Ashford University Management Worksheet

Performance Gap Analysis

A performance gap is the distance between the vision of success (that is, what is desired) and the

current reality (that is, what is actually happening). The gap represents a tension between what “is” and

the organization’s vision or goals. A creative tension results when the gap is studied and organizational

members collaborate to imagine how to close the gap. Until the gap is decreased or closed, and

depending on how important attaining the vision is to stakeholders, the tension caused by the gap will

continue. When stakeholders care deeply about decreasing the gap, it can be a source of creative

problem-solving collaboration.

Watch the following video in which Senge discusses the concept of creative tension.

 SoL North America. (2013). Peter Senge on creative tension [Video] | Transcript. YouTube.

For this discussion, identify an issue that is commonly known to be a problem or problematic in your

organization or department. Then, follow the instructions in the Gap Analysis Worksheet [DOCX] to

complete your gap analysis. Introduce your discussion by stating the problem you are investigating in a

single sentence (for example, The problem is that…), and address the following:

 Provide an explanation of your gap analysis chart.

 Remember to attach your actual Gap Analysis table as part of your original discussion posting.

 Discuss how you could use the worksheet to generate questions and lead a collaborative inquiry

into root causes of the problem at your site.

 Include known data in your discussion, and identify the additional information and data you

would need to access in order to clearly define gaps between what is occurring relative to your

issue and the desired outcomes.