ÿþCHAPTER 6  

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL  

I. Overview of task performance appraisal  

II. Task performance methods  

I. Overview of task performance appraisal  

1. Definition  

2. Appraisal objectives  

3. Basis components of task performance appraisal system  

4. Requirements and common mistakes  

5. Procedures to build up a task performance appraisal program  

1. Definition  

" Performance appraisal  

Evaluating systematically and officially an employee s current and/or past performance relative to his or her performance standards.  

" Performance management  

The process employers use to make sure employees are working toward organizational goals.  

2. Performance appraisal objectives  

- To improve effective performance of employees  

- Appraisals help employer to make decisions on HR planning, recruitments and training needs.  

- Appraisals help in planning for correcting deficiencies and reinforce things done correctly.  

- Appraisals, in identifying employee strengths and weaknesses, are useful for career planning  

- Appraisals affect the employer s salary raise decisions.  

3. Basic components of performance appraisal system  

- Performance standards  

- Measurements of performance according to performance standard indicators.  

- Feedback to employees and management unit  

The appraisal process  

" Establish performance standards with employees  

" Communicate expectations and set goals  

" Measure actual performance  

" Compare actual performance with standards  

" Discuss the appraisal with the employee  

" if necessary, initiate corrective action  

4. Appraisal requirements and common mistakes  

b. Common mistakes  

" Bias: The evaluator make this mistake when they like/dislike one people than the others.  

" egalitarianism: The evaluator are afraid to face with reality. The do not want to offend anyone, so they evaluate everyone almost the same.  

" Being too positive or negative: The evaluator are too strict or easy in evaluation.  

" Affected by the most recent event: The evaluator are affected by the most recent behavior of labors.  

5. Establish job performance program  

a. Select and design performance method  

Depend on management objectives  

b. Select evaluator  

Direct employee manager, subordinate, colleagues, customers, employee themselves  

c. Define appraisal cycle  

One year, six months, project  

d. Training for evaluators  

Objective: Help evaluators understand and consistently evaluate  

Training forms: Training workshop; guided documents  

e. Appraisal interview  

Objective: Providing information on job performance, future potential and solutions for job performance improvement  

II. Job performance appraisal methods  

" Scale of values method  

" Appraisal list method  

" Recording important events  

" Behavior based scale  

" Comparative  

" Report method  

" Appraisal by objective  

1. Scale of values method  

" The result of job performance appraisal is recorded by scale of values that classified by different levels (good, relative good, average, below average, not good)  

" Indicators selected to evaluate:  

o Indicators related to job  

o Indicators related to individuals performing the job  

1. Scale of values method  

" Advantages:  

o Easy to understand, simple, easy to use  

o Easy to compare results  

" Disadvantages:  

o When design scale of value for all jobs, job characteristics may be ignored  

o Affected by objective mistakes  

o Some indicators may not be included  

2. Appraisal list method  

" Design a list of questions that describes behavior, attitude that may happen in job performance. The evaluator will mark on appropriate questions  

" E.g.,  

o & & ..Cooperate with others  

o & & ..keep work place more clean  

o & & ..Often finish task on time  

o & & .. Unwilling to work overtime  

" Advantages:  

o Avoid egalitarianism or too easy  

o Appraisal results may be quantified  

" Disadvantages  

o Have to design for different jobs  

3. Record important events  

" The evaluator records effective and ineffective behaviors of employees by job elements  

" Advantages:  

o Easy to discuss with employee about advantages and disadvantages  

o Reduce objective mistakes  

" Disadvantages  

o Take time  

o Can not fully record  

o Employee fell uncomfortable  

4. Behavior based scale  

Combination of scale of values and recording important event methods  

" Advantages  

o Less bias as compared with others  

" Disadvantages:  

o Take time and costly  

o Easy to ignore job characteristics  

o Difficult to define the actual behaviors and those describe in based scale.  

5. Comparative method  

" Ranking: The staffs within a group are ranked by order from highest to lowest.  

" Required ratio method:  

The evaluator classifies staffs in a group into different small groups by certain portions.  

" Grading method:  

" The evaluator gives total grade to each staff within a group.  

" Pair comparison:  

The evaluator compares each staff to all others remaining by pair. The evaluation of each staff is determined by numbers of times that he/she are evaluated as better than others.  

" Advantages:  

o Simple, understandable, and realizable  

o Can use to make decisions on salary, rewards, and promotion  

" Disadvantages:  

o Subjective  

o Feedback is limited  

o Do not encourage cooperation, even creating discord  

6. Report method  

" The evaluator writes a report on actual job performance that clearly define strengths, weakness, potentials of staff  

" Advantages:  

" Provide useful feedback  

" Disadvantages:  

" Difficult to use to make HR decisions.  

" The accurate of evaluation depend very much on writing ability of the evaluator.  

7. MBO  

" The manager of each unit/department and each department staff define job performance objective for next period.  

" The manager uses defined objective to evaluate the staff and provides him feedback.  

" Advantages  

Encourage motivation development of staff, stimulate agreement  

" Disadvantages:  

Difficult to define appropriate objectives.