Evaluation Of A Performance Management System

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.

An effective performance appraisal system strives for as much precision in defining and measuring performance dimensions as is feasible. Some of the major problems with the Darby appraisal system are:

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.

Performance management system is critical in strengthening employer expectations. Study will be made to identify how strong performance management system impacts key HR processes viz compensation and benefits, training and development, recruitment and selection.

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.

CIPD (2012) ‘While performance appraisal is an important part of performance management, in itself it is not performance management: rather, it is one of the range of tools that can be used to manage performance. However, it is a common mistake to assume that if organizations implement performance appraisals, they have performance management. Performance management is a holistic process bringing together many activities that collectively contribute to the effective management of individuals and teams in order to achieve high levels of organizational performance. The process is strategic, in that it is about broader issues and long-term goals, and integrated in that

“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

The definition of the term ‘performance management’ varies in different literatures. As Hutchinson(2013) summed up, combined with Den Harton’s theory(2004), it is a continuous process which links individual and team objectives with organizational goals by measure and improve employee’s skill and performance. According to Armstrong (2012), human resource management aims at making sure the organization has the most talented, skilled and engaged people in order to attain its goals. In this context, performance management is one staple practice helping managers identifying and retaining most competent employees as well as correcting poor performance.

Performance management has been defined as a continuous process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organisation (Aguinis, 2009). Organisations can either use strategic or operational performance management. Most organisational performance management systems are strategic in nature. They are aligned to the business strategy and support the achievement of its strategic goals (Armstrong, 2015). Armstrong (2015) suggests that a strategic approach to performance management takes a broad and long-term view of where the business is going and manages performance in ways which ensure a strategic thrust is maintained. An example of a strategic performance management system is the Balanced Scorecard. A Balanced Scorecard is a strategic planning system that is used to align an organisation’s business activities to its vision and strategy (Roussel, 2013). Once the strategies are aligned they are organised and measured using the four measures of the Balanced Scorecard. These four measures are the customer measure which measures customer satisfaction, the financial measure which measures financial requirements and performance, the internal business process measure which measures critical-to-customer process requirements and measures, and the knowledge, education and growth measure which focuses on how employees are educated, how knowledge is gained and captures and how it is used to

Throughout history, PMS clearly have a considerable contribution to evaluate the success of organisations. According to Neely et al. (2002), performance measurement is "the process of quantifying the efficiency and effectiveness of past actions". Moullin (2003) indicates that "PM is evaluating how well organisations are managed and the value they deliver for customers and other stakeholders". The modern accounting framework can be traced back to the Middle Ages and since that time appraisal of performance has primarily been ground on financial criteria (Bruns, 1998).

I have experience in performance management and understand the performance appraisal or a disciplinary process. It aims to improve organisational, functional, team and individual performances. Effective performance management measures the progress being made towards the achievement of the organisation's business objectives. It does so by planning, establishing, monitoring, reviewing and evaluating organisational, functional, team and individual performance.

Mostafa Jafari Industrial Engineering Department, Iran University of Science & Technology Narmak, Tehran, Iran E-mail: mostafajafari2006@yahoo.com Tel: +98-912-1382658 Atieh Bourouni Industrial Engineering Department, Iran University of Science & Technology Narmak, Tehran, Iran E-mail: bourouni@ind.iust.ac.ir Tel: +98-912-5007402 Roozbeh Hesam Amiri Industrial Engineering Department, Iran University of Science & Technology Narmak, Tehran, Iran E-mail: amiri_r@ind.iust.ac.ir Tel: +98-912-5356487; Fax: +98-21-88814576 Abstract Performance appraisal is one of the most important processes in human resource