Too Much of a Good Thing

Abstract

The authors discuss the dangers for organizations of focusing too much on a single organizational goal or constituent, including the potential for service organizations to overemphasize a focus on end user consumer service quality. Several examples of "too much of a good thing" are presented, including examples of too much emphasis on service quality. A multiple-constituency perspective for organizational effectiveness is then introduced. This is followed by a proposal to use employees as sensors of the climates that exist in organizations for the achievement of various goals and the gratification of various constituents. Evidence is presented for the validity of employee perceptions. The authors conclude that it is dangerous for long-term organizational health to over focus on one goal or one constituency and that asking employees about the various climates to which they are responding is a useful way to know which goals the organization is attempting to achieve.

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