SAILA MAE S.

DE FRANCIA, RMT MPH

Performance appraisal (PA) refers to the methods and processes used by organizations to assess the
level of performance of their employees and to provide them with a feedback. This process can be used
for both developmental and administrative purposes. The research on PA includes examination of the
psychometric aspects of the appraisal tools, the cognitive process and the biases involved, and the social
context. Although PA is an important tool for managing employees, managers, and workers are rarely
satisfied with it. Therefore, clearly defining the purposes of the PA and addressing the employees’
reactions are essential to the success of the PA.

Objectives of Performance Appraisal

Performance Appraisal can be done with following objectives in mind:

1. To maintain records in order to determine compensation packages, wage structure, salaries raises,
etc.

2. To identify the strengths and weaknesses of employees to place right men on right job.

3. To maintain and assess the potential present in a person for further growth and development.

4. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status.

5. To provide a feedback to employees regarding their performance and related status.

6. It serves as a basis for influencing working habits of the employees.

7. To review and retain the promotional and other training programmes.

Advantages of Performance Appraisal

It is said that performance appraisal is an investment for the company which can be justified by following
advantages:

1. Promotion: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to chalk out the promotion programmes
for efficient employees. In this regards, inefficient workers can be dismissed or demoted in case.

2. Compensation: Performance Appraisal helps in chalking out compensation packages for

employees. Merit rating is possible through performance appraisal. Performance Appraisal tries
to give worth to a performance. Compensation packages which includes bonus, high salary rates,
extra benefits, allowances and pre-requisites are dependent on performance appraisal. The criteria
should be merit rather than seniority.

3. Employees Development: The systematic procedure of performance appraisal helps the

supervisors to frame training policies and programmes. It helps to analyse strengths and
weaknesses of employees so that new jobs can be designed for efficient employees. It also helps
in framing future development programmes.

4. Selection Validation: Performance Appraisal helps the supervisors to understand the validity and
importance of the selection procedure. The supervisors come to know the validity and thereby the
strengths and weaknesses of selection procedure. Future changes in selection methods can be
made in this regard.
 SAILA MAE S. DE FRANCIA, RMT MPH

5. Communication: For an organization, effective communication between employees and

employers is very important. Through performance appraisal, communication can be sought for in
the following ways:

a. Through performance appraisal, the employers can understand and accept skills of
subordinates.

b. The subordinates can also understand and create a trust and confidence in superiors.

c. It also helps in maintaining cordial and congenial labour management relationship.

d. It develops the spirit of work and boosts the morale of employees.

All the above factors ensure effective communication.

6. Motivation: Performance appraisal serves as a motivation tool. Through evaluating performance

of employees, a person’s efficiency can be determined if the targets are achieved. This very well
motivates a person for better job and helps him to improve his performance in the future.

Uses of Performance Appraisal

In many organisations, an appraisal system assists in achieving numerous goals. However, in few firms
performance appraisal is used in measuring and improving individual as well as organisational
performance. The most common issue with performance appraisal is that a lot is expected from one form
of performance appraisal system plan. For instance, a plan that is strategically designed to improve and
develop employee skills may not be used in deciding wage increases. Although, if an appraisal plan is
well designed it can be used in accomplishing the set objectives as well as performance.

1. Human Resource Planning: It is important to record data/information of employees in a firm so that it is

easy to identify the potentials of who deserves to be promoted or have any area to improve. Performance
appraisal also helps in revealing if there is insufficient number of workers. An appraisal system should be
designed and planned after considering the strengths and weaknesses of the HRM of the organisation.

2. Recruitment and Selection: Through the process of performance analysis, organisations can determine
the performance potential on an applicant. Studies show that successful employees display specific
behavioral traits while performing tasks. The data processed through performance evaluation help in
setting standards for behavioral interviews. In the process of selection, the employee rating can also be
used as a variable against which test scores are compared.

3. Training and Development: Training and development is crucial for any employee as it acts as way to
communicating what is expected and how. Performance appraisal helps in drawing attention to
these specific needs of training. For example, if an employee’s job involves the skill of creative writing
and by the process of evaluation it reveals that he or she lacks in it or has poor knowledge about it, the
employee will need appropriate training sessions. When managers of a firm lack the capability of
administering disciplinary action, they need the necessary training to deal with this problem. Hence,
identifying deficiencies and obstacles can be overcome by training and development sessions which
develop and improve individual’s skills allowing them to perform better. An appraisal process does not
train and develop individuals but determines the training needed by providing data.

4. Career Planning and Development: Career planning can be described as a never-ending cycle in which
an individual sets profession goals and means to achieve them throughout his or her lifetime.
However, career development is a more formal approach used by organisations. It involves recruiting
suitable qualified and experienced people when required. Performance appraisal can determine an
 SAILA MAE S. DE FRANCIA, RMT MPH

employee’s potential through assessing its weaknesses and strengths. The data is also useful to counsel
junior staff member and assisting in career plans.

5. Compensation Programs: Performance appraisal evaluations help in making decisions dealing with
wage or salary regulations. It is believed that organisations should reward employees with increase in pay
when excellent performance is achieved. In order to increase performance, an organisation should
implement well planned and designed performance appraisal systems and award the efficient workers.
This not only increases performance but also keeps employees motivated to achieve better in future.

6. Internal Employee Relations: Performance appraisal evaluation can provide crucial information used in
making decision about the internal employee relations i.e promotion, demotion, transfers and dismisses
etc. For example, performance appraisal data are also used for decisions in several areas of internal
employee relations, including promotion, demotion, termination, layoff, and transfer. Also, an employee’s
performance in one job may be useful in determining his or her ability to perform another job on the same
level, as is required in the consideration of transfers. When the performance level is unacceptable,
demotion or even termination may be appropriate.

7. Assessment of Employee Potential: Some organizations attempt to assess an employee’s potential as

they appraise his or her job performance. Although past behaviors may be a good predictor of future
behaviors in some jobs, an employee’s past performance may not accurately indicate future performance
in other jobs. The best salesperson in the company may not have what it takes to become a successful
district sales manager, where the tasks are distinctly different. Similarly, the best systems analyst may, if
promoted, be a disaster as an information technology manager. Overemphasizing technical skills and
ignoring other equally important skills is a common error in promoting employees into management jobs.
Recognition of this problem has led some firms to separate the appraisal of performance, which focuses
on past behavior, from the assessment of potential, which is future-oriented.

Common Problems With Performance Appraisals

1. Performance Appraisals Are Annual

Start with the fact that performance appraisals are usually annual. Employees need feedback and goal
planning much more frequently than annually.

Employees need weekly, even daily, performance feedback. This feedback keeps them focused on their
most important goals. It also provides them with developmental coaching to help them increase their
ability to contribute. The feedback also recognizes them for their contributions.

2. Performance Appraisal as a Lecture

Managers, who don't know any better, make performance appraisals into a one-way lecture about how the
employee did well this year and how the employee can improve. In one example, employees reported to
HR that they thought that the performance development planning meeting was supposed to be a
conversation.

3. Performance Appraisal and Employee Development

Performance appraisals rarely focus on developing the employee’s skills and abilities. They do not
provide commitments of time and resources from the organization about how they will encourage
employees to develop their skills in areas of interest to the employee.
SAILA MAE S. DE FRANCIA, RMT MPH

4. Performance Appraisals and Pay

In a fourth way that performance appraisals often go astray, employers connect performance appraisals
with the amount of pay raise an employee will receive. When the appraisal is a deciding factor in
employee raises, it loses its ability to help employees learn and grow.

Criteria for a Successful performance appraisal

Successful performance appraisal systems have a number of common characteristics. The following
discussion focuses on the criteria for a successful performance appraisal system:

1. Clear Objectives: A good performance appraisal should be built around unambiguous objectives. These
objectives should cover all levels and areas of the organization and reflect the needs of each. The
appraisal system should be clear in its purpose.

2. Management and employee endorsement: To be effective, the appraisal system should be supported by
the entire work force. This includes management support for possible expenses such as additional
training, employee meetings, and appraisal forms and other materials, and staff time.

3. Flexibility: An organization must design its system with enough flexibility to adapt to any changes that
might occur.

4. Predictability: the timing of the performance appraisal and any other feedback sessions should be
predictable. For example, some organizations have an annual performance appraisal close to the hiring
anniversary date of the employee. This enables the employee to prepare for the evaluation.

5. Performance dialogue: performance discussions between the rater and the employee are perhaps the
most critical component of a successful performance appraisal system.

6. Appraisal Form: The importance of an appropriate appraisal form should not be overlooked. Many
organizations simply adopt “standard” form that may or may not be tailored to their goals and objectives.

7. Periodic system checks: Systematically evaluating the validity of the performance appraisal system
should be a key feature.

Methods of Training: On-the-job Training Method and Off-the-Job Methods!

Management development is a systematic process of growth and development by which the managers
develop their abilities to manage. It is concerned with not only improving the performance of managers
but also giving them opportunities for growth and development.

1. On-the-job Training (OJT) Methods:

This is the most common method of training in which a trainee is placed on a specific job and taught the
skills and knowledge necessary to perform it.

The advantages of OJT are as follows:

1. On the job method is a flexible method.

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2. It is a less expensive method.

SAILA MAE S. DE FRANCIA, RMT MPH

3. The trainee is highly motivated and encouraged to learn.

4. Much arrangement for the training is not required.

On-the-job training methods are as follows:

1. Job rotation:

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This training method involves movement of trainee from one job to another gain knowledge and
experience from different job assignments. This method helps the trainee understand the problems of
other employees.

2. Coaching:

Under this method, the trainee is placed under a particular supervisor who functions as a coach in training
and provides feedback to the trainee. Sometimes the trainee may not get an opportunity to express his
ideas.

3. Job instructions:

Also known as step-by-step training in which the trainer explains the way of doing the jobs to the trainee
and in case of mistakes, corrects the trainee.

4. Committee assignments:

A group of trainees are asked to solve a given organizational problem by discussing the problem. This
helps to improve team work.

5. Internship training:

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Under this method, instructions through theoretical and practical aspects are provided to the trainees.
Usually, students from the engineering and commerce colleges receive this type of training for a small
stipend.

2. Off-the-job Methods:

On the job training methods have their own limitations, and in order to have the overall development of
employee’s off-the-job training can also be imparted. The methods of training which are adopted for the
development of employees away from the field of the job are known as off-the-job methods.

The following are some of the off-the-job techniques:

1. Case study method:

Usually case study deals with any problem confronted by a business which can be solved by an employee.
The trainee is given an opportunity to analyse the case and come out with all possible solutions. This
method can enhance analytic and critical thinking of an employee.

2. Incident method:

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SAILA MAE S. DE FRANCIA, RMT MPH

Incidents are prepared on the basis of actual situations which happened in different organizations and
each employee in the training group is asked to make decisions as if it is a real-life situation. Later on, the
entire group discusses the incident and takes decisions related to the incident on the basis of individual
and group decisions.

3. Role play:

In this case also a problem situation is simulated asking the employee to assume the role of a particular
person in the situation. The participant interacts with other participants assuming different roles. The
whole play will be recorded and trainee gets an opportunity to examine their own performance.

4. In-basket method:

The employees are given information about an imaginary company, its activities and products, HR
employed and all data related to the firm. The trainee (employee under training) has to make notes,
delegate tasks and prepare schedules within a specified time. This can develop situational judgments and
quick decision making skills of employees.

5. Business games:

According to this method the trainees are divided into groups and each group has to discuss about various
activities and functions of an imaginary organization. They will discuss and decide about various subjects
like production, promotion, pricing etc. This gives result in co-operative decision making process.

6. Grid training:

It is a continuous and phased programme lasting for six years. It includes phases of planning
development, implementation and evaluation. The grid takes into consideration parameters like concern
for people and concern for people.

7. Lectures:

This will be a suitable method when the numbers of trainees are quite large. Lectures can be very much
helpful in explaining the concepts and principles very clearly, and face to face interaction is very much
possible.

8. Simulation:

Under this method an imaginary situation is created and trainees are asked to act on it. For e.g., assuming
the role of a marketing manager solving the marketing problems or creating a new strategy etc.

9. Management education:

At present universities and management institutes gives great emphasis on management education. For
e.g., Mumbai University has started bachelors and postgraduate degree in Management. Many
management Institutes provide not only degrees but also hands on experience having collaboration with
business concerns.

10. Conferences:

A meeting of several people to discuss any subject is called conference. Each participant contributes by
analyzing and discussing various issues related to the topic. Everyone can express their own view point.
SAILA MAE S. DE FRANCIA, RMT MPH

What is Change Management?

Change management is the discipline that guides how we prepare, equip and support individuals to
successfully adopt change in order to drive organizational success and outcomes.

5 Types of Organizational Change

1.Organization-Wide Change

Organization-wide change is a large-scale transformation that affects the overall structure of the company.
This typically tends to entail resizing of any form, restructuring or collaboration — basically, a step
towards changing the nature of the company.

2.Transformational Change

It is important for companies to constantly examine the organization’s underlying strategies. A company
must be in touch with the environment around them. This includes knowing cultural trends, understanding
the social climate and generally be clued up on technological advances.

3.Personnel Change

Personnel change is when a company undergoes mass hiring or layoffs. This necessitates a shift in
company culture and processes.

When a company rapidly expands by hiring en masse, the organization will have to absorb the initial
shock of onboarding new employees as it also fits each employee into their new role, where each new role
may yet to be defined. This transition, if not managed well, can cause chaos and inefficiency.

4.Unplanned Change

Amidst the endless data analysis and planned strategies, an organization can undergo a number of
unplanned changes, sometimes even more drastic than planned ones. Changes like these may be
introduced in an unplanned manner in response to a change in the demographic composition of an
organization- i.e.: Lack of diversity or social equality. These changes are typically internal unplanned
changes.

5.Remedial Change

Remedial changes are brought about when responding to a general sense of deficiency or poor company
performance. Performance levels tend to drop when suffering from financial distress.

These remedial changes or corrective actions are thus made with the intention of increasing functionality
and reviewing certain strategies that may have previously been considered as profitable, but now, only
seem to be detrimental to the organizational structure.

Below you will find 8 essential steps to ensure your change initiative is successful.
1. Identify What Will Be Improved

Since most change occurs to improve a process, a product, or an outcome, it is critical to identify the
focus and to clarify goals. This also involves identifying the resources and individuals that will facilitate
the process and lead the endeavor. Most change systems acknowledge that knowing what to improve
SAILA MAE S. DE FRANCIA, RMT MPH

creates a solid foundation for clarity, ease, and successful implementation.

2. Present a Solid Business Case to Stakeholders

There are several layers of stakeholders that include upper management who both direct and finance the
endeavor, champions of the process, and those who are directly charged with instituting the new normal.
All have different expectations and experiences and there must be a high level of "buy-in" from across the
spectrum. The process of onboarding the different constituents varies with each change framework, but all
provide plans that call for the time, patience, and communication.

3 .Plan for the Change

This is the "roadmap" that identifies the beginning, the route to be taken, and the destination. You will
also integrate resources to be leveraged, the scope or objective, and costs into the plan. A critical element
of planning is providing a multi-step process rather than sudden, unplanned "sweeping" changes. This
involves outlining the project with clear steps with measurable targets, incentives, measurements, and
analysis. For example, a well-planed and controlled change management process for IT services will
dramatically reduce the impact of IT infrastructure changes on the business. There is also a universal
caution to practice patience throughout this process and avoid shortcuts.

4. Provide Resources and Use Data for Evaluation

As part of the planning process, resource identification and funding are crucial elements. These can
include infrastructure, equipment, and software systems. Also consider the tools needed for re-education,
retraining, and rethinking priorities and practices. Many models identify data gathering and analysis as an
underutilized element. The clarity of clear reporting on progress allows for better communication, proper
and timely distribution of incentives, and measuring successes and milestones.

5. Communication

This is the "golden thread" that runs through the entire practice of change management. Identifying,
planning, onboarding, and executing a good change management plan is dependent on good
communication. There are psychological and sociological realities inherent in group cultures. Those
already involved have established skill sets, knowledge, and experiences. But they also have pecking
orders, territory, and corporate customs that need to be addressed. Providing clear and open lines of
communication throughout the process is a critical element in all change modalities. The methods
advocate transparency and two-way communication structures that provide avenues to vent frustrations,
applaud what is working, and seamlessly change what doesn't work.

6. Monitor and Manage Resistance, Dependencies, and Budgeting Risks

Resistance is a very normal part of change management, but it can threaten the success of a project. Most
resistance occurs due to a fear of the unknown. It also occurs because there is a fair amount of risk
associated with change – the risk of impacting dependencies, return on investment risks, and risks
associated with allocating budget to something new. Anticipating and preparing for resistance by arming
leadership with tools to manage it will aid in a smooth change lifecycle.

7. Celebrate Success

Recognizing milestone achievements is an essential part of any project. When managing a change through
its lifecycle, it’s important to recognize the success of teams and individuals involved. This will help in
the adoption of both your change management process as well as adoption of the change itself.
SAILA MAE S. DE FRANCIA, RMT MPH

8. Review, Revise and Continuously Improve

As much as change is difficult and even painful, it is also an ongoing process. Even change management
strategies are commonly adjusted throughout a project. Like communication, this should be woven
through all steps to identify and remove roadblocks. And, like the need for resources and data, this
process is only as good as the commitment to measurement and analysis.

Organizational development is an ongoing process of implementing effective change in how

an organization operates. It is known as both a field of scientific study and inquiry and a field of science
that focuses on understanding and managing the systematic changes of organizations.

There are seven characteristics of O.D.:

1. Humanistic Values: Positive beliefs about the potential of employees (McGregor's Theory Y).

2. Systems Orientation: All parts of the organization, to include structure, technology and people,
must work together.

3. Experiential Learning: The learners' experiences in the training environment should be the kind of
human problems they encounter at work. The training should NOT be all theory and lecture.

4. Problem Solving: Problems are identified, data is gathered, corrective action is taken, progress is
assessed and adjustments in the problem solving process are made as needed. This process is known as
Action Research.

5. Contingency Orientation: Actions are selected and adapted to fit the need.

6. Change Agent: Stimulate, facilitate and coordinate change.

7. Levels of Interventions: Problems can occur at one or more level in the organization so the strategy
will require one or more interventions.