Performance Management Process, Essay Example

Performance Management may be defined as “is the process of creating a work environment or setting in which people are enabled to perform to the best of their abilities. Performance management is a whole work system that begins when a job is defined as needed” (Heathfield, 2010).  A Performance appraisal is defined as being “is the process of obtaining, analyzing and recording information about the relative worth of an employee. The focus of the performance appraisal is measuring and improving the actual performance of the employee” (Naukrihub.com, 2010).  The link is such that performance management is about creating the environment for the employee to succeed and the appraisal measures how well they succeeded in that environment.

Performance Management

Considering the Project Manager function of an IT software development project.  The role entails overseeing the software implementation team for a major Oil Company’s North Sea Oil (offshore) revenue system.  A customized software build of a major business systems application.  As an I/O Psychologist I would be looking at aspects of motivation, environmental settings and efficiencies in order to measure and assess performance.  Motivation One approach might be the adoption of Herzberg Motivation Hygiene Theory. To measure employee motivation you would need to examine such elements as opportunities for promotion, quality of work, levels of responsibility, challenges, sense of personal achievement and growth in the job. Hygiene factors would include: company policies, wages, quality of supervision, inter personal relations, environmental setting, working conditions and feeling of job security.  The approach would be based upon interviewing the team and determining whether they had positive or negative attitudes towards work and an explanation of the reasons thereof.  The Analysis can then be divided into the Motivation and Hygiene classifications. The model depicted above illustrates the staged process. Maslow identified the following hierarchy of needs in order to obtain job satisfaction “Maslow believed that these needs are similar to instincts and play a major role in motivating behaviour. Physiological, security, social, and esteem needs are deficiency needs (also known as D-needs), meaning that these needs arise due to deprivation. Satisfying these lower-level needs is important in order to avoid unpleasant feelings or consequences” (Cherry, 2010).

Works Cited

Cherry, K. (2010). The Five Levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved 11 2, 2010, from about.com: http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/a/hierarchyneeds.htm

Heathfield, S. M. (2010). Performance Management. Retrieved 11 2, 2010, from http://humanresources.about.com/od/glossaryp/g/perform_mgmt.htm

Naukrihub.com. (2010). Performance Appraisal. Retrieved 11 1, 2010, from http://appraisals.naukrihub.com/definition-concept.html