Quality Assess and Determine the Competency of Staff - Research Proposal Example

EVALUATION OF NURSES’ KNOWLEDGE AND ATTITUDE TOWARDS PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AT KETCHIKAN GENERAL HOSPITAL Background to the study Jain et al. (2010), explains performance appraisal as a description of the employee’s performance in relation to the assigned responsibilities. It is based on the results obtained when doing the work and not on the employee’s personality characteristics. Formal performance evaluation between the manager and team members serve several purposes. The evaluation is used to ensure competence in skills required for safe patient care. It is also a chance of recognizing the nurse’s accomplishments in the evaluation period, which can be a real morale boost. This is the ideal time for the manager to enhance future performance by coaching, setting goals and identifying learning needs. Both the manager and the staff member should have good and clear knowledge of what needs to happen in the next year for that nurse to grow and continue to be successful. Feedback is most useful when it identifies actual examples of good and poor performance with suggestions for change. A study on how to improve the performance appraisal system for nurses was done by in Lonsdale Nursing Home, Risedale estates in Cumbria, The Findings revealed that five nurses were not comfortable while some said they dreaded the appraisal appointment as a result of fear of criticism of poor performance. Only one team member looked forward to the appraisal (Kavanagh & Brown 2007, 134). This cross-sectional research study aimed at evaluating nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards performance appraisal in Ketchikan General Hospital. Participants were selected using stratified sampling. The data was collected using open-ended and closed-ended questionnaires. The study was aimed at determining the nurse’s participation in performance appraisal, their attitude towards appraisal as well as their information regarding performance appraisal. The study is also very significant in determining the strategies formulated and put in place by the management to improve on the nurse’s experience and their attitude towards performance appraisal. The study population for this study was made up of all licensed nurses. The hospital has 260 nurses and distributed in various departments participated in the study. Significance of the study A performance appraisal wastes time if it is merely an excuse to satisfy regulations and the goal is not employee growth. Information obtained while the performance will be used to develop the employee’s potential, to assist the employee in overcoming difficulties he or she has in fulfilling the business’s role, to point out strengths of which the employee may not be aware, and to aid the employee in setting goals. The study aimed at identifying information and attitude of nurses towards performance appraisal. The study findings are of significance to nursing staff, hospital management and policy makers. The nursing staff through their participation in study and receiving feedback will acquire development on knowledge and attitudes towards performance appraisal. Moreover, the managers will get a basis for the development of performance, communication and reinforcement of positive behaviour. It also provides a good opportunity for information and correct negative or less than optimal behaviours. Needs identified in the study and thereafter analysed provide an opportunity for policy formulation. The data will also benefit the Ministry of Health and the national council of the board and other policy-makers (Findley et al. 2000, 637). Research questions The research questions for the study were: 1) Do nurses participate in performance appraisal? 2) Do nurses have knowledge on performance appraisal? 3) What is the nurses’ attitude towards performance appraisal? 4) Are there strategies put in place by the management to improve on nurses knowledge and attitude towards performance appraisal Research objectives Broad objective To evaluate the nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards performance appraisal in Ketchikan General Hospital Specific objectives 1) To establish whether nurses participated in performance appraisal 2) To determine if nurses in Ketchikan General Hospital had knowledge on performance appraisal 3) To establish nurses’ attitude towards performance appraisal 4) To establish whether there were strategies put in place by the management to improve nurses’ knowledge and attitude towards performance appraisal. Literature review Performance appraisal started implementation in the 1940s. Merit rating to evaluate on the employees performance was utilized in the Second World War as the method of justifying employee’s pays/ wages. The process relies on resources results where good results were appreciated with higher wages/pay and vice versa. Today, performance appraisal is one of the key elements of any company’s drive towards competitive advantage through continuous performance improvement. Asmuß (2008), defined performance appraisal as a strategic process as well as an integrated way to deliver appropriate success to an company through the provision of performance improvement of the employees as well as in the development of the capabilities of team and individuals contribution. Performance appraisals enable the practitioner to determine the level and state of their work performance description and any expectations that the company may have of them. Performance appraisal also generates information for salary adjustments, promotions, transfers, disciplinary actions and terminations. When used appropriately, performance appraisal is a source of motivation to the team and ought to increase the retention and productivity capacities; in hands of an inexperienced manager, however, the appraisal process may discourage and demotivates staff (Jawahar 2006, 224). It is necessary to consider if the appraisal is to have, a positive outcome is how the employee views the appraisal. If employees believe, the appraisal is based on the context of the work description rather than on what the manager ought to approve of them, reappraisal very relevant. Managers need to assess and determine the competency of staff personnel as an element of quality care; it is not sufficient to assume that because nurses are licensed they are competent. Performance appraisal tool is one significant element of performance management system used by business to motivate employees. Performance attributes of an individual are determined by two elements: experience and motivation. Experience is a result of a collection of physical and mental capacities that enable a person to exhibit a skill or set of skills, knowledge, and experience and skill from the ability to complete a task successfully (Jefferson 2010, 112). Toppo & Prusty (2012) advocated for the development of a manager and employee dialogue to be an essential element of performance appraisal. Without good constructive dialog, structure for use, parties to discuss performance ought to establish a bad basis that will lead to negative results. The study by Levy & Williams (2004) to determine the effectiveness of performance appraisal among the employees in the Ministry of Public Health and Sanitation indicated that only 24% of the respondents conducted self-appraisal while 76% indicated that they did not conduct their own appraisal. A key part of any performance appraisal is an opportunity for setting goals and objectives for the coming year. Goals that are measurable and clearly articulated are more likely to be met. The nurse being evaluated and the nurse’s manager should develop these jointly. Studies show that self-appraisal leads to increase in the employee preparation for the appraisal interview. This enhances the overall employee satisfaction and results to increase perceived the appraisal fairness thus reduces defensive behaviour when used for developmental purposes. (Murphy, Kevin R, Deckert, Paige 2013, 625). Methodology Interpretive philosophy was used in the study. Interpretative philosophy was necessary for analysing performance appraisal suitable for the research problem. Deductive approach was used for the research indicating the relationship between theory and research. Quantitative research methods were used in the research. The study used open ended and closed ended questionnaires. Open ended helped in obtaining respondents’ views, also gave the respondents the opportunity to frame their answers in their own words. These helped the respondents in the study to respond in their own words. Closed questions were asked when researcher considered that he knew all the potential answers and only required the respondent to select the one or ones that apply to them. This was important as the researcher captured particular information, which was easier to analyse since they were in an immediate usable form. This study was a descriptive cross-sectional in nature. The study examined and analysed information at a point in time, that is, data is collected on only one time with the same respondents rather than the same subjects and respondents at several intervals. In this study, data was collected on only one time. Study area The study was conducted in Ketchikan General Hospital located in Alaska USA. The hospital offers the following services: antenatal care, antiretroviral therapy, obstetric care, emergency care, caesarean section, curative inpatient services, outpatient facilities, family planning services, HIV testing and counselling, home health care, immunization and childhood diseases, mother to child transmission of HIV services, radiology services, tuberculosis diagnosis and tuberculosis treatment. The study population for this study was made up of all licensed nurses. The hospital has a total of 260 nurses and are distributed in various departments Inclusion criteria The study group comprised of nurses working in the hospital and those who consented to the study Exclusion criteria The exclusion criteria for the study included all nurses who did not consent to participate, nurses on internship and nursing students on clinical placement. SAMPLING TECHNIQUE AND SAMPLE SIZE The sample size criteria n =thus, n = n= the sample size (for a population is larger than 10,000). Z= ought to be the standard normal deviation for confidence level. p= is the portion in the target study estimated with desired characteristics. q= the level of statistical significance set. The study employed proportional stratified sampling method. Participants were selected from wards/units proportionally to the wards/units numerical strength (number of nurses in the unit).The sampling design suited the research due to the distribution of nurses in the hospital. The number of nurse in the different wards was dependent with the workload; thus, some wards had more nurses than others (Teddlie & Yu 2007, 79). Therefore, participants per ward/unit were obtained using this ratio; Sample size (n) X Ward population (p) Population of nurse in the hospital (P) = (n/P) p References Asmuß, B., 2008. Performance Appraisal Interviews. Journal of Business Communication, 45, pp.408–429. Findley, H.M., Giles, W.F. & Mossholder, K.W., 2000. Performance appraisal process and system facets: relationship with contextual performance. The Journal of applied psychology, 85, pp.634–640. Jain, R.K., Triandis, H.C. & Weick, C.W., 2010. Performance Appraisal--Employee Contribution In R&D Organizations. In Managing Research, Development, and Innovation. pp. 185–212. Jawahar, I.M., 2006. Correlates of satisfaction with performance appraisal feedback. Journal of Labor Research, 27, pp.213–236. Jefferson, A.L., 2010. Performance appraisal applied to leadership. Educational Studies, 36, pp.111–114. Kavanagh, P. & Brown, M., 2007. Understanding performance appraisal fairness. Asia Pacific Journal of Human Resources, 45, pp.132–150. Levy, P.E. & Williams, J.R., 2004. The social context of performance appraisal: A review and framework for the future. Journal of Management, 30, pp.881–905. Murphy, Kevin R.; Deckert, Paige, J., 2013. Performance Appraisal. In APA handbook of testing and assessment in psychology, Vol. 1: Test theory and testing and assessment in industrial and organizational psychology. APA handbooks in psychology. pp. 611–627. Teddlie, C. & Yu, F., 2007. Mixed Methods Sampling: A Typology With Examples. Journal of Mixed Methods Research, 1, pp.77–100. Toppo, L. & Prusty, T., 2012. From Performance Appraisal to Performance Management 1. IOSR journal of Business and Management (IOSRJBM), 3, pp.1–6.  Read More