Performance Appraisal, Diversity Management, And Employee Participation - Essay Example

Performance Appraisal, Diversity Management, And Employee Participation Introduction Mankind and human civilizations have both been evolved over the period of time. The overall pattern of the evolution is ascending. It means that there has been a gradual advancement in the human society, ever since it came into being. The advancement in science and technology, on one hand, is making our society a knowledge society and making the world a global village where physical boundaries are disappearing and more and more societies and culture are interaction. This interaction has resulted in a transfer of knowledge and various ways of working from different societies, which were adopted to make our existing processes better. This search and desire to enhance existing processes of working has been a key player in changing the way we work and perform different processes. Among such processes which significantly changed and provided new ways to perform it, the process of appraisal is a major one. (Mathis & Jackson, 2007) Appraisal basically means matching one’s performance against some pre-defined standards. Performance appraisal, also known as employee appraisal, is a process by which the performance of an employee is measured (generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost and time). Performance appraisals are said to be a part of career development. These appraisals are a regular review of employee performance within organizations. In the case given, the performance apprisal done for the employees was being considered unjustified and as a result the employees were considereing the practices of the company as discriminatory. (Chattopadhyay, Glick, & Huber, 2001) Problems for the Organization The leaders of the organization are the key to the success of any organization. It they who set the goals, define the mission and vision and work with the employees to get the objectives completed. The problem that the company is facing is due to the lack of leadership qualities shown by the leader and non-satisfactory part played by the managers in performing their roles. Let’s identify some of the problems that are found in the company: (Mathis & Jackson, 2007) 1. Not Enough Diversity in the Top Ranks Like the case study tells us, most of the top level and middle level management positions are occupied by white men who share similar interests. This gives an idea that the organization is in control of the white men, and decisions are taken by them. When even white middle managers would spend time with the white top level managers, the minority groups in the company would feel cut out and would generally blame the management of favoring the whites even if this wasn’t true. So by not having a diverse top management force, the perception of the minority groups becomes biased. (Ely & Thomas, 2001) 2. Injustices to the Minority Groups The minority groups are complaining about the incorrect and unjustified performance appraisals done. They received lesser points when compared to other white employees and for this very reason their accusations for discrimination have become certain. Although the management may not be discriminatory and performance appraisal is done solely on merit, but due to the management’s negative attitude towards the minorities, any appraisal done is looked from a critical look. (Ely & Thomas, 2001) 3. Lack of Knowledge and Trained Human Resource Staff The company has a HR team however the team hasn’t been able to fulfill its responsibilities as yet. Not enough knowledge is imparted to the employees about employee appraisal and diversity at the work place which is turning the company into a non-diverse white men company. Such a company can only be successful to an extent since diversity brings in new challenges and with it, it brings creativity. (French, 2006) 4. No Motivation for Minority Groups Minority groups are not finding any luck on their sides. They see no benefits for working and hence some have even resigned from their jobs. Since there is no encouragement, motivation, rewards and appreciation for the work done, the minority groups don’t like to participate in the workings of the organization and work only to earn. As a result productivity from minority groups is lower and hence complains from them. (French, 2006) 5. Not Committed to Changing the Environment The problem with the managers is that they do not realize how severe the problem of diversity is. They have an idea that minorities want a change, but the managers are happy in their superior positions and are unlikely to give way to any minority employees. The wastage of two hours in the training session is a sign that the management is not interested in changing the things around. (Chattopadhyay, Glick, & Huber, 2001) Strategies for the Managers The problems described above are all interconnected with the terrible leadership at the organization. Ideally the leader should take the matters in his/her own hands and solve the problems at hand one by one. But since the organizational culture is such that these matters wouldn’t get resolved easily with the current leadership, it is recommended to attack the problem at its root. Here are some of the strategies that can be used to tackle the problems. (Colbert, Kristof-Brown, Bradley, & Barrick, 2008) (Briner, 2001) 1) Changing Organizational Culture Change is inevitable. It will come sooner or later and everybody must be prepared for it. Those who don’t prepare for it in advance are usually the ones who lose out on any opportunity provided by the change. For long we have seen that conservative leaders fail to bring about a change in their organizations with changing times, thus failing to run their business efficiently and eventually have to shut their business. Leaders must be dynamic in their thinking and apply the provisions for changes well before the time arrives. Leaders should be foresighted and bring the change in their organizations through informing and educating the employees about the change and finally committing them to the changing process. By informing the employees of such a change, it prepares them for changing their behavior and makes them aware of change and the reason for its occurrence. Education about the change is an understanding process and helps employees to make decisions whether to accept or reject the change. An important thing here is to portray a positive perception to the employees about the change so that they finally commit to the change and act upon it. (Ely & Thomas, 2001) (Schein, 1990) The change that is described above seems not to be having any affect on the current leaders. Therefore a complete revamp of the organizational culture is recommended. Changing the organizational culture is not an easily task. It requires enormous patience and perseverance. Some of the steps that are required is to infuse the old blood with the new blood at the same levels. This means that the managers who are sitting pretty in their positions should feel challenged to keep their jobs intact. By calling in new but experienced diverse people from the industry and positioning them at the same level as the current managers would help solve indifferent attitude in the organization that has now become a norm. (Fernandez, Junquera, & Ordiz, June 2003) 2) Increasing Motivation As we saw from the above strategy, the change in organizational culture is absolutely necessary. For this change to be implemented, the employees must be motivated enough to accept the change. In our case, the top level employees would resist such a change. At such a time awareness for the need of change wouldn’t do much good. The time calls for motivating the employees so that they accept the change. Motivation can come from monetary and non-monetary sources. Salary, wages, commissions, bonuses etc are some of the monetary benefits that can be given to the employees in exchange for accepting the change. Further more employee benefits and fringe benefits are various non-monetary payments that can increase the motivation of the employees. By giving these rewards, resistors to change can be won over and managers can accept the new working environment. (Mondy, 2007) Motivation for all employees is necessary to keep them committed to their work and increase their productivity. The minority groups have always been deprived of rewards and incentives to work. By giving additional salaries, bonus, profits etc., the managers can expect a higher level of participation from them and hence a better organization can be created. (Mondy, 2007) 3) Team Based Workings From the case, we understand that there is faltering participation from the minority groups. Even where minority groups try to participate, the managers interfere and shut them down. Such practices are extremely problematic for the organization since people with similar interest usually have the same ideas. Groupthink might also occur which may cause the management to oversee some faults with the ideas or not consider good ideas. Therefore it is recommended to build a ‘team’ rather than work in groups. In teams, the communication, collaboration and working is much more integrated. The level of participation is high and everybody knows their roles and work in tandem to achieve the organizational goals. (Chattopadhyay, Glick, & Huber, 2001) (Accel-Team, 2008) The idea is to build cross functional teams that have members from the minorities as well as the members from the white males group. Forming such teams will allow the white males to get to know and understand the minority people better when they work together. Any misunderstandings or confusions will clear out eventually and the organization will hopefully have an integrated non-discriminatory working environment. (Colbert, Kristof-Brown, Bradley, & Barrick, 2008) (Accel-Team, 2008) Conclusion Redefining an organizatoin is never easy especially with one having a lesser quality leader. The values of the organzation that were created really hampered creativity and growth of deserving employees. The management was carefree and did what it pleased. The one good things that happended was that they realized that something had to be done to improve the declining conditions of the company and as a result I was hired to recommend several strategies for the organization to build upon its human resources. The stragies mentioned above may not neccessarily work under all conditions, but with patience and a little perseverance, these strategies are bound to bring the organzation out of its current problems and lead it to a path of success. Works Cited 1. Accel-Team (2008). “Developing a HRM strategy”, Retrieved on March 11, 2008, From Accel-Team, Website: http://www.accel-team.com/human_resources/hrm_08.html 2. Briner, R. (2001). Rob Briner rounds up the latest HRM studies. People Management , 61. 3. Chattopadhyay, P., Glick, W. H., & Huber, G. P. (2001, Vol. 44, No. 5). Organizational Actions In Response To Threats And Opportunities. Academy of Management Journal , 937-955. 4. Colbert, A. E., Kristof-Brown, A. L., Bradley, B. H., & Barrick, M. R. (2008, Vol. 51, No. 1). CEO Transformational Leadership: The Role Of Goal Importance Congruence In Top Management Teams. Academy of Management Journal , 81–96. 5. Ely, R. J., & Thomas, D. A. (2001, 46). Cultural Diversity at Work: The Effects of Diversity Perspectives on Work Group Processes and Outcomes. Administrative Science Quarterly , 229-273. 6. Fernandez, E., Junquera, B., & Ordiz, M. (June 2003, 14:4 ). Organizational culture and human resources in the environmental issue: a review of the literature. The International Journal of Human Resource Management , 634-656. 7. French, W. (2006). Human Resource Management . Houghton Mifflin Company. 8. Mathis, R. L., & Jackson, J. H. (2007). Human Resource Management. outh-Western College Pub. 9. Mondy, W. (2007). Human Resource Management . Prentice Hall 10. Schein, E.H. (1990) Organizational Culture, American Psychologist, 45: 109-19. Read More