Performance Appraisal: a Critical Review

surgical procedure APPRAISAL A CRITICAL REVIEW Abstract Performance estimation is habitd in many organizations in order to assess the transaction of their employees. that there be some issues and problems that argon associated with exertion estimation locoweed have nix impacts on the execution of instrument of employees and flush toilet reserve it useless. These issues and problems are absence of purpose criteria, gender issues, directrs solidus, social and cultural issues. And there are empirical re seem evidences that are very lots consistent with the problems and issues I identified before.But exploit judgment should non be aband mavend due to the problems menti nonpareild above. Its can prove very in effect(p) if use by trained valuators in a constructive port using objective criteria against which the surgical operation of the appraisee to be checked. It not only reviews the cognitive operation of an employee but in like manner aids to describe train ing and increment extremitys of the appraise. demonstration In organizations, there are some dinner dress and informal methods of exploit opinion, and death penalty estimate is one of the most widely used formal methods of the assessment of implementation.Performance appraisal is besides a valuable peter of exertion management in organizations as CIPD describes thatPerformance appraisal is an grievous break in of exertion management. In itself it is not carrying into action management, but it is one of the range of tools that can be used to manage performance (CIPD, 2008). CIPD (2008) describes that performance appraisal requiremently provides an opportunity to the appraisees and appraiser to review and discuss, in a constructive manner, the performance of the appraisee and possible reasons and determinants of his or her bad performance in a one on one meeting.It in like manner provides an opportunity to them to identify and set objectives regarding training and m aturation for the future and to reach an agreement close the possible actions required getting those objectives and the support the soulfulness or appraisee expects from the manager. If performance appraisal is conducted in a sensitive and constructive manner, then it can establish a positive relationship mingled with the individuals and the line managers. Aims and objectives of performance appraisalThere are some clear aims and objectives for conducting performance appraisal in organizations, and these objectives are listed and depict below 1. One bearing of conducting a performance appraisal is to exercise organizational control 2. The main purpose of a performance appraisal system is to review the performance of individuals over a period of time 3. Performance appraisal is withal aimed at viewing out that the appraisee is productive or not. 4. One purpose of performance appraisal is to review the actual performance of an employee against the set objectives or desire stan dards. 5. other important objective of conducting a performance appraisal is to find training and development inescapably of the appraisee. 6. One purpose is to identify the slip of support the appraisee expects from the management in order to meet those training and development needs. Key elements of performance appraisal CIPD (2008) has describe following five guide elements of performance appraisal 1. Measurement individuals performance is assessed against hold standards and objectives. 2. Feedback the individual or appraisee is provided information on his performance and progress later the performance has been assessed. . Positive reinforcement the appraiser recognises the intimately performance and make constructive criticism to the highest degree the aspects of performance where there is a need of approach. 4. Exchange of views there is a dialogue between the appraiser and the appraisee about the outcomes of the assessment, and how appraisees can improve their pe rformance, the support they need from their managers to achieve this and their aspirations for their future career. 5. compact an agreement is reached by all parties about what needs to be make to improve performance and issues are overcome. Problems with performance appraisalHaving described the definition, objectives, and the break elements of performance appraisal, we move on to problems or dilemmas with performance appraisal. Performance appraisal is considered a way or tool of motivation and enhancing morale and it is also fabricated that appraisal will lead to an improvement in performance or performance will decrease without appraisal. (Grint, 1995). But it can also lead to negative effects on performance and motivation and leaves the apprsisee with negative feelings such(prenominal) as inferiority, bitterness, depression and some other negative feelings (Ridly, 1995).On the part of the appraiser, there are some dilemmas and difficulties that the appraiser faces in the itinerary of performance appraisal process. One of these is the subjectivity of the appraiser that cannot be completely avoided in spite of efforts. Another important dilemma faced by the appraiser is to play both(prenominal)(prenominal) the roles of a forecast and a facilitator at the same time as Fiona Wilson (2002) and many other including McGregor (1957), and Fletcher and Williams (1985) have described this problem. One of the aims of performance appraisal is to identify training and development needs of the employees.In order to do so, the appraiser is assumed to judge the gaps between the desired performance and the actual performance by assessing the performance of the employee against a set of objective standards, this not always possible to have objective criteria available, as Fiona Wilson (2002) describes that If staff development is the aim then the temptation is to search for inadequacies in the appraisees performance. In order to act as judge the appraiser needs c riteria with which to judge, yet the subjective evaluation and trait point criteria for evaluating performance have been recognised as a central problem. neutral criteria against which to assess staff are difficult to achieve and are red ink to be judgmental to some degree. Counseling does not usually take making any judgments but allows the soulfulness to reflect on performance and make their own judgments. There is an append in the use of 360-degree feedback in organizations as Bruce and Ira Kay have noted that The use of 360-degree feedback has grown dramatically in recent years. According to HR consulting firm William M. Mercer, 40 portion of companies used 360-degree feedback in 1995 b 2000, this figure jumped to 65 percent (Bruce &038 Ira, 2002).But there are also some serious issues associated with 360 degree feedback and it is assumed that it can have some negative effects on performance and can hurt the appraise as Bruce and Ira Kay (2002) have quoted Watson Wyatts h uman capital index pack which found that the use of 360-degree feedback is associated with a decrease in shareholder value. Bruce and Ira also quoted the other findings of Watson Wyatts HCI study and described thatWatson Wyatts 2001 HCI report revealed that companies using 360-degree feedback have lower commercialize value.According to the study, companies that use peer review have a market place value that is 4. 9 percent lower than similarly situated companies that dont use peer review. Likewise, companies that allow employees to evaluate their managers are valued 5. 7 percent lower than similar firms that dont (Bruce &038 Ira, 2002). Ghorpade (Ghorpade quoted in Bruce &038 Ira, 2002), a professor of management at San Diego State University, reported that only one-third studies out of 600 feedback studies found improvement in performance and one-third found a decrease in performance and rest of them found no effects.Bruce and Ira (2002) have also identified some other issues an d problems with 360-feedback such as lack of training, and the be of 360-degree feedback. Arvey and spud(1998) have described the issues around the costs of measures of performance as tumefy A discussion of the relative costs of alternative performance measures was provided by Stone et al (1996). As an alternative to a more(prenominal) expensive hands-on performance measure, a low-cost, readily available measure of performance was developed for Air Force specialty jobs using an existing information base that rank-ordered individuals.More research is needed to explore the relative advantages of low-fidelity and low-cost performance measures. Conceivably the relative value of such instruments might be better than more highly ad hoc, high-fidelity instruments if relatively molar decisions are being made about individuals (e. g. promote versus not-promote, high versus low performance) intrinsic and objective Evaluation The main problem and issue associated with performance apprai sal may be the subjective evaluation and absence of objective criteria against which the performance of the individual is to be assessed.Subjective evaluation may result in devastating effects on the performance of the individual or the appraisee. As Longenecker et al. (1987) have noted that the appraisers sometimes intentionally distort and manipulate appraisal for political purposes. Subjective measures of performance sometime lead to biasness on the part of the rater and result in negative effects on performance. But Arvey and Murphy (1998) have reviewed a research conducted by Bommer et al in 1995, and described that Bommer et al assessed the relationships between relatively objective and subjective measures of employee performance.He used meta-analytic techniques to summarize the relationships for over 50 independent samples, and found that the two measures were importantly related. Bias on the part of line manager or the appraiser or rater can result in negative effects on per formance. Arvey &038 Murphy (1998) spell that many studies have focused on the effectiveness biases of supervisors that occour as a result of their likings and disliking about their subordinates. But recent studies show that affective influences on ratings may not represent rating biases. Vera et al (quoted in Arvey &038 Murphy, 1998) presented evidence that supports this argument.Arvey and Murphy (1998) quoted a study in their write up conducted by Schrader and Steiner in 1996, and described that They hypothesized that ratings in which employees are evaluated against clear and specific objective standards will differ from those in which such objective criteria are not specified and the standards are ambiguous. Results supported this proposition. However, ratings made when using internal, relative, or multiple standards of comparison were not terribly incompatible from those made under(a) the more objective conditions both in terms of mean differences and supervisor-self agreeme nt.Thus, a conclusion that employee standards that involve objective and specific standards against which to evaluate individuals are the one best method seems premature given the results of this study Ethnic, Social and sexual urge Issues There are some gender, and social issues in terms of bias and subjectivity related to performance appraisals. Societal stereotypes may cause the appraisers to be biased against women and minorities.In 1996, Woehr &038 Roch (quoted in Arvey &038 Murphy, 1998) studied the effects of prior evaluations that were different in terms of performance and ratee gender on consequent evaluations and on recall of a male or female of average performance. Results pop the questioned that both the performance level and the gender of the target ratees prior evaluation alter the subsequent rating. Relatively low performance for the prior target influenced subsequent evaluations differentially for male and female target ratees and males were given higher evaluati ons than females.Another study conducted by Ford et al (quoted in Arvey and Murphy, 1998) conducted a meta-analysis across 53 studies, and found that that blacks receive slightly lower performance scores than ashens on both subjective and objective measures of performance. Arvey and Murphy reviewed a study conducted by Kraiger and Ford in 1985, and wrote that Kraiger &038 Ford (1985) conducted a meta-analysis of 74 studies across airfield and laboratory mounts and concluded that an interaction effect existed White raters rate white ratees higher than black ratees, whereas black raters evaluated black ratees higher than white ratees.Moderator effects were found also for group composition and research setting Effect sizes increased as the proportion of blacks in the group decreased, and field studies generated larger effect sizes than laboratory studies. (1998). These are the problems and issues that make a person think if the performance appraisal should be abandoned or not. In my opinion, performance appraisal should not be abandoned because of the problems and issues associated with it, if it is used carefully in an objective and constructive manner, it can prove a reclaimable tool in motivating, maturation and enhancing the performance of an employee.Bruce and Ira have also tried to answer this question Despite these drawbacks, there are good reasons not to give up on 360-degree feedback. The process still holds the possible to deepen employees understanding of their own performance. And, it may be able to serve up companies cook value by better aligning job performance with business strategy. The question is this Can 360-degree feedback be implemented in such a way that it achieves these benefits without negatively affecting the bottom line? base on our analysisand conversations with clients we believe the following steps may help companies transform 360-degree feedback into a value creator, not destroyer. Implement 360-degree feedback for the r ight reasons. The send-off thing you need to ask is why youre doing it, says Paul Rumely, a parvenu York-based executive coach, If you cant articulate a strong business case for a 360-degree feedback program, it should not be introduced (Bruce &038 Ira, 2002).Training can be very utilitarian in enhancing the effectiveness of performance appraisal systems and can equip the raters with essential knowledge and skills to cope with the problems and issues associated with performance appraisals in work settings. Bruce and Ira suggest that Train people in giving and receiving feedback. Companies that implement 360-degree feedback without first checking and developing managers feedback skills risk serious damage to teamwork and morale. Providing constructive feedback takes instruction, training and practice. (Bruce &038 Ira, 2002).They also write that While training individuals to give and receive feedback may temporarily increase the expense associated with 360-degree feedback programs, the gains will outweigh the higher costs as the feedback delivered to participants becomes more focused, targeting the behaviors most closely associated with value creation and destruction. Ultimately, the goal should be to create a culture in which individuals feel comfortable giving and receiving feedbackboth positive and negativeon a realtime basis, or else than waiting for an annual review (Bruce &038 Ira, 2002).Assessment of performance of employees is essential to the process of performance management in organizations, and a performance appraisal not only assess or review the performance of an employee but also identify training and development needs of the employee, and is an important need of organizations. As Fiona Wilson has also stressed Given these difficulties identified in the literature, it may be tempting to abandon any hope of finding fair assessment of performance.Yet, there is still a need for control, accountability, assessment and staff development in organizat ions. Bias is difficult to overcome but can an individual give feedback on performance without that feedback being construed as negative and can staff be developed? One way to achieve this is to convention an appraisal scheme where the emphasis is on development, to use a prophylactic approach, which recognises achievements and supports professional development and avoids the issue of accuracy and rating of performance (Fiona Wilson, 2002).