scholarly journals Factors influencing managers’ attitudes towards performance appraisal

2017 ◽  
Vol 15 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya Du Plessis ◽  
Annelize Van Niekerk
Keyword(s):  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
Negative Attitudes ◽  
Employee Support ◽  
Emotional Process ◽  
Factors Influencing ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
Appraisal Systems ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual

Orientation: Managers often have negative attitudes towards performance appraisal because of its problematic nature, which is influenced by political and social contextual factors. These negative attitudes lead to reduced employee support, inaccurate performance appraisal ratings and, consequently, negative employee perceptions of the performance appraisal process. This state of affairs necessitates a deeper understanding of the factors influencing managers’ attitudes towards performance appraisal.Research purpose: The purpose of this research was to gain a deeper understanding of the factors that influence managers’ attitudes towards performance appraisal.Motivation for the study: Previous research has confirmed the importance of performance appraisals in organisations. However, managers’ dislike of and aversion to performance appraisal impact negatively on the effectiveness of performance appraisal systems and ultimately the development and performance of employees.Research design, approach and method: An interpretivist qualitative study was adopted, utilising naïve sketches and in-depth interviews to collect data from eight managers, purposively selected. The data were analysed by using Tesch’s descriptive data analysis technique.Main findings: This study revealed that performance appraisal is fundamentally an uncomfortable and emotional process for managers, which results in their adopting defensive attitudes. Because of many uncertainties, managers do not always display the ability or readiness to conduct performance appraisals. The organisational context might place the individual manager in a position to distort employee ratings, which in turn negatively influences that manager’s attitude.Practical and managerial implications: This study provides insight into the present-day experience of managers in respect of performance appraisal and highlights the factors that influence their attitudes.Contribution: The insight gained from this research into the factors impacting on the attitude of managers towards performance appraisals can assist organisations to better support and empower such managers to be more effective in their approach when conducting performance appraisals.

Efficiency Ratings and Performance Appraisals in the United States Federal Government

2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 270-275
Author(s):  
Thomas A. Stetz ◽  
Todd L. Chmielewski
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
The United States ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
Performance Ratings ◽  
Current State ◽  
Appraisal Systems ◽  
And Performance ◽  
State Of Affairs ◽  
United States Federal Government

As industrial–organizational (I-O) psychologists and longtime employees, we have developed and implemented appraisal systems and have been subjected to and have subjected others to appraisals. We have thus viewed performance appraisals from all angles, seeing the good, the bad, and the downright ugly. We believe that all of the points discussed by Adler et al. (2016) about retaining or eliminating performance ratings have merit and address the realities of the current state of affairs in performance appraisal practice and research. However, as Wiese and Buckley (1998) point out, organizations survived quite well for centuries without formal appraisal systems, which raises the question, “Why do formal performance appraisal systems exist?” One inescapable yet surprisingly undiscussed reason is that it is a legal and/or regulatory mandate for 4,185,000 U.S. federal government employees (Office of Personnel Management, 2015a). Eliminating performance ratings for these workers would literally require an act of Congress.

scholarly journals Politicisation of performance appraisals

2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sonia Swanepoel ◽  
Petrus A. Botha ◽  
Nancy B. Mangonyane
Keyword(s):  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Employee Attitudes ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Employee Productivity ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Department Of Health ◽  
Managerial Implications ◽  
And Performance

Orientation: Employees are a source of competitive advantage for organisations and human resource management seek to promote employee efficiency. One of the tools organisations utilise to achieve this goal is performance appraisals.Research purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate the weaknesses in performance appraisal and to determine whether it is politicised in the North West Department of Health and Social Development in South Africa.Motivation for study: Many organisations either ignore the existence of politics in the appraisal process or assume that its impact can be minimised if they refine their appraisal instruments. Executives admit that, in appraising others, they often intentionally avoid meeting the goal of accuracy in favour of achieving goals that have more to do with exercising discretion and maintaining departmental effectiveness. Ironically, these same executives lament that the appraisals they receive often do not accurately represent their abilities and performance (Gioia & Longenecker, 1994).Research approach, design and method: Self-administered questionnaires were used as a means of collecting data and analysis was done through the use of the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS).Main findings: The results of the study showed that respondents believe that performance appraisals are highly politicised.Practical/managerial implications: If used effectively, performance appraisals may improve employee productivity and efficiency as well as motivation and performance. However, if performance appraisal is perceived as unfair and political, it can diminish rather than enhance employee attitudes and performance.Contribution: Amongst others, it is recommended that managers should consider separating assessment for development and assessment for rewards.

scholarly journals Works councils and performance appraisals

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 29-50
Author(s):  
Christian Grund ◽  
Dirk Sliwka ◽  
Krystina Titz
Keyword(s):  
Industrial Relations ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Works Councils ◽  
Bonus Payments ◽  
Actual Use ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Works Council ◽  
The Individual

PurposeWe analyze the role of works councils for the use of performance appraisals (PA). We distinguish between the incidence of PA systems as intended by the firm and their actual implementation on the level of the individual employee.Design/methodology/approachWe draw on two complementary data sets. These are the German Linked Personnel Panel (LPP), which combines firm-based information with information provided by several of those employees, and the German Socio-Economic Panel (SOEP), which is a representative longitudinal study of persons living in Germany.FindingsWe find that works councils tend to promote rather than restrict PA. Employees working in establishments with a works council are more likely to face a formal PA procedure. Works councils also act as a transmission institution for the actual use of an existing PA system – i.e. among the firms that claim to implement PA for all their employees, the likelihood of their employees actually having regular appraisals is substantially larger when works councils are in place. Moreover, the existence of works councils is positively related particularly to PA systems, which affects bonus payments.Research limitations/implicationsWe contribute to the understanding of the work of works councils in firms. In more general, we shed light to the relation of industrial relations and human resource management in firms.Practical implicationsThis result hints at a higher acceptance of PA systems in firms with works councils. It seems likely that the stronger formalization of such systems necessitated by codetermination laws increases the likelihood of supervisors consistently carrying out such appraisals.Originality/valueWe are the first who complement the analysis of the existence of HR practices (PA system) with its actual use for employees.

Performance Management

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Edward M. Mone
Keyword(s):  
Performance Management ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
Continuous Learning ◽  
Subsequent Discussion ◽  
Employee Relationship ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Impact

Performance management, a critical business process, is discussed in this chapter as a framework for driving continuous learning at the individual, team, and organizational levels, with an emphasis on the manager–employee relationship. The concepts of learning, continuous learning, and performance management are introduced, defined, and framed, setting the foundation for the subsequent discussion of each key component of the performance management process—goal setting, feedback, development, and appraisal—and its role in driving continuous learning. The discussion emphasizes the importance of goal cascading and alignment, the impact and influence of both performance and development goals on defining directions for continuous learning, understanding the conditions that enable the positive impact of feedback, knowing the factors that can promote employee development and continuous learning, and knowing how to use both informal and formal performance appraisals to identify, define, and plan for continuous learning. The chapter closes with a summary reinforcing the role of performance management as a framework for driving continuous learning in organizations.

scholarly journals Action inquiry and performance appraisals

2005 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 26-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Walsh ◽  
Dalmar Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
Organizational Growth ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Appraisal Process ◽  
Action Inquiry ◽  
Inquiry Approach ◽  
Performance Appraisal Process ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Learning And Change

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.

A Question of Power: How does Management Retain It?

2003 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 45-56 ◽  
Author(s):  
Devi Akella
Keyword(s):  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Learning Organizations ◽  
Profit Sharing ◽  
Accounting Firms ◽  
Business Environments ◽  
Appraisal Systems ◽  
And Performance ◽  
Training Schemes ◽  
Training Programmes ◽  
And Control

This paper examines whether the concept of learning organizations is a myth and if it is possible to intertwine workplace democracy with profitability. Theoretically, learning organizations have the capacity to achieve the goals of socialists, i.e., worker participa- tion, employee empowerment, and full profit sharing amongst members at all levels of the organization. This paper draws upon various power discourses present in manage- ment and social sciences literature and empirical data gathered from two case studies of professional accounting firms to examine whether the notion of democratic knowledge generating environments is realistic. According to Lukes' and Gramsci (1971), it is possible to shape the cognitions, perceptions, and preferences of individuals to shape and control the interests of one group over the others. Foucault (1977) discusses the various mechanisms through which such form of power can be implemented. He also develops Bentham's panopticon, the examination process, and the system of time-tables followed in schools as modern surveillance techniques like meetings, training programmes, induction schemes, culture programmes, and performance appraisal systems. This paper uses a critical methodology with its elements of “critical perspective” and “deconstruction” to analyse the interview data gathered from two professional accounting firms. The analysis reveals the following: The learning organizations adopt the concepts of learning environments and workplace democracies and egalitarian and cooperatively minded firms to seek the cooperation and support of their employees so that the firms are able to innovate and create learning continuously to survive and meet the demands of today's business environments. The organizations believe that by linking the fulfilment of the self-actualized needs of the organizational employees with the objectives of the management, a common unified direction could be achieved. The management in these contemporary knowledge companies focus on creating such conditions which enable organizations to achieve their own objectives. The control is exercised through various surveillance techniques like meetings, training schemes, hierarchical structure, etc., under the external pretence of employee democracy and empowerment. However, the manage- ment fails to successfully mould the subjectivity of its employees. Even though the employees are aware of the management's corporate regime and its unfairness, they do not overtly resist or attack the management because they realize that their long-term career growth is linked to the survival of the management's regime. Therefore, they overtly support the management's policies, goals, and objectives and consciously uphold the banner of “socialistic models” and “employees' paradises.” In other words, it is a sort of compromise between management and its workers relegating knowledge creating companies as pseudo democracies.

Rural and urban primary school heads’ perspectives on staff appraisal systems in Zimbabwe: A phenomenological approach

2021 ◽  
pp. 174114322098332
Author(s):  
Elliott Nkoma ◽  
Alphonce Shoshore
Keyword(s):  
Primary School ◽  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Phenomenological Approach ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
School Head ◽  
Staff Appraisal ◽  
Rural And Urban ◽  
Appraisal Systems ◽  
School Heads

The study sought to explore rural and urban primary school heads’ perspectives on staff appraisal systems in Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe and utilised a qualitative approach based on a phenomenological design. Five rural primary school heads and five urban primary school heads with at least 14 years of experience were purposely selected. In-depth, face-to-face phenomenological interviews were conducted to collect the lived experiences of participants in relation to performance appraisal systems for teachers. Data were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. Three major themes emerged: (a) implementation of performance appraisals; (b) feedback and professional development; and (c) challenges with regard to the implementation of performance appraisals. The economic crisis in Zimbabwe has had a negative impact on school performance appraisal systems. Both school locations had implemented such systems, but were faced with limited resources, time constraints and teachers’ lack of interest in being promoted. In looking at the differences between rural and urban school head participants, the focus was on observation and feedback processes. This study has important implications for staff appraisal systems in Zimbabwe.

scholarly journals Problems associated with the management of performance appraisals in universities: The case of Ghanaian Public Sector Universities

2008 ◽  
Vol 5 ◽  
pp. 134-152
Author(s):  
E. O. Agyenim-Boateng
Keyword(s):  
Public Sector ◽  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Employee Performance ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
Administrative Staff ◽  
Appraisal System ◽  
Public And Private ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Effective Performance ◽  
Appraisal Systems

The use of performance appraisal, a presence of the private sector organisations, has now become wide spread and has grown to include previously untouched organisations and occupational hierarchies such as secretarial and administrative staff in both the public and private sectors. However, verv little has been reported in the literature concerning the perceptions and experiences of the universities in developing countries relating to performance appraisals. This study therefore sought to explore performance appraisal systems in the Ghanaian public sector universities to consider the perceptions and experiences of the administrative staff about the problems associated with the performance appraisal systems of the universities. The study adopted an exploratory, descriptive and evaluative triangulation case study approach and generated data through semistructured interviews and self-completing questionnaires from 401 university employees in Ghana from four of the six public sector universities. Both quantitative and qualitative methods of analysis in the form of frequencies, percentages, means, graphs and content analysis were used to analyse the data. The results indicate that generally the perceptions of the administrative staff conceming the effectiveness of the present performance appraisal systems of the universities were skewed towards dissatisfaction because they lacked essential characteristics of an effective performance appraisal system. These include lack of c1early formulated and defined policies and objectives, performance measures, effective staff participation and training and development that could make them effective. The study concludes that there is a need for the universities to recognise their employees as valued resources and treat them as a source of competitive advantage which have to be strategically managed to achieve improved employee performance and development as well as the effectiveness of the universities.

scholarly journals Influence of measurement type and the moment of occurrence of low performance behaviour's on task and citizenship performance appraisal

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. e1229
Author(s):  
Christian Rosales ◽  
María Dolores Díaz-Cabrera ◽  
Estefenía Hernández-Fernaud
Keyword(s):  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Undergraduate Students ◽  
Performance Appraisals ◽  
Assessment Period ◽  
Citizenship Performance ◽  
Subject Variables ◽  
Low Performance ◽  
And Performance ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Assessment Questionnaire

This research studies whether the moment of occurrence of a task or contextual behaviour with a low performance produces a primacy or recency effect and whether it causes changes in performance appraisal. We also analyzed whether the nature of assessment questionnaire items affects raters’ assessments and how the sequence of questionnaire presentation and completion may do so. Participants were 146 undergraduate students. We used a design with two inter-subject variables (questionnaire presentation and performance sequence) and one within-subject variable (global versus specific questionnaires). Findings show that if a low performance is presented at the beginning of the assessment period, the performance assessment will be more negative. Also, results indicate that task performance appraisals and contextual behaviour assessments are higher and less accurate when performed with a questionnaire that includes global items.

Institutionalization and Evaluation

2021 ◽  
pp. 160-176
Author(s):  
Thomas Packard
Keyword(s):  
Performance Appraisal ◽  
Continuous Improvement ◽  
Operating Systems ◽  
Change Process ◽  
Job Descriptions ◽  
Community Members ◽  
Good Evaluation ◽  
Policies And Procedures ◽  
Appraisal Systems ◽  
And Performance

When all changes have been approved and implemented, steps must be taken to create mechanisms that will institutionalize the changes, to ensure that they become part of the normal culture and operating systems of the organization. This will involve changes to policies and procedures and perhaps staff training. Job descriptions and performance appraisal systems may need to be modified to support the new systems. These processes should not be seen as static, but should be monitored and assessed for adjustments and continuous improvement. A good evaluation of a change process can be useful to show improvements to stakeholders, such as boards, policymakers, community members, funding organizations, and others. Having staff see vivid examples of the success of something that was probably very demanding of their time and maybe their psyches should give them some satisfaction as well as more optimism about their future in the organization.

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