Dr. Richard A. Swanson, distinguished research professor of human resource development at The University of Texas at Tyler, has published a new book on performance improvement, Dr. Clayton Allen, UT Tyler chair of the department of human resource development and technology, announced.

Analysis for Improving Performance: Tools for Diagnosing Organizations and Documenting Workplace Expertise deals with a process in which an organization looks to modify its current level of performance in order to achieve a better level of output.
Corporations spend millions of dollars on each year on this process without including the proper analysis in those performance improvement efforts.  
             
“The demand out there for improving performance is so high that the common mistake is to skip the analysis phase and move directly into a solution,” explains Dr. Swanson. “This book is designed to provide the tools for doing that crucial upfront analysis, to keep you from jumping in, teaching you how to slow down and then take actions that will ultimately pay off.”

 This second edition is designed as a guide for everyone from corporate decision-makers under pressure to improve their organizations to academics conducting research, he added.
           
Swanson uses examples, graphics and exercises to provide clear methods and tools with which an organization may attack specific problems in performance improvement through analysis and diagnosis.   
           
“There are many solutions out there promising performance results, and some of them may be good solutions. But they may not always be the best solutions for your problem,” says Dr. Swanson.   
           
Dr. Swanson is a scholar in the field of human resource development, who was inducted into the HRD Scholar Hall of Fame in 2004. He has also been the author or contributing author to numerous books.