Differentiation

Differentiation

Corey Jackson

JWMI: People Management

Professor Valdes-Fauli

4/19/2015

        The purpose of this document is to present and discuss the strengths, pitfalls, and

underlying assumptions of differentiating employees in the manner suggested in Jack

Welch’s framework. The document will also present a framework I would use to assess my

employees, why I will use it, and how it will be used to differentiate them. Finally, this

document will discuss the values, cultural elements, and organizational processes that must

be in place for differentiation of employees to be equitable and productive.

Differentiation is one of the topics discuss by Jack Welch that is really polarizing.

Some people love it, use it in their organizations and discuss it as the root of their success.

Others hate it. Using all kinds of epithets and going as far as describing it as “cruel and

Darwinian”. There is no question differentiation is a divisive topic. But a lot of the

divisiveness associated with the framework is rooted in the misunderstanding and the

confusion about what differentiation really is, how to implement it, and the elements and

values that must precede the implementation of the framework for it to be successful. The

strengths of differentiation is that it guarantees that the best person for the job is the employee

leading the charge. Beyond a shadow of a doubt you know that the job is going to get done

accurately. You as the manager have taken the time to look over many months of work being

done, projects completed, how well the employee adjusts to change, and the employee’s attitude

which leads to that sound decision. There’s a high level of comfort knowing who is handling the

assignment at hand. The pitfalls of differentiation is that even though statistically you may have

placed the correct employee in the position of leadership, that particular employee may receive

new information in a way they are not comfortable. Each employee learns and retains

information differently. So that would be one of the risks taken during the selection process of

picking the right person for the job. Some underlying assumptions is that the people selected are

only people who know the manager personally. The employee who has befriended the manager

and hang out with them on a regular basis outside of work. Favoritism is another assumption that

rings across the floor. Some employees don’t pay attention to the fact that one employee may go

beyond the call of duty on multiple occasions and that’s the reason why their name comes up

every time an opportunity to excel, be the lead of a project, or receive any kind or recognition

presents itself. Though is some places there are managers and other people in high rank positions