Nothing Really Matters! The Devastating Effects of Managerial Inaction

William Conder & C. W. Von Bergen

John Massey School of Business

Many Supervisors Believe

“that doing nothing will haveno effect on performance”

And“No news is good news”

Wrong! Doing Nothing Does Something

–Demotivates good performers• Decreases the probability of future desired behavior

–Encourages poor workers• Opens the door for increased levels of undesired performance

Management Inaction to Desirable Employee Performance

• Nonreinforced good performance leads to bad things– Worker dissatisfaction– Worker performance decrement

• Extinction may unintentionally occur– Analogy: houseplants that do not get watered wither away– “Just ignore it, and it’ll go away” is basically how it worksSometimes a simple “pat on the back”, or public recognition of an employee’s achievements can avoid this.The amount of rewards and positive reinforcements needed is often more than most managers think, so alignment of management and employee perspective can be very useful in preventing extinction.

Great Leaders and Organizations

• By providing occasions to acknowledge, recognize, and reward meaningful accomplishments, leaders create a culture where progress and appreciation prevail.

• Great organizations create greater success by praising and celebrating good performance, that is, by positive reinforcement.

• Are not adverse to address wrongdoing in a constructive manner, or make the tough, necessary decisions.

Management Nonresponse to Undesirable Employee Performance

• Qui tacet consentire videtur.• Wrongdoing is often self-rewarding to a worker and involves an

activity the person already finds satisfying so the behavior often continues

• Creates disillusionment from the very people the business relies most upon—those who consistently produce good results.

• Ignoring undesirable behavior generally tends to maintain or increase ineffective and inefficient actions; more serious actions

• Supervisory silence about wrongdoing is often interpreted as subtle acceptance and consent.

• The absence of accurate and negative feedback frequently leads employees to believe their performance to be on target, and everything is well.

What Do These Individuals Have In Common?

• Pope John Paul II• Coach Joe Paterno• Major Nidal Hassan

Supervisory Obligations

• Courts sometimes hold managers personally liable for supervisory actions, and for the actions of improperly trained employees.

• To ensure a safe and efficient workplace, free from hazards.

• To protect employees from the negative effects of other employees’ undesirable actions.

• To help the firm maintain profitability, and strive toward sustainability.

Functional Effects of Negative Feedback

• Employees generally feel better about their supervisor, coworkers, and opportunities for advancement when their leaders hold employees accountable for poor performance.

• Bad apples spoil the barrel (Felps, Mitchell, & Byington, 2006)

• It can effectively stop potential problems before they get out of control.

In Conclusion …

• Managers seldom recognize the dramatic impact of their own failure to act on their employees• Many performance issues are created not

only by what supervisors do but also by what they don’t do. • DOING NOTHING REALLY MATTERS! It really does