Drawback and Challenges of Performance Management - Assignment Example

PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT Introduction Performance management is one of the most important areas in an organization. The performance management is used by the managers to apprise the employees who are good and provide them feedback to improve performance at their work and to reprimand the employees who are not so good and can be guided to do their job in a proper way. Performance management is important in an organizational concept as because employees are the most important resources in an organization. It is also important from the view point of the employees that the organization and the managers recognize the work done by the employees so that their good work is eventually recognized. However it is also found that most of the performance management system and the performance management processes and the performance management systems are tiring in their processes. Performance management system requires managers to go with the employees to a room in a yearly performance management review. The worst problem with performance management system is that the problem lies with one’s performance being reviewed by another person. Pulakos and OLeary (2011) claim the formula for effective performance management remains elusive. Performance management system is not universal and actually every company and organization should have a performance management system that is unique to the organization characteristics and applies to the unique problem that the organization faces. However the problem with most models of performance management is that they are defined on a universal basis. The paper below analyzes the statement given by Pulakos and OLeary in context of the performance management and tries to address the challenges in an effective manner. Discussion Literature review Performance management is the process that is designed so as to improve organizational, team and individual performance that is in turn owned and driven by the line managers. According to Lawler there is a large no. of design features which can potentially influence the effectiveness of a performance management system. Many of the different performance management system are studied empirically so as to study the impact of the performance management systems. The research in this field shows that the effectiveness of the performance management increases; when there is consistent and ongoing feedback. The behaviour based measures are normally used so that preset goals are employed. It is reasonable to argue that when the outcomes of performance appraisal are tied to the rewards the performance management system will be more effective. Managers will be particularly concerned about doing a good job due to the fact that outcome of the appraisal has a significant impact of the managers ability to effectively allocate the resources so that the rewards that are based on performance are allocated to the individuals who work effectively. The researchers further state that there is a good possibility that the if appraisals are used to determine the amount of reward that an individual employee will receive, more pressure will be put on the managers by the organizations to differentiate the employees based on performance and the method of performance appraisal that is used as the appraisal method forms the key judgement criteria (Lawler, 2003). However according to Dransfield appraisal is an issue that is hotly debated among the research scholars. There are some scholars who advocate the view that the appraisal should be strictly used for development purposes. They advocate the view that states that the appraisals should be used so as to review the individual performances constructively so that the performances of the individuals can be encouraged. The researcher in this school of thought believes that linking of appraisal to rewards spoils the appraisal process. They believe that this is so because linking of appraisal process to the rewards makes the process punitive, judgemental and frightening. In such a system it is not only the person who is being apprised suffers but the person who is appraising also suffers in this process. The appraisal system as a development process is most closely associated with soft HRM where as the appraisal system that is connected with performance and rewards is known as hard HRM (Dransfield, 2000). Martone advocates the building of a competency based performance management system in his research paper. In his research paper the researcher states that a performance based management system that is competency based works as a formal way in establishing the skills that are needed by the employees so that they can be successful in their present roles and are successful in their future growth within the organization. In a way the competency based performance management model is used to inform the employees about the company expectations out of them and sets them on a well defined path so that they are able to achieve specific goals (Martone, 2003). Competency based framework for managing performance is used for aligning the employees’ performance at the job to organization goals. As part of the competency based performance management framework it is necessary that the company first designs long term goals for the organization. The long term and short term goals should then be broken down so as to analyze the skills that are required by the individual employees so that they can achieve the goals of the organization. Within the framework of this model it is important to determine the specific skills and behaviours that are required by the employees of each of the functional group. The individual goals of the senior leaders should also be established and that should in turn cover the multiyear timeframes. The model is used to allow the employees so that the employees can realize their key strengths, skills and behaviours in addition those that they can develop. The biggest problem is that a no. of companies have developed competency based model which require all the employees to be competent in all the skills. Such a program of competency based performance management is likely to fail as because it does not reflect the reality that is all the people do not have the same skills and interests. It can be expected that people are born with certain skills and competencies suited to play certain roles. Model of performance management This model involves four important human resource processes like performing, planning, evaluating and rewarding. Different needs of a company are highlighted in this model. Based on those needs the company develop its different processes. The organization sets performance criteria of its employees according to the things which it wants to achieve. This model is implemented by following three steps like design, implementation and evaluation. In the design stage the company sort out its different needs which are required to fulfil for achieving success. In the implementation stage the company organizes different training and development programs for enhancing the performance level of its employees. Performance objectives are developed in this stage. At last in the evaluation stage the company analyze and evaluate the performance level of its employees. Based on the evaluation the organization provides appraisal and rewards to its staffs for motivating them to deliver better performance. Drawback of performance management model The performance management model gives a general ideal for managing and improving the performance level of organizational member. Different companies may have different priorities for managing the performance level of its employees. For this reason this model is not applicable in all companies. Performance level of organizational member depends on many organizational factors. Company’s culture plays an important role in enhancing and managing the performance level of employees. This model has neglected this factor. In the competitive and complex business environment needs of employees varies a lot. This model has not mentioned the types of appraisal system or reward a company should incorporate for motivating and influencing the employees effectively. Drawback and challenges of performance management The problem of earlier methods of performance management system lies in the fact that major performance management systems in the past for example the one proposed by peter Drucker focussed in breaking down the organization goals into objectives that need to be achieved by the individual employees. Performance management systems would then be measured based on the fact about how the employees can aim to achieve those objectives. However this system of performance appraisal lies in the fact that too rigid definitions of the objectives that are used to analyze the performance of the employees hamper the creative solutions given to the problems by the employees. Hence in recent years performance measurement based on the objectives laid down is being discarded. Today’s performance based management instead focuses on the key result areas that the individuals are judged against. The results that are achieved by each individuals achieve can then be judged against the standards of performance that are expected. The reward system can then be designed to reward the performances of individual that helps the organization to achieve the results that it seeks to achieve. There are also conflicting views on appraisal (Knight, 2011). Some researchers in this field state that the appraisal should be tied with the performance review and rewards as it helps to effectively measure and reward performance. On the other hand there are other researchers who state that the appraisal system should not be tied with rewards. They say that if the appraisal method is tied with rewards then the appraisal methods look as punitive and judgemental. The appraisal that is connected with the reward system is detrimental to both the person who is being apprised and the person who is doing the appraisal. Many employees feel that the performance appraisal system where a face to face performance review is given is stressful. In fact many of the employees feel that the face to face performance review is the most stressful one to one conversation that the employees face all throughout the year. Managers also do not feel comfortable to conduct one to one performance review of the employees. Most of the performance review actually means that one of the persons is judging the activities of another person which is deep down uncomfortable. Evaluating the job performance of an employee should consist of more than just annual chat. Performance management should not be a onetime annual affair but a continuous real timer process. However the problem with the continuous real time feedback is that the employees should be comfortable with the daily feedback system. If the employees know their managers very well and can survived the feedback given by the managers then the real time feedback that is giving year long feedback is better than one time performance appraisal system. There are several problems that make performance management systems difficult to be implemented. For example one of the frequent problems with the performance management is that the system of ratings becomes lenient after some time of use. There has been particularly no solution to the problem of leniency of ratings of performance management systems. The problem at the extreme end renders the performance appraisal system of little value in making decisions about the pay, promotion and other activities that are linked with performance. Whenever a new system of performance appraisal is implemented it is found that initially the rating cycle is less lenient in the initial appraisal period. However as time passes the leniency levels again creep back to normal levels. The results of the surveys show that the attitudes towards performance appraisals are constantly poor. Many of the employees tell that the performance appraisal systems fails to provide feedback that is useful and establish exceptions that are clearly understood. After extensive analysis and study the formula that can be used to effectively analyze the performance management system remains forever elusive. Most of the time it so happens that whenever a new model of performance management system is developed the company and the hr managers rush to adopt the practices and apply the same to their company. Whenever the new system of performance management is adopted by the company the company and the HR managers of the company do not give sufficient consideration to how they can be effectively if at all implemented within the scope of organization and its culture. This leads to the fact that whenever new performance appraisal skills are developed the company makes plans so as to implement the new performance management system and then again suffer from implementation failures once the new system is in place. These failures necessitate the fact that systems need to be reinvented again and the same cycle continues again. This is the challenge that is inherent in the performance management system. Thus the performance management system has earned the nickname of Achilles heel of human capital management. The performance management systems rarely delivers that which is expected from it irrespective of the amount of time, effort and resources that are delivered to the performance management system by the company. However the fact of communicating to the employees regarding what are the things that is expected of them, providing feedback regarding how effectively they do the same, and helping the employees contribute to their maximum potential towards the organization are the essential factors that have to be considered in case of the managers if they want that their work should be done effectively by others (Pulakos and O’leary, 2011). If the performance management system is done effectively then it communicates what is important for an organization, what are the factors that drive the employees to achieve the desired results, and help in implementing the strategy of the organization. However if it is done poorly then the performance management fails to achieve the benefits and also undermine the employee confidence and damage the relationships. There is a belief in the fact that the problem arises due to the fact the performance management system has been reduced to discrete steps with the broad formal administrative system. The results are thus often scrutinized. Conclusion After analyzing the statement that is the formula for the effective performance management system remains elusive in the above pages through the performing of literature review, the analysis of the performance management model and the challenges that the performance management system faces it is found that the performance management system is really elusive. The performance management system is really elusive due to the fact that the performance management system is not universal but is specific to the organization that it applies to. However the most effective problem with the performance management system is the fact that the hr managers blindly copy any new performance management system that is developed without checking the applicability of the same to the particular organization. Most of the times however the performance management model almost all the time do not apply to the particular organization in view of the organization culture and structure. This leads to the fact that most of the models do not apply to the particular organization in question but to all the organizations in general and this causes a failure when the new model is applied to the organization. Another problem is that performance management system later on become lenient after they are developed initially no body that is neither the employees nor the manager seems to be comfortable with the definition. References Dransfield, R., (2000). Studies in economics and business. Oxford: Heinemann. Knight, R., (2011). Delivering an Effective Performance Review. Retrieved from < https://hbr.org/2011/11/delivering-an-effective-perfor > Lawler, E. E. (2003). Reward Practices and performance management system effectiveness. Organization Dynamics, 32(4), 396-404. Martone, D., (2003). A guide to developing a competency-based performance-management system. Journal of Employment Relations Today, 30(3), 23-32. Pulakos, E. D., and O’leary, R. S., (2011). Why Is Performance Management Broken? Industrial and Organizational Psychology, 4(1), 146-164. Read More