An Appraisal Of Performance Appraisal Techniques On Employee Motivation

Project and Seminar Material for Human Resource Management (HRM)

Abstract

The study is designed to investigate the impact of performance appraisal on employee motivation,for an organization to survive in any business, theperformance of its employees and the entire organization has to be controlled andappraised periodically.

However, this study was necessitated by the need to investigate by the performance appraisal techniques employed by Akwa Ibom state civil service as the case study, it was discovered that the techniques used by the government are:

Ranking and
Forced distribution.

It is necessary to appraise the performance of the workers objectively because without this appraisal, it can affect the productive level of companies greatly.

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background of the Study

PA can improve motivation and performance, but if used inappropriately, it can have disastrous effects (Fisher et al, 2003). For PA to be effective, it must of necessity be anchored on the performance criteria that have been outlined for the job. Riggio (2003) describes performance criteria as the means for determining successful or unsuccessful job performance. They are one of the products of a detailed job analysis. Performance criteria spell out the specific elements of a job and make it easier to develop the means of assessing levels of successful or unsuccessful job performance. It can thus be inferred that an appraisal system not hinged on this all important criteria, can neither be appropriate nor fair, particularly to the employee, whose performance is being evaluated. In fact, some key points in the arguments of those opposed to performance appraisal is that, most of the time, wrong things are rated and the wrong methods used (Deming, 1986; Gilliland and Langdon, 1998).PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Situations arise whereby only some selected job elements are evaluated or given preference or higher points above other job elements in which the employee was equally engaged during the review period. This calls to question the fairness of the appraisal system and its ability to effectively produce the desired outcomes. Mickerney (1995) underscored the intricacy of PA by describing it as a difficult and complex activity which is often not performed well by many organizations. The end result of this is that it produces exactly the opposite effect to those intended (Coleman, 1995).

1.2 Statement of the Problem

In Nigeria today, the general state of poverty makes economic reward a very important reason why people go out to work, thereby making money to rank highly as a critical motivator (Muo, 2007).This situation has made it imperative for Nigerian workers to pay particular attention to human resource (HR) practices which have direct bearing on their financial rewards and social status. One of such HR activities is performance appraisal (PA), which is the focus of this study.

A major outcome of PA is promotion and its attendant increase in financial benefits plus enhanced professional and social status (Tessema and Soeters, 2006; Shahzad, Bashir and Ramay, 2008). Performance appraisal outcomes tend to have high motivational impact and are a major determinant of employee performance.

It must be emphasized that an effective performance appraisal system is one that takes cognizance of all the components of an employee’s job performance, and does not focus on selected ones.

If used effectively, PA can improve motivation and performance, but if used inappropriately, it can have disastrous effects (Fisher et al, 2003). For PA to be effective, it must of necessity be anchored on the performance criteria that have been outlined for the job which in many case is overlooked. Riggio (2003) describes performance criteria as the means for determining successful or unsuccessful job performance. They are one of the products of a detailed job analysis. Performance criteria spell out the specific elements of a job and make it easier to develop the means of assessing levels of successful or unsuccessful job performance. It can thus be inferred that an appraisal system not hinged on this all important criteria, can neither be appropriate nor fair, particularly to the employee, whose performance is being evaluated. In fact, some key points in the arguments of those opposed to performance appraisal is that, most of the time, wrong things are rated and the wrong methods used (Deming, 1986; Gilliland and Langdon, 1998).PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Therefore the problem confronting this research is to appraise the effect of performance appraisal techniques on employee motivation.

1.3 Research Question

What is the nature of performance appraisal technique
What is the nature of employee motivation
What is the effect of performance appraisal technique on employee motivation
What is the nature of performance appraisal technique on employee motivation in the akwaibom state civil service.

1.4 Objective of the Study

To determine the nature of performance appraisal techniques
To determine the nature of employee motivation
To determine the effect of performance appraisal technique on employee motivation
To determine the effect of performance appraisal technique on employee motivation in the akwaibom state civil services

1.5 Scope of the Study

The study focuses on the appraisal of performance appraisal technique

On employee motivation with a case study of the akwaibom state civil service.

1.6 Limitations of the Study

There were certain limitations while conducting the research work. The study was carried out only on Akwa Ibom state civil service employees posted in Uyo with a limited sample size of 100 employees. It was a time consuming exercise due to difficulty in extracting information from them. Again, some senior executive had no time to fill the questionnaires on time. Moreover, some employees were reluctant to reveal the complete information.

To curb these challenges, the researcher sampled the 100 respondents carefully in order to get the information required for the study. The use of respondents with experience from other organizations aimed at getting the information which will cut across different organizations operating within and outside Uyo. Therefore, Akwa Ibom state civil service represent other stations within and outside Uyo. Also the problem of time was solved by proper involvement of the researcher in collecting data and ensuring confidentiality to respondents. Being an employee of Akwa Ibom state civil service it was possible to get enough information from Akwa Ibom state civil service as well as other stations because of good relations among employees.

1.7 The Scope of the Study

Geographically, the scope of this study was delimited to Akwa Ibom state civil service in Uyo. The research was limited to the identification of the effects of performance appraisal on employee motivation. The existing performance appraisal was analysed to ascertain its effects.

1.8 Organization of Study

The thesis was divided into five chapters.

Chapter one is an introduction of the study. It presents the background, purpose, research questions, significance of the study, scope of the study and thesis outline.
Chapter two focuses on Literature Review and the conceptual meaning of performance appraisals, theoretical analysis and empirical studies.
Chapter three focuses on the research methodology and discusses the appropriateness of the method of data collection.
Chapter four presents the findings, analysis and discussion whereby the results pertaining to each objective are discussed and lastly,
Chapter five which presents the conclusion, recommendation from the study findings and recommendations for future research.

Chapter Five

Conclusion and Recommendations

5.1 Conclusion

As Akwa Ibom state civil service commission is facing more dynamic environment that demand more productivity with lesser resources, human resource is one of the most promising assets to be developed. With efforts to develop individuals, team, work units and organisation as a whole, performance appraisal as an instrument can provide meaningful feedback to individuals. With performance appraisal report, individuals are provided with evaluations of self and others’ perceptions. This creates an awareness of perceptions’ discrepancy and may induce behavioural change in parallel with these directions.

The performance appraisal system that Akwa Ibom state civil service used was not effective. However, appraisal system implemented provides some benefits that areuseful to organisations. The main thing that performance appraisal system did was it improved Civil service for those that participated in the appraisal. This improvement in Civil service efforts then trickled down to benefit other areas such as perceived increase in productivity, performance and supervisory skills.

Nevertheless, according to the findings the current system does not involve employees or let them participate in preparing conducting, evaluation and it doesn’t give feedback to employees hence they may not know how they are seen and perceived. The employees or managers could see how they are being perceived from below or upward and get a different perspective as to what their strengths and weaknesses are.

Based on the findings of the study, it can be concluded that to the large extent, workers are not comfortable with the way performance appraisal is being implemented at Akwa Ibom state civil service companies. They are not aware, they lack training and participating in setting goals, evaluation and feedback to the employees. Some of the most critical problems that contribute to low morale, stress and high turnover in most organisations today stem from a lack of employee involvement in the decision making process.

5.2 Recommendations

Performance Appraisal Management

Akwa Ibom state civil service should be prepared to support performance appraisal assessment process with time and money (for example, it should explain the purpose of the assessment and teach employees how to give and receive feedback).

Additional administrative help may be required to distribute forms and collect the data, or Akwa Ibom state civil service may wish to invest in a computer program that minimizes administrative costs by allowing raters to complete and submit the instrument online. Most important, Akwa Ibom state civil service should be prepared to respond to the heightened expectations that often accompany this type of organisational change initiative: employees will expect to see behaviour change, especially at the top of the organisation.

Training and Guidance

It is recommended that Akwa Ibom state civil service should use performance appraisals effectively on individuals and departments. However, prior the launch of the performance appraisal system, training should be given to all managers on the purpose, system, delivery and outcomes of performance appraisal. Guidance should be developed for staff receiving appraisals.

Confidentiality and Accountability

Most descriptions of perfomance appraisal feedback systemsemphasize that the feedback must be confidential inorder to ensure that the participants (raters and ratees)will be open and honest in their assessments. The term (confidentiality) is used in several ways. It may refer to the arrangement under which raters provide their evaluations anonymously (for example, subordinates ratings are often averaged so that the supervisor cannot identify the evaluation of any one person).

It was therefore suggested that the primary responsibility of the human resource department is to design and co-ordinate the performance appraisal performance training to other managers of all levels to understand and administer the programme. It should also involve different departmental managers, supervisors and even employees in its design, which reduces the intensity of the training efforts for the appraisers. The HR policy should be made public to everyone so as to avoid some of the workers’ rights or benefits from being denied for ignorance of just some immediate supervisors.

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