High performance organisations: discussion

Abstract

Business organisations have always faced competition and changing contexts, and business leaders and researchers have been on a perennial search for organisational forms and systems that would deliver consistent high performance. In recent times, the nature of competition and the environmental context are changing so dramatically and frequently, particularly due to globalisation and the impact of information technology, that this search has acquired new meaning and relevance. IIMB Management Review (IMR) invited representatives from a range of high performing organisations – from non-traditional organisations to resolutely performance-oriented traditional ones, from software firms to academic institutions researching leadership and transformational issues – to discuss what makes for high performance. The issues discussed included defining and measuring high performance, including for a not-forprofit organisation; strategies for creating high performing organisations (HPOs) and whether standardisation and innovation can go hand in hand; how HPOs can learn from high profile failures; creativity, innovation, capacity building, process and knowledge management in HPOs, where people hold the key; the leadership challenges of managing change; and the emerging global trends and where India stands with regard to them.