealing with the difficult-employees challenge, but gets too difficult to communicate and
also states the most commonly known types of employees that can work with this individual, especially
found in almost every organization. As we all know, difficult people when a leader tries to develop a
can negatively impact team performance. A good business leader teamwork spirit.
has to develop the right skills in order to manage the unmanageable
employees and help his/her company steer towards success.

59 DECEMBER 2015
 EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The aforementioned characters are the

most nerve-racking types of personalities a
manager and his fellow staff have to handle
in their day-to-day activities. Naturally, a
company which has well-established goals
and provides a strong organizational culture
usually does not encounter this issue, but
it is commonly known that difficult people
have a way of showing up everywhere.

Coming to the managers aid, Jezra Kaye

and Anne Loehr identified the so called 5
Cs, five strategies that will aid leaders in
developing the right skills:

Commit or Quit
Choose to either take on the
challenge of managing the person
in a different way or simply quit.
You have to take into account both
alternatives and choose the one that
bring less harm to your company.

Communicate
Having an honest conversation with
that specific employee is mandatory
in identifying the problem. Usually
these types of conversation include
clarifying organizational goals, job
role and engagement.

Clarify Goals and Roles

Although employees often think
they know what it is expected of
them, managers quickly realize
their employees did not accurately
understand the right goals they
should be aiming for and roles they
should be filling.

Coach
This is a strong management tool,
which allows managers to deal
with difficult employees behavior,
changing it so that they become designed by Freepik.com
engaged at the workplace.

Create Accountability
Take some time to create a trust-
based relationship with your
employees and a strong management
system, where everyone can improve
at their own individual pace.
Overall, managing difficult employees
is never straightforward and it can take
years to develop these skills. But when
leaders identify the hardships facing
each employee, we can safely assume that
a step has already been made towards
finding a solution. The best business
leaders will always act for the good of the
company, in order to generate the most
beneficial workplace environment.

DECEMBER 2015 60
 EVENTS
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
WHY DOES IT TAKE MY BANK
90 DAYS TO APPROVE A LOAN?
MARCELA PRESECAN
T keep
here are two major components that
banking operations spinning:
deposits and loans. However, battles
are never carried out for deposits. The
banking industry is all about lending.
Observers, however, cant but notice the
irony. It is loans that yield the highest
profits for banks, but they can also be a
banks premier cause for financial failure
and risk. Therefore, a banks ability to
manage the performance of its lending
operations is what dictates its place and
position on the market. So how should a
bank manage its lending operations, and
for what purposes?
$ banks exposure to risk;
$ time and, therefore, increase customer
61 DECEMBER 2015
How?
By selecting the right KPIs to analyze the
performance of lending processes;
By making use of the adequate KPI
selection techniques;
By maximizing the balance between
qualitative and quantitative KPIs;
By constantly monitoring the performance
of lending operations;
By regularly recalibrating the lending
performance framework and continuously
adapting to the shifts in the banking
industry.
For what purposes?
Effective loan operations can reduce a
Educated front office personnel can
reduce the paperwork turnaround
satisfaction with the banks service levels;
Efficient back office analysis contributes
to the optimization of lending process
flows;
Quality lending services can minimize
the risk for loan defaults and favor the
reputational index of the bank.
Someone told me the other day: It takes 90
days for a mortgage loan to be approved in
our country. How can we reduce this time
from 90 days to 14 days? 14 days sounds
better, doesnt it?
There can be multiple causes to this
extended loan approval cycle time, and the
most straightforward of them is the process
itself. So, the first thing we can do is set an
objective to improve the process, which
in this case would mean enhancing the
lending, approval and disbursement times.
We can use indicators to assess the actual
performance of lending operations, and
thereon, set targets for these performance
variables that help us improve the overall
mechanism.
So, in this case, the objective is simple:
Expedite the lending approval process.
Some of the KPIs that can help support
this objective are as simple as: # Retail
loan processing cycle time and % Past due
loan approvals. The first KPI helps me
calculate an average against the minimum
and maximum loan-processing times. The
second KPI tells me how many of the loan
applications submitted for approval are
past due.
Self-assessment is often the first step towards
improvement. And if I were a bank I would
first want to know if I indeed have a problem
with my lending processes in terms of loan

processing time. By calculating the average
loan processing time and comparing it with
national benchmarks, I can easily figure out
whether my loan approval time is within or
outside of boundaries.
By balancing the # Retail loan processing cycle
time with % Past due loan approvals, I can get
an account of both the amount of time it takes
the bank to approve a loan and the quality of
the loan approval process by calculating the
percentage of loans submitted for approval that
are considered past due.
If the % Past due loan approvals are starting
to weigh heavily on my lending operations,
this either means that my loan-related
activities are inefficient or that my target
for loan approval time is not properly
set. Setting unrealistic targets can have
damaging outcomes, especially when they
are not properly documented.
By using the Balanced Scorecard approach, I
can cluster this objective under the internal
processes perspective and complement
it with a couple of other goals such as
ensuring portfolio growth and achieving
compliance with regulations. Setting KPIs
for these other two objectives ensures that,
as far as my internal processes go, I am not
only expediting the loan approval time, but
I am also trying to ensure portfolio growth
to keep my operations going and attain
compliance with regulations to reduce
aversion to risk.
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT
designed by Freepik.com
In conclusion
Why use a Balanced Scorecard approach to optimize lending
operations? Here are a few benefits:
The Balanced Scorecard provides executives with an
architecture that translates the organizations strategic
objectives into a coherent set of measures that drive
performance;
It allows companies to compare past results with
current ones and set performance targets for future
achievements;
It emphasizes the importance of cascading strategic
objectives to business units and further down, up
until the individual level, while suggesting the need
for a compensation system that links individual-
related measures to strategic ones;
To complement the financial perspective, the
Balanced Scorecard introduces three additional non-
financial measurement categories, which help provide
an extended view on performance;
The major strength of the Balanced Scorecard is that
it molds together business vision with strategy, while
ensuring companywide acceptance of the enabled
performance measures to achieve the overall desired
state of performance;
By analyzing Balanced Scorecard results, performance
committees can identify causes for underperformance
and suggest solutions for improvement.
DECEMBER 2015 62
PERFORMANCE MEASUREMENT

GAME MEASUREMENT
A recipe for success
TUDOR MODRUZ

T
he most popular sport worldwide,
attracting millions of fans, beliefs and
emotions each year, is without any doubt
soccer. Even if soccer is the most loved
sport in the world and people involved
spend millions of dollars on everything
related to it, making a quantitative
performance analysis still represents
a challenge because of the tactical
complexity and disrupted movements of
the ball throughout a match.
Other appreciated sports like basketball
or handball, can develop complex
measuring systems to reveal each and
everyones contribution to the final result
due to the fact that there are fewer players
on the court/pitch during a game.
Now, although soccer games dont rack
up numbers, since the whole team
collaboratively works for a mere few goals,
in-depth and complex measurements can
still be generated for every game, since
stats like shots on target, recoveries and
successful passes typically are not a great
amount of information to be scrutinized
and can prove to be a useful tool when
gauging player performance or post-
match analysis.
Moreover, the crucial aspect of winning
is achieved by the degree of cohesion
and individual performance of all the
players in a team. Therefore, players roles
and abilities are mixed together with
the hope of achieving positive results.
Combined player attributes bring value
to the overall performance of the team.
The real dimension of a soccer players
performance is misleading, because
individual performance can be masked
by the teams strategy; scoring and
assisting have different measurements
but those count less when taking into
consideration specific objectives that
each team has in mind. As an example,
an individually-gifted player may wish to
undertake a risky play, which might net
him a flashy goal but can also backfire and
result in loss of pressure. This is known
by the coaching staff, who instruct him to
perform team-focused plays; ultimately,
his own performance measurement may
come out a bit on the thin side, but it may
be what it takes for his team to win.
Monitoring players performance
during training sessions enhances staff
knowledge about the current team
and player situation and helps coaches
improve individual preparation sessions
in accordance with what is needed.

Coach observes

Athlete performs Performance analysed Coach plans practice Coach conducts practice

Related to
past performance

Figure 1. Diagram adapted from Franks et al. (1983) representing the coaching process
Over the last years, various soccer analysis systems
have emerged on the market, each one offering
different statistical information:
Basic game systems simply analyses the match
in real or recorded time, generating basic data
inputs for statistical information like tackles,
passes, number of goals;
Video montage software gives coaches the
opportunity to slice a match in parts and create
a highlights video with the most significant bits
of it, thus being able to extract and visualize
the information they want. This measurement
is known as a digital time code, and specific
match events such as goals, tackles or passes are
recorded exactly when they occur;
You always have to be at the top of your game and youre always improving because
of the people around you. I train the way I do every day because in the end, I love what
I do. When Im having a rough day, I remind myself how great my job is.
Shannon Boxx, 2008 interview
Modern digital cameras, sensitive pads and
voice recognition systems, which can be
connected to a computer-based software
solution have made data input speedier and
more precise, leaving less room for errors. But
this entire system relies on a match analyst, who
ultimately can press a wrong button and mess
up a player or a teams statistical performance.
This kind of mistakes led to the development
of next level of soccer performance monitoring,
made by advanced systems which automatically
input data for each player on the field;
Cutting-edge computerized systems that will
automatically calculate the position of a player
and track his movements, are growing in
importance nowadays. These type of systems
require the installation of many high resolution
video cameras, in order to cover the entire pitch
so that each players position and movement is
always recorded, since every single device has
a different color assigned to it. Players
color distinction, complex trigonometry,
mathematical algorithms and digital video/image
processing techniques provide a higher degree of
accuracy for performance measurement, because
it attempts to avoid other moving objects like
referees, substitutes or staff members;
Global Positioning Systems could represent
the next big thing in sports. By implementing
a GPS-based system which will analyze a
match or training sessions performance, we
can create real-time, physical activity profiles
for players, offering coaches the possibility
of having an instant change to an event on
the field. GPS systems have the advantage
of being extremely accurate if the portable
GPS sensor if mounted on a player. Due to
the high impacts often received in soccer, the
microchip transmitters may break unless they
are robust or well-protected. These performance
measurements can provide detailed comparisons
between players, enhancing team selection and
development, allowing players to be assigned to
their most valuable role or detecting a particular
weakness in his game performance and calculate
the best possible training program to improve it.
The data produced by measurements must somehow
be easily and safely stored. Modern databases allow
storing, retrieving and comparing data in a professional
and efficient manner. The whole game can then be
reconstructed in 2D/3D format for in-depth staff analysis.
This allows the coach to visualize the movements of
his players, linked to the video of the game, enabling a
powerful way of evaluating and understanding tactical,
technical and physical performance, which in the end
leads to further improvement.
DECEMBER 2015 64
 EVENTS
INNOVATION PERFORMANCE
EVALUATION OF RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT
AND ENGINEERING THROUGH KPIS
ANDRADA IULIA GHETE
K research efforts, and are strongly related to the goals
ey Performance Indicators (KPIs) affect decisions,
of the RD&E activity, as they can differ based on the
type of project they are used for, e.g. applied projects,
research explorations, and so on.
When considering applied projects, the KPIs which
relate to market outcomes like customer satisfaction,
for example are only considered to be relevant if they
are adjusted through corporate subsidies. In addition
to this, for those programs that nurture technological
competencies, regular KPIs should be moderated with
effort KPIs. Hence, in order to achieve good results,
one should balance market-outcome KPIs with those
that measure research effort more directly.
Research, Development and Engineering (RD&E) KPIs
represent important building blocks for a companys
success, due to multiple reasons such as:
Documentation of the RD&E value and justification
of investments;
Evaluation of people, objectives and programs for
ensuring proper resource allocation;
Behavioral influence.
65 DECEMBER 2015
designed by Freepik.com
When RD&E staff is being evaluated according to
specific KPIs, they take decisions or change their
behavior in order to improve performance results. It is
very important to choose the right KPIs for evaluating
performance, as wrong KPIs can be counterproductive.
Furthermore, your time frame must be scheduled
clearly, so that long-term goals do not collide with and/
or collapse over short-term ones.
Moreover, managers and researchers have stated that
in order to succeed, the RD&E department should be
more customer-driven. Therefore, it is recommended
to use KPIs which measure outcomes and relate to
incremental profit, sales or customer satisfaction.
In addition, managers should ensure a proper balance
between the scientific, engineering and processing
efforts and also among efforts and outcomes. Effort
KPIs can be related to publications and patents; as
such, in order for companies to increase the relevancy
of their performance results we recommend using a
combination of effort KPIs.
Consequently, the best performance management system
in RD&E uses a synthesis of effort and outcome KPIs.
Moreover, it guides the RD&E actors to spend their resources
wisely on both internal ideas and external explorations.
WHAT DO A VIDEO GAME AND AN
MBA PROFESSOR HAVE IN COMMON?
DIANA ZARNESCU
A teaching experience designed a business
n MBA professor with over 30 years of
strategy video game. Students playing it for 9
hours scored almost the same performance
results as students who underwent 9 hours
of classroom activities.
The online environment is spreading its
influence further and further into areas which
were previously believed to be unsuitable for
the virtual sector. In education, for example,
a computer can replace many elements and
tools, but can it also successfully replace the
wise guidance of a teacher? However, time
and performance requirements turn such
environments into fertile grounds for the
assimilation of internet-based teaching tools
with conventional educational processes.
And so it got to the point that the question is
no longer that of switching to the online, but
of how to do it in the proper manner?
By adding knowledge, skills and a bucketful
of creativity, John Beck, Ph. D. Professor
at the Hult International Business School
with over 30 year of teaching experience
behind him, designed a video game entitled
One Day that teaches the same business
strategies as a real, flesh and blood professor.
Preliminary results
The game has been tested on a group of
41 students and, surprisingly enough,
the scores received by students following
traditional teaching methods were the same,
more or less, with the results obtained by
students who played the video game.
More specifically, the test was fitted with 3
sections: a multiple choice exercise, an
interview and a written case study.
Traditional students failed to score
better at the multiple choice
exercise, as gamers took the
lead and held their position
throughout the interview
section too, when both groups averaged the
same results. However, upon reaching the case
study, traditional students took the lead again.
In numbers, Beck reported in his article, The
videogame that teaches business strategy
better than professors, that average test
scores rose from 47% to 77% and not only
did the game teach students as effectively as
a real-life professor, it also engaged them.
Thus, students (67%) admitted that they
would definitely attend a school which
offered this type of learning, while another
76% would love working for a company
which provided training based on the same
technology.
Overall, its quite surprising how the first
version of a strategy game can prove to be
as useful and thorough as a complete MBA
course, taught in one of the highest ranking
business schools in the world.
So what does the game do?
The project is entitled One Day and it
represents Hult Schools first shot ever
at online education. Needless to say that
for a first go, this project proved not only
innovative and creative, but also very
fruitful.
The reason why this method turned such good
results is, as Stephen Hodges, Hult President,
disclosed for Bloomber Business, Online
programs seem to be either outdated or trying
to replicate a classroom experience. No one is
really developing a new pedagogy that wouldnt
be possible in the classroom.
The structure followed by the game is roughly
based on the course that Joh Beck, as an active
professor, taught at Hult Business School.
Primarily, the game imagines a business
scenario in an airport where strategic
decisions have to be taken according to the
given reports, data and interactions with
different characters. As a side note, one
must know that all these factors are liable to
change as the players strategy alters.
Consequences and future actions
Teachers will not be replaced by technology,
or not in the immediate future, at least. But, as
Beck also underlines, just because nowadays
technology can be programmed to achieve in 6
months what a human learns to do in, lets say,
30 years, is no reason to be apprehensive.
These types of resources must be exploited
to our own benefit. In this case, teachers
can rely on technological advances to teach
students the basics, while they can focus
more and more on truly significant and
useful aspects of education, such as real life
situations, demonstrations etc.
In conclusion, what made this online
educational experience better than others
alike is that it didnt try to mimic a classroom
environment or anything else that can be
done within. Its among the few official tools
which actually leverage on their uniqueness
and overcome any conventional teaching
techniques and mechanisms.
But overall, what truly sets the One
Day game apart is its end-user
result: almost the same as the
results of an MBA teacher with 30
years of teaching experience.
designed by Freepik.com
DECEMBER 2015 66
 PERFORMANCE
EVENTS IMPROVEMENT
LEADERS, LIFE-CYCLES AND PERFORMANCE
ANDREI COSTEA
W results,
hen it comes to achieving the best
we often strive to perform
with utmost efficiency. As such, for
many individuals, these two concepts are
interchangeable. But on whose shoulders does
the burden of performance and efficiency
rest? On the employees or on the managers?
For quite some time, the general solution
was to make it an even relationship, in
which both of the aforementioned parties
split the task. But in the eyes of a few,
leaders tend to take the lions share, due to
their enhanced influence over the life cycles
of a company. This should not be taken as
an affront by the former; employees are a
big part of the whole, but we mustnt turn
a blind eye to the effort of the manager,
administrator, director and so forth. This
was especially emphasized in Lawrence
M. Millers 1989 work, From Barbarians to
Bureaucrats, and mentioned in Richard L.
Dafts 1992 piece, Organizational Theory
67 DECEMBER 2015
and Design. Both of these books explore
the organizational life cycles of various
companies, detailing on how to deal with
the intricacies of each in part, in order to
obtain maximum performance. Most often
than not, a company goes through the
same steps birth, youth, midlife, maturity
and, in some unfortunate cases, decline.
In Millers opinion, each step is led by a
different leader, with his own mindset.
At birth, the company is managed by
a Prophet, who is a visionary. For him,
performance means simply getting started
as soon as possible.
When it reaches its youth, Barbarians,
Builders and Explorers take hold, craving
for new ideas, new markets. Profits
arise and focus shifts less on revving the
engine and more on how it performs.
Performance here equals planning and
building a clear structure.
Upon hitting midlife, these aforementioned
types converge as one the Administrator,
whose focus is on maximizing performance
and efficiency via fact-based research and
in-depth market studies, making full use
of profit.
As it matures, the company tends
to acquire more and more physical,
financial and social capital, paving the
way for the Bureaucrat. When we speak
of performance in this case, we mean an
even greater focus on efficiency and cost-
cutting, a bit less on clients, new products
or markets and a somewhat overly
organized structure rears its head.
Miller also mentions two other types of
leaders, one which has nothing to do with
performance (the Aristocrat) and one which
is the ideal type (the Synergist), balancing
social, economic and physical performance/
output. A brief description of the latter

ensues below, as the former has no relevance
to this topic.
The Synergist is what Miller sees as
being the ideal type of leader. He is a
leader who has escaped his or her own
conditioned tendencies toward one style and
incorporated, appreciated and unified each
of the styles of leadership on the life-cycle
curve. He is described as having great spirit,
specialized competence, a clear purpose,
creativity, being an efficient administrator
and understanding basic concepts such
as planned urgency, making on-the-spot
decisions, leading through unity and diversity
(of people and ideas) and responding to
challenges with appropriate answers.
These are the traits which are required
of company leaders in order to ensure
maximum business performance and it is a
very compelling argument for success.
Although different from Millers approach,
45%
Daft offers us a similar life-cycle curve,
with companies going from birth, to youth,
midlife and maturity. Size changes, going
from small to medium, large and very large;
it passes from a non-bureaucratic stage to a
heavily bureaucratic one, as time goes by;
division of labor becomes more and more
structured, centralization as well from a
one-person rule to a top-heavy management.
Formalization and administrative intensity
go hand in hand: the greater the company,
the more formal its administration becomes.
Internal systems of budget planning and
control and HR coordination teams spawn,
trying to counter and break down the
massive administrative behemoth which has
taken residence in the company.
Now, one can infer from the aforementioned
aspects that leadership and an astute
understanding of organizational life-
cycles make up a solid combination for
performance management. As mentioned
PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENT
earlier, employees are the heart, veins and
arteries of the company; they power it
through the years and any hardships. At the
same time, leaders are the central nervous
system; without a clear comprehension
of what they are supposed to achieve and
what effects their decisions are enacting
on the companys well-being, the fruits of
performance will not be reaped.
Performance management is a much more
complex topic than most people give it
credit for, and more often than not, most of
it has to do with decisions undertaken by
managers, directors etc. Raising or cutting
salaries, expanding its customer base,
reaching out for new products, markets or
alliances these all stem from leadership.
If it does not have a clear understanding of
its goal, objectives, identity and standing,
the company will run with its blinders on
and performance no matter how great the
effort, will still elude it.
DECEMBER 2015 68
 EVENTS
RISK MANAGEMENT
PRISONS
The risk management experts
DIANA ZARNESCU
W systems,
hen setting up risk management
managers often regard
models provided by other organizations,
for best practice examples. However, risk
management is sensitive to its surrounding
environment. What works for one
organization, might not function just as well
for another, of a different nature.
Fortunately though, there is one type of
organization that will always place risk
management above other departments,
no matter the variations in its nature,
surroundings or other variables: these are
penal institutions, or prisons.
Whether a prison achieves its mission
successfully, or fails to do so, is heavily
dependent on how it manages risk. Prisons
69 DECEMBER 2015
are regarded as providers of security, both for
the outside environment (which is little or not
at all related to the prison itself), but also to its
inhabitants (staff and inmates), whose safety
depends on the programs and measures the
organization implements.
Moreover, its mission does not end once
an inmate returns to society, as prisons
also need to control the risk of criminal
recidivists through education, professional
trainings and consultations, in addition
to continuous supervision. For all of these
reasons, and more, prisons become the
organization to look at, when designing a risk
management system. Such a system does not
rely on building a strategy to avoid risk, but
rather on gaining control over the interplay
between progress, opportunity and risk.
Creating a program designed to manage risk
represents the first systematic and organized
approach to taking control of something that
is, by its nature, unpredictable, uncontrollable
and, often enough, unknown. Such a program
can provide premature signals of warning, in
case any dangers lurk around the organization
or, on a more positive spectrum, it can draw
attention to the right moment to seize an
opportunity for change and development,
which are both considered as risks themselves.
When situations arise and organization,
prisons in this case, do not control them, the
outcomes might affect the achievement of
their mission, alongside putting a toll on their
top resources. The means which support jails
consist in human and financial resources,
property, partners and reputation, as the

US Department of Justice mentions, in its
Managing risk in jails report.
Key resources and risk management
In order to preserve and enhance their key
resources, high-performing correction facilities
follow a risk management system which signals
when it becomes high-time to take a risk. Thus,
as the US Department of Justice explains,
prisons follow a set of risk management
guidelines for each established resource:
Property: by making plans in advance,
an organization rests assured that at least
their basic operations can still be carried
on. Theyve also taken measures to reduce
the impact natural calamities, such as
earthquakes or floods, might have on their
assets, and the risk of being vandalized by
increasing the lighting. Duplicates of crucial
documents prevent information loss;
Human resources: safety training ensure
that both inmates and personnel know
how to prevent or control accidents,
injuries and other forms of confrontation;
Financial resources: risk management
here basically focuses on making sure that
the organization is eligible for funding, in
the eventuality that it will lose its income
sources;
Partners: cooperation with other organizations
that follow a similar agenda to theirs can lead to
mutual improvement solutions;
Reputation: by training more staff to
represent the organization, and not just the
spokesperson, the prisons public image
will have less to suffer.
As it is clearly visible by glancing over these
risk management strategies employed by
jails, such facilities are little or no different
from other organizations. As such, what
they apply and implement within, can also
be integrated in unrelated companies.
Risk management issues and strategies
Every organization is split into several
functional areas or departments, for better
administrative management. And so are jails.
Thus, according to the Federal performance-
based detention standards, each functional
area, belonging to a prison facility, has assigned
to it goals, possible risk events, consequences,
triggering factors, and strategies which address
effects caused by risks.
The procedure is not meant to be an
exhaustive list of possible risks for jails, but
rather an instrument which reveals the link
between the organizations mission, goals
and risk management.
To better illustrate the link and the procedure,
the functional area of Safety is detailed
below, with risks and strategies included,
as noted in the Federal performance-based
detention standards report:
Functional area 1: Safety
Goal: provide a safe work environment for jail
staff, volunteers, contractors, and inmates.
Risk events: accidents with human
damages, accidents with property damages,
illnesses, breeches in the jails legal duty to
provide care and protection to inmates.
Consequences of risk events: injury,
illnesses, death, health care expenses,
damage to property, loss of employees,
lawsuits, expenses for repairs,
unavailability of damaged assets, revenue
loss, reputation loss.
Sources of risk: Here, the report details
each source, such as chemicals, explosions,
biological hazards and so forth, each
RISK MANAGEMENT
source containing further details on what
may the triggering factors.
Risk control strategies: Probably the most
important aspect of a risk management
plan, this section entails the actions needed
in order to maintain and increase the safety
degree of the facility. The strategies, however,
are linked to the potential risks mentioned.
Some of the strategies, in this case, are
keeping the facility clean, free of vermin, in
good repair, managing hazardous materials,
and develop emergency plans.
Thus, with enough consistency and
dedication, these simple enumerations of
factors transform into a risk management
program. The benefits of such a plan are, but
not limited to, the following:
It demonstrates top managements support
for risk management;
It ensures that the organization holds
a systematic and functional strategy to
respond to certain events, which may be
potentially perilous;
Assigns responsibility and accountability;
Promotes a risk management culture;
Enhances budgeting prioritization;
By measuring goals and KPIs, the success
of such efforts can be demonstrated;
Provides a reference source for personnel.
It is not only recommended, but it is also
highly important that, when designing a risk
management plan, an organization should
not be blindfolded to other organizations
practices in this segment. As such, jails are the
best benchmarking tools because for this type
of institution, risk management is actually a
days worth of work.
DECEMBER 2015 70
ASK THE EXPERTS

WHICH DATA MATTERS THE MOST?

ASK THE EXPERTS
CRISTINA TARTA, HEAD OF RESEARCH

T important factor, shaping societies and economies

he evolution of technology has always been an
alike. If a few decades ago, managers were forced to trust
their instincts and experience when creating customer
profiles, nowadays access to that type of data can be
attained instantly with the right technology.
1.
Today, the challenges lies not in getting information
about your businesss overall performance, but in
spotting what matters the most in an ocean of data!
In 2012, a research study initiated by The Economist
Intelligence Unit indicated that 40% of executives were
complaining about having too much data and the
difficulties this generated in regards to decision-making
and planning.
2.
The massive amount of information you are able to obtain
today can help professionals spot opportunities or threats
beforehand and take preemptive actions, or they can get lost
in details and lose the big picture altogether.
each company, but there are several approaches that proved
to be effective in practice, by feeding the right information
for decision-making:
Data that matters for your business should be reflected
in a performance scorecard through KPIs. An annual
strategic planning process should ensure not only that
your business objectives are achievable and relevant, but it
should also set in place the KPIs used to effectively monitor
them. Given the tight relationship between objectives and
KPIs, it is important to ensure that strategic objectives are
based on true value drivers for your business.
Keep the strategic scorecard focused on the big picture try
to cover all the important aspects in the Balanced Scorecard
(financial, customer, internal processes and people), but
limit the number of KPIs.

In this great expanse of data, popular management

3.
tools that keep executives focused on the companys
strategy and development are Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs).
The performance scorecard
enables policy formulation and
keeps the board of directors with
the eyes on the prize further
improving their company.
4.
However, organizations
worldwide regardless
of their business sector,
have felt at a certain
5.
moment in time that
their current KPIs
have lost any intrinsic
essence they had and
are no longer key.
Selecting the right KPIs
from a vast amount of
business metrics is quite
the task and no off-the-
shelf list of KPIs for your
industry will fix this issue.
There is no standard
answer in terms of which
data is important for
Key from Key Performance Indicators is not defined
by how complicated the calculation formula is or whether
it measures an outcome instead of a process. Key refers
to being relevant to the objective measured, so that it offers
managers all the information they require in order to make
informed and correct decisions.
All other metrics that may be important can be monitored
in a dashboard. They can provide further details on the
businesss environment.
As the business evolves, KPIs should as well. Even if
some strategic objectives may stay the same for extended
periods of times, the way they are measured can change.
Nowadays, companies are able to measure the impact
of their products and services on customer experience
through # Customers satisfaction index or through % Net
Promoter Score. A logistics division could also measure
the effectiveness of delivery from a qualitative perspective
% Orders delivered without damaged products or from a
timeliness perspective % On-time delivery.
No matter the method, one always has to keep in mind this
piece of information: if you want to improve something,
such as a business or company, you must first know how to
accurately and properly measure it!

71 DECEMBER 2015
 LIFESTYLE

UNLOCKING HUMAN PERFORMANCE

LIFESTYLE
A leadership challenge
JOHN R. POTTER

What we need to do is use the Performance Management

process as a way of engaging staff and helping them
develop a high level of intrinsic or internal motivation.

DECEMBER 2015 72
designed by Freepik.com
LIFESTYLE
E challenging issue for many managers. In
ffective Performance Management is a
an increasingly competitive world, it is vital
that employees work effectively and contribute
to the organisations strategic thrust. At the
same time, we have to recognise that many
employees become anxious when receiving
feedback and see Performance Management
as something of a threat. What we need to do
is use the Performance Management process
as a way of engaging staff and helping them
develop a high level of intrinsic or internal
motivation, rather than focusing on external
motivations for misstep correction.
We used to think motivation was about
external actions undertaken by the manager
the so called carrot and stick approach. The
problem with this approach is that it tends to be
short termed. It does not push the right buttons
for intrinsic or internal motivation.
One approach that moved on from the
carrot and stick model was the One Minute
Manager idea, put forward in the last
century by Ken Blanchard. In some ways,
this was an early approach to performance
management by setting clear goals with the
employee, and then focusing on catching
the person performing well and giving
positive feedback. When less than positive
performance was displayed, the manager
went straight to the staff member and
talked about how bad that underwhelming
performance made him, or her feel. This
negative feedback was then balanced by
specific, on-point positive feedback so that
the employee left the discussion feeling
better about themselves and keen on doing
better in the future. This was very much a
verbal, interactive process with generally
little formal written recording.
What seems to have happened in many
organisations in recent years is that the focus
on Performance Management has become a
sometimes complex administrative process,
which neither manager nor employee really
m
epik.co
ned by Fre
desig
73 DECEMBER 2015
embraces. Under pressure from Human
Resources, the manager may complete the
documentation in a hurry without taking
the opportunity to develop an interactive
coaching or mentoring process with the
respective employee.
Performance Management should promote
employee engagement, and as such that
process needs a degree of enablement and
empowerment to ensure that members of
staff act with discretionary effort and go the
extra mile. However, it is important that the
employee is confident and trusts in the fact
that their contribution is going to add value
to the organisation. Thus, Performance
Management should focus on developing
intrinsic motivation within the employee,
so as to guide them on a personal and
professional development path. You cannot
divorce Performance Management from
coaching and inspiring employees. It should
not be reduced to box ticking or a simple
rating process.
So how do we need to act as managers if
we are to use a Performance Management
process to create good results?
What we need to do is to remove fear from
the process. What we have learned from
neuroscience in the recent years is that people
who feel good about themselves and positive
about their work tend to produce good results.
Whilst this may seem like a blinding glimpse
of the obvious, neuroscience has shown that
our brains operate more effectively when
we are in a positive, threat-free state, than
when we feel pressured and even under
threat in our job/role. Managers can often
put employees into a negative, threatened
state during Performance Management
interviews if they do not understand the
impact of a meetings course on a staff
members psyche.
What we now know from neuroscience
is that there are some clearly-defined,
unconsciously perceived threats which
can trigger anxious reactions during
performance interviews. One of these
is status. If the employee feels that the
manager is being critical of their ability,
this will unconsciously have a detrimental
impact on his/her emotional status.
Uncertainty about goals and being over-
controlled also produces a negative effect. If
the interview contains a degree of hostility
about it, this will cause the employee to feel
that they have not been treated fairly. So the
recipe for effective handling of performance
management interviews is clear:
Raise the persons self-esteem and the
idea that they are making a valuable
contribution to the organisation.
Set clear goals, targets and objectives
with the employee so they feel a sense of
responsibility to perform
Create the notion that the person is in
charge of their work and that they have a
degree of autonomy
Be friendly and empathetic during the
meeting, in order to develop a positive
working relationship
Treat all employees fairly, both the high
performers and the less-than-high
performers.
David Rock, of the Neuroscience Institute,
has labelled this approach SCARF and
it is a powerful approach for enabling
employees to feel motivated and in turn
deliver focused performance.

An early approach to human performance
in psychology was that of the Yerkes-
Dodson inverted U curve, which shows
how performance varies with ones level
of arousal or, more simply put, pressure.
If a person feels under too little pressure
and their level of arousal is low, they will
be lacking in internal motivation and
display signs of boredom and even rust-
out. If under too much pressure with an
excessive level of arousal, they may become
unfocused, make mistakes and deliver
unpredictably poor performance levels and
may even suffer from burn out.
Somewhere in the middle is an optimum
level of pressure, which results in peak
performance and also a state of motivated
well-being, which the manager should be
aiming to harness in the employee. In the
worlds of sports and performing arts, this
process is sometimes developed to such an
extent that the individual enters what has
been called a flow state, where it seems they
simply cannot fail at whatever they attempt.
We all experience flow states at times and
the challenge is finding out how to spend
more time in this highly rewarding state.
So we really have to look at performance
management in terms of how it can
contribute to developing intrinsic motivation
in the employee. In a review of approaches
to motivation during the past century,
Daniel Pink has suggested that the key
drivers of internally-driven motivation are
a sense of purpose, development of mastery
of the work and a sense of autonomy. These
three drivers are particularly visible in self-
employed people and entrepreneurs. We
need to incorporate them into an employees
mind set if we are to enable our staff
members to act like owners.
LIFESTYLE
What the effective manager and leader needs to
do is move Performance Management towards
more of a Performance Leadership approach by
unlocking the potential of the employee rather
than over-controlling their behaviour. Criticism
needs to be replaced by balanced feedback
acknowledgement when the employee has
performed well. Managing needs to be enhanced
towards more of a leadership process through
coaching, mentoring and developing effective
working relationships with the employee.
Many professional management development
programmes, including MBAs, focus on
task management skills rather than human
interactive skills. The present authors
substantial experience in delivering
management and leadership development
programmes both in the university setting
and the commercial world has led to his
creation of his new book, Punch Above
Your Weight, which is a useful template
for developing these often missing elements
of management education. The book
covers a range of vital issues including an
understanding of the nature of success, self-
awareness and creating a sense of purpose. Punch Above Your Weight
is published by Thorogood of London.
A goal-setting process, which inspires people,
is outlined together with engagement skills. The ISBN
Being influential, selling ideas and negotiation ISBN1854188658
skills are also featured together, with a concise
summary of some of the basics of effective The author
leadership. The book then moves on to develop JohnPotterisanexperiencedmanagement
strategic thinking and how to acclimate peak and leadership development practitioner
performance with work life balance. These are with a background in science, technology
all highly relevant if Performance Management and psychology. He works around the
is truly to become Performance Leadership. globe and has held three professorial
positions during his career. Punch Above
This book can provide a common approach and Your Weight is his latest book which
language to developing human performance is the basis for a corporate mentoring
throughout an organisation and is being used programme to be launched in the near
by a number of organisations to create a culture future.
shift, which enables the company to handle the
challenges of tomorrow effectively. For more details of this please email
jpglobal@btconnect.com. His website
is www.johnpotterglobal.com
DECEMBER 2015 74
 L E
LIFESTYLE

S A
LE NG
S A PPI
O
SH

WHAT MAKES YOU HAPPIER

Buying or doing?
PR

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ADELINA CHELNICIUC

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FF
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designed by Freepik.com

I may have an influence over your state of

ts payday. The decisions you make today
happiness, as quite a few studies have shown.
Buying experiences and making memories
such as going on a trip, make you happier
than buying material possessions, despite
many people frequently considering the
latter of a greater value. Hence, you might
have been looking for happiness in all the
wrong places.
Material vs. experiential purchases
the beginnings
The distinction between material and
experiential purchases was first introduced
in 2003 by Leaf Van Boven (University of
Colorado at Boulder) and Thomas Gilovich
(Cornell University). If material purchases
can be defined as spending money with the
primary intention of acquiring a material
possession a tangible object that you obtain
and keep in your possession, experiential
purchases represent spending money
with the primary intention of acquiring
a life experience an event or series of
events that you personally encounter or
live through. However, the real distinction
comes not from the action itself, but from
the feeling of satisfaction it provides.
According to their study, To Do or to Have?
That Is the Question, 97 students from the
University of British Columbia were asked to
rate, on a scale of 1 to 9, how happy they were
purchasing experiences or material possessions
worth more than $100. Several weeks after,
some 42 out of the 97 undergraduates were
asked to rate the extent to which those events
were experiential or material.

75 DECEMBER 2015

As a result, participants indicated that,
compared to material purchases,
experiential purchases made them happier,
contributed more to their happiness in life
and represented money better spent, as Van
Boven and Gilovich mentioned.
Why are experiences more satisfying than
material possessions?
Once the distinction had been established,
in 2010, Thomas Gilovich, alongside Travis J.
Carter (Cornell University) returned to the
matter at hand and published The Relative
Relativity of Material and Experiential
Purchases, presenting the results of a study that
meant to unravel the reasons why experiential
purchases are more satisfying for humans. In
other words, why the hedonic value generated
by purchasing experiences is greater than the
hedonic value of buying material assets.
Some of the reasons identified by the two
researchers are:
Experiences are harder to compare
retrospectively than possessions
therefore, you have
little room for regret
once the decision is
made. Imagine you
bought a phone
and it becomes
outdated the
next month since a new generation is
launched; or you see a similar, yet cheaper
one, and as a result you feel less satisfied
about the purchase you made;
Comparisons between experiences have
less hedonic impact than analogous
comparisons between possessions; ergo,
discovering there is a better location for a
vacation than the one you just chose is not
as troubling as the aforementioned case;
Experiences become memories, therefore
becoming a part of the self which is much
more difficult to lose or change than their
material counterparts.
In their 2010 study, the two researchers
proved that making decisions regarding the
purchase of a product is more troublesome
than making decisions regarding
experiences. 142 participants were
surveyed on this matter and, as predicted,
participants which were materially-
conditioned reported that their purchases
had been more difficult than the other
LIFESTYLE
ones. Moreover, participants difficulty in
deciding what they wanted impacted their
current feelings about the purchase: the
former expressed more immediate concern
about their choice than the latter.
Where do we stand in the happiness
pursuit?
Although the fact that we live in a consumerist
society is undeniable, the places where we
should be looking for happiness can be and
should be questioned.
The greater hedonic value that people acquire
from experiential purchases is reflected in
the common regrets about the two types of
purchases. Regrets can be categorized by action
and inaction in other words you can regret
either buying something or not buying it. As
Rosenzweig and Gilovich discovered, in 2012,
people tend to have more regrets of inaction for
experiences than for material purchases.
So, on your next payday, will you stay in line to
purchase the new generation smartphone, the
clothes you think you need more than anything or
that new LCD, or will you choose
to spend your money on
experiences aspects
that enhance your
life which will
become invaluable
memories? Its all
a matter of choice.
LIFESTYLE
WHY AND HOW YOU SHOULD
FIRST INVEST IN YOURSELF
M generate
ost people want their business to
revenue and that should
preferably happen as soon as possible.
But how many people would invest in
themselves, first and foremost?
Nowadays, competition is the name of the
game, as the marketplace for some companies
is represented by the entire globe. What are
the secrets held by successful businesses?
How can you reach the highest number of
costumers? How can you improve your own
business? The answer is quite simple, by
starting small with you, for example.
What was the last thing you actually did
for yourself in the last few weeks? Have you
thought about that? If you have found three
77 DECEMBER 2015
ELENA CHITOIU
things you did for your self-improvement in
the last two weeks, you are free to leave this
article aside and continue doing what you
were doing before starting to read it.
Improving yourself can bring loads of
advantages; it will help you feel more
confident and implicitly, happier. Apparently,
self-confidence will come with an extra
bonus called happiness. This can be linked
to continuous learning a person having a
greater amount of knowledge is considered
smarter by others, hence an increase in
confidence is registered. Moreover, a
research conducted by the University of
Melbourne has shown that highly confident
employees are more likely to be promoted
than employees with a low confidence level.
Secondly, improving yourself will help with
setting a good example for the others your
colleagues, employees and family. Living in
an environment and influencing it positively
sounds like a good idea, doesnt it? And
it can produce increased results in your
personal and professional life, too.
As a team leader, this is a good way of leading
by example your employees will follow you
happily if you are a good leader. If you want
to see better things happening around you,
you have to better yourself.
Whether you are wondering how you can
make self-investments or where you should
start with these improvements, try starting
out with a few small steps, like the following:
 LIFESTYLE

1. Develop your skills 3. Take care of your body 4. Explore creativity

Highly-skilled individuals are essential to
companies and employers. The first thing an
interviewer wants to know about you is what
you can do practically. Nowadays, there are
plenty of tools and techniques one can use
for improving their skills language learning
(Duolingo), brain training (Elevate), coding
language (Codecademy), and more and the
only effort required is doing some research
and scheduling a learning plan.
Education is paramount to skills development,
since it is the main pillar of the entire
construction; it has to be continuous, according
to the LLL (Long Life Learning) concept. One
way of educating yourself is through training
activities self-trainings or trainings held by
other specialized companies which are quite
advantageous, given the know-how exchange
one experiences through them.
On the plus side, there is a great emphasis
on knowledge-based management; great
companies are searching for people who
have the necessary know-how. Knowledge
is power especially in todays economy,
when companies are looking for that
precious element, called intellectual capital.
Information can be found everywhere and
now you can always receive a constant inflow
of novelties and developments from around
the world. On the downside however, it seems
that many people would rather procrastinate
than ameliorate. Unfortunately, according to
Officetime.net, only 1 out of 10 people avoids
procrastination and is indeed very proactive.
Your health is as important as your mind
and this typically becomes noticeable when
an illness knocks on your door. Not being
strong enough in order to follow your
dreams is indeed a burden. If you take care of
your body accordingly, certain discomforts
might be avoided; it is recommended that
you exercise a moderate amount of physical
activity for at least 150 minutes per week, or
focus on a more intensive workout program
that could last up to 75 minutes per week.
Nutrition is also important for your body,
as you have to pay attention to the products
you buy and your eating habits, which
might bring up certain health problems
when overindulging or pursuing any other
bad eating habits. Another specific activity
you can treat your body with is relaxation
whenever you feel your body needs it, take
a step back, relax and enjoy a few peaceful
moments with your family, friends or even
by yourself.
DEVELOP YOUR SKILLS
A good way of improving ones self is by
developing, enhancing and practicing
any type of creative endeavor. One useful
approach in doing so is learning new
languages. You might have learned a foreign
language in childhood that you havent
been practicing for a long period and as
such, re-studying it now might feel easier
and yield better results. In addition, your
self-esteem and confidence will receive a
boost, due to the above-mentioned reasons.
Travel, discover, write, create something
palpable these are some simple examples
of activities you can do in order to explore
your creativity and also get the chance to
know yourself better.
Improving ones self is essential for raising
your confidence, happiness, and overall
self-satisfaction levels. Improvements in
the people around you and the environment
you live in can happen if you start with
yourself. In order to get better, be better.
TREAT YOUR MIND

2. Treat your mind

Exercise your mind and improve your

intellectual skills. Reading is one activity that
has a great, positive impact on your brain, as TAKE CARE OF YOUR BODY EXPLORE CREATIVITY
well as your memory. Statistics have shown
that reading reduces ones stress level by
68% and the risk of dementia by 35%. This
activity is also important for obtaining an
increase in self-confidence and motivation
as knowledge can be acquired from books
and online sources such as Reading Agency.

In addition, you can also feed your mind with

cultural exploration discover other peoples
way of living, working and relaxing. This will
not only increase your overall knowledge, but
designed by Freepik.com
will also make you become more open-minded.

DECEMBER 2015 78
LIFESTYLE

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79 DECEMBER 2015 For more details visit our store: store.kpiinstitute.org


2013 - 2015 TOP KPIS REPORTS
Reports by Functional Area
Top 25 Accounting KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Accounts Payable and Receivable KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Administration / Office Support KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Advertising KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Application Development KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Asset Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Compensation and Benefits KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Compliance and Audit Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Contract Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Corporate Travel KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 CSR KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Customer Service KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Data Center KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 eCommerce KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Efficiency and Effectiveness KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Email Marketing KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Enterprise Architecture KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Environmental Care KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Facilities Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Finance KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Forecasts & Valuation KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Governance KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 HSSE KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Human Resources KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Information Technology KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Innovation KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Inventory Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 IT Security KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Knowledge Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Legal Services KPIs of 2013-2015
Reports by Industry
Top 25 Academic Education KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Accounting Services KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Airlines KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Airports KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Banking and Credit KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Broadcasting (TV and Radio) KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Business Consulting KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Call Center KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Civil Engineering KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Coaching / Training KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Coal and Minerals Mining KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Colleges and Universities KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Construction of Buildings KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Crops KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Customs KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Electricity KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Emergency Response / Ambulance Services KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Engineering KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Event Production and Promotion KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Film and Music KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Forestry and Logging KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Healthcare KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Hospitals KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Hotel KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Insurance KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Investments KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Land Transport (Road & Rail) KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Legal Practice KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Libraries and Archives KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Livestock, Hunting and Fishing KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Local Government KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Local Public Transport KPIs of 2013-2015
LIFESTYLE
Top 25 Liquidity KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Logistics / Distribution KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Maintenance KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Marketing KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Network Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Online Advertising KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Online Publishing - Weblogs KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Portfolio Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Procurement / Purchasing KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Production KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Profitability KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Project Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Public Relations KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Quality Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 R&D KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Recruitment KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Retention KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Risk Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Sales KPIs of 2013-2015*
Top 25 Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Service Delivery KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Service Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Supply Chain Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Supply Chain*, Procurement, Distribution KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Talent Development KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Web Analytics KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Workforce KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Working Environment KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Medical Laboratory KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Medical Practice KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Mortgages KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Museums KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Natural Gas KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 NGO KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Oil and Gas KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Pension Funds KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Ports KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Postal and Courier Services KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Preventive Healthcare KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Primary and Secondary Schools / K-12 KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Property Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Publishing KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Railways KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Real Estate Development KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Real Estate Transactions KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Recruitment / Employment Activities KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Restaurant KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Retail KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Roads KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Shipping KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Social Media KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Sport Club Management KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Sport Event Organisation KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 State Government KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Sustainability KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Telecommunications KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Tour Operator KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Training and Other Education KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Travel Agency KPIs of 2013-2015
Top 25 Water and Sewage KPIs of 2013-2015
DECEMBER 2015 80
HARDWARE
HARDWARE REVIEW
FORM 1
money-friendly 3D printing
When 3D printing was first introduced, everyone was taken
aback by the endless possiblities it offered. First off, medicine
was completely revolutionized; the process allowed specialists
to further develop opportunities for transplants and surgical
interventions which were deemed impossible only a few years
ago. Now, 3D printing has found its way into another area of
expertise that of design.
FORM 1 is a 3D printing apparatus made by a team based
in Boston, Montreal and London. They decided that current
printers were far too expensive for any designer to even glimpse
at. Thus, they came up with their own stereolithography
printer, which can produce high resolution parts, is intuitive
and simple to use and vastly accurate.
FORM 1 is the tool needed to bring performance in the design
game. Whether you are an engineer or a freelancer, you will
rejoice in working with this marvelous invention. Typical low-
end 3D printers use extruded plastic (FDM), which cannot
yield truly high resolution results. SL on the other hand,
can. And it is generally extremely expensive, which is why
Formlands efforts (the team behind FORM 1) are remarkable.
It can precisely print layers as thin as 25 microns (0.001 in) with
features as small as 300 microns (0.012 in) in a build volume of
125 x 125 x 165 mm (4.9 x 4.9 x 6.5 in).
Moreover, it has the capability of importing STL models from
any 3D CAD package; whats more so, given the capability of
generating thin, breakable support structures, this allows a user to
print whatever their project requires with minimum disposability
efforts. Time, money and material-efficient those are the
trademarks of FORM 1.
With thousands of lines of code already built-in, you have a
plethora of standard models from which to choose, or on which
to build on. This tool promises to revolutionize design on a mass
scale, combining performance with efficiency and accuracy.
81 DECEMBER 2015
The Adidas Smart Ball
when accuracy wins the gold medal
Measurement in sports is the Pandoras box of every
competition. Good measurement differentiates between the
first place and the rest. As such, every measurement fallacy can
trigger undeserved failures, scandals or undeserved merits.
From drawing a line on the ground to mark a crossing line, to
the more advanced means of augmented reality, measurement
has always been taken seriously in sports as it ultimately
separates the winner from the second best.
Every organization that manufactures sporting goods therefore
aims to provide its clients with products that guarantee the
highest levels of accuracy and therefore, performance. Recent
trends have seen technology embedded not only within gadgets
such as Smart Watches, but also in sportswear. When it comes
to innovative sports gadget manufacturers, eyes generally turn
towards the big league players.
Adidas prides itself on the app-based Smart Ball, which registers
multiple data upon every ball kick, rendering all of these in
graphical representations displayed on a smartphone screen. The
app linked to the Smart Ball is micoach, and it basically presents
a players raw performance data, comparing it against existing
standards in football/soccer. The balls integrated sensor allows the
tracking and measurement of strikes, showing which foot was used
and the flight path, speed and spin of the ball. Based on this data,
the app then analyzes the kickers skill level and instantly displays
the registered information, while also recommending certain
practices for improvement.
Some examples would be the placement of the ball on the field, in
relation to the gate, the optimal fight path, kick force and spin the
ball must take in flight; it even shows which bone of the foot is the
most suitable for attaining the desired results. Reviews written by
Smart Ball users commend the accuracy of the balls key features,
recognizing its merits in upgrading a players game.
Due to its accurate measurements, the Adidas Smart Ball leaves
its competitors trailing.

IKEA
a kitchen for our future selves
Think of how life will be for us, 10 years from
now. Think of our homes and how these will
adapt to living in 2025. Imagine the most
futuristic model possible. Now incorporate
practicality into it.
Practicality is one feature of IKEAs products,
besides pricing and quality, which made the
Swiss housing goods retailer so sought after
and famous worldwide.
And with big fame, comes big responsibility,
but also more possibilities to actually change
the normal pace of things. Thus we present you
IKEAs concept for a future kitchen, in the year
2025. The model is based chiefly on practicality
and the needs of our future selves.
First off, IKEA took into consideration
spatial limitations. In the current rhythm
of development, the human race will
predominantly occupy smaller places, mostly
within urban settlements. Therefore, with our
homes possibly decreasing in size and our
needs surely increasing, the company holds
technology as the ultimate answer to satisfying
the latter and solving the former.
Other factors incorporated in IKEAs The
World in 2025 vision refer to:
Resources such as water, energy and food,
which will steadily become more valuable
and, inherently, more expensive;
Dietary options will also revolve more
around protein intake than meat/dairy/
vegetable type;
Jobs will be mostly autochthonous as
technological advancements will allow
geographically-dispersed teams from
various industries to work in this manner;
On the same terms, computers will be
incorporated in almost anything you can
possibly imagine;
One last great assumption refers to
Eastern cultures which, considering their
high growth rates, will be integrated
into Western cultures. Already there is a
migration of cultural elements going from
Eastern nations like Japan and China to
Western nations, via social media mostly.
IKEA then proceeded to build their
future kitchen on these perspectives. The
end-result revealed a product which is
deceivingly uncomplicated and simple:
the room is small, the furniture is modest-
looking and the number of modules is
limited to only a few. However, this modest-
looking kitchen has more technology and
possibilities incorporated in it than any
existing kitchen in 2015.
Storing spaces
First off, IKEA is convinced that food
and other goods will be delivered to us by
means of unmanned vehicles and drones.
Therefore, storing a lot of comestibles
and other necessities will become rather
obsolete. Hence, there will be no need for
large storage spaces but rather smaller, well
designed modules, with embedded casual
HARDWARE
technology - unobtrusive, embedded, yet
aware. The pantry is thus incorporated
into one module which cools or heats food
(according to the need), keeps the easily
perishable items at sight while others,
such as vegetables, are stored in terracotta
boxes, which are naturally cooler spaces.
Separate see-through boxes will maintain
the desired temperature for each type of
product it stores.
Recycling procedures
The next burning issue is recycling.
This is already an increasingly pressing
responsibility that we feel today. However,
in 2025, there will be no more questions of
who is recycling and who is not, because
everyone will be engaged in this operation.
In fact, recycling will be taken so seriously
that cities will fine those who do not dispose
selectively of their trash. It will be the same
with not paying your taxes.
Nonetheless, recycling will not be performed
in the same manner as we do it nowadays.
The process will significantly improve
due to the technology embedded in our
future kitchens. Sink waste will undergo a
process of selection, namely leftovers will
be collected into a puck, from which all
water will be extracted. The puck, odorless
and small-sized, will then be gathered by
the municipality. The resulting extracted
water will be directed towards an integrated
sewage system that feeds indoor plants.
DECEMBER 2015 82
HARDWARE
This is the kitchen and life
that IKEA envisions for humanity,
ten years from now. Small in
size? Yes. Practical? Definitely.
Technologically packed? No doubt
about it. The only downside is that
we still have to wait
for it to become reality.
Non-organic waste is also automatically
processed. More precisely, cans, bottles, plastics
are crushed and modelled into a small-sized
object to which a label is added, naming the
containing material and possible future uses.
The table of all tables
The highlight of IKEAs entire concept is its
dining table. How does it look like? A plain
old dinner table that does absolutely nothing
to catch your sight.
Does it have any hidden features? Yes, tens.
With one touch on the table surface, the
plain wooden kitchen furniture becomes a
preparation surface, a heater, a recipe book,
a scale, an area where children can play.
83 DECEMBER 2015
You can weigh any product, place ingredients
on it and the table will select recipes based
on what items you already own, select a
timer, add as many pans as you need, set
temperatures and timers for each pot or
pan, keep your coffee/tea warm and multiple
other wonderful functions.
All these features actually incorporate the
actions performed by several other kitchen
modules and appliances.
Altogether, this kitchen seems almost too
far-fetched to become a reality by 2025, but
in actuality, the technology behind this table
is not that far away. It is already available and
quite advanced in some areas of expertise, such
as the IT industrys Augmented Reality gadgets.
These however, need not only to be improved
for private use, but also be mass produced
and reasonably priced so that they can reach a
greater number of potential clients.
Coming back to IKEAs plan, a camera - along
with a projector, placed above the dining
table will record, process and project data on
the surface of the board. A layer of induction
coils creates the network. Brought together,
these features allow the recognition and
manipulation of any food item, dish, or kitchen
utensil placed on the counters surface.
This is the kitchen and life that IKEA
envisions for humanity, ten years from now.
Small in size? Yes. Practical? Definitely.
Technologically packed? No doubt about
it. The only downside is that we still have to
wait for it to become reality.

Air Fuel Synthesis
fixing energy supply problems and global warming
Air Fuel Synthesis Ltd., from Stockton-on-Tees, a
company from Great Britain specializing in fuel
conversion, have a daring innovative solution for
helping out with worldwide energy supply issues and
climate change, all in one package. Their research has
focused on finding alternatives to fossil fuels usage, and
on trying to offer the best alternative.
And they might just have found it by converting
air and water into fuel. Since August, 2015, they have
managed to produce five litres of petrol, with the aim
being to start mass production by the end of 2015.
While most companies overpromise but few actually
deliver results, this is one of the most performant
endeavors industries have witnessed. In just a few
months, Air Fuel Synthesis have managed to go
from producing a mere 5 litres to quickly building a
commercial scale plant, to begin mass production.
Their first target is the motor sports sector, which
currently takes quite the toll on our fuel resources and
environment. According to a study commisioned by
the Formula-E Holding Value Creation & Sustainability
report, if the motor sports industry giants would get
involved, they could save up to 4 billion barrels of oil
and avoid the emission of 900 million tonnes of carbon
dioxide, annually. Recently, the company has had their
application approved by the Regional Growth Fund
and will build a commercial scale Methanol to Petrol
processing plant. This will allow them to produce 1.2
million litres of Bio-fuel annually.
Even more stunning is their long-term plan going global.
Since many faraway locations have large-scale renewable
energy deposits, but lack any affordable connections to a power
plant, AFS can chip-in and give a helping hand, by building
manufacturing plants to produce sustainable liquid fuels.
This is a prime example of how private endeavors and
any willing individual can make a difference in the overall
picture. This is performance improvement on two levels: first
off, by researching a novel conversion model and secondly,
by bringing it so close to consumers, so soon. AFS is a
noteworthy example of an outstanding player in todays team
effort to combat resource depletion and climate change.
SOFTWARE
SOFTWARE REVIEW
SmartApps
connecting parts, connecting worlds
Since the advent of mobile apps, everyone has gotten on the hype
train and is riding to a new, better, brighter future. From maps to
stats, or from scheduling nights out to lights out, there is an app for
everything. Now, a group of talented developers are paving the way
for an even greater interconnection between items with a focus on
your house, among others. Introducing SmartThings.
All those futuristic houses weve seen in the movies, which were
operated at the touch of a button are no longer just dreams. Primarily,
it can be configured as a personal performance tool controlling
your air conditioner, thermostats, temperature and humidity
sensors, smoke and CO alarms, moisture and flood sensors, lights,
fans, heaters, disco balls; even your doors, sprinklers, windows or
grills will have the option of being integrated.
All that time wasted on double and triple-checking will fade away, giving
rise to a more dynamic and efficient household lifestyle. This app will
notify you if your pet runs out of your yard, warn you if you have any
leaks or directly contact a plumber if it detected one, watch over your
valuables cabinets and drawers.
Moreover, it will monitor power outlets and have built-in open/
shut sensors (for doors and whatnot), motion sensors (to detect
movement within a room) and presence sensors (to know when
people or animals come and go). It can be integrated with almost
any control, monitoring and performance checking app and can
connect via Ethernet, cellular, Zigbee, Z-wave and Bluetooth.
Furthermore, if you are a developer, good news! SmartThings is an
open platform and can be customized and enhanced to your hearts
content. Managing your household has never been more efficient
and if wasting time and energy is something you wish to get rid of,
SmartThings is the performance and efficiency-maximizing tool for
you, allowing you to never be caught off-guard whilst at home.
DECEMBER 2015 84
SOFTWARE
Sutisoft
sutisoft is upgrading and you should too
Time and performance management have
been made easy with SutiHR, SutiSofts
modules for business administration.
Now, as the IT sector is developing new
and innovative applications and platforms
to streamline productivity, so have those in
charge of SutiHR.
SutiSoft is a leading provider of integrated,
cloud-based business productivity platforms
for all companies, no matter the size. Among
the list of solutions, there are flexible and
intuitive solutions for HR, Employee Travel
and Expenses, Wireless Spend management,
Business data analytics, CRM and many more.
They have recently announced new upgrades
to their comprehensive HR management
85 DECEMBER 2015
software. Among the many new additions
one can find changes in time off accrual
rules, a wider array of candidate approval or
rejection options, grievance resolutions and
an overall more user-friendly, convenient
performance management platform.
To expand a bit on this last point, a few
details on each new upgrade have been
covered as follows:
Faster grievance resolutions will be readily
available since they will now feature the
option of including an employees reporting
authority on the specific form/document;
It will allow managers to duplicate their
performance appraisal sheets, standardizing
the whole procedure;
PUSH
fitness measurement at its finest
Recent years have seen the fitness and sports
gadgets market being flooded by a mutitude
of devices designed to provide accuracy in
measuring physical performance. PUSH is
one of these.
PUSH is a fitness performance measurement
gadget which analyzes three key aspects
force, power and velocity. Scientists have
long said that these metrics represent the
pillars on which all training is consolidated
Time off accruals will be credited on a
particular day during the week;
Any new employee requisitions shall have to
be prior approved by the requisition owner
before being sent for budget approval;
Managers and administrators can now give
employees notable access to the reporting system,
so that they can generate custom reports.
All of these upgrades are expected to visibly
improve performance and efficiency, control
costs, save time and aid in making better
and accurate venture decisions. Report files,
documents, general paperwork will all be
streamlined so that business leaders and
executives alike can focus more on improving
their company than pushing papers.
and nowadays, we have developed this
gadget to help us out.
Boasting sleek looks and an accurate tracking
system which records how your body performs
under certain weight conditions, PUSH
proceeds to offer insight on load-optimization.
It has fully integrated iPhone and Android
support, meaning that you can make your own
routines and set them up so PUSH can track
your progress every time you work out.
With performance being on everyones
minds nowadays, this gadget further eases
our efforts to improve ourselves, both
professionally and personally.

Readings to warm up your winter
1 3
2 4
1. Punch Above Your Weight!:
How to Succeed at Whatever You Want to Do
by John R. Potter
This new title of the renowned entrepreneurial writer brings
you a new perspective of self-improvement. Mainly, it
shows you how to see yourself as a businessman and take
further decisions to enhance the various contexts in your
life. Compiling an extensive list of methods made famous by
worldwide trainers, thinkers and authors, this book is an all-
in-one guide to personal entrepreneurship.
3. Big Data and The Internet of Things:
Enterprise Information Architecture for A New Age
By Robert Stackowiak, Art Licht, Venu Mantha, Louis Nagode
Organizations today often find themselves bombarded not by
data, but by increasingly more massive amounts of information
coming not only from traditional sources, but also from more novel
technologies, such as everyday objects that are now reliant on an
internet connection. Learn about the current state of data storage
and manipulation and proceed to set up a future state architecture
that accommodates the new trends of enterprise analytics solutions.
5. Rich Dad Poor Dad: What The Rich Teach Their Kids
About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Do Not!
By Robert T. Kiyosaki
This winter reflects the perfect time to head back to the classics and,
in financial management at least, one book ultimately stands out
amidst the thousands of releases on this subject. Rich Dad Poor Dad
is a wonderful construction about how to make your money work
for you, and not vice versa, within an allegorical tale of how each
of the authors two fathers taught him a different perspective and
approach to finance, investment and earnings.
RESOURCES
RECOMMENDED
5
6
2. How to Measure Anything:
Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business
By Douglas W. Hubbard
If you confronted many a times aspects which had been
simply regarded as immeasurable, than Hubbard comes
to prove all otherwise in an extensively eloquent book that
will provide businesses, government agencies or other
organizations, with specific methods to measure fluctuating
areas such as customer satisfaction, organizational flexibility
or technology risk.
4. Your Strategy Needs a Strategy:
How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach
By Martin Reeves, Knut Haanaes, Janmejaya Sinha
This new title discerns between the multiple strategies that
target executives with bestselling idea and practices, and
offers the most suitable strategic approach for you or your
company. In an ever more competitive environment, aiming
for the wrong strategy can prove to be fatal for ones business.
Learn to address the most pressing challenges related to
strategy selection and implementation to avoid future crisis.
6. Think to Win:
Unleashing the Power of Strategic Thinking
By Paul Butler, John F. Manfredi, Peter Klein
Published this summer, Think to win provides leaders with
essential information on how to obtain their employees buy-
in, while also ensuring a sustainable growth environment
within the organizational borders. By speaking a language
that employees at all organizational levels can understand,
the book shows the path for everyone to become a strategist,
and not just the elitist top management representatives.
DECEMBER 2015 86
RESOURCES
THE FIRST STEPS OF A SOCIAL NETWORK
Do you ever find yourself wondering about the beginnings of todays social networking platforms?
What was their initial purpose, and were they ever prepared to go big?
T the birth and development of one of the
he Social Network is a movie documenting
leading social networking platforms of this era
Facebook, to be precise.
What started out as a simple online rating tool,
used merely for entertainment, went on to
become the biggest social media instrument,
engulfing all of the other similar attempts, and
exceeding its creators most daring dreams.
Mark Zuckerberg initially created a local
database which listed most of his female
colleagues, and was used by him and
his friends to simply rate their visual
appearance. In the beginning, this created
somewhat of an outrage, as it was seen as
shallow and demeaning.
Following after a short period, his fellow
students wondered whether this platform
could be used for much more for
actual social, online interaction.
87 DECEMBER 2015
Rating your peers can be a fun activity, but
being able to know them on a more personal
level became much more intriguing.
As such, Zuckerberg was approached by two
Harvard upperclassmen, the Winklevoss
twins and their business partner, Divya
Narendra, and asked if he would like to
develop a Harvard dating site, with all
the necessary funding being provided by
them. The young programmer had a stroke
of genius he could make such a website,
but for the entire Ivy League community.
With the help of Eduardo Saverin, one
of the cofounders of what will become
Facebook, he set up the website, which
became massively popular and, after a fellow
Harvard student, Christy Lee, asked them to
facebook her, both were taken aback at the
possibilities their platform could generate.
Their ride to greatness only took to new heights
after Lee contacted another adventurous
entrepreneur, Sean Parker, who founded
Napster a music-oriented online service. All
four arranged a meeting and it was here that
the first glimmers of what we know today as
Facebook shone bright. Parker told them he
sees in their website a billion dollar venture,
but first they had to drop the The which was
then integrated into the name of the platform.
Keeping it to the simpler version, Facebook,
will make it sound cleaner.
He suggested they move to Palo Alto, so
they can concentrate on improving and
enhancing both the websites options and
its overall performance. From here
on, the joyride that is Facebook
was already unstoppable.
designed by Freepik.com
Performance Magazine, Printed Edition. Second issue, December, 2015. Content: News. Can you hear the music? Or how
KPIs can alter reality. Performance in the big league. An Enel strategy. Volkswagen: improving performance the wrong way.
Performance Management in Namibia: contracts for all ministers. Sweden said Yes! to the 6-hour working day. Reaping
rewards, increasing productivity. Business Development Manager reaches top 3 best jobs in America, in 2015. Connecting
the dots: lack of innovation leads to failure of new products. Managers engaging employees on social media increase
change success rates. Study links professional success to high EQ. Cover story: The state of the performance improvement
and Key Performance Indicators in 2015. Expert Interviews: Ahmed Ragab. Principal Partner, Resilience&, Kuwait. Bert de
Winter. Director of Logistics Operations for Printing & Personal Systems Hardware & Supplies EMEA, Hewlett-Packard,
Belgium. Luis Gargalo. Management Control Systems Department Coordinator, Wayfield, Trading Internacional, SA Grupo
Refriango, Portugal. Michael J. Sutton. Associate Professor of Management Gamification, Serious Games, and Simulations,
Westminster College, USA. Mohamad Yassine. Director of Institutional Effectiveness, Adjunct Professor, Gulf University
for Science and Technology, Kuwait. Musa Bulus. Senior Strategy Analyst, Central Bank of Nigeria, Nigeria. Around the
World: Governmental Performance. The Illinois Department of Public Health. GRUMA Mexico. A Performance Model Built
on Innovation. Reaching the Right Audience in North America: A Digital Marketing Perspective. Strategy Formulation:
Emirates Identity Authority Strategic Plan 2014 2016. Strategy and Performance Management. How to improve your
decision-making process? Emerging Performance Management Trends in 2015. Change Management and the Transitional
Process in Organizations. 5 Emerging Manufacturing Trends. Employee Performance Management. Emotional Branding
or How to Engage Customers Emotionally. The Challenges in Building an Employee Performance Centered Ecosystem.
Managing Difficult Employees. A topnotch leadership skill. Performance Measurement. Why Does It Take My Bank 90
Days to Approve a Loan? Game Measurement. A Recipe for Success. Innovation Performance. Evaluation of Research,
Development and Engineering through KPIs. What do a video game and a MBA Professor Have in Common? Performance
Improvement. Leaders, Life-cycles and Performance. Risk Management. Prisons. The Risk Management Experts. Ask the
Experts. Which Data Matters the Most? Lifestyle. Unlocking Human Performance. A Leadership Challenge. What Makes You
Happier: Buying or Doing? Why and How You Should First Invest in Yourself? Hardware Review. Form-1: Money-friendly
3D printing. The Adidas Smart Ball. When Accuracy Wind the Gold Medal. IKEA. A Kitchen for Our Future Selves. Software
Review. Air Fuel Synthesis. Fixing Energy Supply Problems and Global Warming. SmartApps. Connecting Parts, Connecting
Worlds. Sutisoft. Sutisoft Is Upgrading and You Should Too. PUSH. Fitness Measurement at Its Finest. Recommended.
Readings to Warm Up Your Winter. Punch Above Your Weight!: How to Succeed at Whatever You Want to Do, by John R.
Potter. How to Measure Anything: Finding the Value of Intangibles in Business, by Douglas W. Hubbard. Big Data and The
Internet of Things: Enterprise Information Architecture for a New Age, by Robert Stackowiak, Art Licht, Venu Mantha, Louis
Nagode. Your Strategy Needs a Strategy: How to Choose and Execute the Right Approach, by Martin Reeves, Knut Haanaes,
Janmejaya Sinha. Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Kids about Money that the Poor and Middle Class Do
Not!, by Robert T. Kiyosaki. Think to Win: Unleashing the Power of Strategic Thinking, by Paul Butler, John F. Manfredi, Peter
Klein. The First Steps of a Social Network. Keywords: Key Performance Indicators (KPIs). Balanced Scorecard. Performance
Management. Performance Measurement. Performance Improvement. Strategy and Business Planning. Employee
Performance Management. Supplier Performance Management. Personal Performance Management. Data Analysis. Data
Visualization. Benchmarking. Customer Service Performance. Innovation Performance. Balanced Scorecard Management
System Performance. Measurement. Evolution. Accuracy. Big Data. Management. Business Intelligence. Ethics. Education.
Solution. Problem-solving. Decision-making. Project Management. Project Planning. KPI Selection. KPI Documentation.
KPI Evaluation. KPI Life-cycle. Data gathering. Data presentation. Initiatives. Adjustment. Management techniques.
Ishikawa. The 5 Whys. The Fishbone Technique. SWOT Analysis. Value Flow Analysis. Expert Interviews. Academics.
Consultants. Practitioners. Events. Research. Mission. Vision. Strategy. Best know-
how. Data and Facts. Common Sense. Data Accuracy. Performance Magazine
Focus Categories: Editorials. News. Interviews. Multimedia. Strategy. Balanced
Scorecard. KPI. Organizational Performance. Operational Performance. Individual
Performance. Personal Performance. Around the World. Interviews. Articles.
Editorials. Multimedia. News. The KPI Institutes Professional Certification Programs.