Performance Appraisal System - Essay Example

Performance Appraisal system Performance Management Name Institution Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 1.0.Introduction 3 1.1.General Background 3 2.0 Human Resource and Performance Appraisal 4 2.1. Why Performance Appraisal 5 2.2. The Roles of Stakeholders 9 2.3. Balanced Score Card 10 2.4. Developing the skills of each key player 11 3.0 Problems 11 4.0. Performance Appraisal Process 12 4.1. Staff Evaluation 12 5.0. Performance Metrics 12 6.0. Rhyming systems and processes 13 7.0. Conclusions 13 8.0 Experience 15 9.0. References 16 1.0. Introduction 1.1. General Background Fairness and accuracy are very vital in performance appraisal which is constituted in human resource management. Performance appraisal is a prerequisite that is so much used in as means of performance measuring (Armstgrong 2001). It is worth noting that, measuring performance is not done only to indentify why things are not going according to the plan but also in indentifying why things are not going well so that steps can be taken to build on success. Performance appraisal is founded on a goal which is to assess and summarize past performances and enveloping future work performance goals and expectations (Wilson & Western 2000). It systematically evaluates the performance and provides feedback on what need to be changed or adjusted as far as performance in concerned. When handling performance appraisal, employees view it as: Tell me what you want me to do, help me improve my performance and reward me for doing well (Wilson & Western 2000). Cineworld UK has a performance appraisal system that is designed to provide documented, constructive feedback regarding the performance expectations, mitigate growth and development as well as defining equitable means of rewards for contributions to the performance of the company (Wilson & Western 2000). The senior staffs are measured by their breadth of knowledge, understanding and their role and contributions towards Cineworld strategic plan. This therefore means that, this process offers a very good opportunity to focus on work activities and goals and most importantly identifying the existing problems and encouraging improved future performance. Therefore, the performance of the whole organization is enhanced and improved (Torrington, Hall & Taylor 2005). Performance management involves both the supervisor and the employees, who jointly indentify common goals which correlate to higher goals of the senior management of Cineworld (Torrington, Hall & Taylor 2005). Cineworld Group is a cinema chain in United Kingdom consisting of 76 chains. It is the second larges cinema operator in UK with 801 screens. Cineworld Gasgow Renfrew Street is the talles cinema in the world and the busiest considering the customer base in UK with 20 screens. It opened in Stevenage, Hertfordshire in 1996 and later in Shrebury, Shropshire in 1998. Cineworld has now taken over the UK and Ireland operations of the French cinema company UGC and in 2005 the integration of the two companies took the name ‘Cineworld Cinemas’. It offers subscription using a membership card which offers members unlimited entrance for a set price each month. Moreover, it offers Cineworld magazine which later changed it name to Unlimited Magazine. It boosts of being the only Cinema having 3D which has contributed significantly to the increase in its business. It has 300 3D cinema screens across the county. To maintain it high standard shows, it has to maintain a high standard and competent human resource and this is effected by the challenge of appraising, utilizing and developing skills and abilities of its employees performance who will on the other hand contribute towards the attainment of the company’s goals and objectives and most importantly maintaining and even improving its high standard. 2.0 Human Resource and Performance Appraisal Human resource management plays a very big role in the establishment of an effective performance management system. This is because it is involved in all levels of the organization and therefore a support from all departments will result to an effective manager for performance management system (Rao 2004). This means that, human resource management provides the necessary support, resources and tools for establishing an effective performance management at Cineworld Cinemas. There are human resource practices that are associated with performance appraisal. Some of this practices are workers training, job redesign and consultative committees. 2.1. Why Performance Appraisal As stated earlier performance management is a process that involves both the supervisor and the employees who identify common goals which correlate to the higher goals of the company. It is very important for the identification of the employees with manager. However, lack of time, intolerance of mistakes, complete rejection of dependency and unexamined relationship are some of barriers to the identification (Hellriegel, Jackson & Slocum 2002). Moreover, the manager needs to examine his own way of interacting with the subordinates so that it can be easy for him to develop the process of identification. Performance appraisal has become a very important tool for driving an organization towards competitive advantage through continuous performance improvement and this is as a result of developing integrated performance management system (PMS) based on a competency framework (Hellriegel, Jackson & Slocum 2002). Employee performance appraisal allows appropriate employee placement. There are employees who are in the class of Vegetators, who are people who only care for their pay at the end of the month, who care less of their performance and look for slightest reason to be absent and require constant supervision without appraising them (Bohlander, Snell & Sherman 2001). Performance appraisal then is the link between the rewards employees hope to receive and their productivity. Performance management in Cineworld is the use of interrelated strategies and activities with an aim of improving the performance of individuals and teams, with an aim of helping the firm achieve its goals. Performance management is a very vital tool for it helps the management to monitor, lead and respond to how an organization delivers against goals, mission and the outcomes required of it by the investors. An effective performance management requires a plan that integrates organizational, business and individual planning and performance (Laudon & Aguinis 2005). It can involve: The tasks, outcomes, behaviors and values based systems or a clarification of performance objectives which are linked to cinaworld business plan. Periodic performance appraisal of individuals or teams against the achievement of these objectives Feed back from this appraisal. Recognition for performance, which may include pay and salary progression guided performance. Team and individual development to build performance; Counseling, or what to do incase of poor performance; Evaluating the contribution of individual, team and organizational performance A very effective approach to performance management enables employees and teams to understand Cineworld Goals and relate to them, relating how individual and team outputs contribute to the realization of these objectives and values. This approach defines the performance expectations for individuals and teams that are inherent aspects of their employment (Armstgrong 2001). Putting together people, planning and performance with the organizational objectives develops individual and organizational capability and leads to higher performance. The performance appraisal process articulates the standards of work expected of employees and the values and behaviors employees are expected to uphold in meeting their jobs requirements, communicating and working together (Kohli & Deb 2008). It’s worth noting that performance management leads to improved performance that is more closely directed to the objectives and needs of the organization. Performance appraisal feedback helps employees to know that the work they do well and how they can improve their performance to the good of their company. Appraisal systems started being in place in the 60s and 70s, but they were not regarded as regular, systematic and effective practices in most firms. Any effective system must be addressing the following: Alignment – this is whereby the design of the performance management system is done on a clear understanding of the outcomes that are sought by Cineworld and the stakeholders, the nature of the business, goals, clients, performance measure and its history. Credibility – in this case, the staff should be engaged and won through transparency fairness, progressive implementation, and commitment and by reducing the gap between rhetoric and reality and most importantly by handling poor performance. Integration – this is meant to ensure that performance management is part of the overall corporate management structure of Cineworld, and that there is a clear demarcation between staff responsibilities and the objectives of the organization and most important a clearly defined training component. Alignment – having performance management systems which will work with the texture of the firm. What works best in nay organization depends on its size, the nature of business and its culture. It is a matter of fact that, the failure of performance management initiatives is the failure to take into consideration the culture and the history of the firm. This therefore means that performance management system is a product of deliberate and strategic decision making, which is based on an understanding of the organization, its objectives, operating environment and culture (Bohlander, Snell & Sherman 2001).. The Managers role is to examine the subordinate’s performance which will lead him to making compensation recommendations for employees. On the other hand, performance appraisal is also is also for development uses whereby it is a primary source of information and feedback for employees, and this is very important for future developments. When the weak areas and the training needs of an employee are indentified, he/she is informed on the skills to develop and workout the development plans and this in the long run reinforces individual behavior. The human resource management larger role of integrating individuals in the firm is reflected by the combination of administrative and development of reasons of performance appraisal. Research have proved that a change in behavior cannot be instilled through punishment or negative reinforcement, rather it should be through the provision of encouragement, reinforcing success so that a person takes initiative and experiments new ideas (Bohlander, Snell & Sherman 2001).. Managers also experience that appraisal of others seems hostile for it leaves other employees with feeling of guilt. This therefore implies that, tension between appraisal as a judgment process and a supportive development process has never been resolved and is going to be there for a long time. Making judgment about an employee’s contribution, value, worth and capability has to be taken as a very serious dimension of managers relationship to the employee’s performance. The future orientated review and development which actively involves employees in developing way of improving performance in line with needs for attainment of organizational objectives should be encouraged in the development of these systems. The outcome could be a set of objectives to be achieved by individual employees and should encompass immediate performance against current tasks and standards. However, ones employees are encouraged to pay more attention on their progress at work, and then the organization must be able to respond to them. For the success of performance appraisal, there must be support from the top management; on the other hand, performance evaluation influences employee performance and satisfaction. Performance and employee satisfaction are increased when the evaluation is based on behavioral (Bohlander, Snell & Sherman 2001). 2.2. The Roles of Stakeholders Performance management system is an accountability system. This is because it shows the senior executives and the employees what business results are expected of them and how they should go about achieving them. Successful implementation of this system always starts from the top. The senior executives need to clearly define the strategic priorities and effectively communicate them in the entire organization (Kohli & Deb 2008). These strategic priorities are action oriented targets that the organization must concentrate on in order to forge towards the vision, such as in the case of Cineworld improving customer satisfaction. Once the senior executive has defined the priorities, then the measures for these priorities are established. In this case, the use of balanced score card is used. The lead and lag measures are then integrated in the senior management. Using performance management system, senior executives need to transfer accountability to the next level down which will mean that it will spread to the entire organization. 2.3. Balanced Score Card This is the performance management system which has four main measurement perspectives each with wide range of potential sub measures. This model is different from the traditional approaches for it has a wide range of leading and lagging indicators like customer perspective, internal business process, learning and growth and a financial evaluate to check whether the business is moving towards the strategic goal (Kohli & Deb 2008).. This method implies that, so as to manage strategy, an organization must measure its performance through performance indicators after analyzing its operations. It also recognizes that financial measures are lagging indicators and a result of the other three indicators. This therefore means that, leading indicators deal with issues that will affect the financial performance. (Coyle-Shapiro et al 2005) Goals for each perspective and develop respective measures or performance indicators. The good thing about this method is the fact that it measures all activities rather than assuming that some are immeasurable or the people undertaking those activities are too professional. 2.4. Developing the skills of each key player Simply because performance management system involves the change of behavior, it is very important to develop both the confidence and competence of all employing around fulfilling their roles. For this system to be successful, then it must involve all the employees in all levels. Manages don’t give employees their performance plans but rather they give them business unit information and the managers objective so that they can draft their own plans (Kohli & Deb 2008). Employees then share and track their performance data, allowing leaders to provide timely feedback so as to reinforce their performance. This type of shared ownership requires skill developed in the form of training for both leaders and employees. They both must be aware of their responsibilities in the process and must create measurable objectives and observe competencies, how to seek, give and receive feedback and most importantly on how to evaluate performance (Shields 2007). There is a very vital need to train all employees and take steps to ensure that the necessary training would occur. If an employee within a certain business unit does not comply, the senior vice president of that business unit was not eligible for his or her bonus. 3.0 Problems The commitment of the human resource is the key determinant of the success of every institution. This therefore means that, performance appraisal must be carried out from time to time so as to check and replace, motivate, retain or even take any other action that will be beneficial to the improvement of the organization. Most studies discuss performance appraisal that allows workers develop skills and meet the business goals (Thorpe & Holloway 2008). However, skill based method of performance management that creates an environment that is conducive for the development of skills for employees to meet the business goals are of great importance. This is because it measures skills and tracks and them combines them into job descriptions, identify employee skills and then create an avenue to upgrade their abilities. 4.0. Performance Appraisal Process 4.1. Staff Evaluation When evaluating staff, the following aspects are followed and considered. Working output – this evaluates the quality, quantity and effectiveness of the employee working output as well as punctuality. Knowledge and skills – in this area, skills and knowledge are evaluated as well as communication and realization of rules. Personal quality – evaluation of personal quality appreciated by the organization such as discipline, proactive, innovative, cooperativeness and independence. Informal event and Contributions - this is where the employee contribution to the company, community country or even internationally are evaluated. 5.0. Performance Metrics Performance metrics are used to define the performance of the firm from a number of perspectives and therefore it is a very important consideration for an effective performance management system (Kohli & Deb 2008). An organization cannot claim to have an effective performance management system is at all the metrics used do not align with the organizations strategic goals. The performance measure record sheet gives a solid framework for designing performance measures, but not necessarily providing a framework by which performance measures can be evaluated to the extent to which they relate with strategy and with other performance measures. 6.0. Rhyming systems and processes There is a need to determine how other systems will how other systems will support the performance management system and how its data will support the human resource management such as training and development, succession planning, selection and promotion, reward and recognition and also compensation. In Cineworld Cinemas, they have identifies a list of competencies that are important for success in specific positions which represent the number of employees. They have also incorporated the evaluation of the competencies into the selection process for hiring people into those positions. This implies that, newly hired employees receive feedback from their hiring managers on their competency evaluation that were incorporated in the screening process and also discuss them on how to handle their performance plan (Kohli & Deb 2008).. This provides a link between the competencies used for selection and those used to evaluate performance in then new job. 7.0. Conclusions Performance appraisal system is the only tangible metric was through which an organization can evaluate the level of performance of its diverse employees. Although most employees of Cineworld UK are aware of the type of performance appraisal system sued, such systems are not based on any serious formal purpose for which they were designed. The effectiveness of performance appraisal system in Cineworld is based on training to the employees involved in appraising process. Improving any performance approval system is a complex position that requires developing sound appraisal procedures and motivated and skilled raters. During the design of performance appraisal system in Cineworld Cinemas, the management should consider all factors of an effective system so as to achieve the goals which is the main reason of coming up with it. The factors are frequency of appraisal, objectives, training of the appraisers, accurate records keeping system, employee performance measurement, self appraisal approach, employee’s weaknesses and strengths (Williams 2002). The system should be able to provide feedback to employees and most importantly avoid biasness and the process and procedures for the system should be ratable. Human resource management is a vital organ in any organization. This is due to the fact that it coordinates and controls every activity directly or indirectly for the purpose of organizational development and growth (Winstanley & Woodall 2000). HR is involved in performance management system that ensures and maintains operations in every section and unit of Cineworld, which is human capital or knowledge, skills, experience and abilities. Performance management does not only evaluate employee’s performances, but also achieve organizational goals through improving employee performance, employee development, engagement and retaining them (Verbeeten & Frank 2008) It is very important to communicate performance standards or key performance indicators immediately after hiring an employee so as to ensure proper understanding to all employees. 8.0 Experience Throughout the module, I have learnt a lot and therefore believe that, from all that I have learnt, I am conversant with most of the prerequisites of employee management. One thing that is of great importance is the understanding that, human resource management is the key to the success of any organization. Human resource commitment to the goals and objectives of the organization determines its success. Therefore human resource should be managed appropriately and motivated so as to get the best from them. Involving employees in decisions that regard their performance is also of equal importance. This is because they owe up to the whole process if they were involved from the beginning and feel part of the whole process for it consists of their idea. Performance management on the other hand is the avenue for the organization to achieve its objectives. This therefore means that, it is of equal importance in the running of the organization. There should be well laid procedures that will ensure that the whole process is effective and it touches all the areas of the company’s operations and the evaluation should be fair to all to avoid demoralization of the workforce and also to help develop their skills and knowledge. Gathering all the relevant information from the people involved in the running of the appraisal management is not an easy task. For instance, a person may give you all the required information or not. Suspicion is the major contributor for people not opening up to questioners and therefore gathering information the biggest problem. However, being part and parcel of the decision making team and contributing to the required solution one of the ways to counter the problem associated with human resource management. I have personally being involved in taking the assignment head on. I have been effective in gathering and contributing to the required information towards the success of the task. Finally, I have learnt that, human resource management and performance management system go hard in hard and if implemented successfully and following the best guidelines, it will be an easy task for the entire organization to attains its goals and meet its objectives. 9.0. References Armstrong, M.Human Resource Management Practice, Kogan Page Publishers, 8th ed 2001 Aguinis H. Performance Management, 2nd edit, Prentice Hall, New Jersey, U.S. 2008 Bohlander, G., Snell, S. & Sherman, A. Managing human resources. Ohio: South-Western College Publishing 2001 Coyle-Shapiro, J, Shore, L, Taylor, S, Tetrick, L. The Employment Relationship Examining Psychological and Contextual Perspectives, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2005 Rao, T. B. Performance Management and Appraisal Systems, U.K. 2004 Hellriegel, D., Jackson, S.E. & Slocum, J.W. Management: a competency-based approach. 9th Ed. Ohio: South-Western 2002 Kohli, A, Deb, T. Performance Management, Oxford University Press, Oxford 2008 Laudon, K. & Aguinis, H. Performance Management, Pearson Higher Education, UK 2005 Shields, J. Managing Employee Performance and Reward – Concepts, practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2007 Stone, R. Human Resource Management. 4th ed., Wiley, Brisbane 2002 Thorpe R and Holloway J. Performance Management: Multi-disciplinary perspectives, Palgrave MacMillan, New York 2008 Torrington, D, Hall, L ,Taylor S, Human Resource Management, Financial Times Prentice Hall, 6th Edition 2005 Verbeeten, Frank H.M. Performance management practices in public sector organizations. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 21, No. 3, pp. 427 454, 2008. Williams R. Managing Employee Performance, Thomson Learning Business Press, 2002. Winstanley D & Woodall J. Ethical Issues in Contemporary HRM, MacMillan Business, UK, 2000. Wilson, J.P. and Western, S. Performance appraisal: an obstacle to training and development? Journal of European Industrial Training, Vol. 24 No. 7, pp. 384-91, 2000. Read More