Passage
In 2003, Cali Ressler and Jody Thompson were developing new human resources guidelines at Best Buy, an electronics retailer, when they suggested a profound shift in the way the company managed its employees. They wondered what might happen if they granted workers 100 percent autonomy and expected of them 100 percent accountability. What if employees were judged solely on the work they did and not at all on the manner in which they did it?
Ressler and Thompson dubbed their plan the Results-Only Work Environment, or ROWE. The scheme involved some radical proposals. People could work from home absolutely anytime they felt like it, without needing a reason or excuse. There would be no such thing as a sick day or a vacation allotment – employees could take off as much time as they wanted, whenever they saw fit. Perhaps most provocative: all meetings would be optional. Even if your boss had invited you. Don’t think you need to be there? Don’t come.
In return for this absolute freedom, workers would need to produce. Bosses would set macro expectations (e.g., increase sales by 10 percent) and then assess the results without micromanaging (e.g., keeping tabs on who arrived at the office earliest in the morning or left latest at night). If the goal was met, there were no complaints from your boss about that Tuesday afternoon you spent at your kid’s football game. If the goal wasn’t met, no amount of face time around the office would substitute for the lack of results. Of course, if your job description involved opening up the store at 9 a.m., fulfilment of that goal was a must. But for knowledge workers, measuring output became entirely divorced from hours logged in the office.
The key difference under ROWE is that superiors are managing the work instead of managing the people. It forces clear thinking on what the expectations should be for delivering results.
Thompson claims the effect on employees is remarkable. ‘When you get to take over your own life and feel responsible for yourself and your work,’ she says, ‘you feel proud and liberated and dignified. It’s the control, but it’s also the clarity on top of it. I now need to know what my results are supposed to be so I can prove that I’m getting there.’
Decades ago, it was useful to be physically present in the office as much as possible. That way, your boss knew how to find you when it was time to get a question answered or to work together on a project. Now, though, we have mobile phones and email and instant messenger and collaboration software. It’s quite easy to get things done from different places and at different times. Chair-warming presenteeism isn’t necessary.
But what happens when we give ROWE a taste of its own medicine and judge it solely on its results, instead of its intentions? According to Phyllis Moen, a sociology professor at the University of Minnesota, who has conducted a number of studies on the effects of ROWE on Best Buy employees, ROWE has had some surprisingly positive results, including better employee health, reduced turnover and improved morale.
That all sounds great for the employees. But Ressler and Thompson claim the company benefited, as well. According to them, voluntary turnover rates went down as much as 90 percent on ROWE teams, while productivity on those teams increased by 41 percent.
Thompson and Ressler have laid out their blueprint for ROWE in a book titled Why Work Sucks and How to Fix It.
Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 66
Try yourself:What is ROWE, as per this passage?
Explanation
Refer to the first three paragraphs, which describe ROWE, which stands for Results-Only Work Environment. In brief, the first three paragraphs explain ROWE as a new system giving 100 per cent autonomy to the workers in exchange for 100% accountability with their functions. Workers could work from anywhere they want, working on whatever they want to.. They were not allotted any sick leave or vacation, and there was no compulsion to attend any meetings. In return for this absolute freedom, workers would need to produce results in accordance with the macro expectations set by Bosses and assess them without micromanaging.
From this description of ROWE, option 1 is correct. Retain option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect because it only talks about the number of hours and not the other aspects of ROWE. Eliminate option 2.
Option 3 is incorrect. Similar to option 2, option 3 fails to mention what results the employees were required to produce in return for the freedom that ROWE offered. Eliminate option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. Like options 2 and 3, option 4 highlights only one aspect of ROWE – that of supervision. The voluntary aspect of ROWE, which is its real significance, is not highlighted in any of the incorrect options. Eliminate option 4.
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 66
Try yourself:ROWE could be applicable in which of the following types of work environments?
Explanation
Paragraph 3 states thus: “Of course, if your job description involved opening up the store at 9 a.m., fulfilment of that goal was a must. But for knowledge workers, measuring output became entirely divorced from hours logged in the office.” So, ROWE is applicable only to knowledge workers. Options 1, 3 and 4 are at best, workplaces where the proportion of knowledge workers is insignificant compared to workers committed to timing and physical presence. Hence, we can eliminate options 1, 3 and 4.
Option 2, a law firm is a work environment known significantly for knowledge workers. Retain option 2.
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 66
Try yourself:What is the author’s attitude towards ROWE?
Explanation
The author’s attitude towards ROWE can be judged by his own comments about ROWE at certain places in the passage. For example, his view is expressed in the fourth paragraph: “The key difference under ROWE is that superiors are managing the work instead of managing the people. It forces clear thinking on what the expectations should be for delivering results.” Though the author describes the Ressler Thompson experience in ROWE at Best Buy, the author is in complete agreement with the experiment and does not find anything negative in the whole experience. Thus, option 1 is the correct answer. Retain option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect. The author’s attitude towards ROWE is positive: he doesn’t say anything negative about it. The author does not question any aspects of ROWE. Eliminate option 2.
Option 3 is incorrect. While the second half of option [3] is true, the author’s attitude, in general, is not sceptical. Eliminate option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. There is no bias on the part of the author which is reflected in the essay. Eliminate option 4.
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 66
Try yourself:It can be inferred from the passage that all the following are essential to the success of ROWE, EXCEPT:
Explanation
Option 1 is incorrect. Unless the employee understands what he has to achieve in order to be termed a success, he or she will be directionless. Hence, option 1 is not an exception. Eliminate option 1.
Option 2 is incorrect. Similar to option 1, the employee’s choice to accept a job under ROWE must be based on his awareness of the repercussions of failing to meet the set measurement of success. This awareness is essential to the success of ROWE. Hence, option 2 is not an exception. Eliminate option 2.
Option 4 is incorrect. Employees must be confident that there will be no discrimination and that all results will be measured equally among other employees irrespective of whether they are working under ROWE or otherwise. No favoritism should creep into ROWE environment. Eliminate option 4.
Option 3 is correct since ‘excellent relations with other employees and the managers’ are not essential to the success of ROWE if practiced purely professionally. In fact a manager should not have favorites among employees working under ROWE. Retain option 3.
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Question for 100 RCs for Practice Questions- 66
Try yourself:This passage is most likely an extract from which of the following?
Explanation
Option 1 is incorrect. The passage is focused on ROWE, not Best Buy or its financial performance. So [1] is unlikely. Eliminate option 1.
Option 3 is incorrect. A social magazine is generally concerned with lifestyle, entertainment etc. rather than professional matters. Eliminate option 3.
Option 4 is incorrect. In the essay, Thompson and Ressler are referred to in third person. Eliminate option 4.
Option 2 is correct. ROWE is a management principle. The essay explains what ROWE is and its impact in Best Buy where it was tried out. Retain option 2.
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