Performance Management
Developmental organizations embrace performance management processes that enable employees to become their greatest asset. When managers function as performance coaches, they become trainers, confronters, mentors, and counselors, providing positive feedback and reinforcement to improve skills and competencies that ultimately enhance overall employee performance. Performance management functions as an integral part of a comprehensive development strategy, although too few organizations subscribe to this philosophy (2000). . Hence, the business world overflows with mediocre, stagnant, or failing organizations that stubbornly or ignorantly overlook their employees’ potential. We believe that well-designed and well-executed performance management provides an excellent vehicle for promoting continuous employee and organizational growth and development ( 2000). A company does not need managerial supermen to build a high performance management system; the system performs because its design enables ordinary people to deliver extraordinary results consistently. High performance does, however, require managers who understand, use and improve the system (2002).
Most organizations already have the building blocks in the form of management approaches and capabilities; they just stop short of linking what they have into a continuous cycle, which can amplify the performance of the whole. It is this connecting the dots and getting all parts working together that permanently boosts management effectiveness and business performance ( 2002).The role of performance measurement is to help keep the organization on the operating on a straight and narrow track. The measures are used primarily by business specialists, and the action taken as a result of such analysis may also be exclusively good for the business. Nevertheless, it is also clear that evidence of business problems may occur because of deficiencies in other areas of business operations. In this case, the ratios can provide the company’s director with the information necessary to convince other managers that operating action needs to be taken in order to avoid any company problem. However, the primary role served by this type of performance measurement lies within the province of the business function, and is concerned with the effective and efficient use of the company’s resources (2002). Performance management is designed for business to work well together. Performance management has the tendency to make it easier for all the employees of business institutions to work together. Performance management uses various strategies and techniques to determine the problems of business institutions and then solve it for them to be united. Performance management checks the flaws that cause disunity in a business institution, it then checks for the probable actions that can be used to initiate unity in such organization. The use of performance management opens up the lines of communication that will be used by different business institutions so that they can work as one unit. Performance management gives the opportunity for members of the business institution to discuss issues that cause dissension.
The need for performance management
Successful performance often involves interaction among several individuals who must work as a team. A critical feature of teams is that individuals must coordinate their decisions and activities by sharing information and resources to attain shared goals. Clearly, efforts to improve team performance must focus attention on the performance of individuals. However, individuals are dependent on other team members to provide information and for coordination of activities. Those behaviors of members that engender a sharing of information and a coordination of activities are collectively called teamwork. A conceptual framework is presented for developing teamwork measures that can be used to ensure effective individual and team performance. Over the past several decades, much research has been devoted to the investigation of team training and performance (1995). Despite the abundance of team research, few efforts have been devoted to investigating the components of teamwork, and in particular, to developing measures of those components. With few exceptions, the research has studied the influence of task, individual, and team characteristics on team performance ( 1995).
Although these input variables are important determinants of team performance and must be considered in a comprehensive theory of teams, teamwork components and their measures are needed to explain the mechanisms by which the input variables determine team performance. Communication involves the active exchange of information between two or more members of the team, as well as an individual team member providing information to others in the appropriate manner. In general, communication is a mechanism that links the other components of teamwork. For example, communication is the important link between monitoring other members’ performance and providing feedback about that performance ( 1995). A second critical component of teamwork is team orientation. This includes the nature of the attitudes that team members have toward one another, the team task, and their team leadership. It also includes self-awareness as team member and group cohesiveness. Team leadership is another critical component of teamwork. This includes the direction and structure provided by formal leaders as well as by other members. Team leadership implies that planning and organizing activities have enabled members to respond as a function of the behaviors of others ( 1997).
Monitoring team performance is a crucial component of teamwork. This component refers to the observation and awareness of activities and performance of other team members. Monitoring implies that team members are competent in their individual tasks and have a substantive understanding of the tasks of other members. Therefore, before a group of individuals can function effectively as a team, the members must have the technical knowledge and skills to perform their own tasks. Feedback is a fifth critical component of teamwork. Teams must adapt and learn from their performance to be successful. This requires the giving, seeking, and receiving of feedback among team members. Another critical component of teamwork is backup behavior. This component involves actually helping other team members to perform their tasks. Backup behavior implies a degree of task interchangeability among members and willingness to provide and seek assistance. The final component of teamwork is coordination ( 1997). Coordination reflects the execution of team activities such that members respond as a function of the behavior of others. Successful coordination implies the effective operation of other components of teamwork. In summary, teamwork requires team members who have positive attitudes toward the team and its task, have been provided adequate direction and support for accomplishing team goals, and knows their own tasks and those of other members with whom they interact (1997).To perform better an individual or a group needs the best qualities like perseverance and teamwork. For an individual perseverance is a must because it reduces the temptation to quit thus an individual performs better. For a group teamwork is needed because to perform well one must coordinate with others so that each can give their contributions for better performance. Another thing used to bring out a better individual and group performance is the performance process. The performance process checks every aspect of how an individual or a group works or does their daily duty. In the implementation of performance process the team and individual performance is needed so that it can be accessed together with the standards of best performance. In undergoing performance appraisals individual and group performance needs to be checked to determine the things that caused poor performance.
Workplace learning
The study of organizational learning is an attempt to engage with some complex and difficult issues associated with organizing. As a result of all this, organizational learning is a fascinating and an enduring metaphor, one that continually yields fresh insights about organization. In addition, however, there are frustrations about the study of organizational learning ( 2004). There are many theories and perspectives that claim to inform and to represent organizational learning, some of which are poorly thought through; prescriptions for organizational learning in action are at best temporary, but new prescriptions are nevertheless being invented constantly; and almost every senior manager has either done that and moved on, is doing it continually, has her or his own way of defining it in practice, or wants to be told how it can be done ( 2004).
One thing that is generally agreed about the meaning of organizational learning is that it is a process that is connected to action. There is a difference between individual learning in an organization and organizational learning. The sum of individuals’ learning in an organization is frequently assumed to equate with organizational learning ( 2003).
Such an interpretation is based on the idea that the combined impact of individuals’ applied learning in an organization probably means that organizational learning or change will take place. Efforts to understand organizational learning have been assisted in recent years by the general shift of interest away from organizations and towards organization and organizing. An increasing focus on collective learning, situated learning, communities of practice, and on politics, power relations and learning has helped to shift the academic study of organizational learning away from individual learning, towards social, political and relational interpretations of learning and organizing. The current understanding of strategic learning is that it is a form of organizational learning whereby assumptions that underpin corporate-level knowledge are reframed and/or where the sense making and knowledge management structures of an organization are altered in potentially radical ways (2003). Learning in organizations and organizational learning also happen by accident, from the unintended consequences of action and through paradoxical tensions that are integral to organizing. The challenge of learning can be expressed in attempts to engage with the paradox, uncertainty and complexity of management and organization (2001). Organizational learning makes use of various methods to gather certain information a firm needs at a certain time. Organizational learning helps in determining the methods used by organizations to learn and adapt to the changes done within the environment of a company. When there is increase in the changes in the environment there should be increase on learning for an organization. As changes happen new development and learning’s should be craved by a company so that it can be prepared for the possible effects of the change. Organizational learning’s work best with performance management, performance cannot be improved if the firm has no information on what caused a low performance. Organizational learning serves as a basis for an action that a firm has to take to improve performance.
Strategies to learning
The existence of a crisis and the sense and perception of such a crisis are the most essential catalysts for organizational learning. By crisis it means a failure or serious difficulty or dilemma confronting firms that do not respond with sufficient speed and effectiveness to changes in the environment. Such a suboptimal response may result from a failure to perceive the environment appropriately or a failure to implement changes successfully in light of new perceptions of the environment. There are myriad factors that can contribute to such failures, factors that may be internal, external, or both, but they all impede the emergence and pursuit of organizational learning. In the face of the resulting crisis, some firms will gain new clarity and begin making the kinds of changes necessary for the transformation and rebirth of the enterprise. For these firms, crisis serves as a kind of catalyst for learning. The recent literature on organizational change has paid some attention to different forms of change. One basic theme is that some organizational changes build on work already done, attempting to make small, incremental changes. Incremental changes represent the continuation of ongoing change within the organization and may require a large or small amount of resources ( 2001).
Another form of change, known as discontinuous change, occurs when an organization makes a fundamental break with the past and undertakes a major restructuring. The second theme is based on whether the change strategy is reactive or proactive. Proactive means the organizations plan ahead and anticipate the need to make changes. Reactive strategies occur when changes in the environment, competitors, or other forces spur the organization to change ( 2002). The two themes generate four different change strategies. Some strategies are incremental and proactive. Another strategy represents reactive-discontinuous change. Changes in the environment cause fundamental changes in the environment. The other two cases represent reactive incremental change and proactive discontinuous change ( 2002). When there is increase in the changes in the environment there should be increase on learning for an organization. As changes happen new development and learning’s should be craved by a company so that it can be prepared for the possible effects of the change. The changes in the environment can give the company benefits but it may also give a company its problems. Organizational learning’s can help the company prepare for the problems created by changes in the environment. The amount of learning cannot be separated from the amount of change in the environment since one complements the other.
Organizational learning’s can be attributed to the knowledge the company acquired over the years. Additional knowledge comes from experiences and the changes that happened. As times pass by new things are experienced by the company. More knowledge should come from added experiences and unknown changes. For a business organization professional learning comes in many forms. Learning can be in instructional media or personal experience. Instructional media can be in the form of books, journals or other literary sources. Instructional media can also be in the intangible form that includes lessons from teachers, professors and experts. The professors, teachers and experts make presentations and other materials to further instill in the minds of the student or anyone who wants information, the knowledge being explained. Learning can also be in the form of personal experiences. In this method the person learns through on the job training, synthesis and first hand experience. Job training involves the actual application of what was noted in books and discussed in class. Job training can be in the form of daily work experiences. As a person gains more work days so thus his/her experiences in dealing with situation and people. The higher the work days the more experience is acquired by a person. The job training provides the learner a situation that needs solution, but the solution may or may not come directly from what was discussed in class or instructed in a book. The learner has to make a solution based from what was discussed or what the book says. This would help the learner analyze situations and correlate situations with what he/she know beforehand. In a synthesis the learner relates what was discussed to him to planned situations. The learner has to apply the theories and concepts taught to him/her by the book or the instructor. Although the theories and concepts may or may not be directly used the idea behind the concept and theories is emphasized and is correlated to a simulated situation. When it comes to actual experience the learner gets to use what he/she has learned without assistance from the instructor or the book. The learner has to adjust to the changes in the situation and know how to act on certain situations.
Knowledge management and leadership in learning organizations
A key challenge for any organization in the twenty-first century is to seek to maintain and improve its performance in an increasingly complex and competitive global operating environment, where change pressures appear to offer the only certainty (2000). It is not surprising that there should be some sense of cynicism when it is argued that, by focusing upon identifying, valuing and managing information and knowledge (IKM) assets, there are significant opportunities to achieve more effective organizations and to improve their efficiency by reducing the amount of wasted time, effort and lost opportunity through better and more integrated use of both tangible and intangible organizational resources ( 2000).In order to do this successfully a number of deceptively straightforward principles must be understood, which acknowledge that within organizations there is an imperative for the data generation process to be understood; data gathering and organization for use and extraction of value should then become a priority; data’ is transformed into information through appropriate dissemination and interpretation ( 2002).
Information, when used appropriately, assists in knowledge generation and decision-making processes; the culmination of the data to information to knowledge process is the creation of organizational wisdom, the accumulation of learning processes that help successful organizations to move forward. . Taken together with the fact that senior managers within all types of organizations were largely inexpert in their understanding of information and communication technology (ICT) applications and their organizational implications, the rapid development in the capabilities of ICTs has led to huge investments in ICTs that fail to bring about significant return upon the investment made (2002). Without proper management of knowledge and information, the conduct of organizational learning would be incomplete since important things needed in the learning process would not be available. Organizational learning would not be done smoothly because many things would be lacking and the data may have security issues (2002).Organizational learning without information and knowledge management would create time related problems and could cause delays to the operations of the business. Organizational learning should be finished with less time wasted and without any knowledge management, information tends to be scattered and disorganized causing more time wasted for the learning process. Organizational learning would not be successful if it does not have good leaders. Learning organizations need to have good leaders so that the learning process would be uninterrupted and cannot be influenced by outside forces. Outside forces can be in the form of questions about the learning process and contradictions from different sectors in the firm. Good leaders can thwart the advances of such forces and can provide answers to the different questions they have regarding the process. Good leaders can find sources of information that will be of great value to the learning process. They can make decisions that can help the learning process to run smoothly and be equipped with appropriate information beneficial to the process.
Performance management and workplace learning
Successfully managing organizational behavior in today’s world of work means that performance must be clearly defined and understood by the employees who are expected to perform well at work. Performance in most lines of work is multidimensional. For example, a sales executive’s performance may require administrative and financial skills along with the interpersonal skills needed to motivate a sales force ( 2002). Each specific job in an organization requires the definition of skills and behaviors essential to excellent performance on the job (2002). From the employee’s point of view, satisfaction was the aim. People who are not rewarded for excellent work are apt to become demoralized or leave. People who feel unfairly treated may become resentful and act out of role. At the same time, increases in downsizing, de layering, casual and contract labor, and so on raised feelings of job insecurity, loosened people’s ties of commitment to organizations, and made the concept of self-development and employability uppermost in their minds ( 2002).
Thus, performance appraisal and personal/career development became inextricably linked together. New approaches were needed. Instead of the traditional annual appraisal ritual the notion of performance management developed. The latter is best thought of as a philosophy like that of a learning organization, rather than a particular set of policies and practices. Performance management involves creating a shared vision of organizational goals and helping every individual to understand his or her contribution to them. In this way the performance of both individuals and the organization is managed. Unlike some other appraisal systems, performance management is driven by line managers rather than by the personnel function and there is an emphasis on developing shared purposes and values. However, this approach does not come as a ready-made package but has to be developed by the organization (2002). The building blocks include the development of a mission statement and business plan, which is clearly communicated throughout the organization with opportunities for everyone to contribute to its formulation. The role of each person in contributing to the aims and objectives is then clarified and the means to define, measure, and reward individual performance is put in place. However, there is a strong developmental strand so that people can improve their performance further and plan for career progression. By these means organizational goals are translated into individual objectives. There is some evidence that done well, the performance management approach can lead to enhanced organizational commitment and job. However, one risk of creating a performance culture is that it may encourage individual achievement and competition at the expense of team effort and the free communication of knowledge ( 2002). Performance management assists organizational learning in improving personnel so that he/she can help the organization reach for its goals. Performance management is vital in helping an employee grow and achieve all his/her potential. Both performance management and organizational learning are important to maintain a good relationship between a firm, its management and the personnel.
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