BUS303 Week 2 Discussion 2 Performance Management

In the workplace, I have witnessed the illustration that follows performance management:

A particular colleague could not understand why they were being let go from their employment. However, even HR couldn’t explain how exactly poor performance was arrived at since performance review in the organization was just paperwork that no one appeared to pay any attention to, more so the line manager and HR was unable to do much about the neglect of this aspect since it was top-down in the organization. It was also known in the organization that the said employee had once gone off on one of her superiors for what was termed as professional misconduct and failure to comply with the protocol when the line manager wanted confidential information. After a series of letters and HR intervention during this situation was closely followed by a rushed performance review and she found herself on the chopping board. Having lodged her complaint with HR, a review of the performance review process revealed that is was marred with ill intention.

From the above illustration, then the entire organization would require a whole new approach to performance management. For most organizations, their goals and objectives demand an organization to continuously work to improve on their operations. Performance management is a process within the organization that seeks to create an enabling work environment for employees to perform their responsibilities to the best if their abilities. Effective performance management will focus on aligning the workforce, building competencies, improving employee performance as well as driving the organization forward. Having said that, a point to note is that performance management is not a single activity; instead, it is a system comprising of different activities undertaken by managers that enable them to track, monitor and improve employee performance, departmental performance and that of the overall organization.

Modern performance management comprises three sets of interrelated activities; planning, coaching, and performance review. (Chan, 2006) This is an evolution from the traditional system that involved distinct processes of performance appraisal, employee reviews, and evaluations. Under the traditional approach, employee performance and appraisal were approached haphazardly without any relationship to the organizations’ goals, the performance review process itself or even future performance. This resulted in glaring shortcoming in the entire process and eventually damaged the reputation of appraisals. Further, it allowed for great conflicts to arise between employee and report due to the lack of any form of overall consistency in the process. Under performance management, focus is on strategy and the process is cyclic, happening throughout the year and would combine both oral and written components.

Jackson, E. (2012, January 10). Ten Biggest Mistakes Bosses Make In Performance Reviews. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/ericjackson/2012/01/09/ten-reasons-performance-reviews-are-done-terribly/#4c146a3a5ee0

Performance management and human resource development. Retrieved from https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/librarians/management/viewpoints/hrissues_2.htm

Performance Management: Concepts & Definitions. Retrieved from https://hr.berkeley.edu/hr-network/central-guide-managing-hr/managing-hr/managing-successfully/performance-management/concepts