Like many, I had never heard of evidence-based management prior to this weeks session. EBM is using data, facts, and verification as a basis for decision-making. Those who are in favor of this approach believe that by considering sound evidence, unnecessary damage to employee well-being and group performance can be avoided. Research considers the issue of incentive pay as an example. In a recent New York Times article, this is detailed.
“Many people believe that paying for performance will work in virtually any organization, so it is used again and again to solve problems — even where evidence shows it is ineffective.Recently, New York City decided to end a teacher bonus program after three years and $56 million. As The New York Times reported in July that a study found that the effort to link incentive pay to student performance “had no positive effect on either student performance or teachers’ attitudes.”But that bad news could have been predicted long before spending all that time and money. After all, the failure of similar efforts to improve school performance has been documented for decades.”
This is an example of a positive implication that EBM would have on management. By utilizing EBM, the manager would realize that the documented failure of incentive pay would render it useless. This would lead said manager to consider different types of employee incentives that have been found to work in other research.
As someone who has spent her working career in various corporate offices, I was initially attracted by this approach. Shortly after reading the text however, I am singing a different tune. In the class text, Pfeffer and Sutton use evidence based medicine in order to demonstrate the EBM movement.
P & F write,
“ Other reasons that many doctors don’t use the best evidence remind us of why managers might not either: they rust their clinical experience more than research, there is too much evidence for any person to absorb, and those who try to keep up with the advances in knowledge often aren’t trained to distinguish strong research from weak. Plus, doctors face an endless supply of vendor who muddy the waters by exaggerating the benefits and downplaying the risk of using their products.” (Page 13)
To further this point, the text goes on to explain that there are obviously physicians who critique such an approach- the idea that Doctors will replace their clinical judgment with search engines. Like those who find issue in the EB approached, I agree greatly. Though I find it to be invaluable for doctors/managers/etc. to stay informed of the happenings in their field as far as research is concerned, I do not believe that it is possibly to place all faith in any on opinion. Other classmates have touched on the idea of credibility, which is valid point. Beyond this, the idea that all managers or all Doctors could or ever would be exposed to the same set of research and obtain the same knowledge. This is seemingly impossible, as is the idea that each of these professionals could ever ignore past clinical or professional experience to utilize EBM instead.
Sources:
Pfeffer, J., & Sutton, R. I. (2006). Hard facts, dangerous half-truths, and total nonsense: Profiting from evidence-based management. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Press.
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/jobs/04pre.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/04/jobs/04pre.html?_r=0
