Introduction
Performance Management can be defined as the action or process of making employees achieve the desired goals in an organization. These actions may include performance plans, appraisals and performance motivators (BNET, 2006).
How and why perceived organization support affects employee performance
Perceived organizational support affects employee performance positively. Some of the areas in which this positivism can be exhibited are in employee attendance. Also, employees will work well even when unsupervised or will come up with new and creative ideas unexpectedly (Adkins, 2006).
The reason for this is employees will have a sense of loyalty/commitment to an organization that seems to care for their needs. Another reason for an improvement in employee performance would be the fact that the employee feels that his/her efforts will be rewarded. This is coupled with the fact that they know their activities are proportional to outcome (ALD Inc., 2007).
How benchmarking can be used to improve performance management
Benchmarking is the analysis of employees to find out if they are performing to expectation and are meeting their required target (ALD Inc., 2007).
Performance management involves merging employee goals and organizational goals in order to achieve the overall objective; therefore, benchmarking is a tool used to achieve performance management (BNET, 2006).
Benchmarking can be used as such by first assessing workers in comparison to customer expectations. Then an action plan must be generated by management to improve on performance, and lastly, rewards given to those who achieve or supersede expectations. By continuously practising the latter mentioned tasks, a culture of benchmarking will be established in an organization. This implies that most, if not all, of the employees, will be working at their optimum hence attaining the overall goal and improving performance management (BNET, 2006).
Principles to be applied in order to ensure reward scheme actually improves performance management
Reward schemes are a motivational strategy that employers use to improve workers output by the simple principle that hard work will yield benefits. If applied correctly, the following principles will guarantee performance improvement;
First and foremost, a need must be identified by management, then one must determine what category does a worker lie in in order to give a reward that is befitting to their status. Afterwards, one must reward only those who contribute to the organization. Also, one must explain to employees what their rewards are and take into account the entire package, i.e. monetary aspects; in addition, reward schemes must be in line with market trends, and lastly, they must be free of bias (Adkins, 2006).
How power and politics affect performance management in the case study organization
Taking a case study of a company that deals with the manufacture of sausages say ‘Moto Industries’. In its organizational structures are marketing and sales representatives who are headed by a marketing manager, technicians and operators who are headed by a production engineer, account section, Human Resource Management section in which performance management strategies are dissipated and lastly, the General Managers and company CEO at the top of the ladder. If the company is experiencing rapid growth and is recruiting new employees while promoting those already in existence, then performance management may be deemed ineffective if politics comes into play. Ideally, employees should be rewarded for their performance during benchmarks and should therefore be duly promoted. However, if an individual who was maybe in the marketing section as a sales representative has not been performing well. He may convince the Human Resource Manager that the person who rightfully deserves the promotion is untrustworthy as he has been applying for jobs in other companies. This may be untrue, but it will divert the promotion to an undeserving candidate. Since the rightful recipient has no power over the situation, then he will be left with no other option but to continue working in his original capacity.
How to integrate performance management with other management activities
In the above case study, other management activities may fall in marketing, accounts and production. Performance management should include all the above-mentioned sections. For example, technicians should be given the proper equipment to work with, health cover in case of any ailment contracted from work, while marketing management should work hand in hand with the human resource management to give salesmen lucrative commissions that motivate them to bring more clients (Montana HR Dept., 2000).
Conclusion
Performance management is an essential tool in ensuring that a company performs at its optimum. If all the sections in an organization are incorporated, then overall goals will be achieved.
Reference
Montana HR Dept., (2000): A Guide on Integrating Competencies into Montana’s Human Resource Programs, Montana Business Journal.
Adkins, B. (2006): Three essential skills for managers, supervisors, Fort Worth Business Press, p. 36.
ALD. (2007): The Competency Based Performance Management System. Ivey Business Journal.
BNET (2006): The Role of Goal Setting and Performance Feedback in Achieving Peak Performance & Performance Management.