last updated 10/30/2006

Everyday Interactions as Forms of Performance Control

A.  One on One Influence Strategies - How do you control organization member performance?

1. Assertiveness - asking for compliance firmly
2. Bargaining - offering something in return for compliance
3. Coalition - seeking support from others as backing
4. Friendliness -
5. Calling on or making reference to higher authority
6. Reasoning - presenting a logical argument for compliance (usual first choice in most organizations)
7. Sanctions - punishment or threats

B.  Goal Setting - Goals can control performance whether set jointly or unilaterally.  They channel behavior and thinking.

1. Goal specificity - Greater specificity yields greater effectiveness of performance
2. Goal difficulty - Realistic, achievable but challenging goals work best.
3. Mutual participation in goal setting tends to produce more challenging goals

C.  Feedback - In Systems terms,  messages that control the system and keep it stable. Usually the messages are assumed to come from supervisor but that isn't always the reality of the workplace

• positive feedback - messages that tell the system (employee) to keep doing what it's doing
• negative feedback - messages that tell the system (employee) to change what it's doing

Feedback Characteristics that Influence Its Effectiveness in Controlling Performance

1. Valance - positive or negative
2. specificity - level of detail, how behavioral
3. timeliness - proximity to the performance the feedback references
4. frequency - how often is feedback delivered
5. sensitivity - to what degree are the feelings of the receiver considered in the message