The Overall Performance in Contemporary Organizations - Essay Example

? Leadership Journal 3: Performance Appraisals Number – Leadership Journal 3: Performance Appraisals In contemporary organizations, the overall performance is measured through various indicators, of which, financial condition is a major facet. Another measure of performance is the ability of the human resources to undertake their roles and responsibilities, according to their respective job descriptions and the goals or standards to achieve. Marquis and Huston (2011) explain that a highly critical management function of controlling is performance management. In performance management, the most important part includes conducting performance appraisals of the employees by their supervisors. The current discourse hereby aims to reflect on performance appraisals in one’s work setting, including any participation in a 360-degree evaluation. Performance Appraisals Received In the capacity of a registered nurse with a Nursing and Rehabilitation Health Care Facility, one has definitely received performance appraisals from one’s supervisor. It was acknowledged that performance appraisals are meant to assess and evaluate the actual performance of individuals against the pre-determined targets. These processes also serve the function of aligning individuals’ goals with organizational objectives, and therefore provide a direction to individuals’ actions; performance appraisals help in setting the right expectations from individuals. As such, it was confirmed that the appraisal has been connected to the strategic plan of the health care facility; as well as to the nursing unit. Connection to Strategic Plan The connection of the performance appraisal to the strategic plan of the facility; as well as to the objectives of the nursing unit is definitely advantageous both to the organization and to me, as a nurse. Performance appraisals provided the needed inputs by decision makers in the health care facility with regards to human resource requirements, salary adjustments, and the employees’ attitudes and abilities through feedback mechanisms integrated within the performance appraisal (PA) system. Advantage of Connection to Strategic Plan In terms of the benefits to nurses, these performance appraisals clearly show how efficient we are in fulfilling our responsibilities and in conforming to standards of health care. For instance, we have to ensure safety of the patients at all times; no medication errors; focus on customer satisfaction through high quality patient care. Through performance results, we are apprised on our abilities to achieve standards and objectives within a defined time frame and with minimum complaints or errors. These become the basis for promotions and salary increases. This PA model is very similar to many other behavior-based models that have been extremely successful in the healthcare organizations, as pointed out by Chandra and Frank (2004). Likewise, the current system is corroborated in a recent empirical study in Nigerian organization which indicated that such strategic management of performance by linking performance appraisal to career progression and employee participation will enhance the employee’s commitment towards the job and the organization (Abdulkadir, Isiaka & Adedoyin, 2012). Participation in 360-Degree Evaluation A very successful and famous PA method is the 360-degree feedback process which reportedly involves receiving feedback from various people working with the employee directly or indirectly. Accordingly, the process helps individuals to understand various perspectives which other stakeholders hold about themselves with respect to their peers, customers, clients, and shareholders (Weiss & Kolberg, 2004). As a nurse, one had been a participant in the 360-degree process through being informed of the results of one’s performance appraisal and by relaying personal comments and inputs on the assessment. One strongly believes that the inputs provided are instrumental for leaders and decision makers to improve, not only on the performance appraisal systems to ensure that it is well-balanced and free from biases; but more so, to be apprised on factors that could be integrated within the evaluation system that would help reveal ways to improve performance of employees. For instance, leaders could be apprised that the reasons for technical errors on the part of the nurses could be the newly implemented change of transitioning to the electronic medical record system; as such, leaders could focus on common errors and find ways to address these – so as not to jeopardize the performance ratings of the nurses. Advantages of the 360-degree Evaluation The advantages of the 360-degree feedback include provision of the needed information, from both the assessor and the person assessed, on ways to improve skills and work outputs as well as the relationships with peers and followers. Likewise, the 360-degree feedback clearly links individual behavior with organizational performance. This means, even the 360-degree feedback measures the ‘what’ and ‘how’ aspects of individual’s performance, but in a different manner as it involves ratings of many members instead of one. Various reviews of literature have revealed that for a supervisor to implement the 360-degree feedback approach, it is important to educate all team members about its purpose and process appropriately; moreover, the peers providing feedback should be aware of the supervisor’s job description (Marquis & Huston, 2011). Historically and even today, it has been opined that this method has been effective when the purpose is related to development of an individual, but not for determining compensation (Antonioni, 1996; Maylett, 2009). Maylett (2009) argues that employees tend to attack the feedback rather than accept when this feedback is linked to their pay rise and compensation; moreover, appraisers may take a defensive approach while appraising in order not to affect the appraisee’s pay hike. Finally, the 360-degree feedback is expensive, time-consuming, people-intensive and highly political approach to performance evaluation (Lepsinger & Lucia, 2009). Therefore, organizations should balance the advantages of using the 360-degree evaluation against the benefits that are derived from it. If and when any weaknesses or biases of this model has been weeded out, any incremental costs are deemed outweighed by the benefits, then, organizations should opt to use this model to ensure a more holistic and collaborative approach to performance appraisal, as required. Comparative PA used by Supervisor versus the 360-degree Evaluation The current performance evaluation system used by one’s health care system already incorporates facet of the 360-degree evaluation in terms of soliciting the comments and suggestions of the employees’ being evaluated and gathering as much information from other stakeholders who get to be in regular contact with the appraised employee. As such, all the benefits and advantages enumerated herein are already being availed. Therefore, improvements in the current PA system would only be revealed when some relevant inputs from employees and other stakeholders could be gathered or communicated to leaders and managers who are in the capacity to integrate suggested ways to upgrade the PA system, as deemed applicable. Conclusion The current journal has successfully achieved the defined objectives which presented a reflection on performance appraisals in one’s work setting, including any participation in a 360-degree evaluation. The purpose of performance appraisal remains the same in all organizations, but the methodology used will determine the commitment, performance and progress of individuals and the organization. Leaders in the organization should be able to recognize an individual’s performance against the organizational goals without ignoring the individual’s efforts and behavior towards achieving these performance goals. Hence, aligning their performance and outputs with organizational targets by specifying expected behaviors provides a direction to the employees. Deviations from these expectations can be accounted if they are linked to the performance appraisal process, which reinforces the control mechanism. Moreover, a 360-degree feedback for an individual’s performance during a specific period of time will add great value to the employee’s professional growth development through the chosen career path. Implementing any type of performance appraisal system requires knowledge, involvement, time and understanding of the process and purpose of evaluation as well as of the people being evaluated within the organizational setting. More importantly, linking the performance appraisal to the strategic plans and goals is paramount to ensure the organization’s success. References Abdulkadir, D.S, Isiaka, S.B and Adedoyin, S.I. (2012). Effects of Performance Appraisal, Career Planning and Employee Participation in Organizational Commitment: An Empirical Study. International Business Research, 5 (4), 124-133. Antonioni, D. (1996). Designing an Effective 360-degree Appraisal Feedback Process. Organizational Dynamics, 25 (2) 24-38. Chandra, A and Frank, Z.D. (2004). Utilization of Performance Appraisal Systems in Health Care Organizations and Improvement Strategies for Supervisors. The Health Care Manager, 23 (1), 25-30. Lepsinger, R and Lucia, A.D (2009). The Art and Science of 360-Degree Feedback. (2nd ed). New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons. Marquis, B. L. and Huston, C. J. (2011). Leadership Roles and Management Functions in Nursing: Theory and Application. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Maylett, T. (2009). 360-Degree Feedback Revisited: The Transition from Development to Appraisal. Compensation and Benefits Review, 41 (5), 52-59. Retrieved December 04, 2013, http://www.decision-wise.com/pdf/Compensation-and-Benefits-Review-360-Degree-Feedback-Revisited-The-Transition-from-Development-to-Appraisal.pdf Weiss, T and Kolberg, S. (2004). Coaching Competencies and Corporate Leadership. (Ch.6, pp: 101-121). Florida: CRC Press. Read More