Continuous improvement through employee potential and Total Quality Management
Discuss about the Application Performance Management Sector.
Performance management is considered as one of the most effective ways for understanding the potential of the employees (Van Dooren, Bouckaert and Halligan 2015). Continuous improvement can be managed by improving the potential of the employees and by ensuring that initiatives such as Total Quality Management are adopted. Performance management is a continuous process that is adopted to monitor, develop and identify the talents of the employees. The performance of the individuals and the teams are analysed so that effective development of the people takes place and at the same time, organisations can benefit from the result of the performance management.
According to Buckingham and Goodall (2015), one of the important criteria of performance management is the fact that it is aligned with the strategic goals of an organisation. For example, if an organisation aims to improve its business in the national level it is necessary that the capabilities of the employees be developed so that competitive threat can be mitigated. One of the important aspects that need to be kept in mind is the fact that performance management cannot be confused with performance appraisal. This is mainly because performance appraisal is mainly driven by the HR and assesses the conditions of the employees once a year (Ljungholm 2015). Whereas performance management ongoing feedback process that is conducted by the line manager and takes into account continuous business considerations.
Contributions of performance management can include the performance of the employees, managers and organisational function. As stated by Ahmed et al. (2016) the performance of the employees are evaluated based on the job undertaken and the success criteria. It helps in increasing the motivation of the employees to perform, increase self-esteem and enhance the self-development methods. In the case of the managers, the duty is to communicate the views of the supervisor more clearly and gain insight about the subordinates. This can help employees to be more competent in the organisations. At the same time, the organisational goals are clarified and facilitated so that protection from the lawsuits can be maintained.
Shields et al. (2015) stated that performance management might have certain limitations that may affect the organisations in a negative manner. The limitations can affect the employees, managers as well as the organisation in general. An improper performance management process may lower the self-esteem of the employees. This in turn can lead to organisational problems such as employee burnout. At the same time, employees may be dissatisfied with the type of job that is undertaken by them and as a result, it may cause relationships to damage in the organisation. The decreased motivation of the employees can be of negative consequence to the managers as well as the organisation as the performance of the companies can depreciate. The time and money invested in the performance management process are wasted and the risk of litigation increases.
Difference between performance management and performance appraisal
The purposes of performance management system include strategic, administrative, informational and developmental roles of an organisation. As observed by Arnaboldi, Lapsley and Steccolini (2015) the strategic factors of an organisation include the human resource planning and organising of resources so that effective management can be maintained within an organisation. Maintaining the organisational performance is needed for the effective management of resources so that development of proper process can be maintained within an organisation. At the same time the administrative and informational process of the organisations, need to be taken into consideration so that the performance management system can be conducted in a smooth manner (Van Dooren and Van de Walle 2016). Therefore, the application of the performance management system that is applicable in a company located in the Netherlands can be taken into consideration.
Elsevier provides information and analysis based on scientific, technical and medical information. The company was established in 1880 and is the world’s greatest publishing house (Elsevier.com 2018). The company has published important journals like The Lancet and Cell along with entire academic research lifecycle that provide important pieces of evidence in the world. Elsevier publishes more than 430,000 articles every year along with 2500 journals and earns average revenue of £2 billion (Elsevier.com 2018). The performance management system undertaken in the company is analysed so that proper application about the system can be understood.
As observed by Gerrish (2016) performance management helps in understanding the capabilities of every employee and the manner in which it can help in understanding the talents of every employee. In the case of Elsevier, the performance management system can be linked with the goals of the organisation so that individual goals can be aligned with the interest of the organisation. The performance of the employees is judged by the quality and quantity of journals published and the research work undertaken to obtain the information. At the same time, crucial business initiatives are communicated with the employees so that proper innovation in conducting research can take place.
DeNisi and Smith (2014) are of the opinion that performance management need to lead to various other important segments in an organisation. For example, internal affairs within an organisation such as adjustment of salary, promotion, retention of employees are done with the help from the results of the performance management. In Elsevier, the company tries to implement the process so that every employee can be assessed and capabilities regarding on the job training can be provided to the employees. Therefore, it is necessary that the internal procedure of the organisation be taken into consideration so that the individual performance and layoffs are made analysed in a proper manner. At the same time, the managers of Elsevier believe that it is necessary to maintain proper communication with each of the employee so that effective planning of the human resource management can take place.
Contributions and limitations of performance management
The expectations from the employees rest on the aims and objectives of the company. One of the important aspects that need to be considered by the managers is that they cannot remain biased to any of the employees. Hence, as stated by Budworth, Latham and Manroop (2015) a process is followed by Elsevier so that the performance management system is conducted in an unbiased manner. The process includes identifying the pre-requisites so that the performance planning of the organisation can improve. The performance execution and the performance assessment of the company are reviewed so that the capabilities of the employees can be determined (Reiche et al. 2016). The final step includes the performance renewal and re-contract of the employees so that they can remain loyal to the organisation.
Therefore, the implementation of techniques such Total Quality Management can help in the continuous development of Elsevier as well as ensure that the performance management of the organisation are maintained properly. Processes like Total Quality Management help in improving the quality of work and ensures that organisations perform effectively in the competitive market (Khamooshi and Golafshani 2014). At the same time continuous improvement of the services and the manner in which the employees can be motivated to continue to work need to be accepted in the organisation. Therefore, it can be said that for Elsevier to succeed it is necessary that the company make certain changes in the way it conducts its business.
Conclusion
It can be recommended that for Elsevier to succeed in the competitive market, it is necessary that the company conduct an unbiased performance management system. This can help the company to maintain its reputation in the business and ensure that the Elsevier continue to provide the best services in the market. The motivation of the employees can be done based on the performance management system so that the company provides continuous improvement of services and products. The Total Quality Management of the company can be considered based on the performances made by the employees.
Hence, it can be concluded that performance management is one of the most important aspect that is undertaking by Elsevier. In order to gain success in the business, it is necessary that the company maintain a fair performance service so that competition in the market can be maintained. The application of the suggested changes can help Elsevier maintain a continuous improvement procedure so that Total Quality Management of the company can be maintained. At the same time following the performance management process can prevent any unethical and unbiased decision in the market.
Reference
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Elsevier.com. 2018. Elsevier | An Information Analytics Company | Empowering Knowledge. [online] Available at: https://www.elsevier.com/en-in [Accessed 29 Jun. 2018].
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Shields, J., Brown, M., Kaine, S., Dolle-Samuel, C., North-Samardzic, A., McLean, P., Johns, R., O’Leary, P., Robinson, J. and Plimmer, G., 2015. Managing Employee Performance & Reward: Concepts, Practices, Strategies. Cambridge University Press.
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