Performance Management and Appraisal - Coca-Cola Company - Case Study Example

Name: Tutor: Title: Performance Management and Appraisal: Institution: Date: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Performance Management and Appraisal Explained 4 Background Information of Coca-Cola Company 6 How the company operates within performance management and appraisal 7 Advantages and disadvantages of techniques used 10 Research methodology 11 Conclusion 12 Bibliography 13 Introduction Employee performance and appraisal management, regardless of division or industry, has for a long while been a debatable matter (Bacal, 2006). Although many support the good quality of performance management and appraisal systems for supporting the effort of employee with the strategic course of the company, performance management also has a number of vocal opponents who state that its prospective is not being appreciated; worse still, they claim that unproductive or inappropriate use has negative effects. According to Ireland, Hitt and Hoskisson (2011), performance management and appraisal is an orderly assessment of the individuals with respect to their performance on the duty and their potential for growth. For the reason of administration including appointment, promotion selection, providing monetary rewards and other activities which need disparity treatment amongst the members of a cluster as distinguished from activities affecting every member evenly. Performance is the outcome of an individual’s attitude, skill and knowledge. It is also the achievement of a given duty compared to recognized standards of correctness and speed. Therefore it requires periodical assessment with stability and time. Performance management and appraisal is possibly one of the most arguable topics in human resource management. This context therefore illustrates the explanation of performance management and performance appraisal. The context gives a background of the Coca-Cola Company, how the performance management and appraisal is implemented in the company as well the conclusion of the effectiveness of performance management and appraisal in the company. Performance Management and Appraisal Explained Performance management is the methodical practice by which an organization engages its employees, as people and part of a cluster, in developing organizational value in the achievement of the organization mission and goals. The process of performance management of an employee involves various concepts like work preparation and setting prospects, monitoring performance frequently, developing the ability to perform, occasionally evaluating performance in an abstract approach, and rewarding excellent performance (Ireland et al., 2011). When the work is planned, employees should be involved so that they understand their roles and duties. The company tries to control the performance of every worker, team and procedure and even of the company itself. The process of performance management is very comparable, in spite of where it is applied. Performance appraisal is the systematic process of analyzing the employee’s behavior in the work place, usually involving the qualitative and quantitative features of job performance (Ireland et al., 2011). Performance appraisal is an ongoing procedure in each organization. The process entails setting goals, selection of employee, placement and reward, training and growth and profession management. Appraising the employee’s performance at Coca Cola Company means making comparison of the employee’s real performance to the principles set. Performance appraisal is building a mutual vision of the purpose and objectives of the company, helping each employee individually to appreciate and identify their part in contribution thus managing and developing the performance of every individual and the company. Performance appraisal is not evaluation of the job. It is how well; a person is doing the job assigned to him. Job evaluation establishes the worth of a job, to the company and hence, what range of disburse should be allocated to the job. To enhance performance management and appraisal at Coca Cola Company, various practices are done. These include expansion of employee’s role, sponsorship to seminars, advancing their learning and growth opportunities, and recognition for achievements. The company also builds the employee’s strength by helping them influence the sector they are best at, and also allocate projects to utilize their talents and build confidence. Performance management and appraisal at coca cola has been an effective method to encourage and change culture of the company positively. Utilization of this system to every employee increases the value and productivity of the company. Since performance management and appraisal at Coca Cola Company is annually, employees are assessed due to their performance regarding organization’s goals. Goals are set at the beginning of the year, and then employees are informed about them, eventually employees who achieve the set goals are appraised. There are theories and concepts involved in performance management and appraisal. For instance, performance management is a component of systems theory in companies. It means that performance of an employee is managed and increased through dynamics that are interrelated (Fernando, 2010). Systems theory is illustrated by five principles. These include individual mastery, mutual vision, psychological models, group learning, and identification of employee. These values are employee oriented, implying each is established and shaped by the motivation performance and behavior of the employee. In the performance management and appraisal, jobs must be defined. The employer and the employee agree on the employee’s duties and the standard of the job. The performance must be appraised whereby the actual performance of the employee is compared to the job standards. Giving feedback to the employees is also important because they know what more they are supposed to do. Background Information of Coca-Cola Company The Coca-Cola Company is the leading beverage company globally. According to a survey done in 2009 by fortune, the company is branded number one (Becker, Antuar & Everett, 2011). The company’s stock is programmed on various stock exchanges like New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and is a component of Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), S&P 500 Index, the Russell 1000 Index and the Russell 1000 Growth Stock Index (Fernando, 2010). There are various companies linked to Coca-Cola Company. One of them is Coca-Cola Great Britain (CCGB). This is accountable for marketing twenty one trademarks (more than one hundred products) to users in Great Britain, developing fresh brands, expanding brands that already exist and safeguarding Coca-Cola brands in Great Britain. CCGB employs almost 130 individuals at its headquarters (Fernando, 2010). Another company of Coca-Cola is Coca-Cola Enterprises Ltd (CCE). This is the regional bottler whose responsibilities involves manufacturing, sales, distribution and trade marketing of the CCGB brands within England, Scotland and Wales. It offers employment to approximately 5,000 people at its different location across Britain (Fernando, 2010). There is also the Coca-Cola System. Jointly, CCGB and CCE create one system known as The Coca-Cola System. The company has various executive officers. The chief technical officer is responsible for the technological matters of the company. Interactive marketing officer is responsible for sales management, marketing communications which includes promotions and advertising, customer service and market investigation. Vice president concerned with quality assurance. Director of health and nutrition communication is responsible for evaluating the nutritional value in the drinks. There is the vice president responsible for corporate quality. The finance manager is responsible for the monetary regulation within the company (Fernando, 2010). How the company operates within performance management and appraisal The company implements its performance management and appraisal system through the performance management cycle. This means it is a yearly practice. A yearly cyclic method is general to many companies. The Coca-Cola Company also uses this method of analysis. This approach of supporting the goals of the employee for the year with business arrangement reinforces the value proposition of performance management (Fernando, 2010). Since the Coca-Cola Company needs individuals to recognize where their purpose fit with departmental objectives, which themselves are derived from strategic plan, there is considerable potential to make connections involving individual success and company success (Bacal, 2006). These objectives are set at the yearly appraisal and then evaluated at the midyear progression meeting. It is therefore significant that although this assessment is not evaluative, employees observe its advantages in helping them recognize gaps or matters that can be addressed via development action or corrective activity. Most of the employees appreciate this method. Another method used in the performance management and appraisal is rating scale. This is the easiest and most common method of appraising the performance of the employee. The distinctive rating scale method entails various arithmetical scales, each symbolizing a task related performance standards like reliability, output, introduction, attendance, and attitude (Bacal, 2006). Every scale rates from excellent to poor. The examiner checks the correct performance level on every standard, and then calculates the employee’s performance to total arithmetical score. The figure of points attained may be connected to salary increases, whereby higher points equal an increase of some percentage. Rating scaled provides the advantages of flexibility, moderately easy use and low expenditure. However, this method does not escape the disadvantages. For instance, the examiner’s biases are prone to influence assessment, and the biases are mainly pronounced on personal criteria like teamwork, initiative, and attitude (Fernando, 2010). With regards to performance criteria, the company scheme is based around a blend of skills, behavioral, and output actions. Behaviors are the way in which a task or activity, and skills are the inputs, and abilities that facilitate performance. Coca-Cola Company depends on a discussion involving the employee and manager concerning his or her behaviors on the task and the level to which these are appropriate with the mission and customs of the company, a procedure more aligned with assessment of behavioral measures than capabilities (Bacal, 2006). On the other hand, the measure used in the performance management scheme mirrors more than quantitative productivity; they also support dialogue regarding how individual behaviors add to furthering the company’s mission and values. A key component of an efficient performance management scheme is the degree to which continuous monitoring and informal reaction is built into the course. One of the important issues in effectual performance management and appraisal is that it is not a sole yearly event but a cycle of continuous performance dialogue and reaction (Bacal, 2006). By incorporating a midyear assessment with a center on the reviewing development to date and recognizing any developing activities, the Coca-Cola scheme has developed a performance dialogue in addition to the assessment at the end of the series. Continuing management development will be essential so as to ensure that performance management and reaction become component of the culture and not an event or administrative job. In an effective company, advance planning of work is important. Planning refers to setting performance prospects and goals for clusters and individuals to direct their efforts toward attaining organizational objectives. The Coca-Cola Company involves its employees in the planning course which help them comprehend the goals of the company, what is required to be done, why it should be done, and how good it should be done. The regulatory conditions for planning employees’ performance incorporate establishing the components and principles of their performance appraisal strategy (Bacal, 2006). Performance components and principles should be assessable, comprehensible, reasonable, demonstrable, and achievable. Through critical components, employees are held responsible as individuals for task assignments or accountability. Employee performance strategy ought to be flexible so that adjustments can be done for changing program aims and work conditions. When effectively used, these strategies can be valuable working document that are conversed often, and not just paperwork that is filed and seen only when evaluation of records are needed (Fernando, 2010). Rewarding is also a method used in Coca-Cola Company for performance management and appraisal. Rewarding means identifying employees, personally and as members of clusters, for their performance and appreciating their additions to the company’s mission. A fundamental element of effectual management is that every behavior is controlled by its outcome. Those outcomes can and should be both official and informal and both productive and negative. Good performance is identified without waiting for proposals for official awards to be requested. Recognition is a continuous, innate component of daily experience. Various doings that reward good performance do not need a particular regulatory authority. Advantages and disadvantages of techniques used There are various advantages of the technique used in the assessment of an effective performance management and appraisal in the Coca-Cola Company. For example, the monitoring technique provides a performance reaction whereby the employee and the manager get a chance to discuss and set up objectives and prospects, assess results and achievements and assess the general performance. Monitoring technique help to determine the present level of performance in the work and find methods of improving it (Becker et al., 2011). It also helps to discover potential for the growth and to help manpower scheduling. It helps to maintain good relationship between employee and employer for promoting inspiration, equality, and communication. It also helps promote cluster cohesiveness and determine reasonable relationship in the work groups. There also disadvantages of using this technique. Employees are not provided with clear purposes at the start of performance period. Manager might not be able to monitor performance or have the entire information. The performance principles might not be clear. There could be inconsistency in ratings amongst supervisors or other evaluators. There could be rating according to personality and not performance. There is possibility of improper time span, may be too short or too long. Overemphasis on atypical performance could be seen. There could be company politics or individual relationships cloud verdicts. The manager may not be skilled at assessment or giving response, and there could be no follow-up and training subsequent to evaluation. Research methodology Research methodology is an organized and objective procedure of recognizing and formulating the crisis by setting goal and methods and the methods for gathering, editing, putting into a table, assessing and evaluating, interpreting and presenting information so as to find reasonable solution (Fernando, 2010). A research design is a merely and basically the structure or plan for an investigation that directs the collection and examination of data. The method used at the Coca Cola Company was qualitative research. This is an investigation process whereby a researcher seeks solutions to questions, analytically uses a predefined set of processes to get solutions to questions. The researcher also gathers evidence, produces results that were not established in advance, and produces results that are appropriate beyond the direct boundaries of the investigation. This method was effective because it provides data regarding the human side of a matter, that is, the frequent contradictory behaviors, opinions, relationships, emotions, and beliefs of people. The research involved participant observation, and interviews. During the process, there is free interaction of the researcher and the participant, which encourages openness. Conclusion From the above study, it is observed that employees are pleased with the Coca-Cola Company’s performance management and appraisal scheme. The employees in the company get the right information regarding their job to perform well. It is found that employee’s complaints are handled instantly. The research reveals that the coaching programs are carried out on the basis of performance management and appraisal. The most motivating issue for the employees in the company is the financial rewards and accountability. It is observed that employees are pleased with motivational methods followed by the company. It is also observed that employees at the Coca-Cola Company work with team will. The employees get opportunities for their skill development. It is also noted that healthy relationships are maintained among employees in the company. The performance management and appraisal in the Coca-Cola Company is to be carried out to establish the promotion, recognize areas of non performance and to progress the employee’s performance. The method is effective and the performance management and appraisal is fulfilled by majority of the employees. The management has to notify and communicate effectively to the employees concerning several issues which are applied for their performance assessment. The effectiveness and competence of performance depend to a high extent on how human resources are analyzed and treated in the company. Bibliography Bacal R. 2006, How to Manage Performance, New York: McGrow-Hill Professional. Becker K., Antuar N. & Everett C. 2011, Implementing an Employee Performance Management System in a Non-Profit Organization. Nonprofit Management and Leadership, Vol 21(3) p.255-275. Fernando A. 2010, Business Ethics and Corporate Governance. New Delhi: Pearson Education India. Ireland D., Hitt M. & Hoskisson R. 2011, Understanding Business Strategy: Concepts and Cases, New York: Cengage Learning. Read More