MELVIN GRESHAM
BUS 303 HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
GRETCHEN MASTERSON
21 OCTOBER 2013
What is performance appraisal and why is it important? Performance appraisal is the process through which employee performance is assessed, feedback is provided to the employee, and corrective action plans are designed. (Youssef, C. (2012)) The main objective of performance appraisals are to evaluate a employee’s work performance, they are also important for organizations to use because they reflect the effectiveness and efficiency of achieving organizational goals and objectives. They are used to manage salaries, wages, and pay adjustments. They also provide performance feedback for employees and communicating points of strengths and weaknesses.
In many organizations - but not all - appraisal results are used, either directly or indirectly, to help determine reward outcomes. That is, the appraisal results are used to identify the better performing employees who should get the majority of available merit pay increases, bonuses, and promotions. By the same token, appraisal results are used to identify the poorer performers who may require some form of counseling, or in extreme cases, demotion, dismissal or decreases in pay. Whether this is an appropriate use of performance appraisal - the assignment and justification of rewards and penalties - is a very uncertain and contentious matter. This is probably what everyone thinks when they hear performance appraisals.
The performance appraisal, when properly carried out, can help to fine tune and reward the performance of present employees. Strengths of the negotiated performance appraisal are its ability to promote candid two-way communication between the supervisor and the person being appraised and to help the latter take more responsibility for improving performance. In contrast, in the traditional performance appraisal, the supervisor acts more as a judge of employee
References: Youssef, C. (2012). Human Resource Management. San Diego, CA. Bridgepoint Education, Inc.