An Improved Employee Appraisal Program, Essay Example

Introduction

Appraising employees is considered to be one of the most important forms of motivational procedures that are taken into account by several organizations around the globe. Being able to provide a sense of satisfaction for the employees is what appraisal programs impose on the overall condition of the organization. Productivity comes from the overall condition of the organization and its people to provide what the industry calls for. Notably, such condition could only be garnered if the people in it are able to comprehend on what role they are taking part in and how the organization specifically recognizes their effort in doing so.

An appraisal program helps the employees notice their performance; as well as how much they are able to manifest their worth towards the organization’s overall success creates a sense of impartiality on the administration’s part. Notably, a successful appraisal program is supported by several factors that come from the personal understanding of the employees as they face the desire to become an asset for their organization. Nevertheless, there are instances when undefined performance appraisals are being questioned for fairness (Erdogan, 2002). This is the reason why a collaborative use of different performance appraisal programs to work together in balance is suggested within the context of this presentation.

The question is, what would likely be the most effective approach to applying a performance appraisal program that would specifically define the condition of progress that the organization is aiming to get from its employees? Relatively, a combination of two particular appraisals could be utilized accordingly. One is that of the Results Oriented Appraisal and another is that of the Competency Based Appraisal. In relation to this matter, Fletcher (2007) mentions that” performance targets to co-exist with a focus on developing the appraisee…it combines goal setting and development”. The indicative worth of both forms of appraisals shall be better defined in the discussion that follows.

Understanding Performance Appraisal as a Form of Motivation

Everybody needs to know where they stand. An employee who does his best to contend with the expectations of his authorities in the organization specifically try to find a way to know how he is faring especially when it comes to the reaction of his supervisor on the work that he is pushing forward as a presentation of how serious he is with his job. As a response to this matter, organizations tend to create procedures that are sure to make it easier for the employees to understand their position and make an indication on how much they are valued by their organization as members and as workers at the same time. It is then considered as sense of achievement and learning on the part of the employee who is being appraised to a higher degree of performance recognition.

In this discussion, there are two particular forms of employee appraisal programs that are being presented for assessment. One is that of the Results Oriented Appraisal. This form of appraisal tries to measure the output of each employee as he tries to contribute to the development of the organization as a whole (Smart 2005). Constant attention on the progressive contribution of the employee as an individual worker to the organization is a practical course of personal analysis that the employees could receive from their superiors (LePine, et al, 2002). Recording the accomplishments of each employee as an individual and as a part of the group helps the management gauge how much the people are able to provide as support to their organization and their team members as well. Consisting of the regularly recorded performance development of each employee, this form of appraisal serves as a mirror to the overall effort that an employee places in relation to the position that he is taking care of in the organization (Keeping at al, 2002). It provides the supervisors and managers to see how serious the employee is with the job that has been placed upon his shoulders. In a way, this approach follows the principles of control theory, which insists on the power of the authority to impose specific force as to how the results of the works of the employees shall be measured accordingly (Malos, 1998).

Another aspect of appraisal program suggested is that of the Competency Based Appraisal. Unlike that of the results oriented appraisal, which measures the actual results of the work that an employee has accomplished within a specific span of time, this form of appraisal, intends to create an indicative course of identification on how an employee responds to assignment. More focused on the attitudinal behavior of the employee (MacKenzie, et al, 1991), this form of appraisal considers how much importance an employee places on the assignment provided to him by his superiors. Once an assignment is released for an employee to complete, it imposes trust from the superiors towards the worker (Seddon, 1987). How would the employee respond to this trust? This is what the competence based appraisal program intends to measure. How a person responds to a certain assignment is affected by both his skills and most importantly his attitude towards work as a whole (Flanagan, 1954).  How a person sees a work and how he values it affects how he performs on a certain task that has been placed upon his shoulder. The said approach to the matter affects the result of the completed assignment later on. In consideration with the ideas suggested through the equity theory, this approach allows the manager to see each employee in a considerable balance that would allow them to make fair judgment on who needs to be promoted, who needs to be retained and who among the employees need to be assisted further for improved performance (Erdogan, 2002). This specifically indicates fairness and justice on the part of the administration.

Utilizing Programs in a Collaborative Manner

No single approach to appraisal works perfectly for everyone of every kind (Simons 2003). Since each person is unique, each individual should then be treated differently from the other with a surmountable amount of equality and fairness. Relatively, when it comes to appraisal programs applied for employees, it is important that all aspects of working process on the part of the said individuals would be given particular attention to with a balanced and serious concern on each aspect making up the said form of work measurement. An achievement in the form of appraisal is an important aspect of personal growth and satisfaction in job positions in organizations (Malos, 1998). This is the reason why the collaborative use of competence based and results oriented appraisals are being suggested in this presentation to be used fully by an organization aiming to give a specific structure of motivational appraisals for their employees. Not only will these programs improve the manner by which employee work is measured, it will also balance out how the organization sees their employees individually in a holistic manner [which means that they see all the efforts of their employees in all angles possible] (Chiang, et al 2010). What contributes to successful application of such programs though is the understanding that the supervisors themselves have on how each form of program would define the being of their employees and thus give them a chance to help each individual improve on aspects of work that they might need assistance with.

Conclusion

In an organization, it is a crucial course of management to find a way to deal with employees as individuals and as part of the team. Relatively, each person is different and unique in so many different ways. Nevertheless, in an organization, all these individuals are expected to work together towards a single goal. Hence, to measure their performances and the results that come out from their efforts, a manager needs to see through all the possible angles available so as to consider how much development they can impose on the team and on each individual while providing relative recognition on how each person contributes to the success of the whole organization. Through this, not only do the managers secure their capacity to keep and prolong the employment of good workers, but  they also create a perfect form of camaraderie among their people as their efforts are recognized properly hence providing them a sense of satisfaction from work.

References

Erdogan, B. (2002). Antecedents and consequences of justice perceptionsin performance appraisals.Human Resource Management Review 12. 555–578

Flanagan, J. (1954). The Critical Incident Technique. Psychological Bulletin. Vol 51. No. 4.

Simons, T. and Roberson, Q. (2003). Why Managers Should Care About Fairness: The Effects of Aggregate Justice Perceptions on Organizational Outcomes. Journal of Applied Psychology. Vol. 88, No. 3, 432–443.

Smart, B. D. (2005). Topgrading: How leading companies win by hiring, coaching, and keeping the best players. New York, New York: Penguin Group.

LePine, J. A., Erez, A., & Johnson, D. E. (2002). The nature and dimensionality of organizational citizenship behavior: A critical review and meta-analysis. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87(1), 52-65.

MacKenzie, S. B., Podsakoff, P. M., & Fetter, R. (1991, October). Organizational citizenship behavior and objective productivity as determinants of managerial evaluation of salespersons’ performance. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50(1), 123-150.

Keeping, L. M. & Levy, P. E. (2000). Performance appraisal reactions: Measurement, modeling, and method bias. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(5), 708-723.

Malos, S. B. (1998). Current legal issues in performance appraisal. In J. W. Smither (Ed.), Performance appraisal: State-of-the-art methods for performance management, (49-94). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Seddon, J. (1987). Assumptions, cultures and performance appraisal. Journal of Management Development, 6, 47-54.

Chiang, F. & Birtch, T. (2010, November). Appraising performance across borders: An empirical examination of the purposes and practices of performance appraisal in a multi-country context. Journal of Management Studies, 47(7), 1365-1393.