Present performance appraisal system of the company
Discuss about the Managerial Competencies and Managerial Performance.
In this highly dynamic as well as competitive market, conducting performance appraisal is highly significant because it creates a good and efficient set of employees. It is seen that employees get satisfaction in different things; some employees are getting satisfaction by knowing their importance or capability in the company for which they work, whereas some employees are getting pleasure by taking extensive facilities from their organisation. Therefore, understanding the need of any employee is highly important to make them satisfied (Crane & Crane, 2010). Performance appraisal process of any organisation helps the management to understand the motivational factors. It also helps management to assess the current performance level of employees which in turns assist them to evaluate remuneration and incentive strategy for the company. This particular assignment is intended to demonstrate the human resource management of Woolworths, which is one of the largest Australian grocery and the supermarket chain
As stated by Murphy & Cleveland (2011), performance evaluation method of any business is essential for the development of professional and performance management of the employees. For assessing the performance of the employees, Woolworths follow an efficient and sustainable approach (360 degree performance appraisal, graphic rating scales etcetera) because sustainability is one of the seven values of Woolworths. Wayne & Kacmar (2013) stated that the performance appraisal methods are not same for every employee. There is different performance appraisal approach for various types of employee in Woolworths. It is seen that they have applied different performance evaluation method for those who is in a permanent position and for those who are in the probation period. Woolworths follow different modern performance assessment process in their company for the evaluation of the performance of employees. For the permanent employee they follow the 360 degree performance appraisal method and for employees who are in probation period, they follow graphic rating scale process.
The performance management system of the Woolworths helps them to take behaviour as well as values into the account as the part of performance appraisal process of the employees. The performance evaluation process for the permanent employee mainly includes three different stages (DeNisi, Cafferty & Meglino, 2013). In phase 1, the HR department of Woolworths does an adequate planning for taking the performance appraisals for employees. However, before planning they create the file for each of the permanent employees, which must include the accomplishments, improvement area and the regular feedback throughout the current year. The performance appraisal method of the Woolworths mainly started with the planning of employee and ends with the evaluation of employees (Sinclair & Zairi, 2011). In the organisation, the employee’s and the managers conduct a general meeting to discuss the appraisal system on a quarterly basis that is considered as the most collaborative assessment method in the Woolworths. This collaboration among the employees and employers creates the best place to work. In the performance planning phase, they discuss several things with their employees such as the duties associated with the job, overall rating process to meet the expectation for employees, importance of the significant performance categories etcetera (Decotiis & Petit, 2015).
Strengths and weaknesses of appraisal system
Therefore, the first step is associated with the setting of performance objective. The performance goal of Woolworths is generating outstanding performance from the permanent employee. The second phase of the performance appraisal method of the Woolworths is the performance monitoring and the coaching. For monitoring the performance of employees, they utilise the 360-degree performance appraisal tool. By utilising that performance appraisal method, the company evaluate the present performance and according to that, they set the strategy so expected and pre-determined future performances can be achieved. As stated by Wayne & Kacmar (2013), 360-degree performance appraisal tool mainly takes feedback from those who are regularly communicated to the candidate or affected by the action of a candidate. By following the 360-degree feedback method, Woolworths getting valid data regarding their middle and higher level staff. For collecting the feedback regarding the employee, Woolworths consider the customers, direct supervisor or managers, self-assessment tests or managers. The last step of the performance appraisal method ends with the rating process. By this evaluation process, the management of the organisation provides a rating to the employees based on their performances in the Woolworths (Woolworths Limited – Service. 2016). After that, Woolworths make a conference with the employee to make them understand all of their weaknesses so they can minimise them.
To increase the human resource base in the company, they hire those employees who have practical skills regarding customer service. After hiring those employees, the company provides them with effective training, and after that, they hire employees based on employee capabilities (Ilgen, Barnes-Farrell & McKellin, 2010). Therefore, Woolworths follow an efficient and strict performance appraisal method for their new hires. For assessment of the capabilities of a new employee, the trainer or the management of Woolworths creates a file for each of trainee based on their ability so they can assign them proper jobs (Neely, Adams& Crowe, 2013). Woolworths creates the file based on the rating scale performance appraisal method, which is one of the alternative performance evaluation methods. By applying this methodology, the management of Woolworths develops an efficient grading system, which is utilised to evaluate the success of employees in different areas like setting technical skills, communication expertise and the teamwork related skills (Make your performance appraisal matter | Woolworths.co.za. 2016). Woolworths mainly assess the customer serving skills of those trainees. After evaluating the performance of trainee they compare this performance with the pre-determined standards, after making this comparison if management of Woolworths have observed that any trainee achieve the standard then they retain them in their company (Abraham et al. 2011). On the other hand, if they have observed that some trainees are not capable of achieving the standard then they reject them. Therefore, based on the performance appraisal method Woolworths sends a confirmation mail to the trainee. As stated by Lee (2012), this performance assessment method is often observed as the democratic method of measuring the performance of the different individual.
Recommendation for improvement
There are several reasons for applying two different performance evaluation methods for different employees. Woolworths mainly select the performance appraisal process based on the strength and weaknesses of the performance assessment process (Wiese & Buckley, 2015). Strength and weaknesses for 360-degree feedback are as follows:
- 360-degree feedback process mainly collects information from different types of perspectives, and the assessor does not rely upon a single source like the traditional method of the performance appraisal. Therefore, it increases the reliability of the performance appraisal.
- Any organisation can get the optimum level of profit if the follow a customer centred approach. The 360-degree approach is one of the customer focused approach by which Woolworths collect the feedback regarding their permanent employees (Taylor et al.2012). This performance appraisal method can help them to implement more efficient and suitable customer service strategy by which they can satisfy the needs of customers.
- 360-degree performance appraisal process can help the Woolworths to understand the perception of different employees regarding the attitude or behaviours of another employee (Van der Heijden & Nijhof, 2014). Therefore, this performance appraisal method can assist the management of Woolworths to understand the exact behaviour of their employees.
- Woolworths implements this performance appraisal method because it helps them to understand the broader perspectives regarding their permanent employee (Findley, Giles & Mossholder, 2010). Moreover, it helps their employee to understand the perception of another employee regarding them. Therefore, this enhancing teamwork in their organisation that is very necessary for the big retail organisation like them.
- For taking performance appraisal systems of managers, Woolworths also involves the feedback of the subordinate employee that helps the company to achieve an effective level of the collaborative environment in the enterprise premises. The main reason behind this is a creation of the effective level of communication among employees (Smith, 2013). Receiving feedback from their immediate subordinates force the managers to maintain an effective relationship and communication with them, this in turns generates a sufficient level of productivity in Woolworths.
- The feedback that is received from different employees helps the company to get a more practical as well as the rounded view regarding the performance of staffs.
- The 360-degree performance appraisal method can help the Woolworths to increase the awareness and competencies of staffs.
Along with the high level of strength, this performance appraisal method also has some weaknesses. The weakness of the performance appraisal method of the Woolworths for their permanent employees is as follows:
- There is a high level of possibility that the low-level employee of Woolworths may not provide honest feedback regarding their boss. The primary cause is the low-level employee think that this may destroy their relationship with their boss and as a result, they can face a higher level of problem in a company because from their increment to promotion everything is dependent upon their leader (Feldman, 2015).
- There is a high level of possibility that Woolworths may not take the proper action after receiving the feedback from their low level as well as high level of employees if they see that for this reason, they may lose their experienced employees (Waldman, Atwater & Antonioni, 2014).
- There are high levels of chances that the result of this performance appraisal system can be partial because the higher level of staff in Woolworths would provide good feedback regarding those employees with whom they have an effective relationship (Dipboye & De Pontbriand, 2013). On the other hand, there are chances that they will not provide good feedback regarding those employees with whom they do not have any active relationship. Therefore, there is huge possibility that corruption can be generated.
Another performance appraisal process that Woolworths utilises is the graphic rating scale by which they rate their employee based on their performance levels that are in the probation period (Johnson, Penning?Rowsell & Tapsell, 2011). This performance appraisal method has following advantages and disadvantages:
- For hiring any employee in the organisation comparison based on different criteria is highly needed. Graphic rating scale provides a comparison criterion to the organisation so they can compare the expertise of their probationary employees based on pre-determined criteria and hire them in main work of the company (Murphy & Cleveland, 2014).
- Woolworths utilises this performance appraisal criterion because it is very much user-friendly and understandable so the trainer itself can conduct this. Therefore, they do not have to involve a more skilled person in this performance appraisal method (Cederblom, 2014).
- Another reason behind involving this performance appraisal method is it is less time-consuming method (Babakus, Yavas & Ashill, 2012). Along with that it also helps the company to conduct the quantitative comparison.
There are several weaknesses of this performance appraisal method that are as follows:
- The main weakness of graphic rating scale is it is very hard to conduct this performance appraisal method for a huge number of people. For example, if Woolworths wants to evaluate the performance of 12 numbers of employees then they have to set 12 different rating scales. It is seen that with the great training method, some evaluator showed high level of strictness this creates this performance appraisal method unnecessary complex in nature (Fisher, 2013).
- In this performance appraisal method, the employees are unable to get the feedback from their evaluator so there are negligible possibilities that they could get the chances for the improvements (Mayer & Davis, 2013). Therefore, this rating scale may create a problem by generating the obstruction regarding the give and take policy in the company.
- This performance appraisal method does not evaluate the middle level of employees who have a middle level of expertise because this kind of performance evaluation mainly evaluates either the highly capable employee or poor performer (Levy& Sharma, 2014). Therefore, by following this performance appraisal method Woolworths can hire only a fewer number of staff.
- By applying this kind of performance appraisal process in Woolworths, they may face difficulties regarding the proximity problem. This is because there is a high level of possibility that the trainer may overweight the most present performance of employees to judge their performance (Dorfman, Stephan & Loveland, 2012). Therefore, if any probationary employee does not show any effective present performance but highly capable in nature, then they may get a lower level of grade.
- In this performance appraisal method, the evaluator set the label in the graphic rating scale so there is a high level of possibility that someone may wrongly understand the performance level of employees (Briscoe& Claus, 2012). Suppose any evaluator label the high performance by C+, a middle-level performance by C and low-level performance by C-. Therefore, if the management does not effectively define by the labelling criteria, then they may perceive the C grade as the lowest grade.
Two kind of performance appraisal method requires two different types of improvements because they are different in nature. For the achievement of highly competent and excellent employees, the following enhancements need to be implemented.
The 360-degree performance appraisal method can be improved in the following ways:
- During the 360-degree performance appraisal method, the lower level employees of Woolworths do not provide the actual feedback to the management, therefore in most of the time, the performance evaluation process become less effective. To reduce the problem, it is necessary for management of Woolworths to encourage their low-level employee to provide the exact feedback. Along with that, it is also mandatory that the management should not provide the entire power to the manager regarding the promotion of lower level employees.
- For resolving the problem regarding the non-active movement of Woolworths after performance appraisal process, it is important for the management to take effective succession planning so they can immediately feel the gap if they can perceive that the performance or attitude of any managerial staff is not good.
The graphic scale rating performance appraisal method can be improved in the following ways:
- Reducing confusion always creates a better result, so that it is imperative for the organisation to reduce the uncertainty regarding the pre-determined criteria. For reducing the confusion regarding the performance appraisal, it is important to conduct a meeting with the management to define the criteria.
- To judge the capability of employees with fairness, it is mandatory for the Woolworths that they must not provide overweight to the present evidence regarding any employee. The trainer in Woolworths should judge the capability of employees based on different criteria, and they should judge it on a regular basis. It is mandatory to provide equal chances to every candidate to show their performance so that they can facilitate a fair practice in the organisation.
- After evaluation of the expertise of the employees, it is mandatory for the trainer of Woolworths for providing the feedback on the performance of candidates so they can get the chances to develop their career.
- There are not any criteria to evaluate the middle-level fulfilment in the graphic rating scale so the trainer in the Woolworths cannot evaluate the candidate who has middle level of expertise. Therefore, the problem can be resolved by setting the performance criteria in that way so that it can identify middle to a high level of expertise. This process will help the organisation to absorb number of new employees.
Conclusion:
By discussing the above section, it can be concluded that to increase the capability of employees or to assess the exact performance of employees, performance appraisal process is highly imperative. However, every performance appraisal process has some weaknesses. In this context, it is necessary for any organisation to avoid those weaknesses to achieve an effective and suitable performance appraisal process. It can be said from the above discussion that one performance appraisal process is not appropriate in every situation. So it is also important to select the most effective performance appraisal process. It is seen that for assessing the employee’s capability with effectiveness, Woolworths have selected the 360 degree performance appraisal and graphic rating scale appraisal.
Reference list:
Abraham, S. E., Karns, L. A., Shaw, K., & Mena, M. A. (2011). Managerial competencies and the managerial performance appraisal process. Journal of Management Development, 20(10), 842-852.
Babakus, E., Yavas, U., &Ashill, N. J. (2012). The role of customer orientation as a moderator of the job demand–burnout–performance relationship: A surface-level trait perspective. Journal of Retailing, 85(4), 480-492.
Briscoe, D. R., & Claus, L. M. (2012). Employee performance management: policies and practices in multinational enterprises. Performance management systems: A global perspective, 14-52
Cederblom, D. (2014). The performance appraisal interview, A review, implications, and suggestions. Academy of Management Review, 7(2), 219-227.
Crane, J. S., & Crane, N. K. (2010). A multi-level performance appraisal tool: Transition from the traditional to a CQI approach. Health care management review, 25(2), 64-73.
Decotiis, T., & Petit, A. (2015). The performance appraisal process, A model as well as some testable propositions. Academy of management review, 3(3), 635-646.
DeNisi, A. S., Cafferty, T. P., & Meglino, B. M. (2013). A cognitive view of the performance appraisal process: A model and research propositions. Organizational behavior and human performance, 33(3), 360-396.
Dipboye, R. L., & De Pontbriand, R. (2013).Correlates of employee reactions to performance appraisals and appraisal systems. Journal of Applied psychology, 66(2), 248.
Dorfman, P. W., Stephan, W. G., & Loveland, J. (2012). Performance appraisal behaviors: Supervisor perceptions and subordinate reactions. Personnel Psychology, 39(3), 579-597.
Feldman, J. M. (2015). Beyond attribution theory, Cognitive processes regarding the performance appraisal. Journal of Applied psychology, 66(2), 127.
Findley, H. M., Giles, W. F., & Mossholder, K. W. (2010). Performance appraisal process and system facets: Relationships with contextual performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 85(4), 634.
Fisher, C. M. (2013). The differences between appraisal schemes: variation and acceptability-Part I. Personnel Review, 23(8), 33-48.
Ilgen, D. R., Barnes-Farrell, J. L., & McKellin, D. B. (2010). Performance appraisal process research in the 1980s: what has it contributed to appraisals in use?. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 54(3), 321-368.
Inderrieden, E. J., Keaveny, T. J., & Allen, R. E. (2015).Prediction regarding the employee satisfaction with the performance appraisal process. Journal of Business and Psychology, 2(4), 306-310.
Johnson, C., Penning?Rowsell, E., &Tapsell, S. (2011). Aspiration and reality: flood policy, economic damages and the appraisal process. Area, 39(2), 214-223.
Lee, C. (2012). Increament in the performance appraisal effectiveness: Matching task types, appraisal process, and rater training. Academy of management review, 10(2), 322-331.
Levy, M., & Sharma, A. (2014). Relationships among measures of retail salesperson performance. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 21(3), 231-238.
Make your performance appraisal matter | Woolworths.co.za. (2016). Woolworths.co.za. Retrieved 26 December 2016, from https://www.woolworths.co.za/store/fragments/article/article-index.jsp?contentId=cmp202030
Mayer, R. C., & Davis, J. H. (2013). The effect of the performance appraisal system based on trust for management: A field quasi-experiment. Journal of applied psychology, 84(1), 123.
Murphy, K. R., & Cleveland, J. (2014). Understand the performance appraisal: Social, organizational, and goal-based perspectives. Sage.
Murphy, K. R., & Cleveland, J. N. (2011). Performance appraisal: An organizational perspective. Allyn & Bacon.
Neely, A., Adams, C., & Crowe, P. (2013).The performance prism in practice. Measuring business excellence, 5(2), 6-13.
Sinclair, D., &Zairi, M. (2011). An empirical study of key elements of total quality-based performance measurement systems: A case study approach in the service industry sector. Total Quality Management, 12(4), 535-550.
Smith, D. E. (2013). Training programs for performance appraisal: A review. Academy of Management Review, 11(1), 22-40.
Taylor, M. S., Tracy, K. B., Renard, M. K., Harrison, J. K., & Carroll, S. J. (2012). Due process in performance appraisal: A quasi-experiment in procedural justice. Administrative science quarterly, 495-523.
Van der Heijden, B. I., &Nijhof, A. H. (2014). The value of subjectivity: problems and prospects for 360-degree appraisal systems. The International Journal of Human Resource Management, 15(3), 493-511.
Waldman, D. A., Atwater, L. E., & Antonioni, D. (2014). Has 360 degree feedback gone amok?. The Academy of Management Executive, 12(2), 86-94.
Wayne, S. J., & Kacmar, K. M. (2013).The effects of impression management on the performance appraisal process. Organizational behavior and human decision processes, 48(1), 70-88.
Wiese, D. S., & Buckley, M. R. (2015).The evolution of the performance appraisal process. Journal of management History, 4(3), 233-249.
Woolworths Limited – Service. (2016). Glassdoor. Retrieved 26 December 2016, from https://www.glassdoor.com.au/Reviews/Employee-Review-Woolworths-Limited-RVW7937739.htm
Order an Essay Now & Get These Features For Free:
Turnitin Report
Formatting
Title Page
Citation
Outline
