In Stella Choi’s blog about Yahoo adopting Microsoft’s heavily criticized method of firing employees through using a bell curve, an interesting insight is given on the different ways performance can be driven amongst the employees of a company. However, this bell curve has caused increased competitiveness, resulting in bitterness and suspicion between employees, which may ultimately decrease productivity.
Although it is necessary for a business to drop its poorly performing workers in order to stay profitable, Yahoo could do so using another method. For example, instead of grading and constantly reminding employees that they would be fired if they produced less satisfactory results compared to their colleagues, management could determine who to fire by simply observing who produces the worst results without the employees knowing. This way, without the pressure constantly pushing the employees, workers would be able to cooperate and take more risks.
This article can also relate to the concepts of business ethics that we learnt in class 3. Motivating employees for maximum performance through fear is not sustainable in the long term nor is it ethical towards the employees; it is crucial for a business to treat its employees well.
References:
http://watchurmouth.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Fired.jpg