This case illustrates the consequences of using a rigorous system for measuring the performance of a pressure performance, motivate employees to achieve, and sharpen the company's competitiveness. It opens with a description of the shortcomings ruthlessly competitive culture in Zynga, young, successful Internet company games. Similar data performance measurement systems operate Dovernet, Vancouver provider of corporate communications and social networking. Dovernet founder and CEO sees performance measurement systems as vital to growing a competitive, innovative workforce necessary to Dovernet, to win in a highly competitive industry. Dovernet uses quarterly reviews and down the stack (with serious consequences for the bonuses), as well as a bottom-up review to reward top achievers and low performers put on notice. Practical problems in the application of this system is described in three short episodes. In the first two, the students can take the role of a manager charged with interpreting and acting on the negative reviews given to two employees with a unique (but they mitigate?) Personal circumstances. The third vignette puts students in the role of an employee of a bottom-up review, as he struggles to balance fairness with potential consequences, giving his manager less than perfect feedback. The case allows students to consider the benefits and risks of different assessment of the effectiveness of policies and their impact on firm performance, culture and employee morale. There are certain types of businesses or industries for which such systems are more suitable? There is integrity and effectiveness of performance measurement depends on managers' application of cold objectivity, or is there room for flexibility? In a highly competitive industry, firms may lack the high levels of stress to beat competitors like Dovernet and Zynga? "Hide
by Robert L. Simons, Natalie Kindred Source: Harvard Business School 11 pages. Publication Date: April 27, 2012. Prod. #: 112061-PDF-ENG
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