CHAP 6 HRM

• Performance


  Represents a demonstrative act that is concerned both with the outputs of work and the skills knowledge, competencies and behaviors employed to achieve them
• Task performance


  • Relates to the behaviors, skills and knowledge that relate to the core technical aspects of a given job
• Contextual performance


  • Not directly related to a job role, but reflects those behaviors that maintain the broader organizational, social and psychological environment within which that job is carried out. This includes cooperating with and helping colleagues and exerting discretionary effort
• Performance Management


  • Establishing a culture in which individuals and groups take responsibility for the continuous improvement of business processes and of their own skills, behaviour and contributions
  • Creating shared expectations by which managers can clarify what they expect individuals and teams to do; likewise individuals and teams can communicate their expectations of how they should be managed and what they need to do their jobs
  • Identifying inter-relationships and improving the quality of relationships between managers and individuals, between managers and teams, between members of teams and so on
  • Defining performance expectations expressed as objectives and in business plans
  • Measurement of performance following the dictum that 'If you can't measure it, you can't manage it'. This should apply to all employees, not just managers, and to teams as much as individuals
• Objectives


  • Direct the individual or group to behave in a specific, desirable manner or focus their attention on a specific outcome that clearly links to organizational performance
  • The principal means by which performance can be assessed, ranked and rewarded
  • Help to prevent several of the causes of poor performance by ensuring communication of expectations and providing a stimulus to motivation
  • Contribute to the efficacy of the appraisal process
• Management by objectives


  An initial attempt to systematically align organizational and individual objectives, involve all levels of management and use appraisals as the focus for interventions in managing performance
• MBO


  • Setting of objectives and targets through agreement between managers and employees, monitoring and reviewing performance, development mechanisms to improve performance and constructive feedback on individual performance
• Performance measurement


  • Focused on results or outputs where performance can be quantified and metrics used to determine the achievement of objectives
  • Grading of performance levels where performance cannot be measured in absolute or quantitative terms, particularly useful when assessing the attitudinal, behavioural or competency-based aspects of performance
• Performance Appraisal


  • A critical operational component of Performance Management Systems, increasingly common in firms of all sizes
  • Formal employee interviews, usually carried out by line managers rather than HR professionals
  • Provide a formal opportunity for both parties to review and reflect upon employee progress against agreed objectives and plan for individual performance improvements
  • Provide an opportunity to discuss decisions on merit-based salary increases, training, promotions or necessary remedial action for poor performance
• In the absence of the supporting infrastructure provided by the other components of Performance Management, appraisals are likely to be ineffective or potentially damaging to individual motivation and performance
• Feedback from managers


  • Regular and constructive, avoiding excessive criticism that is likely to diminish motivation
  • Promote individual understanding of the impact of their actions and behavior both on their own performance and on that of other employees by identifying examples of both good and poor practice
  • Ensure that formal appraisals do not become overly focused on problems that have occurred during the immediately preceding period and ensure that performance over the entire process cycle is considered rather than only recent events
• 360-degree appraisal


  • Seeks to provide a more rounded assessment of individual performance by collecting performance 'data' from a number of sources including Peer Appraisal, Upward Appraisal, and Self-Assessment
• Reward and Performance Management


  Attempt to motivate both by appealing to the 'head' (or indeed, 'wallet') and 'heart', that is by emphasizing both financial and non-financial rewards
• Performance-related pay


  • Can be in the form of end-of-period bonuses, incentivised pay for achieving pre-determined targets, competence-related pay, contribution-related pay, merit pay, or commission
• Organizational culture


  The collection of traditions, values, policies, beliefs and attitudes that constitute a pervasive context for everything we do and think in an organization
• Corporate culture


  The espoused values and expectations of the dominant management group
• 2 broad approaches to performance measurement

  Result/output and grading of perfomance