High Performance Work Practices
Nancy Brown Johnson
Traditional Work Systems
Tayloristic, based upon high volume
production lines
 Management acts, employees comply
 Work structured from top- employees
carry out management actions
 Quality set by inspection

HPWP Defined
Maximizing the use of technology,
resources, and employees
 Each element must work together
 Work systems are the link that tie the
elements together
 Can contribute to organizational
success but difficult to implement

Elements of a HPWP
Management philosophy that
employees need to share in decisionmaking
 Participative management
 Elements

Information sharing
 Participative decision making
 Increasing knowledge
 Redistributing power

Information Sharing

Provide employees with information
about the business

Enables the employees to make
suggestions for improving product &
processes
Increasing knowledge

Training

Business knowledge
 Enables
the employee’s to understand longterm goals

Interpersonal and group skills
 Gives
employees the skills to work together
and engage in problem-solving

Basic job skills
 Gives
them the foundation for understanding
their role in the organization and how it fits
in to the total organizational goals
Rewarding Performance

Incentives to reinforce commitment


Skill base pay or other systems to
reinforce learning


Profit sharing, share in cost reduction
Provide incentives to engage in learning
& participate
Crucial to include job security
Redistributing power
Shifting decision-making downward
 Must empower workers to make
decisions


JetBlue does it by five core values
 Safety,

Caring, Integrity, Fun, Passion
Restructures organization to team
level decisions

such as quality circles, team meetings
to systematically shift power downward
When are HPWP a good idea?
Required when flexibility essential
 Dynamic changing environments
 May be less efficient
 Much more difficult to implement
than Tayloristic systems
 Tayloristic systems more appropriate
for stable, predictable environments:
allow for efficiency

All Elements must work
Together
Rewarding
Performance
Information
Sharing
HPWP
Redistributing
Power
Increasing
Knowledge
Conditions for HPWP success

Goal Collective Identity
Problem Solving v. Blaming
 Shared goals: everyone knows what
needs to be done
 Shared knowledge of work processes
 Mutual respect among employees
 Frequent & timely communication

Implementing

Management needs combination of
credibility & caring


Coaching & feedback





trust & respect
positive reinforcement v. fear & punishment
Hire employees to work in this environment
Use conflicts to build relationships
Measure performance broadly
Flexibility in jobs
Summary
HPWP much more difficult to
implement than traditional production
systems
 Increase flexibility and work best in
dynamic environment
 Expensive to implement
 Evidence indicates can pay off if
consistently implemented
