Performance Management Assignment Discussing A Top-Down Process

Question

Task:
Performance management plays a critical role in managing an organization. Write a detailed performance management assignment explaining why performance management must be a top-down process, include examples, and discuss the steps required for creating a Performance Management System.

Answer

Introduction
This paper discusses different aspects of performance management and explains why it is a top-down process and the reason behind adopting a traditional performance management system. It also highlights the examples associated with it and presents how an effective performance management system can be established.

Discussions
Performance management plays an effective role in the success of an organisation. There are different methods by which performance can be managed. Traditional performance management procedures are considered a top-down procedure for all sorts of performance management, whether for the organisation, individuals or teams (Tseng and Levy, 2019). This procedure involves establishing objectives at the early stages and then presenting them to the employees who are responsible for achieving them. After this step, the management effectively monitors the performance accordingly with the identified objectives and shares their evaluations. These evaluations were usually against certain specific standards of performance that are previously identified. Such as below expectations exceeds expectations or meeting expectations (Beeri et al., 2019). Later on, the appraiser document highlights the managers' evaluation, and they also share their conclusions.

However, certain problems are associated with this top-down procedure or the traditional approach. Most of the heads associated with the human resource departments believe their system does not produce that accurate information, and hence they are somehow dissatisfied with this system (Rivera, 2018). There is also certain potential root issue associated with it such as the expectations in it are unclear, resulting in poor goal settings and unuseful goals. There are also inconsistent ratings and highly inconsistent and insufficient feedback. The performance review is also inadequate, which further contributes towards creating a challenging aspect.

There are also certain tertiary issues associated with this approach. It is noticed that managers are less likely to give lower ratings when they know that it will impact employee compensation. They also don't focus on feedback and coaching when they know that compensation is the key result associated with the performance management process (Tweedie et al., 2019).

Apart from the negatives, it is still extremely vital to adopt this top-down approach or the traditional approach because there are various positives associated with it that easily and effectively outcasts all the negatives. There are different driving forces now, and hence a rapid change can be witnessed among the organisations. This is something that is never witnessed before. This can be regarded as the reason because of which previously established goals become obsolete and also changes in a significant manner. The new generation workforce also wants to have a clear perspective (DeNisi and Murphy, 2017). These are some of the major contributing factors responsible for the evolution of the performance management system. Various organisations are adopting the progressive strategy, and thus, they are changing the goals accordingly with expectations via making subtle adjustment in it.

(Source: https://acendre.com/blog/posts/the-key-considerations-of-performance-management/)

This approach highlights the need for continual feedback and coaching throughout the year as it is intended to enhance the learning associated with employees and enhance their performance and career. It also helps in understanding the unique motivation associated with employees, hence supporting their engagement and ability by which they can motivate themselves. It also involves the continuous and solicited feedback by the side of employees regarding their impressions of equality of work and the resources they are utilising to complete the work. This approach helps provide employees with more adaptable and flexible goals that are focused on the current organisational needs.

Performance Management does not involve only a simple annual review for each employee. It is associated with working together with the employee to identify their associated weaknesses and strengths. This can assist in providing them with appropriate help so that their performance can be enhanced (Schleicher et al., 2018). The procedure by which an effective performance management system can be created includes different steps. First of all, it is vital to evaluate the current performance with the procedure of appraisal (Franco?Santos and Otley, 2018). Organisation or leader must look towards the feedback they are providing to the employees, and they also have to evaluate what changes can be initiated to it. The next step is to identify the organisational goals and align them with the performance of the employees. Employees must be provided with specific tasks that can help achieve the organisational goal after this organisation can make expectations from them and acknowledge the employees that they are performing better. They must be aware of the improvisations that can be indicated in their performance to work towards it.

Performance management is not about the performance of any particular day; organisations need to monitor employees' monthly performance effectively to keep an eye on the progress made by them (Richards et al., 2019). Suppose it is noticed that employees are struggling with their performance and are not satisfying the organisation's expectations. In that case, they must be motivated by discussing the consequences and rewards. It is also important to talk about the problem they face and effectively listen to their concerns or worries (Levy et al., 2017). After doing this, if the employee made significant progress, new goals should be established and new expectations for the coming year. These expectations must be based on the organisational goals.

It is important to reward and celebrate employees' success, and they should also be aware of the organisation's performance plans. Organisations need to discuss the new performance management system with their employees and seek their suggestions and tell them about the system's advantages and how it will contribute to the organisation as a whole.

Conclusion
This paper discusses various aspects of the performance management system, particularly its application, in enhancing employees' performance. Reasons are provided because it is a top-down process, and by step, the procedure is also defined to help build an effective performance management system. A complete understanding of the question is presented in the paper via a depth analysis of the associated aspects.

References
Beeri, I., Uster, A. and Vigoda-Gadot, E., 2019. Does performance management relate to good governance? A study of its relationship with citizens’ satisfaction with and trust in Israeli local government. Public Performance & Management Review, 42(2), pp.241-279.

DeNisi, A.S. and Murphy, K.R., 2017. Performance appraisal and performance management: 100 years of progress?. Journal of applied psychology, 102(3), p.421.

Franco?Santos, M. and Otley, D., 2018. Reviewing and theorizing the unintended consequences of performance management systems. International Journal of Management Reviews, 20(3), pp.696-730.

Levy, P.E., Tseng, S.T., Rosen, C.C. and Lueke, S.B., 2017. Performance management: A marriage between practice and science–Just say “I do”. In Research in personnel and human resources management. Emerald Publishing Limited.

Richards, G., Yeoh, W., Chong, A.Y.L. and Popovi?, A., 2019. Business intelligence effectiveness and corporate performance management: an empirical analysis. Journal of Computer Information Systems, 59(2), pp.188-196.

Schleicher, D.J., Baumann, H.M., Sullivan, D.W., Levy, P.E., Hargrove, D.C. and Barros-Rivera, B.A., 2018. Putting the system into performance management systems: A review and agenda for performance management research. Journal of Management, 44(6), pp.2209-2245.

Tseng, S.T. and Levy, P.E., 2019. A multilevel leadership process framework of performance management. Human Resource Management Review, 29(4), p.100668.

Tweedie, D., Wild, D., Rhodes, C. and Martinov?Bennie, N., 2019. How does performance management affect workers? Beyond human resource management and its critique. International Journal of Management Reviews, 21(1), pp.76-96.