Table Of ContentPerformance Management Programs
If a performance management program includes too many
objectives at a time, then there is a great possibility that it will
eventually die out in the absence of specific objectives and focus.
Abstract
Because there is no standard pattern of program or uniformity
in objectives that is applicable to all organizations, any
Overview
performance management program must be designed to take care
Further Insights of organizational requirements and internal culture, and must
act in unison with other administrative systems. Changes in the
Issues
growth of performance management programs from just-in-time
management and total quality management to Six Sigma reflect
Terms & Concepts
this very well. Additionally, knowledge management, quick
Bibliography response systems, and supplier relationship management have
also started playing significant roles in performance management
Suggested Reading
programs. Wang (2008) argues that these programs provide
opportunity for learning and making changes in an organization.
Abstract Functions. Performance management programs generally
function as double-edged sword. On one side, they are used for
Performance management programs, also known as performance decision-making and on the other, for employee development.
improvement programs, include a variety of improvement Though decision-making and employee development are related,
categories, such as planning, execution, quality improvement, yet both of them are not supported with a single management
cost reduction, performance measurement, response time program. When a performance management program is
reduction, flexibility and agility, information technology, and employed for decision-making processes, the information
communications. They are designed to improve individual pertaining to appraisal is utilized for salary hikes, lay-offs,
performance standards, and to evaluate, monitor, and establish promotions, assignments, transfers, and administrative human
organizational goals. The established goals are communicated to resource actions. When a program is run for development, the
employees and used to set employees’ performance standards. same appraisal information is utilized for mentoring, guiding,
Programs help employees realize how they fit in the organization training, job experiences, and other development activities in
and how they can contribute to its growth. which employees will participate to enhance their capabilities.
Pragmatically, it is difficult to have an ideal performance
Overview
management program that can serve both development and
decision-making. Though theoretically this can be presented
Program Objectives. While management experts and research
on paper, it is difficult to implement in practice. Additionally,
think-tanks have argued that certain specific conditions are to be
studies indicate that the ratings used for decision-making
met for drafting effective performance management programs,
and professional development are different. While ratings for
they also provide a set of decisions significant for designing an
decision-making are lenient and marked in the high end for the
ideal program that can cater to the needs of the organization. In
employees, the rating for the purposes of development is marked
one such decision, they interrogate the purpose of such programs.
with variables, showing the strength of employees along with
For example, a performance management program can deal with
development requirements.
lay-offs, promotion and payment decisions, and employment
development. A brief formula for performance management Education Institutions. An example from a university example
program is: [Daily (operations + problems) = the requirement for will show why it is rather difficult to establish equivalence in
performance improvement program]. development and decision-making within the same performance
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management program. The university administration reviews developed and implemented correctly in management programs,
and evaluates their employees and then it slightly changes then egoistic and individualistic tendencies can be rectified,
its ratings to decide upon the reward decisions. Then, the and the organization can achieve its goal. For example, if
review committee organizes various sessions with individuals— improving an employees’ suggestion program service is to
both faculty members and staff—to discuss stock option grant, be implemented effectively in an organization, it is essential
performance, and pay increases. The review committee also to take employees’ suggestions seriously, reward those who
provides developmental feedback to each employee. provide good suggestions, and implement them in the future.
The communication between organization and employees is
Because during this process stock options are greater in
necessary, and it can only be reflected when both are assigning
number and in the range of percentage increases, the university
importance to each other and listening to one another. Similarly,
administration mostly spends its time in matching performance
collaboration is a valuable asset for an organization. Any
with rewards. As the entire process is time-consuming and many
performance management program should hold individuals
people are engaged in it, the administration largely focuses on
accountable for effective partnerships.
creating a mutual consensus between the two parties, and it tends
to forget about the crucial issue—how employees can develop. Program Guidelines. Effective performance management
programs set behavioral standards and expectations for
Further during such review meetings the employees and
employees—that is, they are easy to understand and conducive to
administration are generally reserved, and they do not provide
a positive work environment for all. Chiefly, they describe what is
honest feedback to each other. Employees have this internal fear
expected of employees in key competency areas. While planning
that their honest feedback may go against them, and consequently
those standards for a program, it is always desirable that the
that might affect their compensation. The administration is too
organization should meet with employees to review and discuss
impatient to provide feedback, and it prefers to engage most of the
these behavioral standards regarding their specific job profiles.
time in decision-making. Even in many progressive universities,
Some behavioral standards may vary from person to person. To
it has been observed that the administration gives more emphasis
include those variations into the programs will make it a success.
to the decision-making process.
The goals and outcomes desired from employees should be tied
Two factors are quite important for administrators and to the strategy and goals of the organization. The programs will
employees: timelines and defined roles. An effective also take into account that the employees’ development must not
performance management program keeps both at hand in its be compromised during the goal-setting process.
well-defined procedure for evaluating purposes. Furthermore,
for educational organizations that employ a performance
Further Insights
management program as their chief criterion for human-resource
decisions and pay hikes, it is crucial to monitor that all staff In certain situations, it is hard to find a direct relationship
and faculty members are evaluated in an equitable and fair between the lofty goals of the organization and what a particular
manner. Various studies based on examination processes of such employee can achieve in his or her work. To fill this gap,
programs indicate slight variations. goals and expectations of the organization are to be addressed
and categorized into sub-goals and expectations at team, unit,
Performance Planning. As soon as the performance
group, and individual levels—that is, to find out the strengths
management period begins, it becomes important for the
and weaknesses of an individual, team, and group. This can only
administration to review with the workforce their performance
happen when the review committee sits down with employees
expectations. This includes two behavioral expectations: what
at a series of meetings where, at the upper-level, administrators
they need to do and what they can achieve during the upcoming
initially set up separate goals that support organizational goals.
rating period. These expectations are important as they indicate
how an individual gets guidelines for the job, supports and The intervening-level administration sets up team goals that
mentors others, and communicates with the review team. support the division goals, which align with unit goals, and so on,
until the organizational goals are supported with the employee’s
As in every organization there are members who are egoistic
goals. This is also supported with the approach of scientific
and work well only while working individually. Moreover, in
management that states any job can be improved by breaking it
a team they are extremely unsupportive, unhelpful, and show
into its constituent parts.
maladaptive behaviors toward their work. On the other hand,
there are some employees who are very cooperative, helpful, and The entire process is difficult and time-consuming. Since there is
efficient but they fail to draw the attention of the organization, no one-to-one match between the nature of individual goals and
and consequently they do not yield any rewards for themselves. the nature of the organization’s goals, equality and democratic
Since such traits have a strong effect on the functioning of an values of an organization can only be maintained when there
organization, behavior becomes an important factor in every is the proper cascading down of each job. Furthermore, for an
work situation. effective performance management program it is important to
maintain and establish a hierarchical order of goals where each
A good performance management program should consider both
scale is aligned with the next scale so that there remains a link
behavioral and result expectations as its objectives. If individual
and relevance between individual levels. Everyone is ultimately
objectives are well tied into organizational objectives, and
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working toward the organization’s priorities and strategies. Some goals, or establish honest feedback. Though without structured
experts suggest that reassembling the work process is more appraisal and employee development, no organization can
important than breaking down a job into its component parts. maximize its growth, yet performance management programs are
often so flawed that managers and employees want to do away
Some management experts place much emphasis on the value of
with them.
developing and linking goals with various scales. The time factor
for organizational goals and results might vary with individual Advocates argue that the processes and tools designed for
employee’s outcomes and goals. Considering that, both goals and performance programs are not poorly developed; rather, it is
results can be established for the short term and long term. Since typically poorly adopted performance management programs that
the individual goals and outcomes remain in continual change, it fail to yield good results. Performance management programs
is necessary that employee’s goals should be realistic and near- are highly subjective and often become a threatening process
term so that they may achieve them and derive positive and for staff and managers. Generally, management does not give
motivating benefits from them. true feedback and mostly avoids one-to-one discussion with
an employee as managers are worried that it might damage
Additionally, timely appraisals and feedback should be given
relationships with the very employee they depend upon for being
to each employee, highlighting where they are now and where
performed.
they need to reach by a designated point in the future. Studies
show that difficult but attainable goals lead to more productive On the other hand, individuals sense that their management
performance results compared with moderately difficult goals. is untrained and unskilled at measuring their performance and
Taking employees into confidence is also important while setting incapable of training them how to utilize their skills. Many
up a goal. Employees will only commit to a goal when they studies show that performance management programs are tedious
feel that they are able to attain it. Therefore, it is essential that and burdened with managerial technicalities that fail to add any
employees take part in the goal-setting process of performance value. Ultimately, employees and managers begin considering
management programs. They should participate actively and with the performance management program as the main culprit
a positive attitude, and it is the duty of administrators to assist spoiling work life and if they are not able to totally eradicate it,
individuals in achieving their goals by giving necessary resources then they will seek to minimize it to the extent that it becomes
and suggestions and by removing blocks to goal attainment. only a part of organization outcomes, rather than an important
process.
Importance of Feedback. Performance management programs
should discuss and provide feedback at each level on an ongoing Evaluating results. Measuring and evaluating results is
basis throughout the progress of the program. Additionally, another critical issue faced by management. Some results,
in exceptional cases or wherever ineffective performance is such as students’ feedback, published academic paper scores,
detected, weekly or biweekly feedback can be equally valuable. engagement in university administration, roles in various
Because of time factor and untrained administration staff, many committees, can be evaluated through employing various
organizations cannot provide regular feedback. Some managers indicators of performance. Though objective markers of
do not know how to provide feedback so that it will not obstruct performance are mostly useful, there are problems with them.
the productivity of the employees. Different individuals get different work opportunities—for
example, one employee has a less onerous teaching workload,
If communication is the life blood of an organization, then
more modern labs to work in, and frequent access to quality
feedback is the back bone of performance management programs.
journals and books in an online and offline library, and therefore
Experienced managers have proposed that it must be a two-
achieves a higher volume of productivity than a colleague in
way process. Proper training of both managers and employees
a school across town that is not able to offer such advantages.
can yield effective feedback. Employees, on their end, are
It is, further, very challenging to arrive at objective measures
required to receive feedback in a positive manner—they
that ensure the accuracy of the points collected and filled in for
should understand how they are performing and how they can
performance evaluation.
perform better. Managers have a duty to provide feedback
in a constructive, straightforward, and regular manner. If a
performance management program teaches how to provide Terms & Concepts
constructive and effective feedback, then there is a good chance
Appraisal: An act of assessing and evaluating employees.
that it will give maximum benefits to the participants.
Feedback: Information and reaction about an individual’s
performance.
Issues
Just-in-Time Management: A management system that focuses
A recent study done by Watson Watt indicated that on
on strategies organizations employ to increase efficiency.
average 30 percent of employees in an organization agreed
that the performance management programs helped improve Knowledge Management: Refers to any kind of information
performance. Commenting on the process of these programs, technology system that stores and retrieves knowledge.
less than 40 percent of workers said their programs employed
technology ineffectively, did not generate explicit performance
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