Page 175 - Psychological Management of Individual Performance

158 analysis of performance potential
In the context of organizations, potential is analyzed in order to predict future perfor-
mance on a variety of jobs, i.e., potential assessment is not a goal for itself but is a means
to reach a certain end. It is not future potential performance but future actual perfor-
mance (i.e., observable behavior and/or its results) that the organization needs to know.
Therefore, it should be made clear that observable performance behavior or its results
are always a combination of potential (in the meaning of capability) and motivation, the
exact proportions of which are difficult to determine. Thus, it is necessary to include the
personality-caused aspect of motivation, i.e., a person’s principal readiness to perform
on a higher level.

DEFINITION OF POTENTIAL ANALYSIS

Now, what is potential analysis? Definitions of potential analysis vary according to
several aspects. One aspect is the question: Where does the stimulation for development
come from? A second is the question: Does potential analysis only refer to abilities and
skills that have not yet come into existence or also to abilities and skills that already
exist? A third aspect concerns the kind of individuals whose performance potential is
measured. In the following, we provide an overview of the components that are included
in the various definitions and add our compilation.
According to Lattmann (1994) potential analysis is the measurement of the degree
and direction to which an individual could be developed. In this definition the drive for
development comes exclusively from outside the individual, i.e., from the organization’s
side. It is our opinion that this is too mechanistic a view of people but has the great advan-
tage of simplifying human resources development planning. However, the assumption
that people always have a determined level of abilities that were given them by planful
developmental measures seems unrealistic. In contrast to this position, other researchers
(e.g., Becker, 1992; Deller & Kendelbacher, 1996) define potential analysis as the identi-
fication of abilities and skills of an individual that might develop or might be developed.
This definition includes the possibility of spontaneous changes of the individual (e.g.,
from maturity or from situational influences which the individual adapts to) that are not
initiated by purposeful human resources development measures. From the viewpoint of
human resources personnel, who in the case of potential analysis represents the interests
of the organization’s management, it seems more useful and realistic to adopt this latter
position. If spontaneous changes are likely to occur it is reasonable to consider them in
order to avoid misdirections in the planning of employee development. It even seems
reasonable to anticipate actively such changes because the investment in training courses
which develop abilities that would have developed anyhow may be saved.
A second difference in definitions is whether the identification of abilities and skills is
restricted to those that still do not exist (Lattmann, 1994; Obermann, 1996). For example,
Obermann underlines that the potential of an individual is not determined for a person as
a whole but for single abilities and skills that the person has not yet developed. In contrast,
Schuler (1996) and Becker (1992) speak of existing as well as future qualifications. The
difference in these theoretical approaches to potential analysis is significant.
In the first position the idea is inherent that potential analysis is restricted to skills
and abilities a person has not shown to date. Strictly speaking, that means that the
potential to supervise employees cannot be determined by means of potential analysis for
apersonthathasalreadysupervisedsomeone.Itisobviousthatthisstrictunderstandingof
the term potential makes potential analysis a difficult task. But this viewpoint not only