High Performance Organization Research Articles

Formulating a partnership framework for Egyptian ICT companies

PurposeNowadays, it is rare to find an organization that operates in isolation, without the need to partner with other organizations. Partnerships offer firms access to new technologies, markets, and knowledge. During the process of transforming into a high performance organization (HPO), an organization will eventually find itself operating within a bigger value chain. The purpose of this paper is to identify the factors and practices that can help Egyptian ICT companies to become better members in such a partnership, in a way that enables full benefit to be gained from the partnership.Design/methodology/approachThe study used a questionnaire based on the high performance partnership (HPP) framework that has previously been validated in the Western and Asian contexts. The questionnaire was distributed to seven Egyptian ICT organizations who partnered with each other, after which a exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was performed on the collected data to identify the factors that influence the success of partnerships between Egyptian ICT companies.FindingsThe EFA showed that five (of the original ten) factors from the HPP Framework achieved a high reliability while 47 of the original 54 underlying characteristics applied in the Egyptian ICT context. In addition, these five HPP factors had strong positive relations with the success of the partnership as perceived by partners. Interestingly, the HPO scores of individual partners also had a positive effect on the perceived success of the partnership.Originality/valueThis study fills the lacuna that currently exists in empirical research about organizational performance practices in Egypt. The study also has practical implications, as management of Egyptian ICT companies are now able to undertake focused improvement actions to increase the success of the partnerships into which they enter.

A longitudinal study into the effectiveness of the HPO Framework

PurposeThe academic and management literature offers an abundance of techniques for helping organizations improve their performance. Generally, though, these techniques have not been subjected to rigorous, evidence-based evaluation or have been tested in practice over time. The purpose of this paper is to describe a longitudinal study into the effectiveness of the High Performance Organization (HPO) Framework at a social care and rehabilitation organization.Design/methodology/approachThe HPO Framework was applied at LIMOR in the Netherlands. The longitudinal nature of the study consisted of conducting an “HPO diagnosis” twice at the organization, in 2012 and 2015. In the second diagnosis, the effectiveness of the interventions the organization undertook to address the recommendations originating from the first HPO diagnosis was also measured.FindingsThe study aimed to discover whether the HPO Framework was a suitable improvement technique with which to increase the performance of a social care and rehabilitation organization in a sustainable way. The results showed that it was used to ward off and contain the negative effects of external turbulent developments, and thereby helped LIMOR to perform better than comparable organizations.Originality/valueAs a longitudinal study of the workings and effects of the HPO Framework at a social care and rehabilitation organization, this study is the first of its kind. Moreover, it addresses two gaps in the current literature, by contributing longitudinal evidence to the body of knowledge on improvement techniques, specifically in the non-profit sector, and by adding insights on the practical workings of the HPO Framework in a non-profit context, specifically the social care and rehabilitation sector.

A framework for social well-being and skills management at the workplace

Employees are the human capital that contributes to the success of high-performance and sustainable organizations. In the digital economy, organizations need to be competitive and differentiate them self through the knowledge they detained. This requires the adoption of innovative solutions that valorize and recognize workers who invest their time to keep up-to-date with areas of knowledge that are relevant to the organization. Indeed, organizations are investing in retaining skilled workers, in particular senior workers whose knowledge and experience are a valuable asset that should be passed to younger co-workers. One way to address these concerns is to create conditions to promote a feeling of employee’s wellness in their work environment.In this paper, the two perception of well-being at the workplace (i.e. physical and social) are combined with gamification techniques and analyzed how it might help employees to acquire the expertise (“soft and hard-skills”) they need to improve their curriculum. This is particularly relevant for older adults to whom the feeling of fulfilment and recognition is much appreciated. The case study relates to the Active@Work project. The proposed solution incorporates an “intelligent behavior” to keep the user aware of their well-being status, triggering notifications to mitigate the risk of fatigue or stress at work. The solution also provides support for workers to engage in new and rewarding activities, where his/her knowledge and experience is considered as a relevant contribution, promoting in this way employee recognition and social well-being at the workplace. Team management and tutoring of younger co-workers by older adults will be, together with a Skill Development Tool, some of the innovative features within the project.

Performance Feedback, Pay Gaps, and Risky Corporate Strategic Change

Extant literature assumes high organizational performance positively influences internationalization because outperforming firms are expected to compete successfully in foreign markets. This assump...

Applicability of the HPO framework in non-profit organizations

PurposeAssociations perform an important role in developing a profession, by organizing professionals into a community in which relevant information and knowledge are shared, ideas expanded, contacts with other like-minded professionals made, a code of ethics established and appropriate practices for members identified. For an association to be effective, it has to perform at the highest quality level. However, no studies can be found in the academic literature on how to create high-performing associations. This paper aims to apply the high-performance organization (HPO) Framework within the Emirates Insurance Association (EIA) to evaluate its current strength and identify possible improvements that need to be implemented for EIA to achieve high performance.Design/methodology/approachIn this article, the HPO Framework – which has been used and validated in many contexts, including non-profit organizations (NPOs) – is applied within the EIA to evaluate its current strength and, thereby, identify possible improvements that need to be implemented for EIA to achieve high performance.FindingsThe research results showed that the HPO Framework – when adapted to the circumstances of an association – is able to accurately evaluate the situation within that association and yield targeted recommendations to improve its performance.Originality/valueThis research fills a lacuna in the current literature on how to improve the performance of associations; it can, therefore, function as a foundation for further academic research into high performance in associations and possibly other types of NPOs. Moreover, the research results help managers of associations and NPOs in their quest for high performance by offering tangible improvement suggestions.

When the world calls for emergency services, who answers? A surgeon general’s perspective on running a high performance health services organization

This article records an interview by the author with Vice Admiral (retired) Matthew L. Nathan, 37th surgeon general of the United States (U.S.) Navy and chief of the U.S. Navy’s Bureau of Medicine and Surgery. The interview provides insights into developing a globally dispersed yet highly integrated health system managed and operated by an agile, mission-focused team of devoted professionals whose credo is to deliver “World-Class Care…Anytime, Anywhere.” We examine characteristics of Navy Medicine that align with evidence-based factors of high performance organizations (HPOs) to determine whether the system itself should be classified as an HPO. In conclusion, we summarize key implications for practice.

A Comparative Analysis of Zambian Governmental Institutions Using the HPO Framework

It is generally accepted that, to move the governmental sector toward better performance, governmental agencies need to adopt high-performance management techniques. One such technique is the HPO (high-performance organization) Framework, which has been applied successfully in many countries. However, most of these applications were in developed countries and in the private sector, which raises the question of whether the framework would work equally well in an African governmental setting. Specifically, this study posits, and proposes to answer, the following three research questions: (a) Can the HPO Framework be used to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of Zambian governmental institutions and yield tangible recommendations to achieve sustainable high performance? (b) If so, can the performance of these institutions subsequently be shown to improve over time? (c) What is the role of the institutions’ managers in a successful implementation of the framework? To explore these considerations, the HPO Framework was applied at three Zambian governmental institutions. In a longitudinal research set-up, the application and accompanying organizational results were tracked. The study results showed that the HPO Framework is indeed applicable in the Zambian governmental sector and can significantly contribute to it becoming high-performing. However, the study’s results also made clear that full commitment from management has to be ensured before embarking on an HPO transition. This research is the first of its kind: a longitudinal study of the workings and effects of an HPO framework, in the context of a developing country’s governmental sector.

Implementing the Casual Effect of Leadership to High-Performance Organizations: An Empirical Study of Public Organizations

This research aims to verify the causal effects among different manifest variables of leadership to high-performance organizations, including public organization or quasi-government agencies. Employing qualitative methodology, data obtains from semi-structured interviews in 10 excellent public organizations of Thailand. The findings corroborate that teams of leaders, future leaders, and middle managers are strongly correlated and merged into one latent variable of leadership. Furthermore, leadership must be developed to achieve excellent agencies by the three manifest variables. Leadership in this study is also related to transformational leadership and strategic leadership which hugely contributed the high-performance organizations. The results of this study are able to reinforce the significance of leadership to effective and efficient public organizations. The latent variable of leadership is verified and leaded to the test of measurement model in future research. Further studies of other variables of leadership should be conducted to explore how they contribute to effective and efficient organizations.

The culture of excellence. Challenges and opportunities during changing times

Abstract The main goal of the paper is to highlight the importance of supporting the promotion of the culture of excellence among people involved in a way or another in contemporary business. In order to support business excellence, the culture of excellence have to empower and engage all the people within an organization to think out of the box in a modern vision suitable to the challenging and changing times we are facing now. All over the world, in the most competitive countries, regions and sectors of activities there is a paradigmatic change of business strategies and policies oriented more and more towards performance and excellence. The paper highlights the importance of promoting the culture of excellence in the contemporary changing business environment. It suggests an important shift from a perspective that focuses on the so called ‘hero of excellence’ towards promoting the culture of excellence among the whole organization. Within modern business, in order to face challenges of the changing times and to explore their opportunities all the people from an organization are considered to manifest as ‘heroes of excellence’ by co-creating and co-working together within creative and innovative teams. They have to contribute and to participate actively to assure, preserve and develop the competitiveness and well being of the whole organization. The paper supports a holistic, cross disciplinary and integrated vision. It is structured into three parts including: a brief literature review based on an overview of the current state of the literature dedicated to the topic of culture of excellence (part 1); presentation of the main steps of the process of building a sustainable high performance organization (part 2); a brief presentation of examples of best practice and case studied identified internationally (part 3); conclusions that highlight the importance of culture of excellence in changing and challenging times.

An Exploration of the Trust-Commitment Cultural Model and Its Role in the Success of Women Entrepreneurs

Survey data analysis in three stages over a five year period is reported to explore the idea that successfulwomen business owners develop and utilize a "culture of trust and commitment" in their firms and that thisculture is a fundamental contributor to their high financial and organizational performance. Responses ofmore than 1,000 employees from 18 small businesses (14 owned by women, 4 by men) to the 95 questionsof the Quality Leadership Survey (QLS) are given. The QLS in part directly assesses the broad concept ofculture and the specific constructs of trust and commitment. Extensive statistical calculations are employedto examine the possibility that trust and commitment are closely linked and are the foundation of a distinctculture created and nurtured by outstanding women entrepreneurs. The authors believe the education andtraining on the subject of culture will be very helpful to current and future entrepreneurs.

Developing a change approach for the transition to a high performance organization

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to help managers in their constant quest to create and implement new sources of competitive advantage and ways to achieve sustainable high performance to become a high performance organization (HPO) – defined as an organization that achieves financial and non-financial results that are exceedingly better than those of its peer group over a period of five years or more to by focusing in a disciplined way on issues of genuine importance to the organization. One way to become an HPO is by applying the HPO Framework, which has been validated in multiple countries and shown to indeed help organizations to improve their performance. However, a change approach for implementing the HPO Framework that is valid in different contexts has not been developed to date. Such an approach is important as change initiatives suffer from a high failure rate.Design/methodology/approachThe goal of this research was to identify an appropriate change approach for implementing the HPO Framework. A theoretical framework for an HPO change initiative was constructed, which subsequently was tested at an organization undergoing a transformation to become an HPO.FindingsThe results show that the theoretical approach in practice was indeed useful at the case company. A continuous rate of change is needed to implement a corporate-wide change strategy that will enable the organization to constantly adapt to the demands of its business environment. The scale of the transformation differs for each HPO change initiative, depending on the results of the HPO diagnosis. Directly after the HPO diagnosis and at the beginning of the HPO transformation, a planned approach predominates; conversely, while maintaining the HPO, the emergent approach predominates.Research limitations/implicationsThis study is relevant by enabling managers to learn the essentials of a change approach for creating an HPO in the present-day business environment. Based on these essentials, managers can start to develop a change approach that is appropriate for creating their own HPO.Originality/valueThe theoretical relevance of this paper is that, although much literature exists concerning approaches for organizational change initiatives, no change approaches specifically designed for creating an HPO can be found in the literature. This paper provides such an approach.

Applying the high performance organisation framework in the horticulture and greenhouse sector

PurposeThe Dutch agricultural sector nowadays experiences many challenges. To deal with these, the sector has been interested in finding ways to improve performance. Mostly, the improvement research has concentrated in the areas of innovation of products and quality, supply chain management, cooperatives, entrepreneurship and human resources. However, hardly any research has been done into ways to strengthen the internal organisation, encompassing the quality of management, employees and processes and systems of the agriculture company. This paper aims to address this research gap by evaluating whether the high performance organisation (HPO) framework, a scientific validated analysis and improvement technique, can be used to help agricultural enterprises to strengthen their internal organisation.Design/methodology/approachThe HPO Questionnaire was applied at four Dutch horticulture companies to evaluate their performance. Subsequently, at each company, interviews were held to obtain more information about the scores. Then, a workshop was organised with the management of all four companies to discuss the study results.FindingsThe workshop showed that the framework was suitable for the participating companies to start improving their organisations, as management of all four companies agreed that the analysis and recommendations, derived from analysing the questionnaire data and the interviews, were highly relevant to their business.Originality/valueAs there is no holistic organisational evaluation and improvement technique which looks specifically at the internal organisation of horticulture companies, available for the agricultural sector, the application of the HPO Framework in this sector is the first of its kind.

Applicability of the high performance organization (HPO) framework in the Chinese context

PurposeIn recent years, China has shifted its competitive strategy from competing on low cost to producing higher value added products and services, and the country has made the promotion of business excellence a national strategic priority. As a consequence, Chinese organizations need to know the factors that will make them world-class companies. Until recently, not much research has been done into these factors in the Chinese context. The few studies available unfortunately were mainly done only into specific elements of excellence and specific improvement techniques; a holistic and scientifically validated framework for creating high performance organizations (HPOs) cannot be found. The purpose of this study is to evaluate such a framework, which was quite recently developed, for the Chinese context.Design/methodology/approachA possible way forward is to use the HPO framework which was validated in earlier studies for the Asian context. In this paper, this research question is answered: Can the HPO framework be used to help Chinese organization to evaluate and improve the factors for excellence in the Chinese context? The study used a questionnaire which was distributed to respondents of a Chinese state-owned manufacturing enterprise. The results were discussed during a workshop to arrive at the main attention points for the organization.FindingsThe HPO framework was validated for the Chinese context and yielded valuable recommendations for improvement for the case company.Originality/valueThis study fills the gap which currently exists in empirical research about organization performance practices in Chinese. The study also has practical implications as management of Chinese state-owned enterprises, and possibly other Chinese companies, are now able to undertake focused improvement actions.

Investigating the causal link between a management improvement technique and organizational performance

PurposeAn important question in contemporary research is: do certain management practices cause better performance or do better performing organizations find it easier to adopt certain management practices? This question is also of importance when applying the high performance organization (HPO) framework, which is a scientifically validated technique designed to achieve and sustain a high level of performance. Many research studies correlate the HPO framework with improved organizational performance. There are, however, no studies which explicitly look at the causal relationship. This paper aims to provide empirical evidence of causality.Design/methodology/approachLongitudinal research was conducted at two companies. An HPO diagnosis was conducted at each company, after which management implemented the HPO framework. Two units at each company were selected as case studies. Data were collected, using a questionnaire and interviews, at the beginning and after 18 months, when the diagnoses were repeated. A linear regression analysis was performed to interpret the data.FindingsDespite exposure to the same HPO framework techniques, organizational units achieved significantly different outcomes. In each company, one unit achieved a higher HPO score and higher organizational results, while the other unit had no change, or a lower HPO score and lower organizational results. The key factor was the manner in which unit managers applied the HPO framework.Practical implicationsOptimal effectiveness for the HPO framework occurs when management incorporates the HPO factors into the workplace and strives diligently to improve performance.Originality/valueThis research responds to the question “Do certain management practices cause better performance or do better performing organizations find it easier to adopt certain management practices?”

Pre‐hospital and retrieval medicine: Clinical governance and workforce models

Pre-hospital and retrieval medicine (PHARM) has developed significantly in the past decade. This perspective article proposes that PHARM should develop with a clear focus on contemporary health governance principles, and that its workforce and models of care adopt modern interdisciplinary approaches. Many of the older systems of managing clinical standards, and outdated cultural approaches to professional 'turf', workforce and scope of practice have little place in high-performance organisations. This paper calls us to attention with a recommendation that best and safest systems of care, structured to optimise patient outcomes and system performance should be our goal.

Managing Expectations to Create High Performance Government

Enhanced performance has been the focus of public administration and management research for years. High performance organizations have characteristics that differentiate them from others; they also utilize high performance work practices (HPWPs). A core HPWP is performance management, which seeks to align individual performance with organizational outcomes. We posit that performance management can enable high performance through managing employee expectations. Drawing on a study undertaken in the Australian Public Service, we demonstrate how using an expectancy theory lens helps explain how performance management can support high performance. We suggest that all three elements of expectancy theory—valance, expectancy, and instrumentality—need to be in place to support the creation of goal and role clarity, critical components of high performance. This offers practitioners a way of structuring effective conversations and scholars the opportunity to consider the theoretical implications of linking expectancy theories, performance management, and high performance.

Characteristics of High Performance Organization and Knowledge Productivity of Independent Professionals

High Performance Organization (HPO) characteristics indicate why an organization is able to achieve significantly better results than other organizations and these characteristics can facilitate associations to optimize employees’ work outcomes. The independent professional (IP) is an increasingly occurring phenomenon in the labor market that fulfils an organizations’ need for flexibility in knowledge productivity. This study focuses on the contribution of HPO characteristics to the knowledge productivity of IP's. It was conducted among managers and HRM professionals in various Dutch knowledge-intensive organizations that frequently enlist the services of IPs. This study found a number of HPO attributes that appeared to contribute to the IPs' knowledge productivity, namely the quality of management, an open and action-focused organizational culture, and continual improvement and innovation. We will use these results to look ahead and consider the future consequences for professional practice. Managers and HRM professionals should strive to contribute to the incorporation of these characteristics within the organization in order to safeguard and enhance knowledge productivity of independent professionals.

New Trends on Strategic Planning: Virtual Environment, Tech Innovation, Globalization & Organizational Performance

Strategic Planning (SP) in today’s dynamic and complex global environment needs to adopt new approaches about the design and implementation phases including major factors like new information technology as it related to Virtual Environment and directing the different stakeholders and people working in different physical locations. The paper will look at key factors that differentiate traditional approach to strategic planning and one that fits virual environment. It will address factors like innovations in the SP process, how to handle the virtual teams, new look at strategic planning from the process perspective compared to traditional goal perspective, impact of SP on high performance organizations in virtual environment, and the role of the three Cs: Cooperation, Collaboration and Coordination in the strategic planning process. The paper also examines a few key components of the new virtual environment that affect SP within the globalization context like the impact of advanced technology in the form of internet, use of personal computer and other mobile devises leading to diversification of work locations, home offices, Tele-working and virtual teams as work units and how new tools needed for Strategic Plan (SP) be utilized for in both planning and implementation phases. Changes in monitoring and accountability mechanisms, use of more flexibility and formidable performance and productivity assessment criteria, leaning towards more process-oriented planning and finally the new perspectives on the applications of the 3Cs (Cooperation, Collaboration, and Coordination) in the planning processes calling for more formidable devises for functional alignment of various parts of the organization, inter and intra-organization communication, boundary spanning are among the relevant key factors to be explored.

Human Resource Managementts Role in Corporate Social Responsibility: A Roadway to Sustain

As human Resource influences many key systems and business processes underpinning effective delivery, it is very important to foster a CSR ethic and achieve a high-performance CSR culture. Human Resource Management can play a pivotal role so that CSR can become “the way we do things around here.” It cannot be denied that human resource can be a key organizational partner to ensure that what the organization says publicly aligns with how people are treated within the organization. Today, Human Resource is in an enviable position to provide the tools and framework for the team of executives and CEO to embed CSR ethic and culture into the brand and strategic framework of the organization. Objective: This paper will focus to understand the elements which need to be in place to foster a high-performance CSR organization and device a roadmap for firms willing to become a high performing CSR organization. Methodology: This paper is based on secondary data obtained from sources like Journals, Articles, and Websites etc. Findings: The present paper would enable us to know the role played by the human resource management towards corporate social responsibility which is regarded as a roadway to sustain. Limitations: Due to the paucity of time and other constraints, it was not possible to take steps for collecting primary data. Originality/Value: The present endeavor would highlight the HR implications by enlarging the vision of the corporate visionaries which speaks that CSR activities should not only be outbound but also inbound which is essential for the sustainability of the employees and their satisfaction within the workplace.

Do different generations look differently at high performance organizations?

PurposeMany researchers argue that the shared values of a generation affect people’s attitude, commitment, and ethics toward work. It is also argued that generational differences may cause tension between employees and with that prevent projects – such as a transition to a high performance organization (HPO) – from being completed successfully. The purpose of this paper is to examine whether generational differences in work values influence people’s perceptions of HPO, and if so, in what ways and how management could deal with it. The HPO Framework developed by de Waal (2012b) was used as a starting point for the study.Design/methodology/approachThis study was performed at a Dutch multinational with a management trainee program. In this program, young talents, all belonging to Generation Y, followed a series of internships in various business units. A questionnaire on HPO was distributed among the trainees and their direct managers (all Generation Xers). The average scores for the five factors described in the HPO Framework were calculated for both groups. In addition, attention points were identified for the multinational, i.e. issues that needed to be addressed by the organization in order for it to become an HPO. The scores and the attention points were discussed in a workshop with both trainees and managers. Finally, the results of the workshop were analyzed and several weeks later presented by the authors to a larger audience, to validate the research findings.FindingsThe research results showed that there was a close match between the opinions of trainees (Generation Yers) and of managers (Generation Xers) concerning the general importance of the HPO factors, the organization’s performance on these factors, and the actions needed to improve on them. There were several explanations for the fact that generational differences did not influence the opinions of both generations on HPO. For example, the corporate culture in a multinational may be predominant over national culture, creating uniform thinking; or new employees adapt quickly to the organization and behave according to established patterns and thereby comply to the accepted way of thinking in the company.Research limitations/implicationsThe practical implication of this study is that an organization does not have to target specific groups to convince people of the importance of HPO. It should be sufficient to hold an informative session for all staff on HPO before starting the joint HPO transition process.Originality/valueThis is the first study into how generational differences in work values could influence the opinions of various generations on HPO.