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8/7/2019 Ravish Assignments

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Question 1 on HRM

Internet Recruitment

1) Internet recruiting is the act of scouring the Internet to locate both actively-searching jobseekers and also individuals who are content in their current position (these are called"passive candidates"). It is a field of dramatic growth and constant change that has givenbirth to a dynamic multi billion dollar industry.

Traditionally, recruiters use large job boards, niche job boards, as well as social and businessnetworking to locate these individuals. The immediate goal of Internet recruiting is to findindividuals that a recruiter or company can present to hiring managers for the purpose ofemployment. Quite often, Internet recruiters have very short-term goals when it comes to

recruiting online. The general catalyst that sparks this process is when a new job requisitecomes in (called a REQ). The recruiter scans his or her database to see if anyone's resumesmatch the requirements. If not, they proceed to search on the Internet.

E-RECRUITMENT In the era of globalization anyone who is interested in corporate worldis aware of these sites.

Using internet prospective applicants could search for positions in which they wereinterested. Contact with employers directly is viable. Feasibility of email overruled the useof telephone, fax or mail and the companies started accepting application through email.Today Organizations have their own sites or job postings are given in the placement sites.

Again the candidates can visit the sites, post resume, contact the company directly withoutany delay. All these are just one „click‟ away. E-recruitment is a tool for many employers tosearch for job candidates and for applicants to look for job. Recent trend of recruitment is e-recruitment or the internet recruitment or on-line recruitment, where the process ofrecruitment is automated. The automation began in 1980 but was systematized in 1990 withthe release of Restrac‟s initial product. E-recruitment simply means the recruitment processthrough internet. Various methods can be used for it.

E-RECRUITING METHODS

Methods of e-recruitment are many, among those the important ones are-

● Job boards: These are the places where the employers post jobs and search for candidates.Candidates become aware of the vacancies. One of the disadvantages is, it is generic innature. Special skill candidates to be searched by certain job boards.

● Employer web sites: These sites can be of the company owned sites, or a site developed byvarious employers. For an example, Directemployers.com is the first cooperative, employer-owned e-recruiting consortium formed by Direct Employers Association. It is a non profitorganization formed by the executives from leading U.S corporations. Press release byRecruiters Network (February 20, 2003) showed the site has 98 members approximately 45percent of which are Fortune 500 companies.

● Professional websites: These are for specific professions, skills and not general in nature.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Business_networking




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For an example, for HR jobs Human Resource Management sites to be visited likewww.shrm.org. The professional associations will have their own site or society.

WHY E-RECRUITMENT? In May 1980 in Kolkata Amita being an MBA never expected anyproblem regarding job. She returned home exhausted with no satisfactory result in hand.

She knew that the place is full of opportunities, and it won‟t be difficult to place herself in a job. But what she was not aware of was search for the company will be so tedious and tiring.First she went through the newspaper advertisement meticulously , then scanned thoseadvertisements and selected the suitable ones. Then she visited each and every place just tosubmit the Resume. It was worse as she was restricted to Kolkata, as going and visitingcompanies at different places were not possible and due to postal service the Resumes werenot properly forwarded. At that era this was the scenario for many candidates. Even thecompanies were not satisfied with the recent recruitment practices. Like, A1 electrical ofNagpur were to find a suitable engineer for them. The company wanted to collect Resumesof maximum candidates. Advertisement in employment news was not giving them thesatisfactory result. There came the need for e-recruitment, to overcome the barriers to easy

access of the candidates. To be a successful Organization and to maintain the positionrecruiting high caliber staff is fundamental. Not finding the right person can lead tofrustration. Employers like A1 electricals aren't limited to attracting candidates from theirown country and can appeal to qualified candidates all over the world. The same holds truefor job seekers like Amita. They can search and apply for jobs in areas where their skills arein demand regardless of geographical location. The widespread use of internet today hasmeant that advertising for candidates has become cheaper while at the same time appealingto the wider audience. This is the secret of e-recruitment gaining popularity in a short timespan. The advantages are:

● Cost efficient: Advertisements in internet when compared to newspaper, magazines, and

employment agencies is considerably cheap. As in the other sources continuously one has torevise the advertisement, for example a company wanted their ad to appear on everySunday for a month thus was suppose to pay for four advertisements. But for internet it isnot applicable.

● Time saving device: Time to deliver; to communicate is minimized by this. Response isdirect and immediate without any delay. Beforehand the postal services, fax was one waycommunication and was time consuming. Phones provided two way communications butresume management, communicating worldwide were not possible.

● Widens the search: In the era of globalization the reach cannot be restricted at one place. Itprovides global reach that also within a fraction of second. Truly the process supports thedefinition of recruitment by creating a vast pool of potential candidates.

● Provides clarity: Advertisements in employment news, other newspapers, magazines willhave word limit, thus sometimes is misinterpreted. For an example a companyadvertisement announced vacancy for computer skilled person which was interpreted asMIS job which was rather a job for computer skilled receptionist. The advertisement was notclear enough to explain the full profile. In internet the word limitation is not there, the idea,opinion, profile can be expressed as anyone like.

● Scope for better match: Information in detail is provided with clarity therefore suitablecandidate match is possible. The search is widened link with other websites are possible,



these attracts the candidates and after the job profile matches, the candidates apply.

● Standardization: The information of the candidates are collected in a standard format.Beside collecting the data it also consolidates information received from various sources.

● Reservoir: It acts as the reservoir of information. From the job profile to candidate profileis available along with past applicant data.

● Lessen paper work: As the data collection, filing, administrative work are doneelectronically thus paper work or documentation has been lessened.

DRAWBACKS OF E-RECRUITMENT

● Require being computer savvy: The process is restricted within computer savvycandidates. As the search is based on various websites, their screening, keywordsapplication demands for a computer savvy person and company.

● Legal consequences: Alike other recruitment sources this source also should be aware ofthe words used in the advertisements otherwise it may lead to the charge of discrimination.For example, Disney World was sued for screening the resumes preferring the key wordsused by whites.

● Vast pool of applicants: This benefits the Organizations as well as it is disadvantage tothem also. Because the huge database cannot be scanned in depth. Either first fewcandidates are called for interview or the resumes are screened based on some key words.On the other hand applicants also face global competition.

● Non-serious applicants: Lot of applicants forward their resumes just to know their marketvalue. As personally the candidates are not checked thus whether they are serious is notknown. At the time of interview the recruiter might realize that the candidate is not seriousin leaving the current job. But by that time some serious candidates might have beenrejected.

● Disclosure of information: Candidates profile and company details are available topublic. The applicants do not want their employer to know that they are looking for achange. Phone number, address information has lead to many security problems. Again thecompanies do not want their competitors always to know the current scenario.

MODERN TRENDS OF E-RECRUITMENT

● Speedy communication: Company and the prospective employee can communicate witheach other via the blogs. Thus blogs, podcasts, vodcasts are being considered a tool of e-recruitmant. No more the process can be blamed for being one way communication likemails, faxes only being speedy as done electronically. Podcasts are the services of digitalmedia files. Vodcasts are the video podcasts.

● Candidate’s preference: History states that employers had the privilege to be selective inhiring process, especially in screening resumes but were not always fair. Because of the time

constraint it was not possible to go through all the applications. Today the candidates canchoose their employers as not only the financial state is known to them but also the culture



is known. Applying for the Organization will no more be influenced only by the image.

● Search engine advertisement: Print ad is phasing out due the popularity of search engineads. Pay-per-click is not only convenient but also more attractive.

● RSS feed: Job boards are embracing RSS feed. Hotjobs, Google deserves special mention.Google offers one to upload the jobs on Google Base even when one doesn‟t have their ownsite. RSS can be read using software “RSS reader”. It is a family of web feed formats use topublish frequently updated works. Such as blog entries, news headlines in a standardformat.

CRITERIA FOR EFFECTIVE E-RECRUITMENT

● The requirement for it is to benefit the selection procedure. Thus to make the processeffective, the Organizations should be concerned about various factors. Among them mostimportant are- Return on investment (ROI) should be calculated to compare the costs and

risks. It facilitates to evaluate benefits and to calculate the estimated return.

● Recruitment policy should be flexible and proactive, to adapt market changes. Thecompanies will have their own mix and match sources according their objective. Theguidelines to be provided in the policy.

● Unemployment rate, labor turnover rate are considered. As the whole process depends onthe availability of candidates in the market. For every post, position it is not viable to spendtoo much of time. These rates will determine whether to be stringent or lenient.

● Impact of supplying compensation details to be considered. That is the wage, salary,benefits, when disclosed on line then it should follow the legal norms. Chance fornegotiation will not be there. Compensation rate of the company not only reaches to thecandidates but will be known to all.

● Precautions to be taken for resume screening. Words that discriminates gender, age,religion etc to be avoided. For an example, „recent‟ college graduates only in an ad are notpreferable.

● Review the results periodically and also update regularly to achieve a better result.Otherwise pool of candidates will remain static and will not serve the purpose.

● Organizations need to selective while choosing the sites. It refers to whether it is requiredto be giving to the job search sites like www.monster.com or in their own site. When specialskill candidates are searched then generic job search sites to be avoided.

CONCLUSION Traditional methods should not be replaced by the e-recruitment, it shouldsupplement. The loopholes of e-recruitment can be covered by the traditional methods andrecruitment process will be faster, global due to e-recruitment. One method should not

replace the other. When two vacancies are there and two candidates are available thecompanies do not have much choice, thus they prefer to widen their search and attracts



numerous applications. But when for two vacancies a company receive 2000 application, thein depth screening process is not possible. While other methods like campus interview,internal search has a personal touch. But receiving application in hand, communicating withcandidates becomes time consuming without internet.

Cisco2 a global infotech player has gained competitive edge by their creative mix and matchof different recruitment sources. They changed the newspaper advertisement by availingtheir internet address and inviting for application without giving the job profile. Anotherinnovation was clubbing employee‟s referral with internet. Cisco thought information aboutthem when provided by the friends, will be more approachable. They launched friendsprogram in 1996. Informal sources of information like referrals, word of mouth are alsobeing used in various IT companies, such as IBM, WIPRO. Cisco observed they are hiring1000 employees every three months of 1999, hundreds of positions still to be fulfilled. Theyformed focus groups who targeted the senior engineers and marketing professionals ofother companies to find out how they spend their free time. The survey showed that„corporate cartoon Dilbert” website is extremely popular as watching movie was the

preference. They linked with the webpage. The website offered fill in resumes online orcreate a resume using their resume builder which appealed both active and passive jobseekers. Their hiring cycle came down to 45 days from 68 days. By late 1999, job page ofCisco was recording around 500,000 applications per month. By 2001, referrals with theFriends program accounted for 50-60% of new employees. Speedy global reach whensupported with traditional methods will serve the objectivity of hiring process; Ciscodeserves special mention regarding this.

s each week, month, and year go by, more and more people are beginning to use the onlinerecruitment agencies more. In fact, most people are now using online recruiting agencies tofind jobs!

For many people that are looking for interesting jobs, using an online recruitment agency isone for sure way. In fact, most online recruitment agencies will list any job provided thatthey listing are being paid for; and of course if it is a real job!

As people are looking for jobs, the online recruitment industry, India internet penetration isbecoming very popular. In fact, with the online recruitment industry, India internetpenetration is making many companies lots of money. In fact, some of the companies arenow worth millions of dollars!

The online recruitment industry India internet penetration is not only known in India, but itis known in many other countries. In fact, it is known by many online recruiting agenciesthat the online recruitment industry: India internet penetration is one of the biggestagencies. Along with it being one of the biggest online recruitment agencies, it is one of themost used online recruitment industry. India internet penetration is at one of the highestrecords to date. In fact, many people are now using the online recruitment industry Indiainternet penetration for more than jobs! In deed, many people are beginning to use the Indiainternet penetration for many things, and shopping is one of them!

Over the last seven years, the India internet penetration had jumped up from being at .1% to4.5% in 2005 for people using the internet; in India. In fact, India is now in 4th place for

people using the internet. For India being that high in the percentage of countries using theinternet, that country can‟t be that bad off! However, there are many parts of the country



that can not use the internet to look at the online recruitment agencies! From 2005 to 2007,internet use was expected to climb over 100 million people!

Not only has the India internet penetration helped bring more people to the internet, but italso helped many companies stay afloat! By that, more and more people are using the

internet for jobs as well as shopping. In fact, most often when people are finding jobs inIndia it is due to the internet and the online recruitment agencies. In fact, if it were not formany of the online recruitment agencies, many of the companies would not be able to filltheir positions!

In India, the online recruitment industry as well as the internet penetration is very importantto the country! In fact, much of the country would not be able to survive without the internetor the worker from the internet agencies!



2) Question 2 on HRM

PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

Performance Appraisal is an objective system to judge the ability of an individual employeeto perform his tasks. A good performance appraisal system should focus on the individualand his development, besides helping him to achieve the desired performance. This meansthat while the results are important the organization should also examine and prepare itshuman capital to achieve this result. This holds true even for new inductees.

There is a strong linkage between induction, training and appraisal. In a large number offirms worldwide, a new recruit is expected to discuss his schedule of work in achieving hisinduction objective. This schedule of work becomes a part of his job for the next few months.

Objectives of Appraisal

Almost all organizations practice performance appraisal in one form or another to achievecertain objectives. These objectives may vary from organization to organization or evenwithin the same organization from time to time. It has been found that there are twoprimary objectives behind the use of this methodology. One is to use it as an evaluationsystem and second, to use it as a feedback system.

The aim of the evaluation system is to identify the performance gap. This means that it helpsdetermine the gap between the actual performance of the employee and that required ordesired by the organization.

The aim of the feedback system is to inform the employee about the quality of his work orperformance. This is an interactive process by which the employee can also speak about hisproblems to his superior.

An effective performance appraisal system should emphasis individual objectives,organizational objectives and also mutual objectives. From the viewpoint of individual

objective the performance appraisal should talk about

a) What task the individual is expected to do?b) How well the individual has done the task?c) How can his performance be further improved?d) His reward for doing well.

From the organizational view point a performance appraisal should generate manpowerinformation, improve efficiency and effectiveness serve as a mechanism of control andprovide a rational compensation structure. In short the appraisal system establishes andupholds the principle of accountability in the absence of which organization failure is the

only possible outcome.



Finally, talking about mutual goals, the emphasis is on growth and development, harmony,effectiveness and profitability.

Performance Management and Performance Appraisal

Many people mistake performance appraisal for performance management. Actually,performance management is a much bigger system, and is much more valuable to managersand companies (and employees) than performance appraisal. The essential components orparts of an effective performance management system include:

Performance Planning (includes employee goal setting / objective setting) Ongoing Performance Communication Data Gathering, Observation and Documentation Performance Appraisal Meetings Performance Diagnosis and Coaching

Performance Management is an ongoing process of measuring and adjusting performancecontinually focusing on behaviors throughout the year. It is a continuous process not anevent. It is not the same as performance appraisal, which is an assessment of the employee‟sperformance by both the employee and his superior jointly, with the purpose of allocating ascore that may be used for both development and salary or promotion purposes.

Performance Management includes Performance Appraisal as one of its elements.Performance Management should became part of day to day workplace behavior. Someorganizations have adopted an online Performance Management system. Going online withperformance management puts ownership of the process in the hands of the individual asopposed to the traditional manager driven system. It allows direct communication between

the individual and the manager via online journals at times convenient to both. It linksperformance with the individual‟s learning and development plans and also to theorganizational goals, values and competencies.

In fact performance appraisal is the least important component of a performancemanagement system. To quote Robert Bacal „If all you do is appraisal -- if you don't do planningand have ongoing communication, collect data, and diagnose problems, you are wasting your time .‟In fact it's even worse than that. If all you do is performance appraisal, you will almost beguaranteed that morale will suffer, performance problems will increase, and the manager's job will become much harder.

[edit] Aims

Generally, the aims of a performance appraisal are to:

Give employees feedback on performance Identify employee training needs Document criteria used to allocate organizational rewards Form a basis for personnel decisions: salary increases, promotions, disciplinary

actions, bonuses, etc.

Provide the opportunity for organizational diagnosis and development Facilitate communication between employee and administration

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Performance_appraisal&action=edit&section=1



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Training



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Document


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bounty_%28reward%29



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Validate selection techniques and human resource policies to meet federal EqualEmployment Opportunity requirements.

To improve performance through counseling, coaching and development. Performance Appraisal

The history of performance appraisal is quite brief. Its roots in the early 20th centurycan be traced to Taylor's pioneering Time and Motion studies. But this is not veryhelpful, for the same may be said about almost everything in the field of modernhuman resources management.

As a distinct and formal management procedure used in the evaluation of workperformance, appraisal really dates from the time of the Second World War - notmore than 60 years ago.

Yet in a broader sense, the practice of appraisal is a very ancient art. In the scale of

things historical, it might well lay claim to being the world's second oldestprofession!

There is, says Dulewicz (1989), "... a basic human tendency to make judgementsabout those one is working with, as well as about oneself." Appraisal, it seems, isboth inevitable and universal. In the absence of a carefully structured system ofappraisal, people will tend to judge the work performance of others, includingsubordinates, naturally, informally and arbitrarily.

The human inclination to judge can create serious motivational, ethical and legalproblems in the workplace. Without a structured appraisal system, there is littlechance of ensuring that the judgements made will be lawful, fair, defensible and

accurate.

Performance appraisal systems began as simple methods of income justification. Thatis, appraisal was used to decide whether or not the salary or wage of an individualemployee was justified.

The process was firmly linked to material outcomes. If an employee's performancewas found to be less than ideal, a cut in pay would follow. On the other hand, if theirperformance was better than the supervisor expected, a pay rise was in order.

Little consideration, if any, was given to the developmental possibilities of appraisal.If was felt that a cut in pay, or a rise, should provide the only required impetus for an

employee to either improve or continue to perform well.

Sometimes this basic system succeeded in getting the results that were intended; butmore often than not, it failed.

For example, early motivational researchers were aware that different people withroughly equal work abilities could be paid the same amount of money and yet havequite different levels of motivation and performance.

These observations were confirmed in empirical studies. Pay rates were important,yes; but they were not the only element that had an impact on employeeperformance. It was found that other issues, such as morale and self-esteem, couldalso have a major influence.

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As a result, the traditional emphasis on reward outcomes was progressively rejected.In the 1950s in the United States, the potential usefulness of appraisal as tool formotivation and development was gradually recognized. The general model ofperformance appraisal, as it is known today, began from that time.

Modern AppraisalPerformance appraisal may be defined as a structured formal interaction between asubordinate and supervisor, that usually takes the form of a periodic interview(annual or semi-annual), in which the work performance of the subordinate isexamined and discussed, with a view to identifying weaknesses and strengths aswell as opportunities for improvement and skills development.

In many organizations - but not all - appraisal results are used, either directly orindirectly, to help determine reward outcomes. That is, the appraisal results are usedto identify the better performing employees who should get the majority of availablemerit pay increases, bonuses, and promotions.

By the same token, appraisal results are used to identify the poorer performers whomay require some form of counseling, or in extreme cases, demotion, dismissal ordecreases in pay. (Organizations need to be aware of laws in their country that mightrestrict their capacity to dismiss employees or decrease 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.

Controversy, ControversyFew issues in management stir up more controversy than performance appraisal.

There are many reputable sources - researchers, management commentators,psychometricians - who have expressed doubts about the validity and reliability ofthe performance appraisal process. Some have even suggested that the process is soinherently flawed that it may be impossible to perfect it (see Derven, 1990, forexample).

At the other extreme, there are many strong advocates of performance appraisal.Some view it as potentially "... the most crucial aspect of organizational life" (Lawrie,1990).

Between these two extremes lie various schools of belief. While all endorse the use ofperformance appraisal, there are many different opinions on how and when to apply

it.

There are those, for instance, who believe that performance appraisal has manyimportant employee development uses, but scorn any attempt to link the process toreward outcomes - such as pay rises and promotions.

This group believes that the linkage to reward outcomes reduces or eliminates thedevelopmental value of appraisals. Rather than an opportunity for constructivereview and encouragement, the reward-linked process is perceived as judgmental,punitive and harrowing.

For example, how many people would gladly admit their work problems if, at thesame time, they knew that their next pay rise or a much-wanted promotion was

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riding on an appraisal result? Very likely, in that situation, many people would denyor downplay their weaknesses.

Nor is the desire to distort or deny the truth confined to the person being appraised.Many appraisers feel uncomfortable with the combined role of judge and

executioner. Such reluctance is not difficult to understand. Appraisers often know their

appraisees well, and are typically in a direct subordinate-supervisor relationship.They work together on a daily basis and may, at times, mix socially. Suggesting thata subordinate needs to brush up on certain work skills is one thing; giving anappraisal result that has the direct effect of negating a promotion is another.

The result can be resentment and serious morale damage, leading to workplacedisruption, soured relationships and productivity declines.

On the other hand, there is a strong rival argument which claims that performanceappraisal must unequivocally be linked to reward outcomes.

The advocates of this approach say that organizations must have a process by which

rewards - which are not an unlimited resource - may be openly and fairly distributedto those most deserving on the basis of merit, effort and results.

There is a critical need for remunerative justice in organizations. Performanceappraisal - whatever its practical flaws - is the only process available to help achievefair, decent and consistent reward outcomes.

It has also been claimed that appraisees themselves are inclined to believe thatappraisal results should be linked directly to reward outcomes - and are suspiciousand disappointed when told this is not the case. Rather than feeling relieved,appraisees may suspect that they are not being told the whole truth, or that theappraisal process is a sham and waste of time.

The Link to RewardsResearch (Bannister & Balkin, 1990) has reported that appraisees seem to havegreater acceptance of the appraisal process, and feel more satisfied with it, when theprocess is directly linked to rewards. Such findings are a serious challenge to thosewho feel that appraisal results and reward outcomes must be strictly isolated fromeach other.

There is also a group who argues that the evaluation of employees for rewardpurposes, and frank communication with them about their performance, are part ofthe basic responsibilities of management. The practice of not discussing rewardissues while appraising performance is, say critics, based on inconsistent andmuddled ideas of motivation.

In many organizations, this inconsistency is aggravated by the practice of havingseparate wage and salary reviews, in which merit rises and bonuses are decided

arbitrarily, and often secretly, by supervisors and managers.

Benefits of Appraisal

Perhaps the most significant benefit of appraisal is that, in the rush and bustle ofdaily working life, it offers a rare chance for a supervisor and subordinate to have"time out" for a one-on-one discussion of important work issues that might nototherwise be addressed.

Almost universally, where performance appraisal is conducted properly, bothsupervisors and subordinates have reported the experience as beneficial andpositive.

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Appraisal offers a valuable opportunity to focus on work activities and goals, toidentify and correct existing problems, and to encourage better future performance.Thus the performance of the whole organization is enhanced.

For many employees, an "official" appraisal interview may be the only time they get

to have exclusive, uninterrupted access to their supervisor. Said one employee of alarge organization after his first formal performance appraisal, "In twenty years ofwork, that's the first time anyone has ever bothered to sit down and tell me how I'mdoing."

The value of this intense and purposeful interaction between a supervisors andsubordinate should not be underestimated.

Motivation and Satisfaction Performance appraisal can have a profound effect on levels of employee motivationand satisfaction - for better as well as for worse.

Performance appraisal provides employees with recognition for their work efforts.

The power of social recognition as an incentive has been long noted. In fact, there isevidence that human beings will even prefer negative recognition in preference to norecognition at all.

If nothing else, the existence of an appraisal program indicates to an employee thatthe organization is genuinely interested in their individual performance anddevelopment. This alone can have a positive influence on the individual's sense ofworth, commitment and belonging.

The strength and prevalence of this natural human desire for individual recognitionshould not be overlooked. Absenteeism and turnover rates in some organizationsmight be greatly reduced if more attention were paid to it. Regular performanceappraisal, at least, is a good start.

Training and Development Performance appraisal offers an excellent opportunity - perhaps the best that willever occur - for a supervisor and subordinate to recognize and agree upon individualtraining and development needs.

During the discussion of an employee's work performance, the presence or absenceof work skills can become very obvious - even to those who habitually reject the ideaof training for them!

Performance appraisal can make the need for training more pressing and relevant bylinking it clearly to performance outcomes and future career aspirations.

From the point of view of the organization as a whole, consolidated appraisal data

can form a picture of the overall demand for training. This data may be analysed byvariables such as sex, department, etc. In this respect, performance appraisal canprovide a regular and efficient training needs audit for the entire organization.

Recruitment and Induction Appraisal data can be used to monitor the success of the organization's recruitmentand induction practices. For example, how well are the employees performing whowere hired in the past two years?

Appraisal data can also be used to monitor the effectiveness of changes inrecruitment strategies. By following the yearly data related to new hires (and givensufficient numbers on which to base the analysis) it is possible to assess whether thegeneral quality of the workforce is improving, staying steady, or declining.



Employee Evaluation Though often understated or even denied, evaluation is a legitimate and majorobjective of performance appraisal.

But the need to evaluate (i.e., to judge) is also an ongoing source of tension, sinceevaluative and developmental priorities appear to frequently clash. Yet at its most

basic level, performance appraisal is the process of examining and evaluating theperformance of an individual.

Though organizations have a clear right - some would say a duty - to conduct suchevaluations of performance, many still recoil from the idea. To them, the explicitprocess of judgement can be dehumanizing and demoralizing and a source ofanxiety and distress to employees.

It is been said by some that appraisal cannot serve the needs of evaluation anddevelopment at the same time; it must be one or the other.

But there may be an acceptable middle ground, where the need to evaluateemployees objectively, and the need to encourage and develop them, can bebalanced.

Common Mistakes W here performance appraisal fails to work as well as it should, lack of support from

the top levels of management is often cited as a major contributing reason. Opposition may be based on political motives, or more simply, on ignorance or

disbelief in the effectiveness of the appraisal process. It is crucial that top management believe in the value of appraisal and express their

visible commitment to it. Top managers are powerful role models for other managersand employees.

Those attempting to introduce performance appraisal, or even to reform an existingsystem, must be acutely aware of the importance of political issues and symbolism inthe success of such projects.

Fear of Failure There is a stubborn suspicion among many appraisers that a poor appraisal resulttends to reflect badly upon them also, since they are usually the employee's

supervisor. Many appraisers have a vested interest in making their subordinates"look good" on paper.

When this problem exists (and it can be found in many organizations), it may pointto a problem in the organization culture. The cause may be a culture that is intolerantof failure. In other words, appraisers may fear the possibility of repercussions - bothfor themselves and the appraisee.

Longenecker (1989) argues that accuracy in performance appraisal is impossible toachieve, since people play social and political games, and they protect their owninterests. "No savvy manager...", says Longenecker, "... is going to use the appraisalprocess to shoot himself or herself in the foot."

No matter what safeguards are in place, "... when you turn managers loose in the real

world, they consciously fudge the numbers." What Longenecker is saying is that

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appraisers will, for all sorts of reasons, deliberately distort the evaluations that theygive to employees.

Indeed, surveys have shown that not only do many managers admit to a littlefudging, they actually defend it as a tactic necessary for effective management.

The fudging motives of appraisers have, at times, a certain plausibility. For instance,

a supervisor who has given an overly generous appraisal to a marginal performermight claim that their 'legitimate' motive was the hope of encouraging a betterperformance.

On the other hand, fudging motives can be a lot less admirable and sometimesdevious: the appraiser who fudges to avoid the possibility of an unpleasantconfrontation, the appraiser who fudges to hide employee difficulties from seniormanagers, the appraiser who fudges in order to punish or reward employees.

Judgement Aversion Many people have a natural reluctance to "play judge" and create a permanentrecord which may affect an employee's future career. This is the case especially

where there may be a need to make negative appraisal remarks. Training in the techniques of constructive evaluation (such as self-auditing) may

help. Appraisers need to recognize that problems left unchecked could ultimatelycause more harm to an employee's career than early detection and correction.

Organizations might consider the confidential archiving of appraisal records morethan, say, three years old.

Feedback-Seeking Larson (1989) has described a social game played by poor performers. Manysupervisors will recognize the game at once and may have been its victims.

The game is called feedback-seeking. It occurs where a poor performing employeeregularly seeks informal praise from his or her supervisor at inappropriate moments.

Often the feedback-seeker will get the praise they want, since they choose the timeand place to ask for it. In effect, they "ambush" the supervisor by seeking feedback atmoments when the supervisor is unable or unprepared to give them a full andproper answer, or in settings that are inappropriate for a frank assessment.

The supervisor may feel "put on the spot", but will often provide a few encouragingwords of support. The game seems innocent enough until appraisal time comesaround. Then the supervisor will find that the employee recalls, with perfect clarity,every casual word of praise ever spoken!

This places the supervisor in a difficult bind. Either the supervisor lied when giving

the praise, or least, misled the employee into thinking that their performance wasacceptable (in fact, this is the argument that feedback-seekers will often make).

The aim of the game is that the feedback- seeker wants to deflect responsibility fortheir own poor performance. They also seek to bolster their appraisal rating bybringing in all the "evidence" of casual praise. Very often the feedback seeker willsucceed in making the supervisor feel at least partly responsible. As a result, theirappraisal result may be upgraded.

Was the supervisor partly responsible? Not really. The truth of the matter is that theyhave been "blackmailed" by a subtle social game. But like most social games, the playdepends on the unconscious participation of both sides. Making supervisors awareof the game is usually sufficient to stop it. They must learn to say, when asked forcasual praise, "I can't talk about it now... but see me in my office later."

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This puts the supervisor back in control of the appraisal process.

Appraiser Preparation The bane of any performance appraisal system is the appraiser who wants to "play itby ear". Such attitudes should be actively discouraged by stressing the importance

and technical challenge of good performance appraisal. Perhaps drawing theirattention to the contents of this web site, for example, may help them to see thecritical issues that must be considered.

Employee Participation Employees should participate with their supervisors in the creation of their ownperformance goals and development plans. Mutual agreement is a key to success. Aplan wherein the employee feels some degree of ownership is more likely to beaccepted than one that is imposed. This does not mean that employees do not desireguidance from their supervisor; indeed they very much do.

Performance Management One of the most common mistakes in the practice of performance appraisal is toperceive appraisal as an isolated event rather than an ongoing process.

Employees generally require more feedback, and more frequently, than can beprovided in an annual appraisal. While it may not be necessary to conduct fullappraisal sessions more than once or twice a year, performance management shouldbe viewed as an ongoing process.

Frequent mini-appraisals and feedback sessions will help ensure that employeesreceive the ongoing guidance, support and encouragement they need.

Of course many supervisors complain they don't have the time to provide this sort ofongoing feedback. This is hardly likely. What supervisors really mean when they say

this is that the supervision and development of subordinates is not as high a priorityas certain other tasks.

In this case, the organization may need to review the priorities and values that it hasinstilled in its supervisory ranks. After all, supervisors who haven't got time tomonitor and facilitate the performance of their subordinates are like chefs whohaven't got time to cook, or dentists who are too busy to look at teeth. It just doesn'tmake sense.

If appraisal is viewed as an isolated event, it is only natural that supervisors willcome to view their responsibilities in the same way. Just as worrying, employeesmay come to see their own effort and commitment levels as something that needs abit of a polish up in the month or two preceding appraisals.

Bias Effects

Gabris & Mitchell have reported a disruptive bias in performance appraisal knownas the Matthew Effect.

It is named after the Matthew of biblical fame who wrote, "To him who has shall begiven, and he shall have abundance: but from him who does not have, even thatwhich he has shall be taken away."

In performance appraisal the Matthew Effect is said to occur where employees tendto keep receiving the same appraisal results, year in and year out. That is, their

appraisal results tend to become self-fulfilling: if they have done well, they willcontinue to do well; if they have done poorly, they will continue to do poorly.

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The Matthew Effect suggests that no matter how hard an employee strives, their pastappraisal records will prejudice their future attempts to improve.

There is other research to support the theory that poor performers might not begiven a fair chance to improve. A study of supervisors in nearly 40 differentorganizations found that subordinates tend to be divided into two groups: in-

groupers and out-groupers. This study, by Heneman, Greenberger & Anonyou (1989) reported that ingroupers

are subordinates who seem to be favored by their supervisors. In their relationshipwith the boss, they enjoy "a high degree of trust, interaction, support and rewards."

On the other hand, outgroupers don't do as well. They appear to be permanently outof favor and are likely to bear the brunt of supervisory distrust and criticism. Theeffect is therefore similar to the horns and halo effect; supervisors tend to judgeemployees as either good or bad, and then seek evidence that supports that opinion.

It was found that when an ingrouper did poorly on a task, supervisors tended tooverlook the failure or attribute to causes such as bad luck or bad timing; when theydid well, their success was attributed to effort and ability.

But when a outgrouper performed well, it was rarely attributed to their effort orability. And when an outgrouper performed poorly, there was little hesitation itciting the cause as laziness or incompetence.

It is not clear how supervisors make the distinction between ingroupers andoutgroupers. Whatever the criteria, it is clearly not objective, equitable or reliable.

This bias must inevitably lead to a distortion of the appraisal process. It must also bea source of frustration for those employees who are discriminated against.

Frustration The extent of this frustration was explored by Gabris & Mitchell. They studied anorganization with a quarterly performance appraisal system. The workforce was

divided into two groups: those who had been given high appraisal resultsconsistently, and those who had low results consistently.

When the groups were asked if the appraisal system was fair and equitable, 63 percent of the high performers agreed, compared to only 5 per cent of the lowerperformers.

The groups were asked if their supervisors listened to them. Of the high performers,69 per cent said yes, while among the low performers, 95 per cent said no.

Finally, when asked if their supervisors were supportive, nearly half of the highperformers agreed that they were, while none (nil, zilch, zero!) of the low performersagreed.

Of course, not everyone who gets a poor appraisal result is a victim of supervisory

bias. Nor are all supervisors prone to making the same degree of ingroup andoutgroup distinction. The effects discussed here are tendencies, not immutableeffects.

But to some extent, it appears that certain employees may be unfairly advantaged,while others are disadvantaged, by bias effects in the judgements of supervisors.

It is a cardinal principle of performance appraisal that employees should have thechance to improve their appraisal results - especially if their past results have notbeen so good. It is a very serious flaw in the process of appraisal if this principle isdenied in practice.

There are reasonable steps which can be taken to limit the effects of supervisory bias.

Awareness Training The first line of defence lies in raising awareness of the problem. Supervisors need to

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be informed of the types of subtle bias that can interfere with their performance asappraisers. They need to understand that the ingroup/outgroup bias, for instance,reduces the morale and motivation of their subordinates.

Developing Poor Performers

Incentives, financial or non-financial, may offered to encourage supervisors to makespecial efforts to help poor performers improve. Supervisory appraisals, for example,might stress the importance of working with poor performers to upgrade theirperformance. The possibilities are extensive.

Counselling, Transfer, Termination There is always the possibility that an employee who receives poor appraisal resultsis in fact a chronic poor performer. No employer is obliged to tolerate poorperformance forever. Consistently poor appraisal results will indicate a need forcounselling, transfer or termination. The exact remedy will depend on thecircumstances.

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