�Reflect on your prior knowledge of and experience with performance management in
organisations, as an employee, a line manager or an HR professional.
�Write a critically reflective paper (550 words) on the following:
oYour prior knowledge of and experience with the module�s concepts and themes, including those
you have identified as particular areas of personal or professional interest
oYour personal biases and assumptions about key module topics
oYour current practice related to key module topics
oPotential areas for your personal development and strategies to continue this growth (this could
include your work or future studies)
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Performance Management
Performance management has become a buzz word for most managers. However, as
Marr and Gray (2012) say, this is one of the management principles that are most
misunderstood. Most people do appreciate that performance management is about increasing
the performance of either an individual employee or a team of employees with the aim of
increasing organisational performance. They focus on the technical aspect of it and consider
it to means that the output is the most important thing. In this kind of thinking, when
considering an employee’s performance, what seems to matter the most is the output of the
employees work. However, according to Khajji (2013), performance management is not only
about the productivity of the employee, it is also about the process. The management of
performance should not only focus on increasing productivity, hut should also focus on the
soft aspects, such as whether the right processes are being applied and whether ethics have
been adhered to.
In this regard, performance management should be aligned with organization’s
objectives and strategies. Employees should not just be pushed towards increasing their
output, but must be sensitized on the need to make sure that their process of works is
acceptable. To achieve this, HR policies should be supportive of the Performance
management in the organisation.
There are a number of issues that come up with regard to why many organizations fail to
have a successful Performance management policy. As Marr and Gray (2012) point out,
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performance management fails if the organization use a one-way and top-down structure in
its implementation. In such a situation, the employees end up being on the receiving end and
they do not have a way to give their own feedback. This asymmetric relationship between the
employees and the supervisors only leads to resentments by the employees. It also leads to
the supervisors not being able to properly help the employees to become better. At the same
time, performance management fails because those involved are not aware of the objectives
of the performance management or the objectives for which their performance is supposed to
achieve. They therefore perceive the process as threatening and unnecessary. Many
employees therefore end up perceiving the performance management as an intimidation
method that the firm uses to intimidate them.
This is even more when the performance management is directly associated with
appraisal and pay. In such a case, associating the performance management to appraisal can
affect its effectiveness. Poorly implemented performance management can lead not only in
the PM being ineffective, but also lead to other problems such as high employee turnover
rates and poor work relationships in the organization. At the same time, it can lead to low
motivation to perform and low innovativeness among the employees. If the employees felt
like they are being over scrutinized in everything they are doing and being judged on it, they
may prefer to play safe and focus on their technical job description as opposed to taking a
little risk to come up with better ideas (Weiss, 1997).
As (Jackson, Schuler, & Werner, 2011)says, the other mistake that most organisations
make is to focus their attention on the formal requirements of performance management
systems. However, the most effective performance management is one that focuses on people
and their abilities as opposed to focusing on the processes and bureaucracies. In this regard,
organisations that succeed in implementing performance management are the ones that focus
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on helping the employees to improve their skills in line wit what the organisation wants to
achieve.
Reference list
Jackson, S., Schuler, R., & Werner, S. (2011). Managing Human Resources. London, UK:
Cengage Learning.
Khajji, P. (2013). Performance Management Systems and Strategies. Mumbai, IN: Pearson
Education India.
Marr, B., & Gray, D. (2012). Strategic Performance Management. London, UK: Routledge.
Weiss, T. (1997). Reengineering Performance Management Breakthroughs
