Are performance improvement professionals measurably improving performance? What PIJ and PIQ have to say about the current use of evaluation and measurement in the field of performance improvement

Measurement and evaluation are at the core of reliably improving performance. It is through these central mechanisms that performance improvement professionals are able to demonstrate the true worth of their efforts. However, the true value of the contributions they make is inconclusive. This article presents a content analysis of 10 years' worth of Performance Improvement and Performance Improvement Quarterly articles as an initial data point to be used for professional reflection and further exploration into the intentions and practices of performance improvement practitioners.

[1]  A. M. Dickinson.  INVITED ARTICLES CELEBRATING THE 20TH VOLUME OF JOBM IN THE YEAR 2000 The Historical Roots of Organizational Behavior Management in the Private Sector: The 1950s-1980s , 2001 .

[2]  L. Frederiksen,et al.  Inside Organizational Behavioral Management , 1980 .

[3]  James D. Russell.  Evaluating impact: Evaluation and continual improvement for performance improvement practitioners by Ingrid Guerra-Lopez , 2009 .

[4]  P. C. Nutt.  Calling out and calling off the dogs: managerial diagnosis in public service organizations. , 1979, Academy of management review. Academy of Management.

[5]  Ingrid Guerra.  Key Competencies Required of Performance Improvement Professionals , 2008 .

[6]  Matt Donovan,et al.  Serious Performance Consulting According to Rummler , 2006 .

[7]  Richard E. Clark,et al.  A Proposal for the Collaborative Development of Authentic Performance Technology. , 2000 .

[8]  B. L. Hopkins,et al.  An Objective Review and Analysis of Ten Years of Publication in the Journal of Organizational Behavior Management , 1989 .

[9]  Richard E. Clark,et al.  Re‐establishing performance improvement as a legitimate area of inquiry, activity, and contribution: Rules of the road , 1999 .

[10]  R. Kaufman,et al.  Evaluation without fear , 1980 .

[11]  Chris L. S. Coryn,et al.  Evaluation Theory, Models, and Applications , 2007 .

[12]  Liz V. Johnsen,et al.  Empirical Research on Performance Improvement. , 2008 .

[13]  R. M. Schell.  Organizational Behavior Management , 1998 .

[14]  Kathryn M. Culig,et al.  An Objective Comparison of Applied Behavior Analysis and Organizational Behavior Management Research , 2005 .

[15]  F. Andrasik.  ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MODIFICATION IN BUSINESS SETTINGS , 1980 .

[16]  Milton D. Rosenau,et al.  Improving performance: How to manage the white space in the organization chart (2nd edition): by Geary A. Rummler and Alan P. Brache. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1995. 226 + xxv pages. $29.95 , 1996 .

[17]  James D. Klein.  Empirical Research on Performance Improvement. , 2008 .

[18]  Rhonda K. Reger,et al.  A Content Analysis of the Content Analysis Literature in Organization Studies: Research Themes, Data Sources, and Methodological Refinements , 2007 .

[19]  Ingrid Guerra-López.  Performance Evaluation: Proven Approaches for Improving Program and Organizational Performance , 2008 .

[20]  Terry A. Beehr,et al.  Organizational Behavior Management in the Private Sector: A Review of Empirical Research and Recommendations for Further Investigation , 1985 .

[21]  James D. Russell.  Change, choices, and consequences: A guide to mega thinking and planning by Roger Kaufman, CPT , 2007 .

[22]  Paul C. Nutt,et al.  Intelligence gathering for decision making , 2007 .

[23]  L. Frederiksen,et al.  ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR MANAGEMENT , 1981 .

[24]  M. Scriven.  The methodology of evaluation , 1966 .

[25]  David A. Cowan,et al.  Developing a Classification Structure of Organizational Problems: An Empirical Investigation , 1990 .