High Performance Work Organizations Since the Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) released its report in 1991, organizations have been urged to become " high-performance workplaces” and professional educators are considering how best to prepare workers for them. What are High Performance Work Organizations (HPWOs)? Do they exist? Are they really the wave of the future and the best hope for organizational survival in the next century? The myths and realities of HPWOs are explored in this publication. I'll know it when I see it The first problem in clarifying the reality of HPWOs is trying to find consensus on what they are. Theorists and researchers of the phenomenon use various phrases to describe its characteristics: "high skills, high wages", self-managing teams, restructuring, reengineering, reinvention. The most common characteristics appear to be the following (Byrne 1993; Galagan 1994; Marschall 1991; SCANS 1991): flatter horizontal structure rather than vertical hierarchy work carried out by teams organized around processes; teams empowered to make decisions so that management is decentralized and participatory Empowered workers with high levels of competence and cross-training; rewards for team performanceCollaboration between teams, between labor and management, with suppliersFocus on customers, quality and continuous improvementFlexible technologiesThe new work organizations described in "Reinventing America" ​​(1992) are networked and interdependent; they are characterized by inspirational leadership rather than micromanagement. White (1994) characterizes them as "extraordinarily capable people who work in teams, equipped with the right technology, focused on customer satisfaction and improving performance" (p. 162)..... middle of paper.... ... 12 (December 1994): 20-27. Gordon, J. “Into the Dark.” Training30, n. 7 (July 1993): 21-29.Marschall, D., ed. High-performance work and learning systems. Washington, DC: AFL-CIO, 1992. (ED 349 434) “The New Work Order.” Economist 331 (9 April 1994): 76.Osterman, P. "How Widespread Is Workplace Transformation and Who Adopts It?" Journal on industrial and labor relations47, n. 2 (January 1994): 173-188. "Reinventing America. 1992 Special Bonus Edition." Business Week, 1992, pp. 10-225. Commission of the Secretary for the achievement of the necessary skills. What the work of schools requires. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Labor, 1991. (ED 332 054) Stewart, T. A. "Reengineering: The New Management Tool." Fortune, 23 August 1993, pp. 41-48.White, B.J. “Developing Leaders for a High-Performance Work Environment.” Human Resource Management 33, no. 1 (Spring 1994): 161-168.