Research proposal
Nature of the project
In the Final Project, various techniques and concepts are applied to the development
of a detailed proposal for a performance management system (PMS) for one particular
organization. The selected organization for this project is Walmart. This company is arguably
one of the largest retailers worldwide having in excess of 2 million workforce, 8,498 stores in
16 nations under various names. Every week, more than 100 million shoppers shop at
Walmart’s establishments in different parts of the world (Wal-Mart Stores, Inc 2014). This
multi-national corporation is a highly successful firm partly due to its performance
management system which enhances the competitive strategy of the company.
Nonetheless, the problem with Walmart’s performance management system is that
aligning the performance management system with the company’s competitive strategy is not
adequate (Bhave & Brutus 2011). Moreover, for a performance management system to be
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very good and effective, it also has to be aligned with the company’s internal Human
Resources practices such as compensation systems as well as training and development.
When both internal Human Resources alignment and external competitive strategy alignment
are attained, then the performance management system could actually maximize its potential.
Therefore, the problem or opportunity that is to be investigated is how to improve the
performance management of Walmart.
Sources of information to use: examination of literature
For this project, the sources used would be obtained from scholarly online databases.
These databases, which include JSTOR, EBSCOhost, ScienceDirect, Emerald Journals,
SAGE journals online, and ProQuest have a good reputation for having high-quality articles
on a wide range of subjects and topics. All the sources of information used are not more than
5 years old; hence, they are recent and relevant for the project.
Pulakos (2010) noted that performance management systems including employee
performance assessment and employee development are fundamental to human resources
(HR) management. In lots of organizations, performance management systems are faulty and
have flaws, with managers and members of staff regularly complaining about their
ineffectiveness. A survey carried out by Watson Wyatt revealed that just 3 in 10 members of
staff are in agreement that the performance management system of their company is actually
helpful in improving performance (Pulakos 2010). In addition, fewer than 40% of members
of staff reported that their performance management systems produced sincere and candid
feedback, defined clear performance goals, or made use of technology in streamlining the
process (Pulakos 2010). Even though these results evidently show that many organizations
might be having performance management systems that are poorly designed, it is usually not
badly developed processes and tools which bring about complexities with performance
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management. Instead, complexities regularly occur because performance management is
essentially a very personal and usually frightening process for staffs and managers alike.
Managers are disinclined in providing honest feedback and are hesitant to have candid
discussions with members of staff because they fear reprisal or they fear to damage the
relationships with the very people they count on to get work carried out (Jirjahn & Poutsma
2013). Staff members feel that their managers are not effective at training them on how to
develop their skills and they also feel that managers are not skilled at discussing their
performance. Many whine that PMSs are too time consuming, bureaucratic and cumbersome
for the value added (Tolan 2011). This makes staff members and managers to treat
performance management as a necessary evil of work life which needs to be reduced instead
of treating it as a vital process which can accomplish important organizational and individual
outcomes. Despite the difficulties, performance management is a vital tool for high-
performing companies and is in fact a very important responsibility of a manager. Moreover,
if it is performed rightly, performance management could lead to many significant outcomes
for a company, its staff members, and managers (Kumari & Malhotra 2012).
Important techniques and concepts to be applied
Importance of performance management: the management of staff members in an
organization is a crucial factor in ensuring a company’s success. A performance management
system that is well-designed would result in significant outcomes for the company in terms of
satisfaction of employees and attainment of organizational objectives and strategies. A
continuous and ongoing process of measuring and assessing performance of staff members is
necessary as a starting point for bringing about improvements in productivity and bringing
the goals of employees into line with the company’s strategic goals (Tolan 2011).
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Integration of performance management with other HR activities: staff members are
an organization’s most significant asset and each of the other HR activities and functions are
dependent upon performance management for the information and data on which to base
decisions and the procedures and incentives needed to carry out improvement strategies.
Performance management is an important link between HR management functions and
organizational competitiveness (Jirjahn & Poutsma 2013). The performance management
process: this concept includes all the steps undertaken to implement a performance
management system. The steps are laying the foundations, performance planning,
performance implementation, performance appraisal, as well as performance review, renewal,
and recontracting.
Relationship of performance management to strategic planning: it is of major
importance to link the PMS to the strategic plan of the company as this would ensure that the
company’s strategy is followed at all levels of the company. Defining and measuring
performance: this concept includes understanding performance, approaches to performance
management, measuring outcomes, and measuring behaviour (Pulakos 2010). Designing and
implementing a PMS: this concept includes the content and structure of performance
appraisal forms, the process of appraisal, preparing to implement, training the raters, as well
as testing, monitoring and evaluating the systems.
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References
Bhave, DP., & Brutus, S 2011 A macro perspective to micro issues. Industrial and
organizational psychology, 4(2): 165-168
Jirjahn, U, & Poutsma, E 2013, ‘The Use of Performance Appraisal Systems: Evidence from
Dutch Establishment Data’, Industrial Relations, 52, 4, pp. 801-828, Business
Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 June 2015.
Kumari, N, & Malhotra, R 2012, ‘Effective Performance Management System For Enhancing
Growth’, Global Management Journal, 4, 1/2, pp. 77-85, Business Source Complete,
EBSCOhost, viewed 26 June 2015.
Pulakos, ED 2010 Performance management: A roadmap for developing, implementing and
evaluating performance management systems. Society for Human Resource
Management.
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Tolan, M 2011, ‘Developing Performance Appraisal Systems for Academicians’, Proceedings
Of The Northeast Business & Economics Association, pp. 474-477, Business Source
Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 June 2015.
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc 2014, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Marketline Company Profile, pp. 1-41,
Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 26 June 2015.
