Edited by Henri Savall and Véronique Zardet, Institut de Socio-Economie
des Entreprises et des Organisations A volume in Research in Management
Consulting Series Editor Anthony F. Buono, Bentley University The
impetus for this work emerged from Savall's belief that there is a
doubleloop interaction between social and economic factors in
organizations, between behaviors and structures, and between the quality
of life in organizations and their economic performance. When managers
underestimate this dynamic interaction, the resulting tension ultimately
manifests in lowered performance and increased costs, what he refers to
as the "hidden costs" of organizational life. Only by delving into the
depths of these organizational dynamics can we hope to fully
understand - and create the basis for improving - organizational
performance. The Qualimetrics Approach presents a different and
challenging way of thinking about analyzing organizations, one that
draws together quantitative information, financial analysis and
qualitative insights into organizational dynamics. As Savall and Zardet
argue, to gain a true understanding of what is happening in
organizations, intervener-researchers must focus on all three
perspectives, as ignoring any one of them will lead to incomplete
understandings. Their approach underscores the importance of using
qualitative data to validate quantitative depictions ("the numbers") of
organizational performance in understanding the construction of
financial statements. The strength of Savall and Zardet's approach is
that it pushes us to go deeper, to fully understand the narratives
underlying the numbers and the social construction of our financial
assessments.
