Performance Management: Personal Self-interest Vs Leading Culture From A Christian Or Ethical Perspective

Differences

The introduction of performance evaluation and appraisals in the workplace tends to ensure that the employees are rewarded for their effort in a fair manner. Performance management according to (Wynder & Dunbar, 2016), refer to tools and techniques that are adopted by organizations to enable them to carry out an overview of their projected improvement efforts and resource utilization, and facilitate the improvement of the strategic performance of the organizations. The system does include the institutions of various metrics that will be essential in measuring the performance of the employees in the organization.

In this paper the performance management and appraisal will be analysed based on two cultures which are the personal self-interest and leading culture in achieving job effectiveness. Personal self-interest can be viewed from the organizational caring about its objectives only or from the perspective of the employee caring about their personal goals. On the other the leading culture is centred on collectivism that is the growth and development of the employees and organization together.

The set of principles that will be tackled in the ethical performance appraisal include, following the law, training the appraisers, being subjected in the evaluation, constant communication with the employees, applying constructive criticism, and using standardized performance appraisal procedures (Scribd, 2017).

The ethical aspect is used to strengthen the legal aspect of the evaluation. When ethics are introduced in any field the aspect of morality comes into play hence ensuring that there is fairness in the system. It does bridge the gap between financial and humanity excellence in organizations (Wagh, 2017).

Performance evaluation that is being adopted by most organizations is more centred on achieving the legal aspects of the evaluation rather than the ethical aspect.  The personal self-interest nature of organizations when carrying out the evaluations is to ensure that they retain the best employees who can achieve the organizations objectives (Kennerley & Neely, 2003). This is legal as the evaluations are done to ensure that the employees are able to meet their own personal targets and that of the organizations within a set period of time.

 Contrariwise, from the ethical perspective the performance evaluation and appraisals are meant to motivate and inspire the employees to grow within the organization. The evaluations if done in an ethical manner clearly pinpoint areas of weakness where the organization can work on to build their employees. Building the employees has a ripple effect since it does result in the tremendous growth of the organization (Neely, Adams, & Crowe, 2001).

Personal self-interest at the work place if not well monitored and aligned to the organizations objectives tends to impact the organization negatively. Individualism promotes the ‘I’ mentality which often tends to override the effectiveness at the workplace. Employees work towards achieving their own responsibilities and tasks without thinking of the greater picture. Therefore, when performance evaluation are carried out in search environments many employees tend to get reprimanded, demoted or even fired depending on the scale (Bernardin & Wiatrowski, 2013). Performance evaluation in search a culture does not focus on finding the root cause of an issue but is more reactive to the problem at hand.

Negative impact of Personal self-interest Culture in the workplace

On the other hand, in a learning ethical culture employees comprehend that the organizations are a single entity with their own cultures that tend to unite people from different backgrounds towards achieving its objectives. Each employee has their own interests that drove them to become part and parcel of the organization but when it comes to achieving job effectiveness collectivism service a greater purpose than individualism. The organization is more proactive where they identify a decline in the performance of the employees and work in conjunction with them to find solutions to the problem (Sumelius et al, 2014). The solutions are effectively monitored by the supervisors to ensure that the employees or a particular department does achieve their set objectives.

Personal self-interest does shun weakness exhibited by the employees and creates an environment that attracts stiff competition. When the internal competition is high within an establishment an environment of mistrust is created where employees use unscrupulous ways to forge their way within an organization. The performance evaluations normally do not focus on the means that one has undertaken to achieve their goals (Poisteer, 2013). In the end the employees who used unhanded means end up being rewarded while the just employees who follow the regulations of the organization stand to lose.

 On the other hand the injection of an ethical perspective does create an environment of trust and confidence among the employees. The employees are willing to share their knowledge and skills which in the end not only build them but provide them with an environment to achieve the objectives of the organization (Tripathi & Bhandari, 2015).

Personal self interest in achieving competitiveness has a detrimental effect on the reputation of an organization. Reputation is a reflection of the moral values that an organization stands for in achieving its goals. In a culture where personal self-interest does drive job effectiveness the policies of the organizations often tend to be ignored (Ruiz et al, 2015). The employees concentrate on ensuring job effectiveness by using short cuts in their activities. This may in the end drive away potential investors from the company.

A good example is the Wells Fargo bank scandal in the USA that lead it to loose its title in the banking fraternity. The management set goals for the employees to ensure that they increase the revenue flowing into the bank. The employees were driven to use unhanded means to achieve this objects for example lying to their customers, opening new accounts without consulting their customers among others. The end result was that the reputation of the company was damaged when an external audit was carried out resulting in many customers and investors exiting the bank (O’Connell, 2016).

On the other hand, the use of ethical performance appraisals ensures that the employees follow the policy of the organization in achieving their personal and the organizations objectives. The evaluations in a leading culture of excellence provide an opportunity for joint development of the employees (Eisnberger & Stinglhamber, 2011). The employees are provided with an honest feedback on their position within the organization, their contributions, their positions within teams and finally their suitability for the respective positions that they hold.

Positive impact of an Ethical Culture in the workplace

 The appraisals also provide the employees with an opportunity to pinpoint the directions they are willing to take to achieve the organization objectives.  An organization that does build their employees attracts brilliant potential employees, investors and customers. In addition, it does shape the reputation of the organization as not only a goal oriented but a people oriented an aspect that solidifies its position in the society. An ethical performance evaluation provides the employees with an opportunity to narrow down the gap between their personal and organizational objectives (Andreescu, 2008).

Personal self-interest among the employees and management when carrying out the performance evaluation results in the wrong people being given promotions in the organization. There is more to effectiveness that an employee who has high scores when it comes to achieving their centred objectives. As discussed above in the report, an organization is an entity that involves other people and an intense competitive environment that does not protect the employees result in unqualified personal getting promotions (Kennerley & Neely, 2003).

Additionally, it tends to create a hostile environment that limits the effective achievement of the objectives of the organization in a comprehensive manner. The hostility in the work environment coupled with immense pressure increases the stress level at the place of work an aspect that decreases the performance of the employees (Bitici, Turner, & Begemann, 2000). Furthermore, organizations that practice personal self-driven culture have high employee turnover.

Conversely, an ethical leading culture when evaluating employees tends to promote unity within the organization. The employees are evaluated based on their contribution to the organization in various aspects resulting in a reflective wholesome appraisal. The friendship factor is eliminated when carrying out the analysis an aspect that reduces the personal prejudice in the analysis (Polster, Pasha, & Edwards, 2013). The end result is that qualified personnel get to be promoted hence inspiring other employees to work harder to achieve their level of success within the organization.

An ethical leading culture ensures that the environment created is cordial hence enabling the employees to achieve their objectives comfortably. In such organizations there is a balance between work and their social lives which leads to the growth of the employees in every single aspect. A good example is Google; the company does allow the employees to select an environment that they are comfortable to carry out their activities. Employees can decide to work from home or at the office, they also have personal time that gives them an opportunity to grow their careers and their personal lives (Kim, 2013). In such organizations the rate of employee turnover is reduced tremendously.

• Following the law

According to (Tripathi & Bhandari, 2015) labour law clearly stipulates the procedures to be adhered to when carrying out performance appraisals for the employees. The reason for doing so is to avoid future legal action being taken against the organization by employees who feel they were unlawfully fired from the organization.

• Training the appraisers

It is pertinent to train the people carrying out the appraising on the ways to rate the employees, to document their findings, and their interactions with the employees during this process. The training will increase the confidence of the people carrying out the evaluation resulting in objective performance management process (Tripathi & Bhandari, 2015).

• Being subjected in the evaluation

The process should be reliable, consistent and in a form that can be used to defend the organization in any employee-employer dispute. The supervisors carrying out the performance management need have to focus on the issues that are important to the employee and organization. They include improving the performance of the employees, increasing opportunities for growth within the organization, identifying areas where the employees’ skills will be beneficial (Latham, Sulsky, & MacDonald, 2007).

• Constant communication with the employees

The process is an interaction between the evaluator and the employees; they therefore should talk with the employees and not at them. The evaluators should create an atmosphere that inspires the employees to open up to them (Latham, Sulsky, & MacDonald, 2007). Finally, the employees should be kept up to date on the progress of the evaluations

• Using standardized performance appraisal procedures

The standardized performance appraisals methods ensure that the process is related to the organization activities. The techniques used should be cost effective and applicable to all employees within the organization. Some of the types of performance management are performance ranking, management by objectives, 360 degree performance appraisals and peer review appraisals (Andreescu, 2008).

Despite the difference discussed in the paper there are some similarities that cut across the two different approaches in evaluating performance. The approaches ensure that the organization targets are achieved within the set time. Performance evaluation takes place after a predetermined time frame and most of the time they are evaluated in line with the departmental or organization performance within a particular fiscal year. Each approach ensures that the organization with the aid of their employees they were able to fulfil their obligation (Latham, Sulsky, & MacDonald, 2007).

Secondly, there is an aspect of rewarding the employee that performed efficiently after the evaluations. Reward takes two forms which are monetary and non-monetary. Monetary refers to giving the employee an increase in their salary for a job well done while non-monetary is quite broad. It does entail allowance, recognition, a holiday trip, promotion among other aspect (Polster, Pasha, & Edwards, 2013).

Thirdly, the two approaches ensure that there is a sense of growth and development taking place within the organization. Performance evaluation is done to ensure that the work done by the employees is in line with the goals of the organization. The organization has an opportunity to achieve their objectives (Wynder & Dunbar, 2016).

The process of performance management and appraisal is costly and time consuming. It takes a lot of time for the supervisors to evaluate their employees and still continue with their daily operations. In addition, the entire process often tends to be overwhelming to the supervisors who have many employees working under them (Bourne et al, 2000).

Lastly, there is an aspect of supervisors evaluating the performance of their employees. The supervisors play a major role in the evaluations as they are directly responsible for the employees. They therefore, have a chance to provide objective criticism to the employees during the appraisals (Shields et al, 2015). In most organizations to ensure fairness in the process they often involve external evaluators who work in conjunction with the supervisors during the performance management and appraisal process.

Conclusion

Performance management is integral in organization as it does increase staff morale reducing employee turnover. According to the analysis the most beneficial approach is the ethical approach as it does ensure that the organization does proceed as a unit. The personal self-interest approach does protect the interest of the organization and does place the employees at a disadvantage.

References

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Wynder, M. & Dunbar, K.. (2016). Ethical values in the evaluation of corporate social performance. Managerial Auditing Journal, 31(2), pp.180-196.

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