discussion week 6
I HAVE ATTACHED TWO SEPARATE DISCUSSIONS PLEASE READ AND REPLY. DO NOT PUT THE DISCUSSION TOGETHER.
DISCUSSION 1
According to bizfluent.com, performance reviews in the workplace can serve various functions in the manager-employee relationship. Performance reviews allow a manager to control employee performance proactively instead of reacting to poor performance or just hoping that above-average work will occur independently. Performance reviews can also relieve stress for employees by communicating what is expected of them.
In my opinion, the most effective performance reviews are the Mulitisource 360-Degree Rating, Goal Setting, and Management by Objective (MBO). The 360 Degree Rating is attractive because it gives the person being evaluated an assessment from the manager, coworkers, customers, subordinates, and a self-perspective. The other performance evaluation, I liked was the goal-setting and the MBO. The goal-setting helps the employee enhance their performance and set positive goals for them to achieve for the next evaluation. The MBO help highlights the performance goals the employee and manager identified together. This approach, in my opinion, helps the communication between the manager and employee. It allows the manager to let the employee know what is expected of them.
In reviewing the other types of a performance evaluation system, the two that I found less useful are the narrative method. Using this type of process requires the manager or supervisor to write an essay describing the employee’s performance over a set period. The issue I have with this style is the words used could get lost in translation. Like anything else in life, some people write well, and others do not. It is possible using this method could cause miscommunication, depending on the career field.
The ranking and comparative system would not be the preferred choice for me to use in my opinion. The ranking appraisal is listing employees from highest to lowest performance. This method, in my eyes, could cause embarrassment. In large companies, employee identification numbers are used at times to help conceal employee’s information, but as time passes, most people figure out who is who. Using the comparative method, I find it challenging to use as well; it is when the evaluator directly compares the performance levels of their employees against one another. I dislike this method for the same reason, I don’t like the ranking method. It could cause animosity in the workplace.
As great as it would be, there is no one method to motivate your employees. Your employees are all very different from one another, so various factors affect their motivation. Some people are motivated by money, others by rewards, some prefer recognition, and others drive themselves to achieve. Supervisors and managers need to utilize several different strategies and techniques to increase their employee’s motivation and productivity. According to the website Leadership and Performance Description.com, the following are three ways leaders use performance strategies to motivate, help grow, and increase productivity:
Building Trust – This is one of the essential aspects of any organization, and it is a two-way street. Employees want to know that their manager is looking out for their best interests, motivating them to succeed.
Reward System – Incentives are a great way to promote motivation. Employers can use many types of lures or reward programs to increase productivity and motivation among staff. Incentives can come in many forms, whether bonuses, paid time off, travel perks, or vouchers.
Recognition – The simple act of letting employees know they are doing a great job and recognizing their efforts can do wonders for their motivation.
Leadership has many definitions. Everyone is a leader, and before you become a leader, one had to follow first. It is to easy to forget where an individual came from when promoting up in their career field. Just remember to treat others as you would like to be treated.
When talking about the strategic performance management program, it is important to align human resources, managers, and employees to foster a culture of personal and professional learning. There are several qualities that organizations should be mindful of while defining their plan. One reliable strategy would be to measure objectives and performance expectations employees should know going into an expected position. New hires should be given individual and company goals at the beginning of their onboarding and continuing throughout their employment. Performance expectations can generally be classified as either results or behaviors/values. Results are the tangible goods, services, or projects completed by an employee, while behaviors are how the employee acts during the process. The result of these performance appraisal types is to ensure that an employee is making a meaningful and positive impact at both the organizational and team level.
References:
Brachmann, S. (2017, September 26). What Is the Whole Purpose of Performance Reviews?. In Biz Fluent. Retrieved from https://bizfluent.com/info-7807199-whole-purpose-performance-reviews.html
Duskey, E. (2020, June 29). Built for Success: Planning a Winning Performance Management Strategy. In Select Software Review. Retrieved from https://www.selectsoftwarereviews.com/blog/performance-management-strategy (Links to an external site.)
Mathis,R ., Jackson,J ., Valentine, S., & Meglich, P . (2017). Human Resource Management (Fifteen ed.). Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.
Motivate and Dominate 5 Motivation Strategies to Increase Productivity (n.d.). In Leadership and Performance Description. Retrieved July 20, 2020, from https://leadershipmanagement.com.au/motivate-and-dominate-5-motivation-strategies-to-increase-product
DISCUSSION 2
The intent of a performance management system is to raise the level of employee performance, specifically by correcting problematic behavior and encouraging positive behavior.
Based on the course readings and additional research, describe at least two aspects of performance evaluation systems that are most effective in your opinion.
In my opinion, the two most effective performance evaluations systems are Employment Rating s of Managers and Multisource or 360-Degree Rating. In respects to Employee Ratings of Managers, The textbook states the advantages of having employees rate their managers as the ability to identify competent (and incompetent) mangers, next this type of rating program will make managers more responsive to employees, and finally, employee appraisals can assist in manager efforts toward their own career development because it will allow managers to identify areas for growth (Talent Development/Performance Management and Appraisal, 2015). I like this process because it deepens the trust and relationships between managers and their staff, when staff feel that they can be heard and affect their relationship for good with their leadership. Also, I feel that gives voice and balance to the employees professional identity in respects to personal impact within the organization. Finally, I feel that it allows for managers to be transparent, accountable and accessible to their staff and to the organization as a whole.
As for Multisource/360-Degree Rating, this form of appraisal requires the incumbent to be evaluated by their manager, coworkers/peers, customers/clients, subordinates, and themselves. In my personal opinion, I believe this is the strongest form of performance evaluation systems and am in agreement with the text that it is a good tool for professional development. I understand that this tool might become messy for use for administrative decisions, but I see much value in how it can reinforce trust and confidence with all stakeholders of the organizations who utilize it.
Describe two performance evaluation systems that are not as effective and explain why.
Two performance evaluation systems that are not as effective, in my opinion, are Supervisory Ratings and Forced Distribution. Supervisory Ratings is where the immediate supervisor rates employee performance. The assumption is that the immediate supervisor would know the employee and their work habits best. According to the textbook, supervisor ratings can be a problem because of rating mistakes and biases (Talent Development/Performance Management and Appraisal, 2015). Mistakes can be made when a supervisor does not understand the expectations of the evaluation/appraisal method and they either rate their staff too high or too low. Also, some supervisors might rate their staff in comparison to one another when the method used is not desiring that type of rating. Biases affect evaluation when a supervisor rates an employees performance in comparison to themselves or other employees they like or dislike. A supervisor might not like one aspect of a certain employee and will rate them low on all aspects, or this supervisor might be friends with the employee and based on their relationship, rate them high on all marks. The textbook also mentioned that a bias can be as simple as a supervisor considering an employee who starts work later in the day as less conscientious or a lower performer than those who begin earlier in the day (Talent Development/Performance Management and Appraisal, 2015).
Forced Distribution also known as forced ranking, or rank and yank is a technique for distributing ratings generated with any of the other appraisal methods and comparing the ratings of people in a work group (Talent Development/Performance Management and Appraisal, 2015). Basically, you would be comparing those people against each other using a bell-shaped curve which is similar to grading on a curve in school settings (Talent Development/Performance Management and Appraisal, 2015). The curve consists of three to five categories or baskets. The baskets being your poorest performers, best performers, and everyone else in the middle in one to three categories. Forced ranking can one of the most effective tools for turning a struggling company around, but according to Steve Bates in his article for SHRM, Experts estimate that it is being used by at least 20 percent of Fortune 1,000 companies and growing, fueled in part by pressures to identify large numbers of people who can be laid off (Bates, 2003). The article further states that those who decide which employees rank high and which rank low often play favorites or make deals that warp the process (Bates, 2003). This evaluation method can completely change the culture of a company. It defaults to a competitive culture where, distrust, apprehension, fear, higher levels of stress and dishonest practices become the norm. Forced ranking structures can increase anxiety in employees, promote conformity, and encourage gaming of the system (Talent Development/Performance Management and Appraisal, 2015). This method also has a strong reputation for the breeding ground for lawsuits among many firms.
Explain three ways that organizational leaders use performance strategies to encourage workplace motivation, growth, and productivity.
According to Bernard Marr, Performance management involves measuring, reporting and managing progress from the individuals who work for a company, right up to the organisation as a whole with the aim of improving performance (Bernard Marr and Co, 2020). Modern technology and the culture of gaming have inspired many companies to incorporate a system of employee motivation and engagement through gamification techniques. John Boitnott, journalist and digital consultant, says that Tasks like completing reports or contributing ideas for projects and policy changes can be gamified to make them more appealing, exciting, or interesting (Boitnott, 2015). The textbook also mentioned using gamification as a tool for the actual performance evaluation process. Many people prefer gamification because it offers instant feedback and things like earning badges and immediate gratification for a stroke to the ego, is always a plus for motivation. Also, some people feel intimidated and frustrated with traditional methods of performance strategies. This offers a person a sense of boldness that they might lack in a face to face meeting. Finally, it doesnt hurt that it is fun for everyone involved.
A second way that organizational leaders use strategies to encourage workplace motivation, growth, and productivity is to set goals and provide feedback that is meaningful to the employee. Rebecca Skilbeck states has them as two separate strategies, but I think they go hand in hand as one strategy. In her Forbes article she discusses the importance of establishing meaningful goals so that employees see their role in the organization, how it matches to the goals of the organization, and how valued their contribution is. She emphasizes how crucial giving specific, targeted, and timely feedback to let your team know that youre paying attention (Skilbeck, 2019).
Third, effectively and efficiently communicating with staff and throughout the organization is so important! Referring back to the article by Boitnott on Inc.com, without an effective system of communication in place, you will have difficulty in achieving goals (Boitnott, 2015). We arent just talking about normal communication, he is referring to communication being intentional so that it is about designing and using communication systems that are appropriate for the needs of a business or company (Boitnott, 2015).
Provide a specific organizational example of a strong performance strategy.
According to Forbes journalist Kris Duggan, Google makes the list of six companies that are redefining performance management. Google has always been fairly nontraditional since its beginnings when it comes to not having formal rankings. Employee goal-setting is Googles ammo, and they are currently using objectives and key results (OKRs). Google managers continue to refine this approach to coach employees toward creating and achieving their goals (Duggan, 2015). Google’s approach is one I might personally be inclined to learn more about.
References
Bates, S. (2003, June 1). Forced Ranking. Retrieved from SHRM.org: https://www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/pages/0603bates.aspx
Bernard Marr and Co. (2020, July 21). What is Performance Management? A Super Simple Explanation for Everyone. Retrieved from Intelligent Business Performance: https://www.bernardmarr.com/default.asp?contentID=770
Boitnott, J. (2015, March 10). 6 Effective Ways to Enhance Workplace Productivity. Retrieved from inc.com: https://www.inc.com/john-boitnott/6-effective-ways-to-enhance-workplace-productivity.html
Duggan, K. (2015, December 15). Six Companies That Are Redefining Performance Management. Retrieved from fastcompany.com: https://www.fastcompany.com/3054547/six-companies-that-are-redefining-performance-management
Skilbeck, R. (2019, February 12). Six Strategies To Maintain Employee Motivation. Retrieved from forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/rebeccaskilbeck/2019/02/12/six-strategies-to-maintain-employee-motivation/#3d7717711d35
Talent Development/Performance Management and Appraisal. (2015). In R. Mathis, J. Jackson, S. Valentine, & P. Meglich, Human Resource Management (pp. 377-394). Boston: Cengage Learning.
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