Working on high performance in Asia: the case of Nabil Bank

Purpose – The purpose of this paper was to identify the factors that determine the continuous success of a high performance organization (HPO) in Asia and to apply these at a case company. In the past few decades organizations all over the world have been searching for the elements that constitute continuous organizational success. Fuelled by bestsellers such as In Search of Excellence and Good to Great, managers have implemented many different improvement concepts, often with mixed results. Design/methodology/approach – On the basis of a previous meta analysis into high performance which identified 35 characteristics of an HPO, a case company in Nepal was studied to identify the practices this organization applied to become and stay one of the best financial services organizations in Nepal. Findings – The results of the study show that it is possible to identify factors that determine continuous organizational success in Asia, and that managers can be offered a framework that adds focus to improvement. An important part of an HPO in Asia turns out to be the performance management system. Research implications/limitations – The HPO approach detailed and applied in this article can be used to identify the high performance status of other Asian companies. Originality/value – Because the research described in this paper looks at so many aspects – it encompasses not only structural, but also the behavioural aspects of management – it provides a unique insight into what makes a great Asian organization tick. The research results provide the foundation for an action agenda listing the improvement efforts organisations in Nepal have to undertake to make the transition to HPO.