ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Essays

ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR AND PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL Organizations require consistent levels of high performance from their employees in order to survive in a highly competitive environment. Many rms use some form of results-oriented planning and control systems. Management By Objectives (MBO) is a cyclical process that often consists of four steps as a way to attain desired performance: 1. Objective setting - joint determination by manager and employee of appropriate levels of future performance for the employee, within the context of overall unit goals and resources. These objectives are often set for the next calendar year. 2. Action planning -participative or even independent planning by the employee as to how to reach those objectives. Providing some autonomy to employees is invaluable; they are more likely to use their integrity, as well as feel more committed to the plan's success. 3. Periodic reviews - joint assessment of progress toward objectives by manager and employee, performed informally and sometimes spontaneously. 4. Annual evaluation -more formal assessment of success in achieving the employee's annual objectives, coupled with a renewal of the planning cycle. Some MBO systems also use performance appraisal to tie rewards for employees to the level of results attained. Appraisal Philosophy A generation ago, appraisal programs tended to emphasize employee traits, deciencies and abilities, but modern appraisal philosophy emphasizes present performance and future goals. Modern philosophy also stresses employee participation in mutually setting goals with the supervisor and knowledge of results. Thus the hallmarks of modern appraisal philosophy are as follows: 1. Performance Orientation -it is not enough for employees to put forth eort; that eort must result in the attainment of desired outcomes (products or services). 2. Focus on goals or objectives -as the discussion of MBO shows, employees need to have a clear idea of what they are supposed to be doing and the priorities among their tasks; as the saying goes, "If you know where you want to go, you are more likely to get there". 3. Mutual goal setting between supervisor and employee - this is the belief that people will work harder for goals or objectives that they have participated in setting. Among their desires are to perform a worthwhile task, share in group eort, share in setting their objectives, share in the rewards of their eorts, and continue personal growth. The "Theory Y" assumption is that people want to satisfy some of their needs through work and they will do so if management will provide them with a supportive environment. 4. Clarication of behavioral expectations -this is often done via a behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS),which provides the employee and manager with concrete examples of various levels of behaviors. Brief descriptions of outstanding, very good, acceptable, below average, and unacceptable behaviors are specied for each major dimension of a job, thus cueing the employee in advance regarding the organization's expectations. BARS help reduce a manager's tendency to focus on attitudes, personality and quirks of an employee and shift the emphasis toward productive behaviors.5. 5. Extensive feedback systems - employees can ne-tune their performance better if they know how they are doing in the eyes of the organization