PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT

The concept of Performance Management



The concept of Performance Management

Introduction

Performance management (PM) has been popularised in recent years as a key feature of labour management practice across the UK public services. The appeal of Performance Management lies in its professed ability to deliver improvements in labour performance at reduced costs as a means of securing enhanced organisational performance. Much of the language and the techniques reflect managerial preferences about how most to secure control over labour performance. This control is crucially important in public services such as education as they are labour-intensive and staffed by practitioners who self-ascribe as professionals. As such, they prefer self-regulatory approaches to the management of their performance.

Definition of Performance Management

Performance management (PM) is the process of transforming, strategic corporate, objectives into action, monitoring progress, and, fruitful results. It provides both a coherent management philosophy, and a system for maintaining and enhancing the performance of employees while facilitating their professional development (Autio, 2000, 924).

Importance of High Performance

The researcher in 2008 suggested that human resource practices contribute to sustained competitive advantage and influence organizational performance. Many authors have explored different aspects of performance, such as organizational performance, performance management, performance appraisal, performance planning, performance measures, performance standards, and quality management, in order to describe the effectiveness of the organization. Many researchers explored the optimization of human performance at work based on the work system compatibility theory, which identified two main factors, energy replenishment and energy expenditure forces that had an impact on human performance at work. Researcher in 2007 discussed the seven deadly sins of performance measurement: vanity, provincialism, narcissism, laziness, pettiness, inanity, and frivolity. They even discussed an effective performance appraisal system that incorporates formalization, job relatedness, standards and measurements, validity, reliability, open communication, trained appraisers, ease of use, employee accessibility to results, review procedures, and appeal procedures (Barney, 1991, 120).

Although different aspects of performance have been addressed, there is not a clear definition of performance. As it applies to this study, performance is defined as (a) the manner in which something or somebody functions, operates, or behaves; (b) the way in which somebody does a job, judged by its effectiveness; and (c) the act of carrying out or accomplishing something such as a task or action. The organization first must define what it is measuring and what the minimally acceptable standards are for each volunteer position, in order to evaluate high performance. Therefore, a high performance is the act of accomplishing a task within defined guidelines or defined roles that are superior to the minimally acceptable standards (Boyer, 2002, 20).

The assessment of organizational performance

A researcher noted in 2003 that organizational performance is primarily a matter of management effectiveness of management's capacity to create the exact culture and motivational structure. One of Researchers in 2004 defined organizational performance or effectiveness as, utilizing organizational resources in a way that maximizes an organization's ability to create value. Some of the authors noted that performance is determined by organizational goals and ...