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Human Resource Management Performance Appraisal

Decent Essays

Introduction

Performance appraisal is defined by Mathias, Jackson (2005, p106) as ‘the process of evaluating how well employees perform their jobs as compared to a set of standards, and then communicating that information to those employees.’ This evaluation or review is usually carried out periodically. A performance appraisal usually forms an integral part of an organization’s Performance Management System, and although there are criticisms against performance appraisals, its many advantages heavily outweigh their shortcomings.

To understand difficulties faced by supervisors, it is necessary to first understand why supervisors want to carry out appraisals. The reasons mentioned by C.H. Tan, Torrington (2004, p228) are as follows: …show more content…

Leniency errors happens when the appraiser tends to only rate on the higher end of the grade, while strictness errors occurs when the appraiser tends to rate more strictly, and rate the appraisees at the lower end of the scale. This would cause unfairness in an organization with many appraisers, and each appraiser having to appraise separate groups of staff under them.

7. Lastly, appraisees may be doing similar jobs, but may be doing it at different times, and at different situations, and appraisers may not be able to judge them fairly.

Another difficulty faced by appraisers includes the large amount of administrative paperwork required before and after the appraisal is carried out. This may lead to appraisers feeling very demoralized, and may hinder them from carrying out a proper and fair appraisal.

Also, an appraisal is often seen as a serious and formal affair, and could lead to uneasiness between the appraiser and their staff. This could result in a strained working relationship. This is more evident if the staff has greater working experience in the organization, but is of a lower rank. This may not cause a problem during the initial work appraisals, but could surface in subsequent work appraisals.

Performance appraisals may also be seen only as a formality, and the issues discussed and planning made may not be actually carried out by either the appraiser or appraisee, or even both. Both parties may lose confidence in

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