PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

 Performance management is a process that enables the multinational to evaluate and

continuously improve individual, subsidiary unit and corporate performance, against clearly
defined pre-set goals and targets.

VARIABLES AFFECTING
EXPATRIATE PERFORMANCE
 The compensation package
 The task-the assignment task variables and the role of the expatriate
 Headquarters' support
 The environment in which performance occurs- the subsidiary or foreign facility
 Cultural adjustment – of the individual and the accompanying family members

COMPENSATION PACKAGE
 One of the key factors closely associated with expatriate performance.
 Balancing factor for the emotional relocation.

TASK
 Hays (1974) identifies four expatriate task roles:
 The Chief Executive Officer
 The Structure Reproducer
 The Trouble Shooter
 The Operatives
 Task has considerable impact on employee performance.
 A tougher task tends to evoke better performance than a job which is relatively easy to
handle.
 Performance depends more on the attitude than the task itself.

HEADQUARTERS’ SUPPORT
 Specific support facilities required from the headquarters-
 In managing the practical problems of setting up home in a new culture is essential for
enabling the expatriate to settle down.
 The provision of timely psychological counselling for expatriates encountering problems
of adjustment can contribute to their mental health and performance.
 The families of the expatriates should also be assisted in their efforts to adjust in a new
culture.
 CULTURAL ADJUSTMENT
 Multicultural adjustability refers to being sensitive to the host culture.
 It requires expatriate’s multicultural sensitivity, language ability, diplomacy, positive
attitude, emotional stability and maturity.
 The spouse too needs to acquire the ability to live in the host culture.
PERFORMANCE CRITERIA
 Hard goals: Objective, quantifiable, and that can be directly measured
 Soft goals: Relationship or trait based
 Contextual goals: Attempt to take into consideration factors that results from the situation
WHO ARE THE APPRAISERS?
 Appraisers are immediate manager/leaders at the host and parent locations, team
members and clients.
 Self appraisal is a common practice.
 In most MNCs, appraisal system have a combination of these appraisers, which provides
for a fair and balanced approach to appraisals.
FREQUENCY OF ASSESSMENT
 Once in three months, six months or once in a year.

PROVIDING FEEDBACK
 Feedback refers to the information provided about work behaviour and outcomes.
 Feedback controls the work behaviour of employees by directing actions through through
the provision of necessary feedback for corrective action.

PROBLEMS OF PROVIDING FEEDBACK IN MULTINATIONALS

 Distance
 Different time zones

CULTURAL IMPLICATIONS ON PMS

 Collectivist Society: It is a common work practice to assign group goals and involve
groups in deciding goals. The work style is collaborative and supportive.
 Individualistic Society: It is common to assign goals to individuals, assess individual
performance and reward achievemnet of goals.
REWARDING PERFORMANCE GLOBALLY
 Fairness and Consistency
 Inclusion of the organizational result
 Linkage between performance appraisal and salary increase
 Merit awards
 MANAGING UNDERPERFORMANCE
 Stage 1: Setting expectations and monitoring performance
 Stage 2: Discussing and documenting problem performance
 Stage 3: Establishing and implementing consequences to poor performance
VIRTUAL ASSIGNMENTS
 In order to manage performance effectively in virtual teams- managers/supervisors need
to build a team identity and process, balance technical and social systems within the team and
facilitate the development of long-distance relationship and trust among team memebers.
DIFFICULTIES IN ASSESSMENT
 Balancing HQ and host unit performance
 Attention to external forces
 Vagaries of International Environment
 Significance of time and distance
 Variable level of maturity