What Makes a High Performance Organization: Five Factors of Competitive Advantage that Apply Worldwide - Hardcover

De Waal, André A.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1906403821 ISBN 13: 9781906403829

Publisher: Global Professional Publishing, 2012

Synopsis

Declining consumer confidence, poor bottom-line results, the prospect of economy ups-and-downs and the continuing financial crisis in Europe have combined to prompt many organizations to attempt drastic actions. In his latest book "What Makes A High Performance Organization: Five Validated Factors of Competitive Advantage that Apply Worldwide" Dr. André de Waal, Academic Director of the HPO Center and Associate Professor of High Performance Organizations at the Maastricht School of Management, reveals the 'holy grail' of highly successful organizations. After years of global research into the success factors of High Performance Organizations (HPOs), his new book reports his validated findings and offers an HPO Framework currently in use by over 2,000 organizations worldwide.

"This book is meant for anyone interested in improving organizations, using a scientifically validated framework instead of depending on the latest management fad."

After introducing in Chapter 1 the HPO and the HPO Framework and their accompanying benefits, Chapter 2 concentrates on the research done by the HPO Center to develop the HPO Framework for practitioners to improve organizational performance. Five factors of high performance - the HPO factors - are introduced as well as several factors that during the research turned out to be of lesser importance than always thought for becoming an HPO. In this chapter the question is also raised, and answered, whether the five HPO factors will remain the same through time and thus whether they will still be relevant for managers in the future. Chapter 2 concludes with the practical application of the framework by introducing the HPO Diagnosis. The working of the diagnosis is illustrated by the experiences at two case companies. Chapters 3 through 7 go in more detail into the five HPO factors. They describe the underlying characteristics of high performance, and ideas to get started - originating from the HPO research and other recent organizational studies - with improving the characteristics are given. Chapter 8 gives the steps which need to be taken to make the transition to an HPO are described. Finally, in Chapter 9 the added value of the HPO Framework is discussed, based on the experiences of organizations and researchers while working with the framework.

This book includes many real-life examples from organizational branches, e.g., Finance, Retail, Industry, ICT, High Education and Government, illustrating the workings of the HPO Framework at organizations in Western and emerging markets. Also included are many interviews with HPO leaders, e.g., Microsoft, SABMiller, Unilever, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Umpqua Bank, Tata Steel, Svenska Handelsbanken and HP.
"This pioneering work of Dr. de Waal is a must read for people interested in this subject."
Prof. Manfred F.R. Kets de Vries, Professor at INSEAD and one of the world's most influential thinkers

About this title

From the Author

Managers are expected to realize the goals of their organizations by achieving outstanding performance in their organizational unit, even as they are under constant pressure to deal effectively with the current business environment. Managers are thus extremely pressed for time, and in need of a strong focus on what really must be done to improve performance. My book, including the HPO Framework, is intended for anyone interested in improving an organization via a scientifically validated framework as opposed to depending on the latest management fad.

But what are the benefits of applying the HPO Framework? Since the first publication on the HPO Framework in 2007, many organizations worldwide have worked with the HPO Framework, and many new research studies have been based on the framework. This made it possible to evaluate the financial and non-financial benefits that applying the HPO Framework can bring to organizations. These benefits consists of the following:

• A better employee attitude. Employees feel and take more responsibility for improving the organization's products, services and processes. They take more initiative and the degree of innovation increases. More new products and services are brought to the market place, in shorter time spans. There is also a more positive mentality and higher engagement.
• Better cooperation inside and outside the organization. Employees cooperate more and better, both internally with colleagues of other departments as externally with suppliers and customers. They are more open to ideas from other people and they see themselves as part of an organizational value chain which has to function effectively along all its links. There are better and more frequent dialogues between managers and employees, and also between organizational units.
• A better organization. The organization has a more unique strategy compared to its peer group. This uniqueness can be found either in the content or the execution of the strategy, and often in both. This sets the organization clearly apart from its competitors, which raises its attractiveness to new customers and potential employees. There is more focus and discipline. Employees also feel a strong corporate social responsibility. This makes that the organization enjoys a better reputation both in the business community and in society in general.
• Better financial results. The abovementioned non-financial benefits translate into clear financial benefits. Productivity increases as the same people do more, with more success. Profitability also increases as costs are lower and turnover is higher. As a consequence, as the organization rises towards the top of the sector, its market share keeps on growing. Finally, as costs and budgets are better under control, the financial situation of the organization improves and stabilizes.
• Competitive advantage. Achieving higher HPO scores means better financial results, and when the organization achieves the highest average HPO score in the sector it also has the best financial results in comparison with its competitors. The same is true for organizational units when these are compared to each other: the units with the highest average HPO scores also have the best financial performance of all the units, and vice versa.

By committing to the five HPO factors your organization can attain the abovementioned benefits too. Yet, as I said before, no blueprint exists, no operations manual is available, no formula is ready made that merely has to be copied. Only by forging the path toward HPO in a manner that is right for you can your organization get there. But the benefits, in the end, will of course be worth it!

From the Back Cover

How can today's managers concentrate on what really matters to improve the performance of their organization, to reach outstanding goals?

The answer is in What Makes an HPO. The five critical factors of the HPO Framework - Management Quality, Openness & Action-Orientation, Long-Term Orientation, Continuous Improvement & Renewal and Employee Quality - will help you turn your organization into an HPO. This book shows you what to concentrate on, how others have done it, how to achieve it yourself.

Finally, a book that goes beyond "promises" but gives greater clarity about the essential contributing factors of high performance organizations. This pioneering work of Dr. de Waal is a must read for people interested in this subject.
Manfred F. R. Kets de Vries, Clinical Professor of Leadership and Organizational Change at INSEAD and The Raoul de Vitry d'Avaucourt Chaired Professor of Leadership Development, and one of the world most influential thinkers

This book is in the tradition of 'In Search of Excellence' and 'Good to Great' but with evidence and examples from across the globe. It contains a lot of wisdom, and it is written in an engaging style. Well done, André de Waal!
Kenneth A. Merchant, Deloitte & Touche LLP Chair of Accountancy Marshall School of Business, University of Southern California and author of 10 business books

Much of the academic or consultancy work on improving organizational performance is based on unsubstantiated opinion and therefore, unsurprisingly, little benefit ensues. Andre's approach is much more rigorous and is based on a close systematic examination of the facts across time, cultures and different industries. Giving definition to what is meant by 'performance' is of itself a huge step forwards.
Mike Haffenden, MD Strategic Dimensions, Director of the Corporate Research Forum (CRF) and the Performance and Reward Centre (PARC), Europe's leading management research consortia

The HPO methodology provided a perfect means of benchmarking where we were, telling us what good looked like, the things that we really needed to focus on, a target to aim for and the means to measure our progress - excellent.
Huw T. Owen - President, BT Global Health

This book sets out to answer one of the eternal questions: what makes a high performance organization? Packed with case examples and valuable insights the book will undoubtedly help you on your journey to becoming an HPO.
Professor Andy Neely, University of Cambridge

André de Waal has done a wonderful job in researching high performance scientifically and then turning his findings into tangible ideas that managers can use immediately.
Peter Hartman, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines President and CEO

The HPO Framework of André de Waal, described in this well-written book, is based on solid scientific and practical research and its working has been tested at actual organizations. This makes De Waal's framework the first one to actually help managers improve in a sustainable manner.
Henk W. Broeders, Corporate Vice President Capgemini S.A.

André de Waal has delivered a strategic plan for us all that not only promises to succeed, but that has been proven to do so. If his five factors are observed and practiced, your company is bound to reach optimum levels and stay there. This is a business book with value for one and all.
Suzanne Bates is CEO of Bates Communications, author of three books including the bestseller "Speak Like a CEO" and "Motivate Like a CEO" and an expert in business communications and leadership, appearing in hundreds of publications including the New York Times, Forbes Magazine and Business Week.

Edition details

• Publisher: Global Professional Publishing
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 1906403821
• ISBN 13: 9781906403829
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 331