Managing Employee Behaviour - Research Paper Example

?Performance Appraisals Performance Appraisals play a significant role in managing employee behavior and accomplishing organizational goals within organizations. In fact, performance appraisals are effective management tools employed by managers “to direct and control employee behavior, distribute organizational rewards, improve employee work performance, or develop employee capabilities” (Tompkins 250). It is essential to assess and evaluate the performance of each employee in an organization. For this, mangers need to set mutually agreed goals and objectives with the employees and their performances are to be evaluated on a regular basis. Performance appraisals call for effective communication between the supervisor and the employee; supervisors need to gain the confidence and trust of their employees by ensuring confidentiality. Performance appraisals are aimed at the smooth accomplishment of organizational goals by monitoring employee behavior and enhancing employee productivity. This paper deals with the various aspects of performance appraisals including its use in the workplace, its subjective and objective nature, legal and ethical issues, advantages and disadvantages, and suggests possible alternatives. Performance appraisals in the workplace Performance appraisals play a pivotal role in the management of organizations. Performance appraisals serve a large variety of purposes within organizations. The management often uses performance appraisals for taking important decisions on promotions, rewards, transfers and terminations of employees, for identifying training and development needs, for validating selection and development programs, and for providing timely feedback to the employees on their performance (Robbins 228). Performance appraisals offer a unique opportunity for managers and supervisors to evaluate the performance of their employees and to improve their performance by timely feedbacks or interventions. For Chukwuba, performance appraisals play two potentially conflicting roles within an organization. The first of these roles is “to measure performance for the purpose of rewarding or otherwise making administrative decisions about employees” whereas the second is ‘development of individual potential’ within the organization (Chukwuba 3). Both these roles are essential for the overall growth and development of the organization. It is the responsibility of the supervisors to guide, direct and motivate the subordinates through appropriate performance appraisals. However, self-appraisals, peer appraisals, subordinate appraisals, customer/client appraisals, and multiple raters are also proved to be significant in various organizational settings (Jennifer 255). Performance appraisals yield employee satisfaction and enhance their performance when their work is appreciated or rewarded. On the other hand, it can also put an end to undesirable behavior among the employees. Objective and subjective performance appraisals Performance appraisals can be of two types-objective or subjective. While objective performance appraisals are based on facts subjective performance appraisals are based on individuals’ perceptions. As such objective measures appear to be more valid and reliable. However, it is a fact that the actual performance of an employee cannot completely be evaluated based on facts or statistical data alone. Therefore, effective management system makes use of both objective and subjective performance appraisals. Objective performance appraisals are results-oriented as the focus is on facts or statistical data whereas subjective measures are “based on individuals’ perceptions and can be used for appraisals based on traits, behaviors, and results” (Jennifer 254). While objective performance appraisals value the performance of employees in terms of their sales, business, achievements, profits or growth in income subjective evaluation takes into account such aspects as the efforts made by the employee, the attitude of the employee and his/her behavior. For instance, the most hardworking employee may not be the one who brings the greatest profit to the organization. However, personal bias, individual differences, interpersonal relations, and stereotyping can adversely affect subjective performance appraisals as these can distort a person’s perceptions. Managers as well as supervisors need to make sure that the performance appraisals offered by them serve these two primary objectives- “to formally measure the performance of the individual employee and to provide information on how well the system is designed and working” (Baker, 1988, p.26). To get rid of bias and subjectivity the managers can also bring in necessary modifications or changes in their leadership styles and perceptions based on subordinate appraisals or customer appraisals Legal and ethical issues surrounding the performance appraisal One needs to address the ethical and legal issues surrounding performance appraisal as well. Equality and fairness are to be ensured while administering performance appraisals in any organizations. From a legal perspective, no performance appraisals should give way to intentional or unintentional discrimination in the workforce, and this necessitates objectively based documentation, written consent and knowledge of the employee to change any information, avoidance of any potentially discriminatory data of the employee, the service of an attorney for any legal compliance issues, valid appraisal methods, specific behavioral criteria and a written manual for appraising from the part of the employee (“Ethically and Legally Compliant Performance Appraisals” n. p.). From an ethical point of view, performance appraisals should never foster a superiority and inferiority role between managers and their subordinates. On the other hand, these need to take into account the psychological feelings of the employee and need to focus on more concrete and observable behaviors of the employee rather than allowing chances for subjectivity. Similarly, managers should always bear in mind that “without knowledge of the standards and a proper assessment program, employees are likely to perceive unfairness, subjectivity and bias in the evaluation” (Carter 19). Any appraisal system that fails to accommodate these legal and ethical issues may prove to be faulty, biased, harmful and legally resistant. Advantages and disadvantages of a performance appraisal While performance appraisals have the potential to increase the productivity of the workforce it can also create divisions, conflicts and unrest among employees if improperly administered. Effective performance appraisals have a number of benefits for the organization. Berk and Berk, in this respect, regard appraisal as ‘a powerful vehicle for reinforcing positive behavior’ as they believe that “documenting a subordinate’s strength is a positive motivator, and tends to fulfill one’s need for self actualization” (75). Performance appraisals also offer managers with an opportunity to clarify organizational goals, prompt the employee to achieve or exceed them, identify and correct problems, improve the employee’s productivity, receive feedback and ideas from the employees (IOD, n. p.). As far as an employee is concerned, the fact that he is valued and appreciated within the organization will promote his self-esteem, enthusiasm, commitment, and productivity. From the management point of view, they can identify how well each employee contribute towards the achievement of the organizational goals making it easy for them to provide timely feedbacks, rewards and positive or negative reinforcements. However, one needs to be conscious of the disadvantages of performance appraisals as well. Subjective and faulty performance appraisals can adversely affect the smooth functioning of the organization. As pointed out by Baker any evaluations based on invalid appraisal methods, non-specific behavioral criteria, insufficient information or casual observation can result in inflated ratings or lower ratings which will damage the morale and self-esteem of the workforce (44). Similarly, unrealistic goal setting and lack of observable or measurable parameters can also result in negative outcomes. On the other hand, performance appraisals should be related to specific, realistic and achievable goals. This emphasizes the need for goal-oriented performance appraisal systems whereby “the manager and subordinate agree on objectives at the beginning of the appraisal period, and then evaluate progress towards meeting these objectives throughout the period” (Berk & Berk 75). Similarly, the success of performance appraisal depends on how comprehensive, valid and reliable are the appraisal methods. Conclusions In conclusion, it is worthwhile to analyze whether there any alternatives to rating a person’s performance other than a performance appraisal. While there are many ways to evaluate an employee’s performance varying from direct observation to 360-degree evaluation a competent and comprehensive performance appraisal system will be most appropriate. However, it is worthwhile to have a committee of experts to conduct performance appraisals within the organizations so as to eliminate all sorts of subjectivity. Similarly, it is also significant to have performance appraisal systems of various sorts such as, self-appraisals, peer appraisals, subordinate appraisals, customer/client appraisals, and multiple raters. In the same way, special efforts are to be undertaken to ensure that the evaluation system is legally and ethically compliant. Works Cited Baker, J. Causes of Failure in Performance Appraisals and Supervision. New York: Quorum Books, 1998. Print. Berk, J & Berk, S. Managing Effectively. New York, NY: Sterling Publishing Company, Inc., 1991. Print. Chukwuba, Kenneth. Performance Appraisal in the Workplace. Journal of Management and Marketing Research. 1-6. N. d. Web. 23 June 2013. . “Ethically and Legally Compliant Performance Appraisals.” Yahoo! Inc., 2013. Web. 23 June 2013. < http://voices.yahoo.com/ethically-legally-compliant-performance-appraisals-2236785.html>. Jennifer, George. Understanding and Managing Organizational Behavior, 5/E. Pearson Education India, 2009. Print. IOD. Performance appraisals. Directors’ Briefing-Human resources management. 2007. Web. 22 June 2013. . Robbins, S. R. Essentials of Organizational Behavior. Engelwood Cliffs, NY: Prentice Hall, 1994. Print. Tompkins, T. Human Resource Management in Government. New York, NY:Harper Collins, 1995. Print. Read More