Performance Appraisals - Essay Example

Performance appraisals by The of the The of the School The and where it is located The Date Performance appraisals Introduction It would not be a mistake to suggest that performance appraisal is an irreplaceable part of the business world. Indeed, it reflects a peculiar aspect of relationship between employer and employee. One of the major points that should be mentioned here is that employees are often interested in performance appraisal more since that often affects their performance. While there are different views about the effect that it has on the above mentioned relationship, this paper will argue that it is not only positive, but is rather helpful when it comes to organizing cooperation between the two parties. In order to prove this, the paper will analyze several important aspects of the concept of performance appraisal such as the questions that it answers, the frequency of its performance, the ultimate goal and the practical applications of performance appraisal. Answering the two major questions asked by employees What are you expectations of me? One of the most obvious way in which performance appraisal is able to contribute to effectiveness of the relationship between employer and employee focuses on the fact that it helps to situate an individual inside a company (Grote, 2002). Thus, an employee is able to gain a proper understanding of what it expected and how one’s work should look like. Having gained this important information, a person, together with a supervisor or independently, will be able to set specific goals. It must be noted that the effectiveness of goal setting is decreased when there are no known expectations to live up to. In other words, the goals of an employee are rather abstract at first; however, with the help of performance appraisal, one is able to learn the direction in which one has to develop. How am I doing to meet your expectations? It has already been noted that performance appraisal often provides a person with a stimulus to improve one’s skills and abilities. However, a proper development can hardly be accomplished in case one is not able to set the course of action properly. In this case the appraisal of current performance serves as a bottom line for evaluation (Falcone & Tan, 2013). Therefore, performance appraisals can be very helpful in showing the current effectiveness of an individual. Having identified the drawbacks in the performance, it will be much easier for an employee to work on improvement of them and to make a bigger contribution to the company. As a result, performance appraisal reflects the situation when both parties benefit from it. The frequency and its impact on effectiveness It must be noted that originally, performance appraisals were engaging long cycles, often around one year (Grote, 1996). This period of time generated a sufficient amount of information that could later be processed and given to the employees. In other words, at that time performance appraisal was more oriented at explaining the peculiarities of performance. However, there has been a tendency of conducting appraisals that take a look at shorter cycles, such as half a year, one month or ever several weeks. It is obvious that with this timeframe, the function of appraisal is completely different. Unlike its previous counterpart who was oriented at long term perspective, the modern performance appraisals allow employees to identify the right improvements that they have made and help employers determine whether their employees are performing their duties properly. As a result, both parties are able to gain a better understanding of their cooperation. The ultimate function of performance appraisal Many scholars tend to be distracted by the individual nature of the concept in question. Every single performance appraisal focuses on the work of a particular individual; however, since it is performed all over the company, it would not be an exaggeration to suggest that it can be applied to the entire company as well (Cummings & Worley, 2009). In other words, this concept can be extremely help since it allows managing and aligning the performance of different employees within an organisation. Therefore, the overall performance of the company will become more harmonized and it will have a positive impact on the employees as well. Practical application of performance appraisal Basis for employment decisions The positive impact of performance appraisal on the relationship between employer and employee is obvious in the manner in which it is applied in the area of employment decisions (Gilbert, 2012). There has to be a justification for every decision that is made inside the company since otherwise the employees might think that they are being oppressed. That is why many sensitive decisions should be carried out after performance appraisal. A good example is promotion: if the employer does not want to upset the employees and make sure that the promoted person is protected from any criticism, vertical mobility within organization should be supported by appraisals. In addition to that, different cases of termination can also be justified by performance appraisal. Personal objectives for training It has already been noted that performance appraisal is able to provide one with the knowledge about the peculiarities of performance. In addition to that, it is able to provide objective that will guide a person in training (Tapamoy, 2008). So, the relationship between employer and employee will benefit if the latter knows its strong sides. In this case, the training will be focused on promoting and combining them. On the other hand, performance appraisals help one to understand one’s weaknesses and the latter often become the primary goals of training. In other words, as a result of appraisal and a successful training, an employer received an employee with an improved performance, while the latter is able to enjoy professional evolution. This means that both parties benefit from this kind of cooperation. Keeping track of everything In one of the sections it was noted that performance appraisal cycles have decreased significantly. With this in mind, it is obvious that if it is performed quite often, it can be used as a way to track the progress of an individual (Proctor, 2009). Performance appraisal that assesses the period of several weeks in not able to provide valuable insights concerning the peculiarities of performance in general, but it will surely be able to detect any kind of improvement that happened in the course of those two weeks. In addition to that, the record can be quite helpful if there is any need in court’s hearings. It has already been mentioned that terminations can be justified by the data from appraisal. As a result, both employer and employee will know that should some argument arise, they will be able to refer to this data. Feedback to those who rate It is generally argued that performance appraisal is more important for the people who are assessed if compared to those who assess. However, many companies were able to put emphasis on providing feedback to the later; that is why every performance appraisal results in gradual improvement of the assessment mechanism (Roussel, 2006). In other words, the employees may express their vision of how the process can be changed in order to reflect better the peculiarities of one’s performance. So, the appraisals that will be performed latter will be more accurate and more helpful than the original ones. This means that performance appraisal has a beneficial effect not only on the people who are studied, but also on those who perform the study which shows that it contributes to effectiveness of their cooperation. The role of subordinate participation If employees are given an opportunity to provide their feedback, appraisal does not become a process with one direction. In other words, employees participate in it as well. Knowing that their remarks will be taken into account, the former will feel empowered (Wankel, 2009). This is particularly important since it will make them feel more valued. Moreover, such treatment of employees is likely to contribute to trust in the relationship with the employer which is surely a beneficial aspect. This takes employment relationship to a completely new level: the level where an employer is interacting with a particular employee, knowing one’s strong and weak sides, not some faceless working unit. Therefore, the process of employment becomes more personal. Conclusion Having examined all the points that were mentioned in the paragraphs above, one should make the following conclusion: it is beyond any doubt that performance appraisals are essential for developing and maintaining a positive and effective relationship between employer and employee. This can be seen in numerous aspects. For example, an employee is able to gain a better understanding of what is expected of it and how one is doing to meet those expectations. The change in the cycles of appraisal has changed significantly the function that they perform, leading to making them more useful. Another point that should be mentioned is that performance appraisal allows the company to manage and align the contribution of employees, leading to harmonisation of relationships in the working place. Finally, this concept serves many different roles all of which are beneficial for every party. References Falcone, P., & Tan, W. (2013). The performance appraisal tool kit redesigning your performance review template to drive individual and organizational change. New York, NY: AMACOM, American Management Association. Gilbert, J. (2012). Ethics for managers: Philosophical foundations and business realities. New York, NY: Routledge. Grote, R. (2002). The Performance appraisal: Question and answer book : A survival guide for managers. New York, NY: AMACOM. Grote, R. (1996). The complete guide to performance appraisal. New York, NY: AMACOM. Cummings, T. & Worley, C. (2009). Organization development and change. St. Paul, MN: West Pub. Proctor, R. (2009). Managerial accounting for business decisions. Harlow: Prentice Hall. Roussel, L. (2006). Management and leadership for nurse administrators. Sudbury, MA: Jones and Bartlett. Tapamoy, D. (2008). Performance appraisal and management: Concepts, antecedents and implications. New Delhi: Excel Books India. Wankel, C. (2009). Encyclopedia of business in todays world. 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