Stack ranking, also referred to as forced distribution is an arbitrary employee evaluation technique that places a employees on a curve with those on the lower levels either being fire straightaway or being placed on a performance improvement plan ( Davies, 2020 ). The technique applies normal distribution model in ranking as it classifies people in achievers, valuables and deleterious groupings of which in most cases can lead to bureaucracy, promote unethical behaviors and to a greater extent, hamper employee cohesiveness and morale.
Microsoft, a company that was once dominated the tech industry lost its prestige and pride to Apple, FaceBook and Google due stack ranking technique application. Since 2000, the company lost direction due to its bureaucratic leadership that was coupled by an internal culture that rewarded the managers rather than the young visionaries who worked under them. The leadership and the rewarding systems choked the innovative ideas and transformed Microsoft offices from the home for programmers who worked tirelessly into a corporate environment that was both brutish and staid ( Eichenwald, 2012 ). Because of poor decision making of the management, the company ended up crippling its valuable workers which led to the decline of its success to date.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
The stack ranking in Microsoft rewarded the staffers not because they were doing well or performing exemplary but rather because of making sure that those they worked with failed. Project such as e-books as well as Smartphone technology failed because of lack of cohesion among the employees as a result of this system.
In my previous workplace there was this management structure that thrived on discrimination and favoritism. Regardless of how well you performed, provided you were not in the bosses list of favorites, you were not eligible for pay rise or any form of recognition. Only those who were recognized as favorites had the right to be applauded and this led to my own de-motivation and the subsequent resignation.
References
Davies, R. (2020). How Stack Ranking corrupts culture, at Uber and beyond.
Eichenwald, K. (2012). How Microsoft Lost Its Mojo: Steve Ballmer and Corporate America's Most Spectacular Decline.
