Book Review: Managing people in a SMART way

Increasing labor costs constitute a large percentage of the costs of any enterprise. If increased costs are matched by increased productivity, then the enterprise can remain viable.

However, paying for results to ensure labor cost-effectiveness has often been an elusive undertaking. This is largely a result of commonly used appraisal systems that do not measure specific results achieved. And if they do, results are often evaluated based on only quantity and time. They omit the measurement of quality of output, cost of achieving the results, and the impact on others in achieving the desired results. In short, there is no individual balanced scorecard because efficiency has to be matched by effectiveness to achieve true productivity.

This book is written for practicing managers who want to enhance the productivity of those under their charge and improve business results through the Results Management System (RMS). This system refers to the many inter-related sub-systems and business processes within which individual and group performance are measured and managed. It is about the measurement and management of individual performance to enhance individual productivity.