The Politics of Performance Appraisal and Rotating Leaders - Assignment Example

Case study Case study The politics of performance appraisal Summary Performance appraisal is an important aspect of motivating and determining the performance of employees. Four managers at Eckel industries are discussing about their recent performance appraisal they conducted. They all agree that performance appraisal is not an easy task to undertake. They indicate that sometimes fine-tuning is important in performance appraisal. It can occur in different circumstances including in situations when an employee had a series of poor performance in earlier in the year (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2013). However, at some time before the year ends, the employee might start exhibiting high performance. Thus, the manager could fine tune to increase the morale of such employees. In other situations, employees could be far below the set target for the organization but manager’s fine tunes their performance to keep them motivated. In other situations, employee’s performance might be fine-tuned downwards. Some of such instances include situations where an employee is never taking the work seriously or in other situations where managers are in need of laying down the employee once a replacement emerges. However, tom, the youngest of the four managers still insist on the accuracy of performance review. He indicates that it would be better if a manager gives the employees the accurate performance appraisals and then improve from there. Question one The perspectives given by the managers were all quite interesting. I agree that performance appraisal is an important aspect of an organization. In addition, I agree that fine tuning is also important in an organization. This is considering that there are moments when an employee may be in their down moments that it might reflect on their work. In addition, an employee could have a bad performance at the beginning of the year but start to mark progress. Moreover, there are situations where fine tuning is important to get rid of a nagging employee or in need of firing an employee once another candidate emerges. The reason is that positive performance appraisal could be problematic when a manager fires an employee. However, I maintain that fine tuning is just distortion given a much better term. Giving an employee a better performance than they deserve is wrong. The reason is that some employees could take it as a habit since they are aware that their managers will give them a positive appraisal. Thus, accuracy is the most important aspect. Question two In my opinion, fine tuning is distortion. However, may be some acceptable points of fine tuning as a far as it does not become a habit for the employees. The managers should look at the number of times they fine tune the performance of the employees to prevent them from forming a habit. Fine tuning becomes distortion, therefore, if the manager over exaggerates the performance of the employees. For instance, if an employee deserved a two, the manager gives them a ten, for instance. Question three As the president of human resource, I would ensure that I get involved with the process of performance appraisal for all employees from the start. I would be involved in the close observation of the employees throughout the year and make my own notes (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2013). Thus, when a manager fine tunes, I will be in a position to know and take the required actions. Electrolux cleans up Electrolux came up with four characters which their employees used to come up with products and services in line with the preferences of their consumers. It is the consumers themselves who had come up with the four characters in line with their needs and preferences. From this, all the employees from various departments gathered together to come up with new and creative ideas. Considering the loss that the company underwent in 2002 and the loss of its middle market due to other cheaper goods, the company had to take immediate radical measures. All individuals in different departments work together to come up with new products. The manager also wanted to speed up the transition by recruiting executives from other strong companies. To support its overall drive for innovation, the organization is aimed at increasing its spending on R&D from 0.8% of sales to 1.2% and has a goal of reaching to up to 2% of sales. Question one Electrolux chief executive Straberg broke down the barriers between departments by forcing the designers, engineers, and other marketers to work together. This was to ensure that they come up with new products. The reason is that a collaborative effort between individuals from various departments would come in handy in ensuring that these employees come up with creative ideas and means of executing them. They are able to come up with creative problem-solving skills which will speed up the process of innovation that the company has undertaken. It is also capable of increasing the communication between these employees, and it is well-known, communication is important in any organization. Question two The advantages of having individuals from various departments working together was that the process of innovation was likely to be speeded up. The company would also save on costs that they would undertake in R&D from outsourcing consultants. In addition, the company was likely to increase the level of communication between its employees. The reason is that employees from different departments working together would come in handy in ensuring that these employees come up with creative problem-solving skills. They are able to form good relations with each other and thus be in a position to feel free in the presence of others. The morale of these employees is boosted, and they are able to work harder to achieve the desired result. Question three Electrolux can use teamwork and groups to succeed in an area with intense competition and low-cost products. The company can form groups and then divide several tasks to various groups. This will ensure that these teams accomplish a lot at a go. They can use group work to increase productivity and performance by ensuring that their teams come up with high-quality products at considerable prices. The teams could also consider what the competitors have to offer and mix it up with their targeted consumers needs and preferences. Rotating leaders Orpheus Orchestra has undergone a complete metamorphosis as its founder Julain Fifer can attest. Various organizations have hired them to demonstrate their process to their executives. The executives are willing to find out whether democracy and commitment to consensus could lead to the required performance. The orchestra deals with motivation, decisions making and performance as their determinants of success. The orchestras rely on a collective decision-making. They form group where members could regularly change and rehearse a piece before the whole group works on it. The orchestra allows the rotation of leaders to relieve any pressures and enable personalities take on different roles. This enables them to develop leadership skills and be supportive of one another. All the Orpheus members demonstrate faith in feedback that is given by colleges who gives sound checks. Changing the core-group participants and concertmaster positions allow each an intensive course in the leadership training. The members are also able to discover their strengths and weaknesses that they never before knew they had. Questions Business organizations would learn several things from observing orchestra in action. One of the lessons is that teamwork is important. Working in a collaborative effort always produces the required results by an organization (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2013). Secondly is the aspect of decision-making. Ensuring that every members of an organization is involved in decision-making enhances the motivation of employees, and they feel that the organization has faith in them. Changing of leadership roles also equips other employees with the required leadership roles that would be beneficial for them in future. It also heightens their motivation and improves the relationship between them. Question two The core of rotating a leader is to equip with other members of employees with a chance to have the required leadership roles and characteristics. They are able to have a taste of how it feel to be leader and thus improves their level of motivation. It also enables the employees to develop good working relations with their leaders and their fellow colleagues. With so doing, an organization is able to increase its productivity and job performance. The reason is that no one will feel superior or inferior to the other. As a result, all employees will be accountable for their actions in the organization thus improving their job satisfaction and increasing the satisfaction of customers from high-quality products and services provided. Question three There is no permanent leadership in Orpheus. Rather, the leadership positions are rotated. First the group has a core group of members who rehearse a piece first before the other group does to prevent the issue of wish-washy decisions. Moreover, the role of the core master changes regularly. This core master is more involved with influencing the performance of the group as the performance day neared (Ivancevich, Konopaske, & Matteson, 2013). This rotation method alleviates the pressure of leadership on one individual and enables various group members to experience it in turns. References Ivancevich, J., Konopaske, R., & Matteson, M. (2013). Organizational Behavior and Management: Tenth Edition. New York: McGraw-Hill. Read More