Performance Appraisal Term Paper

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document

Total Length: 9200 words ( 31 double-spaced pages)

Total Sources: 1+

Page 1 of 31

Performance Appraisal

Causes of Performance Appraisal

Steps Leading to Performance Appraisal

Performance Appraisal

Data Analysis and Interpretation

This research paper aims to conduct a study regarding the effectiveness of performance appraisals and the issues accompanying performance appraisals.

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Performance appraisal" is a term used for evaluating performance of employees in an organization. The purpose behind performance appraisal is firstly, to rate an employee's performance on the job. Secondly, these appraisals are conducted to determine whether employees have achieved the goals they were required to. Moreover, performance appraisals not only measure the achievement of individual employee goals but also the goals of the organization at large. However it cannot be ignored that performance appraisals are highly subjective in nature, depending a lot upon an individual's view of a situation, the employer-employee relationship, etc. It was for these reasons primarily, that performance appraisals are usually avoided by even large, well-established organizations even though they appear extremely attractive in terms of the benefits that they deliver.

This research paper aims to conduct a study regarding the effectiveness of performance appraisals and the issues accompanying performance appraisals.

Statement of the Problem

This brings us to the problems that are associated with conducting performance appraisals. The process usually starts at the middle management level where it is the job of a middle manager to appraise his subordinates or employees who are under him. In fact at every successive hierarchical level, the superiors are asked to evaluate the employees who are working under them. This can give rise to many issues that make performance appraisals an unpleasant task. As a result many managers view the task of conducting a performance appraisal as time consuming and burdensome. To begin with, performance appraisals can cause friction, resentment and the consequent low morale. Since appraisals are rather subjective in nature, they cannot be disputed in case of negative ones. Moreover the appraisals sometimes might be colored by the status of personal relationships in form of prejudice. However unfair as the appraisals might be, there is no way an employee can contest the superior's view of him. This causes resentment. Furthermore, employers sometimes feel pressurized to give a good appraisal in order to avoid confrontation or any friction in the existent work environment. Apart from these problems, appraisals also take up extra time and effort on the manger's part. Hence all of these issues combine to generate an unpleasant connotation to the term "performance appraisal." Burdensome as they may be performance appraisals and performance appraisal systems that are properly designed and implemented are a reflection of the achievement of an organization's goals and objectives. Therefore it can be concluded that the failure to implement an effective performance appraisal system often leads to no relationship existing between the performance appraisal and the achievement of organizational goals and objectives.

Hypothesis

The achievement of organizational goals and objectives can be measured in part by effective performance appraisals.

Research Questions

The research aims to determine the answers to the following questions: do performance appraisals encourage employees to have an increased work ethic that will ultimately affect organizational goals and objectives? Do employee performance appraisals increase/decrease job performance? And do valid performance appraisal instruments effectively measure or rate employee performance?

Assumptions

In order to conduct a balanced study, the following have been assumed to be the constants: Performance appraisals will suggest that employees tend to work harder when being evaluated, effective performance appraisals increase job performance and employees want performance appraisals conducted.

CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE [10]

Cause of Performance Appraisal: Performance Management

The primary reason behind implementing effective performance appraisals is the need to manage employee performance in order to reach the organizational goals. Performance appraisal is one of the methods of leading and managing employees within the context of their performance. This is why performance appraisals are given so much importance when it comes to managing and enhancing employee performance.

A good performance management system however does not rest on any one fixed point. It is an evolving system that requires be constantly tending to and updating at regular intervals. However a performance management system cannot control all factors that may lead to improving or effectively gauging employee performance. Therefore the factors that affect employee performance can be roughly classified into two groups: internal and external. Internal factors are those over which the organization has influence and control. These range from job descriptions and employee selection to morale issues and work environment. External factors are those over which the organization has little or no control.

Stuck Writing Your "Performance Appraisal" Term Paper?

View All Our Example Performance Appraisal Term Paper

Have A Custom Example Essay Written

These factors are funding for salaries, job classifications, and jurisdictional-wide procedures. However there are cases where organizations try to minimize the impact of the external factors on an employee's performance by working on the internal factors over which they have substantial control. For instance, "the Mecklenburg County (Charlotte, North Carolina) Department of Environmental Protection (MCDEP) uses a multidirectional approach to performance appraisal and rewards, beginning with the hiring process and continuing on a day-to-day basis" (Barry, 1997).

Steps Leading to Performance Appraisal

Much before the performance appraisal, comes the issue of determining job responsibilities. This is because an employee's performance cannot be assessed if his job has not been adequately described since there would be no yardstick to go by. Therefore determining correct job responsibilities and classification is the first, and one of the most important issues to be considered. It is also the point where compensation in the form of initial salary range is determined. Hence determining job responsibilities has multi-pronged importance. It is important to note here that in order for performance appraisal to be successful, each job description must show not only job responsibilities and required education and expertise, but also the goals and objectives of the department specifically and the organization generally.

The second step before a performance appraisal system can be established, is the selection or recruitment of potential employees. This also is a multi-step process. In the recent years, a new trend has developed whereby organizations recruit employees through a three- step process. This process begins with a written test conducted in a mass setting. The test is designed to determine if potential candidates have the basic ability and intelligence level to perform the basic skills required for the job. It also allows the organization an insight into each candidate's individual traits. This process ensures that the organization would not have any basic problems with the employee's performance later on. This test is then followed by an interview once a candidate has cleared the test. This interview determines an employee's fitness for a job where he is interviewed by the related superiors. Once a candidate is deemed fit at the interview level, he is asked to join with an initial training period.

Performance Appraisal

After the training has ended and the employee has spent a substantial time at a job, which is usually six months at least, he is considered a candidate for performance appraisal. Therefore the performance appraisals are usually of two kinds: one is conducted at the end of a probation period where the employee is assessed on the basis of time period that he has spent on his job. This initial performance appraisal is conducted to determine if an employee is fit for the continuation of his job. In event of a positive appraisal at this point, an employee becomes a permanent member of an organization's workforce. This brings us to the second type of performance appraisal, which is conducted at pre-determined intervals and therefore is a regular affair. This type of appraisal is conducted to measure an employee's performance within the context of pre-set organizational goals and objectives. There are other associated reasons as well. A performance appraisal is also conducted as an incentive to increasing employee's job performance. Therefore an appraisal is a multi-dimensional activity affecting many aspects of organizational goals and objectives (Levinson, 1970; Locke and Latham, 1990; Mount and Thompson, 1987; Stonich, 1984). Furthermore periodic performance evaluations are multipurpose tools for management control. This study aims to determine whether performance appraisals help in enhancing job performance, affect work ethic and effectively measure employee performance. For this purpose, various research studies that have already been conducted in this regard have been chosen to determine the above mentioned concerns.

Numerous researchers have addressed the effectiveness of performance appraisal in enhancing job performance, maintaining work ethic and measuring employee performance on the job. It is generally agreed that if performance appraisals are accurate, objective and free of any prejudicial intent, they yield superior outcomes for individual employees as well as the entire organizations (Landy and Farr, 1980; Mount and Thompson, 1987; Nathan and Alexander, 1985; Smith, 1986). Yet other researches have linked the benefits of performance appraisals with various external factors. (Dipboye and de Pontbriand, 1981; Fulk et. al., 1985; Greenberg, 1986; Goodson and McGee, 1990). However those factors lie outside the relevance of this study.

There has been substantial study in the field of employee participation in determining personal objectives for performance appraisals......

Show More ⇣

     Open the full completed essay and source list


OR

     Order a one-of-a-kind custom essay on this topic


Related Essays

Performance Appraisal Security Management

since simply focusing on the negative can be disheartening from the employee’s point-of-view. Also, another function of performance appraisals is to communicate to employees the degree to which the organization takes a vested interest in their development. That is why, according to McCrie (2016), “In well-structured organizations, all employees deserve appraisals” (p.160). Performance appraisals are something employees deserve, to support their progress and to show that the organization does not regard them as disposable. Appraisals also allow employees to provide input about what they would like to see the company improve upon in terms of its support, customer relations, and how it engages in recruitment and development… Continue Reading...

Performance Management Review

such as performance reviews. For instance, if the business restructuring or transition takes place just before the performance appraisal phase, then there is a likelihood of encountering instances of the incumbent firm manager letting go of the preceding performance review and also the incoming manager from the acquiring firm having no knowledge whatsoever regarding the performance of the employees (Marr, 2006). What might be the risks for the combined firm? There may be some risks that come about from the combined firm. One of these risks is failing to provide proper and detailed information regarding the acquisition and the merging of the two firms. Failing to disclose… Continue Reading...

Performance Based Management Synthesis

& Adamo, 2016). In addition, performance management is often thought to involve only personnel management processes such as employee performance appraisal (Turk, 2016). Furthermore, contention exists over whether it should be considered an art or a science, or whether or not it is a discipline on its own (Brudan, 2010). Also referred to as results or outcome-based management, performance management is an umbrella term which includes a number of ongoing organisational processes: setting and clarifying objectives, establishing performance indicators, gathering and analysing data, reporting outcomes, and learning from the outcomes (Woerrlein & Scheck, 2016). This means that performance measurement is an element of PBM. Brudan (2010) describes performance measurement… Continue Reading...

Performance Evaluation for Managers

performance appraisal. They start to evaluate the employees’ characteristics and behaviours, instead of their work performance” (Fong, 2013). Managers need proper training regarding the necessity of professional distance and objectivity and the need to keep the personality of the employee separate from the entire evaluation. Other managers explain that they understand it’s their responsibility to be appropriately prepared to assess twenty or so employees, but that often they don’t have adequate time to do it. Managers need to know when performance of each individual employee dips and soars and to… Continue Reading...

Public Sector Performance Measurement

performance measurement (Rivenbank, Fasiello & Adamo, 2016). In addition, performance management is often thought to involve only personnel management processes such as employee performance appraisal (Turk, 2016). Furthermore, contention exists over whether it should be considered an art or a science, or whether or not it is a discipline on its own (Brudan, 2010). Also, referred to as results or outcome-based management, performance management is an umbrella term which includes a number of ongoing organizational processes: setting and clarifying objectives, establishing performance indicators, gathering and analyzing data, reporting outcomes, and learning from the outcomes (Woerrlein & Scheck, 2016). This means that performance measurement is an element of PBM. Brudan (2010) describes performance measurement… Continue Reading...

Pay for Performance

human resource management of the Merit Systems Protection Board and prevent abuse of office. (Eijkenaar et.al 2013) The act also had provision for performance appraisal for the employees, merit pay for different levels of employment, and ways to deal with poor performance. In addition, the act specified that employees would get only half of their normal normal salary increase. The other half would be shared… Continue Reading...

Review of Human Resource Management

and global levels. It encompasses characteristic human resource management functions like training and development, recruitment and selection, as well as performance appraisal undertaken at the global level. So as to closely incorporate company operations across the globe, multinational corporations try to cultivate and instigate standardized human resource management practices by transmitting the practices being undertaken at the headquarters to subsidiaries situated overseas. Consequently, practices at the organization's subsidiary will have a close likeness and similitude to practices in the home nation (Potocnik et al., 2014). The organization selected is IBM, which operates at the United States in its host country and having a subsidiary in China. The two IHRM practices… Continue Reading...

Todays Strategic Human Resource Management

engaged with the organization -- so it includes things like ensuring morale is high, performance appraisals, complaints and labor relations (if applicable). Employee relations is a key function in terms of reducing turnover, which is important if the organization is going to dedicate the time and energy to finding the right people and developing them. That sort of investment must be protected, which is where both employee relations and total rewards come into play. Having a workforce that is engaged with the organization will help it to grow long-term because it will not bleed talent. Safety is another key area for human resources management.… Continue Reading...

Johnson and Johnson Human Resource Value and Contribution

whose performance is below standard are encouraged to improve. Performance appraisal is one way through which the management gives employees feedback and discuss employee development opportunities. The disadvantage of an appraisal system is that it can create a negative experience for both the manager and employee if it is not carried out well (Noe et al., 2016). HR should be aware of appraisal politics because it leads to inaccurate performance measurement. A manager can give misleading information when evaluating an employee to advance their personal goals. Appraisal politics is unhealthy because high performing employees become discouraged if they feel… Continue Reading...

Supply Chain Management and Logistics

performance appraisal. he/she will also be given the responsibility of project programming and coding. Every coding/programming activity has to be implemented only after the supervisor's appraisal. Furthermore, the duties to be carried out by the project manager also include aiding in the process of risk identification, ascertaining change requests' effects on the project, its timeline, outcomes etc. and reporting on milestone completion status on a daily or weekly basis. Project Programmer will have to report to the Manager, who will offer feedback to both course tutor and supervisor; this information… Continue Reading...

Diagnosing Change at FedEx

in the areas of recruitment and selection, training and development, growth opportunities, employee communication, compensation, performance appraisal, and workforce diversity. The firm enjoys admirable employee satisfaction and turnover rates. Nonetheless, there is still room for improvement. It is particularly important for the organisation to adopt a people analytics approach as far as its HR practice is concerned. Indeed, the significance of people analytics in today's era of big data cannot be overemphasised. As showcased by Google, it is imperative for modern organisations to make their HR decisions based on data -- from recruitment and selection to task allocation, workforce planning, retention, diversity management, performance management,… Continue Reading...

Amazon Communication Plan

Garcia Hernandez, 2011). The following paper discusses change resistance in Amazon with respect to change in performance appraisal and management. Reasons for Resistance to Change The main reasons for resistance to change by personnel within the organization is fundamentally for the reason that they fear the unknown and unfamiliar. That is to say, the personnel have a sense of anxiety regarding how such change will have an impact on them, their job performance, their association and relation with other personnel, and other job associated factors. Resistance to change from most people emanates due to the shift in status quo, largely for the reason that there is… Continue Reading...

Accreditation Costs of Healthcare Organizations

care standards, validated following an autonomous external organizational performance appraisal. (Jaafaripooyan, Agrizzi & Akbari-Haghighi, 2011). This paper addresses the purpose of accreditations and related costs. A summary of the purposes of accreditation and accreditation standards Organizations duly accredited, are recognized as trustworthy and reliable entities committed to constant, long-term adherence to top quality standards. Accreditation is considered an important point of reference when it comes to gauging organizational quality. Preparation for accreditation will accord healthcare organizations a chance to ascertain its existing strengths and any potential areas for improvement. The preparation phase helps offer valuable information to management,… Continue Reading...

Development of High Potential Employees

To identify high-potential employees, human resources managers may use a variety of methods including performance appraisals, performance reviews, individual development plans or career mapping, and even anecdotal data (Downs, 2015). Among organizations that do have formal high-potential employee development programs, some also have active succession planning with transparent methods of communicating intent. For example, PepsiCo has a formal leadership development center, and admission to the leadership development center is based on performance on various HR metrics (Zhu & Manjarrez, 2017). Empirical research has been demonstrating the advantages of formal identification and employee training for high-potential personnel. Research has also been increasingly focusing on the… Continue Reading...

sample essay writing service

Cite This Resource:

Latest APA Format (6th edition)

Copy Reference
"Performance Appraisal" (2003, February 06) Retrieved May 2, 2024, from
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/performance-appraisal-143287

Latest MLA Format (8th edition)

Copy Reference
"Performance Appraisal" 06 February 2003. Web.2 May. 2024. <
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/performance-appraisal-143287>

Latest Chicago Format (16th edition)

Copy Reference
"Performance Appraisal", 06 February 2003, Accessed.2 May. 2024,
https://www.aceyourpaper.com/essays/performance-appraisal-143287
   

Open, View, and/or
Download this Document
order custom essay example