scholarly journals The power circuits, the duality of controls and performance appraisal: evidence from a Sri Lankan private university

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (4) ◽  
pp. 259-273
Author(s):  
S. M. Chaturika Seneviratne ◽  
◽  
Ashan Martino ◽  

Purpose: The study investigates the impacts stemming from the interplay between episodic, dispositional and systemic power circuits through which organisational agents influence or transform the coercive and enabling aspects ingrained in the performance appraisal process in a university setting. Research methodology: The paper uses a single case study method based on a private university. Data was collected using interviews, documentary evidence and observations. Results: We found that coercive controls become dominance over enabling controls of performance appraisal as an outcome of the ongoing implicit struggle between internal agents who pursue diverse interests and power relations in the private university setting. Limitations: As the research is directed towards the selection of in-depth inquiry of specific setting infused with culture, values, and ideology, it might cause to diminish the researcher’s analytical objectivity and independence of the research. Contribution: The study suggests that the realizing of power remained with the agent’s discretion within day-to-day interrelations. Therefore, the agents’ power relations are significant in deciding the intensity of dual controls in the performance appraisal practice.

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (9) ◽  
pp. 1164-1184 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haley Allison Beer ◽  
Pietro Micheli

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the influences of performance measurement (PM) on not-for-profit (NFP) organizations’ stakeholders by studying how PM practices interact with understandings of legitimate performance goals. This study invokes institutional logics theory to explain interactions between PM and stakeholders. Design/methodology/approach An in-depth case study is conducted in a large NFP organization in the UK. Managers, employees, and external partners are interviewed and observed, and performance-related documents analyzed. Findings Both stakeholders and PM practices are found to have dominant institutional logics that portray certain goals as legitimate. PM practices can reinforce, reconcile, or inhibit stakeholders’ understandings and propensity to act toward goals, depending on the extent to which practices share the dominant logic of the stakeholders they interact with. Research limitations/implications A theoretical framework is proposed for how PM practices first interact with stakeholders at a cognitive level and second influence action. This research is based on a single case study, which limits generalizability of findings; however, results may be transferable to other environments where PM is aimed at balancing competing stakeholder objectives and organizational priorities. Practical implications PM affects the experience of stakeholders by interacting with their understanding of legitimate performance goals. PM systems should be designed and implemented on the basis of both their formal ability to represent organizational aims and objectives, and their influence on stakeholders. Originality/value Findings advance PM theory by offering an explanation for how PM influences attention and actions at an individual micro level.


2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 510-533 ◽  
Author(s):  
Helen Tregidga

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to empirically investigate the act of shadow reporting by a social movement organisation as a form of shadow accounting within a sustained campaign against a target corporation. Situated within a consideration of power relations, the rationales underlying the production of the shadow report, and the shadow reports perceived value and limits as a shadow accounting mechanism, are investigated. Design/methodology/approach A Foucauldian approach to power/knowledge and truth is drawn upon in the analysis of a single case study. Alongside a consideration of the shadow report itself, interviews with both the preparers of the report and senior management of the corporation targeted comprise the main data. Findings The paper provides an empirical investigation into shadow reporting as a form of shadow accounting. While a range of insights are garnered into the preparation, dissemination and impact of the shadow report, key findings relate to a consideration of power relations. The perceived “truth” status of corporate accounts compared to accounts prepared by shadow accountants is problematised through a consideration of technologies of power and power/knowledge formations. Power relations are subsequently recognised as fundamental to the emancipatory potential of shadow reporting. Research limitations/implications Results from a single case study are presented. Furthermore, given the production of the shadow report occurred several years prior to the collection of data, participants were asked to reflect on past events. Findings are therefore based on those reflections. Originality/value While previous studies have considered the preparation of shadow reports and their transformative potential, this study is, the author believes, the first to empirically analyse the preparation, dissemination and perceived impacts of shadow reporting from the perspectives of both the shadow report producers and the target corporation.


2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tolga Çay ◽  
◽  
Cenk AKAY ◽  

The aim of this study is to explore the CELTA course from the perspective of EFL instructors. A single case study of qualitative research methods is employed in the study. The sample consists of 6 EFL instructors working for a private university in Turkey. The quantitative data of the research was obtained through course evaluation survey. Qualitative data was gathered by open-ended questions and interview forms developed by the researcher and also with the documents. Descriptive analysis was performed to show evaluation of the course in the quantitative phase of the research. On the other hand, the content analysis method was applied in the analysis of qualitative data. As a result of the study, the CELTA course is useful for EFL instructors’ careers; nevertheless the course components and content should be redesigned considering andragogic principles. Moreover, EFL instructors were pleased to take the course at the end of the course although the course’s weaknesses.


Author(s):  
Tracy M. Maylett

This case study describes an initiative to change a long-standing performance management process at a large manufacturing facility within General Mills that emphasized the attainment of objective performance measures (the “what” of performance) to one that also included the “how” of goal achievement. The organization embarked on a 3-year pilot evaluation of the use of 360 Feedback as a possible solution to replace or supplement their traditional single-source (supervisor) performance appraisal process. The two systems ran in parallel using 140 randomly selected employees. Results showed little correlation between the what measures of performance from the traditional appraisals and the how data collected using the 360 Feedback, supporting the view that job performance should be viewed as requiring both aspects of evaluation, using different methods of assessment. Ultimately, the organization maintained both systems but integrated 360 Feedback into the traditional appraisals as well, creating complementary processes that looked “forward” (development) and “past” (performance).


2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Walsh ◽  
Dalmar Fisher

PurposeIntroduces the primary concepts behind the practice of action inquiry. Then, examines what current literature suggests about components of the performance appraisal process and identifies areas where applying action inquiry concepts can add a new dimension to our current understanding.Design/methodology/approachApplies action inquiry, a concept from the organizational learning and change literatures, to suggest ways to infuse meaning and mutuality into appraisal discussions to help organizational leaders and members learn and develop. Ways to do so are demonstrated through a review and discussion of seven principal research streams in the current appraisal literature.FindingsAn action inquiry approach can address many of the limitations inherent in the appraisal process and refocus appraisals as developmental tools. Potentially, appraisals can act as forums to open dialogue, invite participation and build relationships around re‐visioning one's work and career. The process can become instrumental to continual quality improvement and organizational growth suggests that a rich opportunity exists to make the performance appraisal process developmentally meaningful for individuals and potentially transformative for organizations.Originality/valueDiscusses seven themes addressed in performance appraisal research and poses new possibilities that emerge when these themes are examined through an action inquiry lens.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 74-80
Author(s):  
Ririn Ikana Desanti ◽  
Andree E. Widjaja

In a company, the process of employees recruitment and performance appraisal are very crucial. The recruitment is the first process which selects the potential employees that would meet the company’s pre-defined criteria. Meanwhile, the performance appraisal is a way to evaluate employees’ performances whether or not the employees have achieved the company’s goals. In PT. XYZ, both employee recruitment and performance appraisal processes were manually conducted. This manual process were indeed proned to many mistakes and unfair decisions. For that reason, an information system is indispensable to support the aforementioned processes. In this study, we have developed a web-based application which can support the recruitment and performance appraisal process. UML diagram version 2.4 and Rapid Application Development (RAD) with prototyping method were employed to support the development of our application. Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) method were also embedded in our application to select and rank the applicants based on several criteria in a more objective manner. The result of this study is a fully functional web-based application which is able to support, automate, as well as accelerate the recruitment and performance appraisal process at PT. XYZ. Index Terms—Recruitment, Performance Appraisal, Web-based Application, Analytical Hierarchy Process


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-77 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jusuke J.J. Ikegami ◽  
Martha Maznevski ◽  
Masataka Ota

Purpose This paper challenges the assumption in cross-cultural research of liability of foreignness (LOF). The literature review demonstrates that LOF comes from pressures for isomorphism, while asset of foreignness (AOF) can derive from the active process of breaking norms. The purpose of this paper is to explore how leaders can initiate and sustain AOF. Design/methodology/approach The paper analyzes the case of the Nissan revival led by Carlos Ghosn and the impact in the years after. The analysis is based on the authors’ interviews and discussions with Ghosn and senior leaders at Nissan and Renault, complemented with published interviews and assessments. Findings Analysis confirmed the potential for AOF, and further uncovered four patterns of behavior that created AOF virtuous cycles among Nissan leaders: initiating trust, shaping identity, anchoring and transcending common language, and acting positively on ignorance. The virtuous cycles were sustainable and transformed into new global strategic perspectives. Research limitations/implications The paper proposes a research model identifying moderators between foreignness and performance. Generalizability is limited by the focus on a single case study. Practical implications The four sets of behaviors can serve as guides to action for leaders when working in foreign contexts. Originality/value This research goes beneath the surface of a famous example to analyze leadership dynamics over time, and provides insight on positive aspects of foreignness.


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