Article: Performance Appraisal and Performance Management

Performance appraisal is an important issue in human resource management and has a significant effect in the performance of an organisation. It is the system of evaluating the performance of employees regarding the accomplishment of their responsibilities and determining their potential to grow and develop. Bias in the evaluation process can affect the accuracy and appropriateness of the performance appraisal. Bias is a serious issue because it affects the ability to make appropriate decisions about the promotion of employees. A performance appraisal system that works to the disadvantage of members of a group can also pose legal issues.

An appraisal is one of the most commonly used methods of formal assessment and is used to evaluate and assess the performance of an employee against agreed targets and objectives, with the aim of improving employee performance. Where an employee has been able to achieve their targets, the appraisal can be used to recognise successes. This often helps to increase an employee’s confidence and motivation and can lead to better organisational performance. Many organisations will use the outcomes of an appraisal to identify potential candidates for promotions or even an increase in pay. At the same time, an appraisal meeting may include discussions on underperformance, identifying why this has occurred and how this can be avoided in the future.

Performance appraisal is a method which is increasingly used to evaluate employees to determine the degree to which they are performing effectively and encourage them to direct their energies towards organizational performance. Although the appraisal is being practiced, there are criticisms made against the system which generally arise from within the Orthodox and radical management frame work.

A performance appraisal is one of the most important factors in any organization and can be one of the greatest tools used to record employee production. Every organization has to have goals and objectives established and the employee has to be involved in this process. By conducting performance appraisal will improve productivity and also the morale of the employees.

Development of a performance appraisal system that is effective in a human service organization is of benefit for the organization and the employees. For a performance appraisal system to be effective, the system has to be strategic, designed to fit the specific needs of the organization, non-discriminatory, non-bias, with correct implementation and administration. Many different components, must to be incorporated to make this type of system beneficial for all who use it, and all who are evaluated by the system.

The purpose of a performance appraisal is to be used to improve employee performance. It should be used as a guide for recognizing outstanding behavior that is in line with departmental policies and work objectives, but should also be used as a tool for feedback to improve observed employee deficiencies. Performance appraisals should never be a surprise when it is presented to the employee. It is important for subordinates to understand what they are being evaluated on and what it takes to be successful.

In an organization employees are the important asset and play a significant role in the progress of an organization. Nowadays firms usually focus on the human capital in the form of the employees by giving them training, assisting them in career development and also work on performance management in order to keep the employees motivated and dedicated by giving them feedback through performance appraisals. Through these performance appraisals the employees are informed about their strengths that they can enhance and about their weaknesses that they can improve in the future.

As stated by Peter F. Drucker, “Management is about human beings. Its task is to make people capable of joint performance, to make their strengths effective and their weaknesses irrelevant.” Performance management is essential to achieving an organization 's mission statement and business goals, and also in attracting, retaining, and motivating qualified employees. There are many benefits and reasons why an organization should execute a performance management system. Performance appraisals establish the basis for qualifying, recognizing, and rewarding employee contributions. In this paper, I will discuss what performance management is, the problems with the current performance management system at my organization, how other organizations have succeeded in their performance management system and how I would advise management at my current organization to improve our performance management system.

Managers are charged with making judgments about their employee’s performance and capabilities. Employees should have a formal evaluation process and should receive regular informal updates from their managers on the job. Performance Evaluations should include basic information regarding the employee, job objectives, job competencies, employee contributions and developmental goals and needs. A performance evaluation should also include an opportunity for management to focus on positive contributions the employee has made, areas that need development, and space for the employee to respond to the appraisal. Setting performance expectations, gathering outcomes from the year and comparing them will help determine whether they are satisfied or whether new initiatives are taken (Andersen, 2016). The

Performance appraisal is an evaluation and grading exercise undertaken in organizations to achieve several objectives such as employee motivation, identification of training needs, rewards and remuneration, employee development through feedback etc. [Fig. 1]. All methods for performance appraisal have several advantages and disadvantages based on location of the firm, socio-economic environment, vision and mission of the firm, organizational structure and other factors. Organizations in different industrial sectors may have different focus areas of work and different values and thus, expectations from employees vary across sectors.

Performance appraisal is essential to understand and improve the employee’s performance through HRD. It is viewed that performance appraisal was useful to decide upon employee’s promotion, transfer etc. But recent developments in HRD indicate that performance appraisal is basis for employee development. A performance appraisal is a systematic and periodic process that assesses an individual employee’s job performance and productivity in relation to certain pre-established criteria and organizational objectives. Other aspects of individual employees are considered as well, such as organizational citizenship behavior, accomplishments, potential for future improvement, strengths and weaknesses, etc Performance

shown marked improvement or progress. Lack of personal performance growth would result in consequences for the employee including a probationary period or dismissal. Personal conflicts between manager and employee should not be reflected in the appraisal process. Manager accountability would be reflected by the performance of the employee; hence, an ineffective manager could as easily be discovered through the process as an ineffective employee could be. The process would actually be a system of checks and balances. Ideally, this would promote team players and identify any weak links. The goal of performance appraisals is utilizing the employee’s performance and their behavior or attitude. With correct implementation, the attitude and behavior will not be the issue or focus of the manager. “For any performance improvement to take place, both parties must agree that improvement is necessary, that a plan for improving performance has been jointly formulated, and that periodic progress improvement sessions will take place, as needed. Thus, improvements in employee performance and attitudes can truly be enhanced.” (Peggy Anderson, 1998)

An appraisal system may provide a Human Service organization in numerous of techniques. The main reason for effective appraisal can serve for development and administrative for an organization of Human service. From the viewpoint of the administrative the main reason of the appraisal presentation system can take in numerous of decision making in regards to changes in job responsibility, reward, or promotion choices. The development reasons consist of helping and achieving employee’s best routine, appraise staffs weaknesses or strengths and figure out if other alternative for

“Performance appraisals can enhance employee performance as well as advance the mission and goals of an organization. There are many advantages of performance appraisals if they are applied fairly, consistently and objectively. Performance appraisals not applied fairly can be counterproductive and even destructive to

In a typical and effective process of performance management, as demonstrated in Figure 2.1, performance appraisal is not the only but a vital element because it is the activity which evaluate the outcome of the work, recognize the achievement and weaknesses and give employees and managers a straightforward result on these(Armstrong, 2009, Hutchinson, 2013). From a modern perspective, performance appraisal covers more areas not only on what have been achieved but also on the attitude and contribution of the operator (Hutchinson, 2013), which enhance the functions of identifying training needs.