Paper Example on Important Aspects of the Performance Management System

Chapter 1: Introduction

Background of the Study

Employees play a significant role in the level of competitiveness and performance that characterizes a particular organization. In this case, the management is mandated with the responsibility of establishing systems that will guarantee success and relevant outputs in line with a firm's value proposition and vision. The effectiveness of human resource is embedded in the ability of workers to apply their skills and experiences while working collectively as teams in a framework that constitute the performance management system (Kuhlmann 2010). The perception of employees regarding performance management system, therefore, entails how they internalize the measures and interventions within the organization that is used to guarantee a competitive advantage. The effectiveness of the adopted system, in line with the needs of the organization and the employees, determines the attitudes of workers towards performance. Employees expect their organizations to address their concerns while creating a culture that supports a favorable environment, which allows career development, encourages work-life balance, and fosters personal growth (Analoui 2007). In this case, robust performance management systems in an organization are focused on both the needs of the employees and other stakeholders while paying attention to trends in the external environment.
Although the concept of the performance management system and employee perceptions and attitudes has been in existence for an extended period, there is limited managerial knowledge and experience about how organizations could effectively embed employee concerns to maximize performance (Kuhlmann 2010). This study examines the attitude of employees regarding the most and least important aspects of the performance management system. The researcher carried out this study by considering a case analysis of Emirates Flight Catering Company in the United Arabs Emirates (UAE). The firm has over 11,000 employees and serves an average of 225,000 meals each day to customers across their 105 partners and airline clients (Emirates Flight Catering 2017). This research was designed to determine how employees in this company perceive the existing performance management system in terms of the most and least important aspects based on their experiences.

Statement of the Problem and Justification

Since performance management entails what employees do, how they carry out their mandates and the achievements they attain, it is apparent to postulate that it involves the work, behavior, and results. However, performance as a component of an organization is nurtured through a comprehensive routine that constitutes performance management systems. Therefore, firms in different sectors incorporate formal and informal aspects to enhance organizational, individual, and team-based development by balancing the objectives with the existing resources and skills. Nevertheless, in this process of improving the level of effectiveness by focusing on the output of each employee as an individual and as a member of a team, the emergence of conflicting expectations becomes a common phenomenon. In this case, the use of performance management systems to improve the competitiveness of organizations has been perceived differently among employees. While several scholarly perspectives have attempted to expound on the issue there is no clear consensus regarding the implication of a generalized performance management system on employees. Such a case emanates from the failure to understand that workers, as executors of the workplace routines, need to have a clear knowledge of how the performance systems contribute towards the overall outcome.

This study is important because it not only focuses on the perception of employees regarding the most and least important aspects of performance management systems but also it is the first case analysis that involves employees from Emirates Flight Catering Company. The research is designed to investigate what the employees regard as the most and least essential factors of the performance management in their organization, which implies that findings advance the existing knowledge about the topic. DeWaal and Coevert (2007) argued that the empirical evidence that has assessed the issue of performance management and employee perception is not conclusive because of a lack of consensus. On the other hand, Radnor and Barnes (2007) affirmed that when there is a clear understanding of how the performance management framework impacts employees then managers could be in a position to stimulate productivity. In this study, the focus on both the most and least important factors from employees' point of view creates a baseline that could be used to set a balanced system that will ensure that organizations address employee needs while creating a working environment that supports productivity and competitive advantage (Kuhlmann 2010).

Objectives of the Study

The study was designed to investigate the perception of employees at Emirates Flight Catering Company regarding the most and least important aspects of the performance management system as used in the organization. however, to achieve this aim, the researcher needed to assess other dimensions associated with employee perception and performance management, which led to other secondary objectives as outlined below.

Primary Objective

To review the employees' perceptions of the most and least important aspects of a performance management system in achieving organizational aims and objectives: a case study of Emirates Flight Catering Company

Secondary Objectives

To examine and evaluate the perception of employees regarding the most and least important aspects of the performance management process

To evaluate the perceptions of employees regarding the benefits of the performance management system

To highlight perceptions employees regarding the disadvantages of the performance management system

To determine the most important factors for employees in the performance management system

To outline the expectations of employees for the long run in regards to the performance management system

Chapter 2: Literature Review

Chapter Introduction

The literature review chapter examines the current empirical evidence associated with the concept of performance management and employee perception. The chapter focuses on the conceptual framework that underpins this study. In this case, the interest of the researcher was on how organizational strategy formulation impacted human resource outcomes, especially in line with the performance of employees. A critical review of how scholars have examined and assessed the relationship between employee perceptions and the aspects of performance management systems has been carried out to determine the existing inconsistencies, gaps, and consensus. The chapter also incorporated an overview of an effective performance management system as depicted in scholarly evidence. Therefore, throughout this chapter, the researcher has presented the empirical dimensions regarding how organizational strategies based on human resource objectives are geared towards performance improvement as well as how these practices impact employee perception with the objective of justifying this study.

Conceptual Framework: Overview of Performance Management

Performance management is a process adopted in a company as a continuous culture to identify, measure, and develop workforce performance. The performance of each employee contributes to the overall mission and goals of the company. Managers who assess the performance of employees continue to come up with measures that will be used in improving performance. The participation of employees is significant for a performance management system to be effective. Employees should be involved in the formulation of a new system rather than being isolated when the system is developed yet the system will be used to evaluate their performance. Simplicity is essential when designing performance management because if employees perceive a system negatively then they will not be comfortable when it is used to evaluate and develop their performance.

Performance is significant for the success of a company in this era where competition is stiff. The competitive nature of the market is what has made managers come up with new systems for managing employees' performance. Human resource is the backbone of a company so if they carry out their duties poorly the company is doomed to fail. Introducing a new performance management system is important because the old system such as the use of performance appraisal does not meet the needs of the employees as employees are considered as subjects and not partners of the system. The necessity of having performance management in organizations arose as a result of the failure in economic systems in developed nations and worldwide economic crises. This made it necessary for organizations to focus on the improvement of employee performance to improve their overall performance. In any company, the input corresponds to the overall output of the organization. Therefore, there is a need to improve the quality of human resources which is the primary input in an organization. Strategic and integrated performance management contributes to the achievement of organizational goals hence the need for developing a system that ensures maximum achievement. Evaluation of performance helps the managers to determine salary increments, make promotion decisions, come up with plans for retention, retrenchment as well as develop performance standards. When performance evaluation is done, the managers can determine the strengths and weaknesses of each employee and design strategies for identifying talents and managing them effectively.

Organizations are preferring new systems of performance management which integrate factors such as clarity of roles, employee engagement, coaching and mentoring, a frequency of appraisal and feedback as well as motivation. Different scholars have carried out research that shows how employees perc...