[Performance Management as a Tool for Effectiveness in a Work Place]

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would first like to express my gratitude for my research coordinator, colleagues, and peers and family whose immense and constant support has been a source of continuous guidance and inspiration.

DECLARATION

I [type your full first names & surname here], declare that the following dissertation/thesis and its entire content has been an individual, unaided effort and has not been submitted or published before. Furthermore, it reflects my opinion and take on the topic and is does not represent the opinion of the University.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTII

DECLARATIONIII

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION1

Background1

Performance and Performance Management1

Problem Statement3

Research Questions5

Summary5

CHAPTER 02: LITERATURE REVIEW7

Performance Management7

Strategic Planning for Performance Management11

CHAPTER 03: METHODOLOGY18

Research Design18

Literature Search18

Inclusion and exclusion criteria19

Research Questions19

Justifying the Research Question20

CHAPTER 04: DISCUSSION22

Human Resource Management22

Management Objectives and Practices22

REFERENCES24

CHAPTER 01: INTRODUCTION

Background

For employees of modern moderately-sized and larger organisations, performance management is a ubiquitous experience. For a fortunate some, it is a positive aspect of their employment and they may find themselves experiencing increased motivation to contribute toward organisational goals. For others, it can be decidedly negative. Unfortunate experiences with performance management processes can cause people to feel alienated from their organisations. Positive or negative, performance management is a regular experience in the professional lives of many employees, and it has been identified as an area of significant research interest.

Performance and Performance Management

It has been argued that there is no single view or definition of what performance means. Many definitions emphasize the measurable outputs or outcomes produced by a performer in a specific job or function over a specified period of time. To be of value, those outputs or outcomes should contribute to organisational goals. Others have argued for a focus on behaviours - goal-directed actions that can be observed and are under the performer's control (Alexander 1989 429). Other definitions of performance include both actions and behaviours, but with an emphasis on outputs and outcomes to avoid problems associated with evaluating the characteristics of the person.

Scholars of performance management have also noted the difficulty of establishing a widely agreed-upon definition. Nevertheless, performance management is typically thought of as a set of organisational activities or processes aimed at coordinating and enhancing work activities and the performance of individuals or groups. Mondy and colleagues defined it as “a process that significantly affects organisational success by having managers and employees work together to set expectations, review results, and reward performance” (Mondy, Noe, & Premaux, 2002, p. 555). Cardy (2004) described performance management in systems terms, beginning with the inputs made available to the performer, who then transforms those inputs through various tasks to value-added outputs. The addition of a feedback loop completes the simple model of performance management as shown in Figure 1.

For employees, the basic process of performance management includes direction, performance, and feedback. At the start of the performance period, employees typically receive direction concerning the tasks and activities they are expected to perform and possibly the standards to which their work will be ...