Performance Management System - Assignment Example

Performance Appraisal Question 1 Part A. Performance management system is the process through which companies ensure that employees are working towards organizational goals. It is done by motivating the employees on their job performance and their level of competence in an organization. Many organizations recognize their workers’ performance by applying the following building blocks (Ohemeng, 2011). Building blocks of an effective performance management process 1. Recruitment. A good performance system entails good behavior skills and proper training through interview questions. Employees’ behavior concerning their job handling capability, and if not up to the company’s capacity, necessary training is conducted. Unbiased recruitment ways are to ensure effectiveness on the job (Ohemeng, 2011). 2. Training in the corporation Training is carried out on employees through competitions, quizzes and work site role plays. The managers and supervisors train to coach the employees. Training improves in output quality and efficiency. Experts train the employees in their weak areas or emerging issues (Ohemeng, 2011). 3. Appraisals Formal evaluations are carried out at least annually, preferably every six months to motivate the employees who improve job quality, knowledge and reliability. Appraisals may be in the form of salary increment, and this motivates workers to perform their duties efficiently and with less supervision (Ohemeng, 2011). 4. Culture Proper disciplinary measures are implemented to ensure compliance with the organizational culture. Penalties apply in the case of any person going against the stipulated culture (Ohemeng, 2011). 5. Incentive Incentive programs involve either employees or suppliers.  If done well, the incentive plan has the potential to unleash an incredible increase in performance.  Naturally, if done poorly, the incentive programs will not only prevent improvements, but degrade the performance of processes and deliver results that directly counter strategic objectives (Ohemeng, 2011). 6. Measures The base of an effective performance management program is the configuration of metrics to corporate tactic.  Each division and sector in the corporation should evaluate the strategic objectives and clearly describe its role in achieving them.  These measures enable an organization to work effectively towards achieving its goals. 7. Communication. An open organization enables all employees to know what to expect from a reward system and have some part in the distribution of a reward. A closed system is controlled by higher management and can cause an employee to question whether the awards were handed out and the applied criteria (Ohemeng, 2011). 8. Capacity Management. This building block is the long-term solution to most organizational issues. A competent management staff is selected to enhance effectiveness in an organization. Poor management leads to dismal output and collapsing of an organization. 9. Service Level Management. Service level management entails, identifying, repeated monitoring and reviewing of services compared to agreed-upon service objectives.  Service level goals are tailored to business desires. Evaluating the effect of system adjustment on service quality and the ability to comply to service level targets is core. 10. Setting objectives. Setting the perfect objectives helps an organization to improve its performance. If the set objectives are not standardized, the whole system fails. Conclusion An efficient Performance Management system includes practices and methods for goal setting, performance appraisal, and reward systems. Sequentially, for a performance management system to become useful, goals, performance evaluations, and rewards must align to provide an organization that will attract and retain employees. The more an organization attracts and retains employees, the more successful the organization will be. Part B. Reasons why performance appraisal is important Performance appraisal is the process of measuring, assessing and directing an employee on job associated issues, behavior, and outcome. Assessment of the task enables the company to acknowledge the level it has achieved towards attaining its goals. The purpose of a performance appraisal is to verify an employee’s productivity and to determine if his efficiency enhances profitability. Research is conducted on the employees and the necessary action undertaken if they have achieved their goals. As of the company’s viewpoint, it is intended to identify any fall in organizational standards of the company and the required improvement measures enacted. It also ensures that people are responsible for their organizational tasks. Performance appraisal plays a significant role in a corporate expansion and augmentation as employees appreciate over the years compared to assets, which depreciate over time (Ohemeng, 2011). It also provides a chance for supervisors and subordinates to have in-person discussions of critical job-related issues. By so doing, they comply with work undertakings and goals, discover and correct existing problems and persuade improved future performance (Ohemeng, 2011). Question 2 The halo effect and rater bias in the context of performance appraisal within a health care organization The halo effect is psychological phenomena that is well documented and makes people to become biased in their judgment (Samarakone, n.d.). Bias happens when people allow their personal feelings to influence their judgment, although they are totally unrelated to the situation. By so doing, most people assume that just because they like a particular attribute in a person, or a product, then everything else is overlooked, leading to the development of a positive predisposition to the individual or product. The vice versa is also true (Grobler, 2006). One of the most common halo effects is the ruling that a good looking person is intelligent and sociable. In the context of a health care organization, a hospital that specializes in cardiac programs and open- heart surgery is presumed by the community as providing excellent services in other areas, such as orthopedics or cancer. It is assumed that the hospital has reputable specialists that can deal with almost all health matters, although this usually not proven. Rater bias defines how managers rate employee performance appraisal within an organization using scales that are vague or highly subjective. More so, they allow their emotions to guide the employee evaluation, thereby interfering with objectivity (Sommerville, 2007). Rater bias leads to either inflated employee ratings or deflated ones. The effects are largely capricious since different managers apply dissimilar preferences. An example of a rater bias in a healthcare organization is when supervisor who is prejudiced against Islam because he lost his brother in a terror attack lets his emotions to take over when evaluating a Muslim intern. He gives her a negative appraisal without considering her input just because of her religion. Conclusion Performance management plays a critical role in the success of an organization. Evaluation must be carried out properly by putting a reliable and effective system into place. More so, it is also important to eliminate certain barriers, such as the halo effect and rater bias that allow emotions to cloud judgment from the employee evaluation program. References Grobler, P. A. (2006). Human resource management in South Africa. London: Thomson Learning. Novakovic, A. (n.d.). Women meaning business. Women in Management Review, 166-169. Ohemeng, F. (2011). Institutionalizing the Performance Management System in Public Organizations in Ghana. Public Performance & Management Review, 467-488. Panda, S. (n.d.). Performance Management System: Issues and Challenges. Management and Labour Studies, 271-280. Samarakone, P. (n.d.). Improving performance appraisals using a real-time talent management system: The advantages of a real-time talent management system. Human Resource Management International Digest, 35-37. Sommerville, K. L. (2007). Hospitality employee management and supervision: Concepts and practical applications. Hoboken, N.J: Wiley. Read More