Barker Design and Development Case Study

The problems that are arising from Peter Barker’s recent performance have to be resolved quickly, which requires him to develop in a certain way. However, we do not see the fault exclusively on his side. There are external factors influencing Peter’s work that have caused the problem to a certain degree as well. Moreover, there are certain policies and procedures within Barker Design and Development that should be revised in order to increase the performance, the motivation, and the well-being of all employees.
First of all, the performance evaluation and feedback process within the company should be improved. The optimal feedback process involves formal conversations on a regular basis that are backed up by sufficient information from colleagues, supervisors, team members etc. It is necessary that the person giving the feedback is well trained and communicates in a direct and easily understandable way. At Barker Design and Development many of these aspects are disregarded. Peter was not given regular feedback, if any at all, and therefore did not have the chance to get an objective opinion on his work which would have helped him in identifying weak points and in improving his performance. Besides, the necessary data to provide him with such information is lacking since there are no formal procedures installed that monitor his actions. Further, the management of the firm has never received any training in giving constructive feedback and in avoiding common errors, such as the error of central tendency or the contrast error. This is probably the reason why the company’s feedback culture is extremely passive, or even non-existing. Clearly Peter’s direct supervisors are reluctant to talk to him directly about his insufficient performance and the internal and external problems that are caused by this. Especially the CEO seems to have problems in approaching this topic, which is understandable, given his personal relationship to Peter. However, in this situation there