The RB/MP Model

The RB/MP or Rummler and Brache/Mager and Pipe model is a conceptual model

proposed by Dina Alvarado. As the name suggests, this performance analysis model combines

the well-known Rummler and Brach model and the Mager and Pipe model. At the core of the

model lies the Three Levels of Performance with the diagnostic ease of the Mager and Pipe

flowchart process. This model, like the Rummler and Brach, maintains that the performance of

an organization is determined by various dynamic factors. These factors, when aligned,

determine the success of an organization. The RB/MP model is different from the original,

however, in that it overtly asserts that the highest level- the organization level- has significantly

more weight on the outcome of the levels beneath it. As such, this model proposes that the

entry point for analysis should not be with the individual (as implied by the Mager and Pipe

model), but with the organization’s goals, design, and management. The problems that appear

at this level must always be pursued due to the considerable impact they can have on

performance at the Process Level and Job/Performer Level. If it is determined that the

performance problem lies at the Job/Performer Level, the RB/MP model then recommends the

Mager and Pipe model. The rational for using that Mager and Pipe model only at the

Job/Performer level is that the analysis for a problem at this level would, in theory, uncover a

root cause that is relatively more simplistic than that at either of the two higher levels.