Human resource management
Individual Minor Paper (Critical analysis of a current HRM issue)
Introduction
This thesis aims to identify how employees’ perceived justice (or fairness) of performance appraisals influence their effectiveness and usefulness for an organization’s performance management system by critically evaluating the existing knowledge of appraisal provided by researchers. It contains an analysis of similarities and differences in the points of view presented by researchers and an explanation of why these similarities and differences are influential. Next, it provides a discussion of HRM’s role in the management of this particular issue. This thesis also attempts to move beyond the narrow strictures in which performance
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However, what should be aware is that perceived fairness of performance appraisals and key factors influencing this perception vary very much on the basis of different organizational environment, because developing an effective performance appraisal system that can be employed by management to assess employees is an endeavor that involves several difficulties. The first difficulty is the inherent problem of finding a measurement approach for a large number of people in a variety of jobs in different industries. The second difficulty is the undeniable dislike that most people have of being evaluated. The third difficulty is that many researches have been conducted in this area but only few identified different emphasis in developing a good performance appraisal system with different organizational culture values.
HRM’s role in management
Based on these difficulties, what should an organization’s human resource management (HRM) system do to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their performance appraisal process should be taken into account. Fairness issues concern the methods, mechanisms, and processes used to determine outcomes (Robert and Jennifer 2009). Perceptions of justice reflect an appraisal of the process by which an allocation decision is made. Therefore, the presence or absence of justice as a feature of HRM may influence employees’
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.
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.
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.
Now, when determining the criteria that the evaluation form should contain, the components will vary as deemed appropriate based on the purpose of the appraisal; however, there are a few components that are pertinent. Ensuring that employees are treated fairly is not only a legal obligation, but an ethical one also. As a member of the administrative staff, I am involved heavily in decision making and the monitoring of processes and procedures. According to a 2000 article by Mueller & Wynn, the egoistic, equity-based distributive justice value is the justice value that has received the most attention in justice theory and research, and it is the form of justice most often the concern in the modern
In this paper I will be describing effective performance appraisals and how they can increase employee performance. I will provide examples of strategic advantages in the performance appraisals process and also give examples of potential unfairness in the employee appraisal system.
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 can be viewed as the process of assessing and recording staff performance for the purpose of making judgments about staff that lead to decisions. Performance appraisal should also be viewed as a system of highly interactive processes which involve personnel at all levels in differing degrees in determining job expectations, writing job descriptions, selecting relevant appraisal criteria, developing assessment tools and procedures, and collecting interpreting, and reporting results.”( The University of Georgia, & VirginiaTech, 2008)
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)
In today’s business world, performance appraisals are still widely used, yet at the same time very criticized. One of the reasons appraisals are criticized is some feel that they are a waste of time and are not value added. Samuel Culbert, author of the book,“Get Rid of Performance Reviews” states, “This corporate sham is one of the most insidious, most damaging, and yet most ubiquitous of corporate activities” (Culbert). He goes on to say that, “Everybody does it, and almost everyone who’s evaluated hates it” (Culbert). He feels that appraisals are worthless and should never be a method used for giving employees feedback. After doing more
“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
As today’s businesses continue to expand, workers are expected to perform well on their jobs. This is what truly happened to management who has a tendency to measure how well they are doing on their job. The job done in a certain period of time is frequently evaluated by performance appraisal. Performance appraisals lead to enhancing employee’s performance, internal communication (relationship), and quality improvements as well. Some experts argue that formal performance appraisal is somewhat useless and many of them contemplate performance appraisals can be detrimental to quality improvement and convey some negative perceptions to the management (David Law, 2007). Albeit many professionals pointed out disadvantages associated
Performance appraisal is the procedure through which employee performance is evaluated, feedback is delivered, and development plans are designed (Youssef, 2012). Therefore, strategic Human Resource Management (HRM) is vital to successful organizational objectives. While the core objective of performance appraisals is the evaluation of employees work performance, organizations utilize performance appraisals for a variety of goals; these include managing salaries, wages, and pay incentives and adjustments. In addition performance appraisals can be performed by management to establish job placement decisions, and to validate employee punitive decisions (Youssef, 2012).
Managers have a tendency to evenly distribute compensation, just to keep everyone on the same level. My purpose through this paper is to argue that employees deserve to be judged ethically and consistently . They should be recognized, and encouraged through performance appraisals to show that their work is appreciated.
Despite not being looked upon unfavorably by employees, performance appraisal systems have become common place in businesses today as a way for the employees and managers to determine if an employee is accomplishing their assigned duties and tasks. It is designed as a vehicle to convey what is expected of the workers and supervisors as well as establish standards of achievement (Lawler, Benson, & McDermott, 2012).
The organization typically not focused on fairness (Walker, 2012). This is due to many authors have studied the relationship between leader`s fairness and the factor such as the motivation and satisfaction of the employees, the trust in the leader, organization citizenship behavior and employee commitment to the firm but still there is no study that focused on the relationship between human resource practices and fairness. The aim of the study is to measure the relationship between human resource practices that involves employees’ compensation and benefit, performance appraisal, career development and employees’ perception of fairness. This study is also to ensure whether the implementation of human resource practices can affect employees’ perception of fairness in the organization. Yet, there are weaknesses still exist in determine the employees’ compensation and benefit, performance appraisal, and career development in the organization which directly can lead to the expectation of employees toward the fairness of the organization.