What Constitutes Performance Management - Coursework Example

Student Name: Tutor: Title: Performance System Project Course: Introduction Performance management is a process through which targets and objectives for teams and individuals in an organization, and the regular evaluation of actual achievement and expected rewarding for achieving the target. The process has to make sure that team and individual effort support the organizational objectives as well as making sure main stakeholders expectations are realized by looking at the key drivers. From this concept of performance management it is deduced that planning is crucial, expectations of stakeholders are key drivers of performance management, employee and management buy-in and involvement are crucial; and key targets and objectives have to be linked to corporate strategy as explained by Cardy (2003). Performance management has to incorporate planning performance, maintaining performance, maintaining performance, reviewing performance, and finally rewarding performance. The planning has to involve a formal development plan for the workers. The plan has to be developed with regard to requisite skills, knowledge and behaviors that are needed to achieve the set targets and objectives. Training activities have to be based on the performance gaps that exist realized during maintenance of performance. Varma, Budhwar and DeNisi (2008) observe that Performance management systems have played an important role in the process of employee appraisal to determine the gaps in skills and knowledge in order to come up with an effective training plan. This essay explores performance management systems in Non-Government Organization with aim of ensuring effective delivery of service to target clients. Discussion What constitutes performance management? Performance management is the process through which clear targets and objectives for teams and objectives, and the continuous evaluation of actual accomplishment and rewarding for target achieved. The process has to ensure that team and individual effort support or complements the objectives of the organization and main stakeholder expectations are often realized through focusing on key value drivers. Performance management is concerns the establishment of a culture where teams and individuals take responsibility for continuous improvement with regard to service delivery and they personal skills, contributions and behavior (Weatherly, 2004). Performance management is a strategic process that is long term in nature that target to develop an appropriate culture connecting service issues, people management and long term goals. It should not be a once off quick fix process. It is a process that ensures effective management that result into teams and individuals understanding organizational expectations and ability to deliver on the expectations (Banfield & Kay, 2012). Performance management is important to a NGO to ensure quality service delivery to target clients. There is the tendency to lapse into laxity since most of the money used to run NGOs come from grants and donations and besides they do not aim to make profits. Strategic improvement with regard to performance management system refers realization of long-term organizational goals and objective within the set time. This system has to ensure that the NGO achieves its strategic goals within the anticipated time. Performance management constitutes of five elements that include agreement of employee unit and organizational goals; measurement, feedback, dialogue and positive reinforcement. These constituent elements that will be incorporated in the performance management system of the NGO will make sure that the process of performance management is successful, positive and results into employee improvement. Important characteristics of the process of performance management are continuous assessment and feedback. In the course of performance management, employers offer continuous appraisal via feedback and re-alignment of goals basing on performance (Weatherly, 2004). Majority of performance management systems are designed in order to meet the changing needs of both the employee and the organization. Performance assessment can include: identification of any shortfalls in achievement of objectives or meeting set standards; dialogue about what the employee has done or accomplished; finding out any reasons for shortfalls like changed settings; agreeing to effect any changes needed to accomplish the objectives in the changed circumstances; and to agree to any measures needed by the manager or the individual in order to improve performance (Ghorpade, 2000). The ongoing communication loop in the course of performance management assists organizations in meeting both organizational goals and meeting the needs of the employees. Reasons for introducing a performance management system Performance management system is supposed to give feedback about the performance of the employee hence enhance communication and accomplishment of organizational goals and objectives. The NGO performance management systems will have a Job performance data that will be useful to both the organization and employees. Performance data can be applied in employee development and feedback, for reasons that are administrative, and for research to establish effectiveness of organizational procedures and practices. Managing performance is significant for every firm. It puts in place a framework that provides support, encouragement and guidance, as well as assists in establishing a culture that is performance oriented (Bernthal, Rogers & Smith, 2003). Performance management systems come up with organizational cultures with personal responsibility for personal and business improvement. Performance management systems results in improved service delivery using a culture of performance dialogue, enhances the understanding of the employees of the connection between performance and organizational goals and enhances positive behavior focusing on achieving them. Performance management will help the NGO management and staff to focus on the key issues, as well as business objectives that ensures sustainability. Performance management is supposed to be joint process and not a way of policing the employees (DeNisi & Kluger, 2000). There are many advantages that can be attributed to the NGO performance management systems like organization integration, improved performance, open communication, clarity of requirement/standards, increased objectivity, placement of individuals, structured career planning, equitable remuneration, and objective promotability. Arguments for and against annual performance assessment form Annual performance reviews are an important part of employee development to some companies. The performance review has to be a balanced and fair assessment of the performance of an employee in the NGO. Performance reviews has an objective of providing regular staff, as well as their supervisors with a chance to set goals intended for professional development, discuss job performance, set in place objectives for contributing towards the mission of the department, and discuss accomplishments together with expectations. There are various types of performance assessments and these include peer evaluations, self-appraisal, supervisor evaluation and outsider appraisal (Gabris & Ihrke, 2001). During performance assessments individual workers are assessed on different kinds of performance that include team performance, individual contextual performance, and individual task performance. There are things that have to be assessed in the course of team performance and these include efficiency, effectiveness, team member satisfaction, and learning and growth. The performance assessment form targets to serve all staff members. The annual performance assessment form serves the purposes of aligning the responsibilities of every job with the mission of the organization and the mission of the department of the employee; it enhanced open communication between the staff and the supervisors; it documents employee development and growth needs together with achievements; and it supports analysis and decisions that are related to staffing, training, and compensation (London & Smither, 2002). One of the fatal mistakes that supervisors make relating to the process of appraisal is that they do not recognize it as a process. To complete the annual performance assessment form is just part of the process of appraisal. Performance appraisal has to be a continuous process in order for it to be productive (Armenakis & Harris, 2002). There are arguments for and against annual performance assessment forms. Performance assessment forms facilitate communication and can be a source of employee motivation. Feedback that is obtained from the annual performance assessment forms reduces the chances of perception of uncertainty by the employee. The assessment forms enhance the focus of the employee by promoting trust and mitigating distractions. These forms enable the departments to align their missions with the overall mission of the company hence they promote goal setting as well as desired performance reinforcement (Greguras et al, 2003). It is easier for companies to match goals of individual workers with the organizational goals. The annual performance assessment forms have led to performance improvement since they enhance communication with the employees and put across the message of the expectations of the organization. Through performance assessment forms training needs are determined based on the feedback solicited from the performance assessment forms. Retrospectively, annual performance assessment forms do not provide a clear opportunity for workers to get feedback with regard to performance and come up with corrective measures. Many people feel hopeless and helpless in the face of annual performance assessment forms (Hernandez, 2009). The person sometimes conducting the review has immense power and the worker fears being victimized for any weakness that he had shown in the entire here and was recorded in his file. In other circumstances, individuals have very negative perceptions about performance assessment forms. Some employees become distressful and uncomfortable when anticipating a performance assessment form hence it affects their productivity negatively. The evaluations are sometimes subjective (Pierce, Aguinis & Adams, 2000). Traditional performance appraisals are based on the perceptions of the supervisor’s or manager’s about the performance of the employee hence they have every reason of being subjective instead of being objective. What makes a performance instrument valid, reliable and fair? The instrument that will be used in the NGO performance management systems will be fair, reliable and valid. A performance instrument has to be implemented in the NGO with the full knowledge of the employees and they have to support the change. Validity is the degree to which a test exactly measures what it is supposed to measure (Cardy, 2003). A performance instrument is valid if it measures effectively what is supposed to measure. Reliability refers to the extent at which a test consistently measures whatever it is supposed to measure. Fairness ensures that everyone in the organizations is subjected to the same treatment so that one feels picked upon, victimized or discriminated upon. To increase fairness, validity and reliability a performance measurement instrument has to be developed objectively with the aim of reconciling organizational objectives with department objectives (Lee, Havigurst & Rassel 2004). It should also target to identify opportunities for training and development among employees as opposed to victimizing and nailing perceived lazy employees. The development of a performance instrument has to be a team that involves several management figures including managers so that no one uses it to settle personal scores. The review team has to be trained on performance evaluation in order to avoid bias and promote objectivity and equity. The NGO can use annual appraisal forms and also reports from field managers and supervisors to ensure performance management is fair, valid and reliable. Outcome of the system Successful introduction of any performance management systems to any organization needs careful consideration of readiness for change. The degree at which employees are ready for change indicates the possibility of successful establishment of performance measurement systems (Amatayakul, 2005). Readiness for change is the best early herald of an organization will respond to the establishment of new business systems. When the readiness of an organization to change is very high, employee will definitely support the change process. The performance management system to be designed has to be fair, valid and reliable in order to win over the support of the employees in the organization. This report looks at the performance management of an established Non-Government Organization (NGO) that provides its services to disadvantaged communities in developing countries. The performance management systems will be successful if the short-term and long-term objectives and goals are attained within the desired time (Erdogan, 2002). The outcome of the system has to identify the gaps that exist between the organizational objectives and the skills and knowledge of the employees and volunteers. Effective use of resources bestowed upon the NGO will ensure that more donors and grants come up since people trust the work of the organization. The resource donated to the NGO has to reach the intended victims or clients within good time and reports about distributions and areas to be covered have to be presented from time to time. The feedback from the clients can be collected to determine their satisfaction and look for ways of improvement. Conclusion Performance management is important in ensuring that the set organizational targets and objectives are realized within the set time. The benefits of performance management are many, and most importantly it results into improved service delivery and general performance. Both the organization and the employee mutually benefit from performance management as long as it is done objectively. Performance management has to be a continuous process in order to come up with results that are valid, fair and reliable. An NGO must have a performance management system that ensures effective use of resources bestowed to it and accountability of its staff members in the course of their duty. The long term objectives of the organization can be achieved if organizational goals are reconciled with departmental goals. The shareholders expectations can be met if proper performance management is carried out. References Amatayakul, M. 2005, EHR? 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