The Bell Curve Haunting : New Season


Bell Curve: Intelligence and Class Structure in American Life (A Free Press Paperbacks Book)John is very excited. It’s the appraisal time and he is expecting a good rating followed by a healthy salary hike. But the excitement could not last long as he was haunted by the "Bell Curve". His manager conveyed that if John is given more than average rating, the Bell Curve will get out of shape. John is devastated. He could not understand what the hell this curve is and how could its shape decide what he has done is worth consideration or not? How could it wash out everything he has done through out the year?

Its annual review/appraisal time and with it starts the new season of the "Bell Curve Haunting". For people who are not aware of "Bell Curve", it would be mostly fresher's I presume, it’s the concept used by the HR to gauge the performance of the workforce. There are numerous application of the theory and one of them is Performance Appraisal. I am sure many of the experienced out there must have felt the burnt of this the way John has. Though you have performed well you won't get the rating because it disturbs the "Bell Curve".

So, is the Bell Curve concept that bad? Does it instead of gauging and popping out the right people simple de motivates them, frustrates them?

I feel No. The Bell Curve Debate
There is nothing wrong with the theory. It is based on the simple concept that if somebody has to exceed expectation, he/she has to do something more than the routine stuff. Lets call it Innovation, adding Intelligence.
The good question would be What is Innovation? When does one innovate?

My logic says Innovation is a way to bridge the gap. Innovation feels the gap between what is offered and what is expected, between what is available and what can be achieved. Somebody thought of being able to talk to dear ones as and when needed and so Telephone was Invented. There was somebody else who thought wires were cumbersome and so Wireless telephony came into picture. So if somebody is innovating, he/she is always looking for gaps and ways to fill them, ways to bridge them. And for Innovation to happen, you have to empower people for it, provide them their righful playground. A person performing the routine tasks well will find a place in the center of the curve. The upper and lower portion of the curve are reserved for the rest of the population.

Bell Curve very well takes into consideration Innovation, Intelligence. But what makes it vulnerable is the way the theory is implemented. Its all about following the theory in Spirit and not as a mere policy as everybody across industry follows. I dont wana dive into the reasons as to why the theory is not implemented in the true spirit. The experience people are aware of the reasons and the fresher should experience and learn as its vital for survial in the corporate world.
I hope someday this gap would also be filled and the Haunting Bell Curve season for one and all.

Post a Comment

1 Comments

  1. Srikanth kodipyakaMarch 26, 2011 at 9:25 AM

    Truly agree with every single word you posted here... As John most ppl feel the pain when they hear about their average rating but Corporate world needs a way to distinguish the most effective & innovative resources along with keeping their budgets in tight which is only possible by these means of curves. BUt I havent seen companies showcasing the ppl who sit in the front end of bell curve(horizontaly & not vertically) which will give the average ppl a motive to be one of them & a reason to think innovatively.

    ReplyDelete