1. Discuss how a firm's strategy can be achieved with a high-performance work system and what its fundamental principles are.
2. Describe how a high-performance work system is designed, and explain how the components of it must align horizontally and vertically to support one another and a firm's strategy.
3. Discuss a high-performance work system's potential outcomes for both employees and the organization.
4. High Performance Work Systems-Do you think the fundamental principles of getting employees highly involved with their work provides an adequate context for designing high-performance work systems? What other concerns or guidelines for developing high-performance work systems would you suggest?
5. As an employee, how do you think a high-performance work system might benefit you personally? What drawbacks might you experience because of such a system?
6. Have you ever moved a piece of furniture in your house or dorm room and noticed that once you did, everything else needed to be moved, too? How do you think this same principle might work when it comes to high-performance work systems?
7. Do you think the fundamental principles of getting employees highly involved with their work provides an adequate context for designing high-performance work systems? What other concerns or guidelines for developing high-performance work systems would you suggest?
8. Although achieving both horizontal and vertical fit are important with regard to high-performance work systems, which do you consider more critical and why?
9. This chapter emphasizes the processes required to implement a high-performance work system. What are the most critical steps to successfully implementing one?
10. Do high-performance work systems always result in a win-win situation for employers and their employees? Why or why not?