CHAPTER ONE

1.0     Introduction

1.1     Background of the research

Performance management (PM) includes activities which ensure that goals are consistently being met in an effective and efficient manner. Performance management can focus on the performance of an organization, a department, employee, or even the processes to build a product or service, as well as many[quantify] other areas.

PM is also knownas a process by which organizations align their resources, systems and employees to strategic objectives and priorities.

Armstrong and Baron (1998) defined it as a “strategic and integrated approach to increase the effectiveness of companies by improving the performance of the people who work in them and by developing the capabilities of teams and individual contributors.”

Zaffron, Logan, Steve, David (Feb 2009) Said it may be possible to get all employees to reconcile personal goals with organizational goals and increase productivity and profitability of an organization using this process. It can be applied by organizations or a single department or section inside an organization, as well as an individual person. Swiss, James E. (2005) The performance process is appropriately named the self-propelled performance process (SPPP).

David (Feb 2009) in his comment concerning this research area said, First, a commitment analysis must be done where a job mission statement is drawn up for each job. The job mission statement is a job definition in terms of purpose, customers, product and scope. The aim with this analysis is to determine the continuous key objectives and performance standards for each job position.

Following the commitment analysis is the work analysis of a particular job in terms of the reporting structure and job description. If a job description is not available, then a systems analysis can be done to draw up a job description. The aim with this analysis is to determine the continuous critical objectives and performance standards for each job.

Werner Erhard, Michael C. Jensen, and their colleagues have developed a new approach to improving performance in organizations. Their model stresses how the constraints imposed by one’s own worldview can impede cognitive abilities that would otherwise be available. Their work delves into the source of performance, which is not accessible by mere linear cause-and-effect analysis. They assert that the level of performance that people achieve correlates with how work situations occur to them and that language (including what is said and unsaid in conversations) plays a major role in how situations occur to the performer. According to Madden, Bartley J. (September 2014), They assert that substantial gains in performance are more likely to be achieved by management understanding how employees perceive the world and then encouraging and implementing changes that make sense to employees' worldview.

Madden, Bartley J. (September 2014) in his research, has this to contributed. In organizational development (OD), performance can be thought of as Actual Results vs Desired Results. Any discrepancy, where Actual is less than Desired, could constitute the performance improvement zone. Performance management and improvement can be thought of as a cycle:

1.     Performance planning where goals and objectives are established

2.     Performance coaching where a manager intervenes to give feedback and adjust performance

3.     Performance appraisal where individual performance is formally documented and feedback delivered

A performance problem is any gap between Desired Results and Actual Results. Performance improvement is any effort targeted at closing the gap between Actual Results and Desired Results.

Other organizational development definitions are slightly different. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management (OPM) indicates that Performance Management consists of a system or process whereby:

Work is planned and expectations are set

Performance of work is monitored

Staff ability to perform is developed and enhanced

Performance is rated or measured and the ratings summarized

Top performance is rewarded. 

A review from A Handbook for Measuring Employee Performance, by the US Office of Personnel Management (2005)

1.2     Statement of research problem

Performance management being a systematic process by which an agency/corporate involves its employees, as individuals and members of a group, in improving organizational effectiveness in the accomplishment of corporate mission and goals. Many organization ignore, the fact that Performance management enhance corporate performance, because of that they show no regards to it. Due to that the organization fails and remains stagnant. With the little issue discovered by the researcher in many organization, the researcher now took it upon herself to carry out this research work. “Performance management - a veritable tool for corporate performance”.

The following problem has been notified by the researcher in this Institute as a problem it has in performance management

1. That the institution do not have a standing performance management scheme used for staff evaluation.

2.       That this institutions evaluate staffs not based on merit but on sentiment and bribery.

1.3     Objectives of the study

The objectives of this study are to critically examine the veritable of performance management to the corporate performance and highlight the importance of performance management:

a.     The adequacy of the basis and the fundamental that guides its principles.

b.     The degree to which the performance management increase corporate performance on workers.

c.      The working principles of the organization on workers performance management.

d.     The influence that performance management has on organizational performance.

e.      Access the veritable of performance management, weakness, strength and support

f.       Finally, to present suggestions and recommendations to the organization on performance management scheme.

1.4     Significance of the study

This study is a very important one and most significant in any organization to its growth and success, performance management has been a strategic means which many organizations uses to motivate and enhance productivity from the worker. Performance management, its report serves as a “prima facie” evidence on the staff input or work force to the organization as well as his performance and could be relied upon as a certificate, performance management should be done in every business firm. Therefore, this research work will explore on one among the most essential factor to organization growth.

1.5     Research question

In order to determine the impact of performance management to corporate performance of business organizations, it is pertinent to test the following question;

1.     Does the organization have a standing performance management scheme which is used for staff evaluation?

2.     Is this organization performance management based on merit or on sentiment or bribery?

3.     Do the company comply strictly with the regulation for the performance management?

4.     Is there any significance impact on performance management to the organization growth and productivity?

5.     How often do the organization carry out performance management service?

The above questions will be constructed as the questionnaires for this study and will be administered and analyze for a better results and understanding.

1.6     Research Hypothesis

The following null and alternative hypothesis shall be tested in this research works, using 0.5% degree of error to get its significance.

1.     H0: Performance management is not significantly related to corporate performance.

Hi: Performance management is significantly related to corporate performance.

2.     H0: Even at a true and standard performance management services there will be no significance impact to the organizational performance.

Hi: If there is a true and standard performance management services there will be a high organizational performance.

1.7     Limitation of the study

The limitations encountered by the researcher of this work are given as follows:

a.     The confidential nature of organizational information in business posed as a problem to this study.

b.     The researcher was unable to reach all the members of the sample as a result of their frequent travels and busy schedule.

c.      The sample used in the research though representative but it is relatively small compared to the population, as a result of lack of financial with which to carry out the research on a greater sample.

1.8     Definition of terms

Performance management systems, which typically include performance appraisal and employee development, are the “Achilles’ heel” of human resources management. They suffer flaws in many organizations, with employees and managers regularly bemoaning their ineffectiveness. A recent survey by Watson Wyatt showed that only three out of 10 workers agree that their company’s performance management system helps improve performance. Less than 40 percent of employees said their systems established clear performance goals, generated honest feedback or used technology to streamline the process. While these results suggest that there may be poorly designed performance management systems in many organizations, it is typically not poorly developed tools and processes that cause difficulties with performance management. Rather, difficulties arise because, at its core, performance management is a highly personal and often threatening process for both managers and employees.

Management: the act of controlling activities

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