Abstracts
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to investing the perceived fairness and accuracy of performance appraisal outcomes among Employees of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. The study is focused at serving including understanding the concept of performance appraisal and its relevancy from Saudi employees’ point of view. To investigate the linkage between perceived fairness and accuracy of performance appraisals outcomes, and employees’ level of satisfaction at -CONFIDENTIAL Co- and to propose specific recommendations for improving the accuracy, fairness and effectiveness of performance appraisal outcomes within -CONFIDENTIAL Co-.
Research Method and Analysis: The study collects primary data with the help of 115 employees of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. The survey through questionnaire method is used for collection of primary data. The research analyses primary data with the help of statistical tool and Microsoft Excel and presents the findings with the help of table and pie-charts.
Findings:
The research finds a neutral relationship between perceived fairness and accuracy of performance
appraisal outcomes among Employees of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-.
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction to the Research
Performance appraisal has long been regarded as one of the most critical functions of human resource management that helps in improving employees’ productivity and organizational competency. Several prior studies have shown that employees of an organization are the most important asset behind the success of any business organization. This is because; an organization is likely to achieve its mission and vision with the help of employees, who work for it. An organization may not achieve its goals and objective without contribution of employees. The critical roles of employee towards organizational success make it imperative for business organizations to keep looking for ways to improve the performance of employees (Armstrong & (Ferguson, 2014). However, it is not an easy task to measure the actual performance of employees and improve it continuously.
The concept of performance appraisal (PA) is one part of the entire Performance Management System (PSM). The term performance appraisal can be defined as process through which an employees’ job related strengths and weaknesses are identified, observed, measured, recorded and developed against pre-defined standards (Ferguson, 2014). It aims at evaluating the past performance of employees and giving feedback for improving the future performance. It is evident from study of existing literature that performance appraisal has been one of the most discussed topics within the HRM function.
The topic has being getting widespread attention for late 20th century, as employees are no more seen as one of the factors of production. Business organizations now regard employees as the most valuable assets and acknowledge their contribution as a primary force behind competitive advantage. The assessment of employees’ performance can be seen as one of the most common practices for business firms. It is an essential function for improving employees’ performance as well as organizational performance. Therefore, it becomes critical for any business firm to adopt performance appraisal tools and techniques, which are not only effective in measuring the actual performance of employees, but are also motivating and engaging for employees (Coppin, 2017). The aim of performance appraisal is not only limited to improving an employees’ productivity, but it also includes delivering a better results for individuals and teams. These results encompass of higher level of skills, competence, motivation and commitment towards the jobs.
Several researches have suggested that accuracy and fairness are two vital elements of performance appraisals that must be taken into account while designing a performance appraisal system. It is important to understand that employees are likely to embrace positive changes and contribute significantly to productivity, if they find performance appraisals to be accurate and fair. On the other hand, employees are likely to react if they perceive that performance appraisals are unfair and biased (Ismail, 2018). In the context of perceived effectiveness and accuracy of performance appraisals outcomes, the study focuses on understanding this trend within -CONFIDENTIAL Co-.
1.2 Research Background
Saudi Arabia has experienced asharp growth in construction industry due to rapid increasing needs of infrastructure development during 21st century. According to the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has initiated an important program for reforming its economic and social bases and this program is known as Vision 2030. The nation’s value of combined construction projects is about $819 billion. The country is home of more than 5,200 construction projects, which account for 35% of the total value of active projects within the regions of the GCC. Although the construction industry is increasing a rate of 4.1% this year in KSA, between 2010 and 2016, it is likely to grow with pace of 6.3% from 2018 to 2022 (Saudi Gazette, 2018). The expected rise in the growth rate of construction industry indicates towards promising future of this industry.
One of the companies, which is contributing to the growth of Saudi’s construction industry is, -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. It was founded in 1970 with the aim of supporting urban growth in KSA and supporting constructions projects for public and private sector. In addition, the company also serves local clients with the best services in the field of contracting. Al Saghyir has taken a number of gradual steps to consolidate its position amongst major construction corporate in KSA. One such step is creation of a competent workforce that is based on contribution of 3,000 employees. It was due to support of the government authorities and efforts from employees the company has made a remarkable position in Saudi’s construction industry. It has been able to keep pace with urban growth and development of resources, in order to create required competencies and experiences for renaissance and development the KSA (Thomson Reuters, 2018).
Over the period of last 50 years, it has emerged as one of the largest construction companies of the KSA. Currently, the company employs about 3000 staffs, who work for excellence of the firm (Thomson Reuters, 2018). Therefore, it is important for the firm to take care of the work force and measure their performances in the most accurate and fair way. The basic reason for selecting this company for study can be identified as a lack of researches in the field of construction industry.
The issues of performance appraisal system have got widespread attention in public private and public sector organizations too, yet there is a lack of consensus on actual impact of performance outcomes on employees’ productivity. It is important for management to decide on planned operational purposes within which PA system exists (Muhammad & Saeed, 2012). Saudi government has introduced the concept of Saudi Civil Service (SCS), which emphasizes on the needs of public sector employees undergoing yearly evaluation. Under the Article 36 and paragraph 17, SCS outlines the mechanism and operating requirements of the performance appraisals in public sector organizations. In addition, paragraph 7 clearly notes the need of setting parameters for evaluating performance of public sector employees within Saudi Arabia. The articles and paragraphs of SCS clearly show that Saudi government is concerned about performance of employees and it starts with appraisal requirements (H Alharbi, 2018).
A study by Shahina & Sumod (2015) finds that employees tend to respond to performance appraisal system at three levels. These three levels encompass of (a) perception of fairness), (b) perception of accuracy, (c) perception of satisfaction. Studies also show that perceived accuracy of performance appraisal has a direct impact on employees’ motivation and satisfaction (Shahina & Sumod, 2015). It implies that employees are more likely to act on results and performance feedback, if they believe that appraisal outcomes are accurate and fair.
Most of the researches in the field of performance appraisal have excessively focused on psychometric issues rather than emphasizing the rigorous and systematic approach, which is directly linked with motivation and satisfaction of employees. Critics have argued that due to emotional variability involved in such processes, it becomes very difficult to achieve the objective of accuracy and subsequent satisfaction. However, it is needless to say that accuracy is one of the most basic elements of performance appraisals and it must be ensured in order to achieve objectivity (Sharma & Sharma, 2017). Otherwise, the entire process of performance appraisal would serve no purpose, if it would be based on solely subjective interpretation.
1.3 Aims and Objectives
The study aims at investigating of perceived fairness and accuracy of performance appraisals outcomes among employees of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. It seeks to establish a linkage between perceived effectiveness and accuracy of performance appraisal outcomes and its subsequent impact of employees’ satisfaction. It focuses on measuring the existing level of employees’ satisfaction with performance appraisals outcomes, when it comes to fairness and accuracy. Besides this, the study makes an assessment regarding elements of perceived objectivity and subjectivity towards appraisals outcomes and how it can be improved. The elements of perceived objectivity are related to numerical facts and figure that do not keep on changing due to change of employees. They are commonly accepted standards and parameters for the appraisal system. On other hand, the elements of subjectivity may include the opinions and views of employees that keep on changing due to change of employees. These aims will be attained with the help of below objectives:
- To understand the concept of performance appraisal and its relevancy from Saudi employees’ point of view
- To investigate the linkage between perceived fairness and accuracy of performance appraisals outcomes, and employees’ level of satisfaction at -CONFIDENTIAL Co-.
- To propose specific recommendations for improving the accuracy, fairness and effectiveness of performance appraisal outcomes within -CONFIDENTIAL Co-.
In order to investigate the above mentioned aims and objectives related to effectiveness and accuracy of performance appraisal, this study has been guided by following research questions and sub-questions:
1.4 Research Questions and Sub-questions:
Research Question: What is the perceived effectiveness and accuracy of Performance Appraisal outcomes among Saudi Employees?
The above research question has been divided into following sub-questions:
RQ1: What type of Performance Appraisal Techniques is used by -CONFIDENTIAL Co- for measuring Employees’ Performance?
RQ2: What is the perception of employees towards fairness and accuracy of Performance Appraisal Techniques in measuring their actual performances?
RQ3: How the effectiveness and accuracy of Performance Appraisal System could be improved in construction industry?
1.5 Rationale of the Research
A number of studies have been undertaken to understand the impact of performance appraisals on employees’ productivity, commitment, motivation and engagement. However, a larger part of these studies are focused on western context (Harrington & Lee, 2015). A close examination of available sources indicates that only a limited number of studies have been done in the specific context of Middle East region. The scarcity of literature further increases when this trend in analyzed in the within the particular context of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). This indicates towards a clear need of undertaking an empirical study to investigating the perceived effectiveness and accuracy of performance appraisal outcomes among Saudi Employees.
A study by Al Harbi, Thursfield, and Bright (2017) reports that cultural elements tend to constraint the adoption of western style performance appraisal system within Saudi Arabian context. The authors argue that Saudi Arabian employees are not very comfortable in sharing performance expectations and question the entire process of performance appraisal. The Saudi employees have indicated towards inherent biases in the process of PA due to lack of an effective feedback system (Al Harbi, Thursfield, & Bright, 2017). According to Alharbi (2018) there is an abundance of literature that examines and reports the reaction of employees towards their performance appraisal system. Nonetheless, the availability of such studies is rare in the specific context of Saudi Arabia. The author further argues that the elements of fairness and accuracy are critical from employees’ overall acceptance point of view. It is important to explore that how PA system can help in improving employees’ performance (H Alharbi, 2018).
It is
evident from study of existing literature that most of the studies are
concerned with reporting the effectiveness and efficiency of their PA system.
However, these studies do not shed adequate light when it comes to develop an
understanding about reporting the impact of performance appraisal system on
employees’ performance. HR professionals around the world find it difficult to
ensure the fairness and accuracy of PA system. Hence, there is strong need of a
study that deals with the topic of how perceived fairness and accuracy of PA
system affect employees’ acceptance towards the system and the overall
motivation to perform (Krishnan, Ahmad, & Haron, 2018). In addition, it can
also be found that most of the existing studies are focused at employers’ perspectives
rather than employees’ perception towards performance appraisal outcomes. In
this context, the study makes an attempt to underline employees’ perception
towards appraisal outcomes. The study is likely serve as a point of reference
for public sector organizations and would assist in bridging the knowledge gap
of existing literature.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 Introduction to the Research
This section of the research study is helpful in reviewing and evaluating the relationship between fairness and accuracy of performance management system and satisfaction of employees (McDowall and Fletcher, 2004). A Proper understanding of the relationship between fairness and accuracy of performance and output of employees enables the researcher to identify sources to increase the effectiveness of PA, which ultimately leads to job satisfaction (Lee, 2005). There are a number of literary sources that examines this relationship and provides theoretical arguments, which are helpful in arriving at meaningful observations and results.
2.2 Perception of employees towards performance management
Krishnan, Ahmad & Haron (2018), states that the cycle of appraisal is begins with handing over tasks and ends with appraisals or points. This was supported by the Adams theory of equity. According to this theory, there is a relationship between employees and their companies where employees record the ratio of their performance with the results attained (Krishnan, Ahmad & Haron, 2018). This shows that when an employee perceives incorrectly about their performance and the results they get, they tend to feel unfair and injustice in the whole process of PA. The research in psychology demonstrated that employees often witness PA be inaccurate and subjective (Ismail, 2018). Therefore, it is important for employees to accept the process of PA in order to direct their behaviour for career development. When employees reject the PA system it is destined to fail in future.
As per Krishnan, Ahmad & Haron (2018), it is also important for management to understand the value of accuracy in the assessment of performance. If performance is not managed accurately it can disturb the effectiveness of rewards and measurement of performance. This also affects the level of productivity, performance and workplace environment. The benefits of PA have been supported in a number of researches (Krishnan, Ahmad & Haron, 2018). However, the drawbacks can be seen when they are applied practically. These drawbacks arise either because the manager or employees do not support it actively. In this situation, the effectiveness of the PA becomes challenging for the organization. Recent research by Huang et al., (2016) has shown that when employees receive continuous feedback from their managers they feel more confident about overcoming their shortcomings (Huang, 2016).
2.3 Theories of performance management
Equity theory: According to Lee (2005) this theory is based on the factor that a worker resumes that there is a relation between the outcome and the input with regards to his performance and job in the organization. The outcome is what the employee gets from the job and input is how much he contributes to that particular job. Output means to pay, job satisfaction, job opportunity, job security, and prestige. The input, on the other hand, means the contribution he makes with regards to the amount of time he has worked, is education and work experience and how much he has contributed to the organization (Lee, 2005). This theory is based on what an employee perceives and not objective standards. This theory was propounded by Adam and he laid down the elements of outcome and input.
Expectancy Theory
This theory is known as the valence, instrumentality and expectancy theory. According to Vroom (2011), the performance of an employee is based on is individual factors like personality, skill, his knowledge and experience and even though an individual might have different goals they can be supportive of the correlation that exists between effort and performance. The theory believes that every individual must expect that by giving the favorable performance he will receive a desirable reward. The reward that the individual will get will satisfy his needs and will instill a desire to work better than before to achieve his goals. The three elements of this theory are for the purpose of understanding the relationship between expectancy and reward. Valence refers to the emotional orientation whereas the reward means the satisfaction and the benefits that he will be getting.
Procedural justice theory
This theory is concerned with the perceived fairness in the procedure that makes the decision making and the distribution of outcomes. Nurse (2005) argues that procedural justice is a way of evaluating the performance level and how the grievances and complaints in an organization are handled properly. The perception of the worker is very important in this theory and how a worker reacts to a particular procedure will depend on what he perceives about the procedure. The reality of the procedure is not as important as the perception of the procedure. This theory helps in making sure that the workers are motivated to work and perform in an organization because it believes that the distribution of outcome will be fair and transparent (Nurse, 2005). The worker will be more confident to work in an atmosphere where he believes that the outcome shall be fair.
Goal setting theory
This theory was developed by Latham and Locke (2011) and it laid down for mechanism that connects performance outcome to the goals and targets of an individual. The four factors are
- Direct attention to priorities
- How an individual will stimulate the effort
- To challenge others to work on the knowledge and skill to be able to increase the chances of getting more success
- The relating goal with skill.
This theory is concerned with analyzing the performance management and setting the goals to achieve the target. This theory believes that people who have specific and challenging goals will do better because they are inclined towards setting their goals and reaching them.
2.4 Accuracy and Performance Appraisal System
The aim of the study is to analyze how psychometric rater accuracy can be understood in a PAS context which has the ability to influence the public sector. According to Prowse and Prowse (2010), there is always a dilemma with regards to the performance appraisal process and how it can be used in measuring developing performance. The other opinion on this account is that PAS should be utilized for the purpose of measuring and employees contribute to the job and not how the employee behaves for his activities. There are some problems in accurately finding and developing a PAS that can monitor an employee’s performance. It so happened that a system is made specifically for the purpose of matching the employee with his organization and characteristics. The performance rating accuracy is a method of evaluating the subject as well as understanding how a judgment is made by the human. The human rating is very subjective and personal factors and prejudices might influence that rating and therefore a system should be used which is not influenced by any human emotions.
2.5 Interpersonal factors and PAS
The interpersonal factors are mostly those factors that are related to the treatment an appraisee gets from the person who is doing the appraisal, that is, the appraiser. It is of the opinion that this is interpersonal factors are very important in PAS as they have the ability to influence the outcome that comes out of the introduction between the appraisee and the appraiser (Korsgaard and Roberson 2015). The quality of the introduction has the power to contribute to who the sun is the procedure of the whole system. It is therefore important to value the rates and also treat them with transparency, ferns, and dignity. A complete environment of Trust should prevail in the integrators and they should show support to the rates. If there is an absence of such trust, it might lead to dissatisfaction with the PAS.
2.6 Employee attitude and performance appraisal system
In cases of a performance appraisal, the statute of the employee is directly linked to how much he is satisfied with the system. In the opinion of Boswell and Boudreau (2010), the perception of an idea of fairness is very important aspects that lead to the effectiveness of the system. If it is found that PAS is biased and prejudiced, it might pose a threat leading to a destructor function with the system. How an employee reacts to PAS is very critical for the acceptance and effectiveness of this particular system in question. Is the general perception is of dissatisfaction, and unfairness and discrimination, there might be a problem. Any perception of inequality in the rating system white has a devastating effect on the system leading to its failure.
2.7 Performance Appraisal: Concept of Fairness
Understanding fairness or organizational justice in performance appraisal process and practices is extremely important for organizations because of its relationship with employees’ job satisfaction and organizational commitment and, subsequently, their propensity to search for another job, (Cropanzano, Bowen & Gillilan 2007) defined organizational justice as a personal evaluation about the ethical and moral standing of managerial conduct cited by Sudin (2011, p. 67). They argued that organizational justice has the potential to create powerful benefits for organizations and employees alike. These include greater trust and commitment, improved job performance, more helpful citizenship behaviors, improved customer satisfaction, and diminished conflict (Cropanzano, Bowen & Gillilan, 2007). According to (McShane & Glinow, 2000), Perception is the process of receiving information and making sense of the world around us cited by Chemeda Diriba (2012, p. 33). It involves deciding which information to notice, how to categorize this information, and how to interpret within the framework of our existing knowledge.
As he noted most stimuli are screened out; the rest are organized and interpreted based on various information- processing activities. The resulting perceptions influence our emotions and behaviour toward those objects, people, and events. According to Armstrong (2009), perception is the intuitive understanding, recognition and interpretation of things and events. Behaviour will be influenced by the perceptions of individuals about the situation they are in. Therefore, the perception of employee about their performance appraisal depends upon their understanding of themselves and
Performance appraisals are used for a variety of purposes in relation to a person, operation of a system and documentation purposes. The system helps in providing with recognition to the person in order to take decisions for promotion, rewards, layoffs and termination and so on (Lee, 2005). Operations are managed as the system helps in identifying the need for training and other aspects. Lastly, documentation assists in taking care of the legal aspects. Mainly the work done by HR is recorded and validation for PA tools is researched.
Shahina & Sumod (2015) stated that PA plays a very important part in the success and failure of an organization and its strategic management. This is as PA has become an important part of the strategic plan through integration in the HR activities objectives of the business. However, researchers have emphasized PA to be low in quality and reliability (Shahina & Sumod, 2015). This shows that there is a need to re-check the criteria that have been kept in place for the selection and promotion of an employee. It is essential for the organizations to look at the system of PA as complete where companies ensure successful integration of daily operations with the culture of the organization. With successful integration, there are high chances of successful implementation of PA (Boachie-Mensah & Seidu, 2012).
According to Shahina & Sumod (2015), there are a number of biases associated with PA as it involves human factors, which work for subjectivity. This subjectivity is a root cause of favouritism, leniency and so on. This often disturbs the morale and work motivation of employees. PA must be based on the objective to improve and enhance organizational effectiveness and achievement of goals (Shahina & Sumod, 2015). As per Boachie-Mensah & Seidu (2012) employees strive to know about their performance and how it is helping in the achievement of the outcomes. This greatly helps them to improve, which leads to better communication with their co-workers. This also helps the company to ascertain high performing employees and how they can be given challenging tasks for further growth.
It is largely seen that managers use PA to form decisions about the termination of employees. It is found that employees tend to accept the process of PA, when they perceive that the process is fair (Boachie-Mensah & Seidu, 2012). Boachie-Mensah & Seidu (2012) highlights the goals setting theory that focuses on the relationship of employees between the goals and performance. The theory lay emphasises that an individual’s performance is likely to be better when they get specific goals. When this happens, their actions or behaviours direct their performance.
Huang et al., (2016) show that there are a number of techniques that are used for evaluating the performance of employees in terms of the tasks in job and the culture of the organization. The number of techniques available for evaluation of employees often creates confusion in the minds of managers. This condition also impacts the use of appraisal systems in organizations. In a recent study, it was identified that the concept and purpose of PA are supported by the majority of the people despite the results (Huang, 2016). However, many complain that the process and techniques used in PA are not fair and reasonable.
According to Alharbi (2018), the process of PA has different parts. It involves building suitable criteria for job and standards of appraisal. After this, with due time the appraisers are chosen and provides with the necessary feedback. Presently in major telecom companies, the process of PA has been revised from person-oriented to behaviour-oriented (Alharbi, 2018). This system helps in focusing on the tasks and behaviours which impact the performance in a specific job. STC is one of the largest public sector organization based in Saudi Arabia. Findings show that a majority of telecom companies like STC focus on using PA for managing rather than for measuring the performance of employees (Boachie-Mensah & Seidu, 2012).
In this case, El Emary, Alsereihy & Alyoubi, (2012) state that PA is used to motivate and provide with direction to the subordinates and ensure that there are enough resources in the organization to improve productivity. There are a number of issues that are faced by STC which has become a barrier to the growth and profitability of the company. The demand for better services has been increased in the company due to rise in prices of internet, division in the market share and reduction in the use of telephones (El Emary, Alsereihy & Alyoubi, 2012). There is an urgent need for the company to adopt the new technologies and stay ahead in cutting edge competition. The company has implemented knowledge management in the organization in order to improve the performance of the employees.
According to El Emary, Alsereihy & Alyoubi, (2012) Knowledge Management is a web portal that helps employees discusses the technical problems they face. Also, People who faced similar problems can share their knowledge. Thus communication helps employees to build a social network (El Emary, Alsereihy & Alyoubi, 2012). This portal thus supports the circulation of information and helps one other to interact. This KM portal has also become a valuable resource where the newly recruited staffs get to learn, how issues can be resolved (El Emary, Alsereihy & Alyoubi, 2012). However, it is important that company provides with suitable awards and recognition to the contributors.
2.8 Challenges of Performance Appraisal to Achieve Fairness and Accuracy
According to Petrovsky and Ritz (2014) it is not easy to ensure fairness and accuracy of performance appraisal outcomes as fairness is regarded as a subjective concept that may mean different things to different employees. On the other hands, accuracy may not be attained until and unless consistency is developed between and among a range of factors including validity and reliability of appraisal technique, and capability of a system to generate genuine results. In this context, the author argue that performance appraisal faces constant criticism as the employees feel they are not properly assessed and managers complain that they have to follow a lengthy process for annual assessment (Petrovsky and Ritz, 2014). Thus, rating scale method becomes the most vulnerable part of the process. Following points cover the problems that are associated with performance appraisal at the workplace:
- Appraiser Discomfort
Omusebe, Gabriel and Douglas (2013) posit that conducting performance appraisal becomes frustrating as the task may lead to rift between the supervisors and their sub-ordinates. The conflict often leads to non-adaptive behavior of the employees. One of the management gurus, Edward Lawler, stated that documentation involved in performance appraisal system neither effectively motivate employees nor assist them in their development. If the performance appraisal system neither has a proper design nor administration, then the employees will always be afraid of receiving appraisals and the appraiser will always despise conducting the task (Omusebe, Gabriel and Douglas, 2013). Managers have discomfort as the appraisal process requires lengthy paper work, less time, and tough choices.
- Lack of Objectivity
According to Kuvaas (2008) lack of objectivity is the main weakness of performance appraisal system. It becomes tough to measure the performance of employees through the factors of rating scale method such as personality, appearance, and attitude. These factors are of minor importance and have no link to employee’s job performance. It is tough for a firm/company to prove that these factors are job-related. Measuring the performance as per the rating scale leads to lack of objectivity (Kuvaas, 2008). Although, subjectivity is always included in the process; the evaluation of the employees is not properly done as the managers do not know the employees work performance so they start evaluating the employee’s behavior and characteristics.
- Halo/Horn
Breuer, Nieken, and Sliwka, (2013) have found that halo error occurs when a single positive feel about an employee becomes the basis to carry the overall performance appraisal task. This evaluation error based on single factor keeping aside all the other factors to judge the performance, leads to higher rating given to the particular employee. The authors have referred to an example for understanding the errors caused due to halo horn errors. For example, Charles Thomas is the appraiser and has a high value on neatness. He has noted that his subordinate, Jack is a very neat individual. On the basis of this single quality, Charles gives a high ranking to Jack keeping aside all the other performance factors. Horn error occurs when one negative performance of an employee becomes the basis to evaluate the performance. This leads to lower rating for employees. This can be understood as if Jack was not a very neat person, he would get lower rating.
- Leniency/Strictness
According to Bozionelos and Wang (2007) when it comes to appraisal some managers are either too lenient or too strict on a person. Dick Grote, performance management expert stated that “this is not justified that performance rating differs from manager to manager as this difference impacts development, succession, and succession planning”. Giving higher rating to an undeserving employee is referred as leniency. The managers adopt this behavior so as to avoid any dispute over appraisal. Due to manager leniency, deficiency that might be corrected becomes hard to recognize. Strictness is when managers are too strict to judge the employee performance. This leads to lower rating of stronger employees (Bozionelos and Wang, 2007). A firm has demoralizing impact when it has both lenient and strict employees as the weaker employees get good appraisal from a lenient boss whereas the stronger employees get worst appraisal from a strict manager.
- Central Tendency
Caruth and Humphreys (2008) view central tendency as a major challenge in aching fairness and accuracy within performance appraisal system. According to them central tendency is the evaluation error that occurs when employee performance is measured near the middle or average of a scale. Certain rating system pushes the rater to give either too high or too low ratings. With such a system, to avoid disputes, the rater gives only average rating to the employees. In this practice, most of the employees fall in the satisfactory rating range, thus they do not complain. But, this error exists and it impacts the evaluation accuracy (Caruth and Humphreys, 2008). Since all the employees are given average ratings, underachiever gets good pay scale rise and overachiever also gets the average pay scale rise.
- Recent Behavior Bias
Existing literature has also investigated the role of recent behavior bias as one of the major barriers of achieving accuracy and fairness in performance appraisal system. As per Prowse and Prowse (2009) every employee in a company has a precise knowledge that when the performance appraisal is due. The employees and their action become conscious when the appraisals date or week is near. The employee behavior improves and the work productivity increases before the performance evaluation is scheduled. For an appraiser, it is natural to remember the recent behavior more clearly as compared to the past behavior (Prowse and Prowse, 2009). While measuring employee performance and behavior, a rater should keep in mind the performance throughout the entire period rather than a specified time.
- Personal Bias (Stereotyping)
According to Thurston, Wand and McNall (2010) the problem in appraisal arises when managers allow their personal biases to be a part in calculating the ratings. Personal biasing should not affect the performance appraisal as it may lead to lower rating of a deserving employee. Factor such as gender, age, and race should be kept side while giving rating to an employee. Managers tend to unfairly judge the employee who they dislike and this effect of stereotyping can affect rating of an employee. The appraisal process should be un-biased (Thurston, Wand and McNall, 2010). Any kind of discrimination in appraisal is regarded as unfair by employees and it may affect the overall quality of appraisal outcomes.
- Manipulating the Evaluation
Wan (2007) has argued that in some instances, managers have control over every aspect of the appraisal process and they have the power to manipulate the system. To be clearer in such cases, a supervisor can favor and give high rating to a non-deserving employee. Less favored, but more productive employees gets a lower rating. If the manager wants to get rid of an employee, he/she can manipulate the system and give a lower rating. This manipulation disturbs the whole system and the main objective of the performance appraisal is not achieved (Wan, 2007). Besides this, researchers argue that the performance appraisal process creates anxiety for the employees who are to be evaluated. This leads to discontentment, less focus at work, and stress. In worst case scenario, employees feel that performance appraisal is a way of showing all the bad things that employees have done in a year (Vasset, Mamburg and Furunes, 2012). The employee’s anxiety leads to more expectation of better work opportunity, good promotion, and more compensation.
2.9 Performance Appraisal in Saudi Arabian Context: Culture, Wasta and Islam
According to Obong (2009) performance appraisal is done to fulfill many purposes related to a person, documentation, and operation of system. The complete process of performance appraisal helps in better recognition of a person that further assists in taking decision of rewards, promotion, layoffs, termination etc. with the proper management of operations, system recognizes the need of training the employees or some other aspects. Lastly, documentation guides to take care of all the legal aspects. The overall work done by Human Resource team is recorded and research for PA tools validation is done. The organization in Saudi Arabia possesses accurate and detailed information about the employees which makes appraisal process easier (Obong, 2009).
As per Mellahi (2006), Saudi Arabia follows highly collectivist culture. Collectivist culture states that the management style in Saudi Arabia is focused on group rather than individuals. There, employees work with moral obligation and they are constantly asked to improve their relationship within the group so as to strengthen the organizational solidarity. In western society, employees have uncommon personal life and their life is interrelated with the organization they are working in.
According to Mellahi (2006), to provide economic security, organization have moral obligation to support them emotionally. Following the collectivist culture, there is difference between “in-groups” and “out-groups”. The “in-group” includes the extended family and tribe whereas “out-group” consists of people having different religion. The manager employee relation in “in-group” is of protective nature and work together effectively. “Out-group” relation is task-related targets based. Favoritism is the accepted practice in Saudi Arabia where managers are dependent on their friends and family to get their things done. This nepotism practice is adapted for themselves and their organization as well.
Collectivist culture in Saudi Arabia also prioritizes relationship while dealing in business. Subordinates are obedient towards their managers and they seldom go against their manager’s decisions. According to Branine and Pollard (2010) personal connections are necessary to make something complete with respect to Wasta culture. Wasta is a kind of personal relationship that is necessary to make their things done. It is a significant force in Arab life and central to decision- making, knowledge transmission, and the creation of opportunity (Hutching and Weir 2006, pp. 21).
In the context of managerial and employee relationship in Arab Society, power and authority are the most important determinants. However, managers show some knowledge about the western management culture post getting education from west, but, Arab culture practices puts their family, kin, and tribe first to achieve the objectives of organization. In Arab country, manager feels that it is their high moral duty to support their friends, family, and relatives. While conducting performance appraisal process, it is important to be fair in order to maintain organizational justice so as to maintain a healthy relationship between managers and their sub-ordinates. This fairness in an organization leads the committed employees and their job satisfaction. Cropanzano, Bowen, and Gillilan (2011) have noted that the concept of organizational justice is mostly related with personal evaluation about the ethical and moral standing in terms of managerial conduct.
The authors further argued that organizational justice leads to benefits for employees as well as its organization. Justice in an organization has the potential to increase work commitment and trust, improved job performance of employees, helping citizens, improved customer satisfaction, and lesser conflicts among an organization Cropanzano, Bowen, and Gillilan (2011). According to McShane & Glinow (2010) perception can be understood as receiving information and making sense of the whole world around us. This further involves that what kind of information should be noticed, how to categorize that information, and lastly how to interpret the information within our knowledge area.
The unnecessary information is left behind and the important information is categorized and interpreted as per different processing activities. The perceptions achieved after interpretation of information changes the way, impacts our emotions, and influences the behavior towards those people, objects, and behavior. According to Armstrong (2009), perception is the instinctual understanding, acknowledgment, and further interpretation of objects and events. With the change in perception of an individual, their behavior gets influenced about the situation they are dealing in. Hence, the employee perception about their performance appraisal is dependent upon their understanding of themselves.
2.10 Strategies for improving the performance appraisal system in construction industry
For a big construction country especially like -CONFIDENTIAL Co-, it is extremely essential for the organization to establish systems that can understand the needs of each employee and treat them fairly. For this, it is important to design PA systems that are unbiased, fair and specific to the objectives of organization (Boachie-Mensah & Seidu, 2012). Huang et al., (2016), provided solid evidence that PA has a relation with financial rewards. Performance of employees can be enhanced when they are appreciated and given pay (Huang et al., 2016). There are a number of telecom industries that have incentives program attached to the fixed pay. These incentives are also called as the Pay-For-Performance system. Therefore, management must reward performance so that employees can improve their productivity and stay satisfied.
Ismail (2018) have emphasized that when rewards are linked with the performance of employees; it motivates them to advance their efforts and improves their behaviour. When this is in place, employees can be more productive as they see that their performance is seen in their salaries. However, often managers’ ambiguity in the assessment of employees’ performance creates differences in rewards and appraisal (Huang et al., 2016). In this case, it is possible that employees receive unfair pay and low rewards different from what they deserve. In public companies like STC, managers are not given enough opportunity to have formal regulations and join pay with performance. This is also due to the lack of flexibility in operations. Krishnan, Ahmad & Haron (2018), argued that pay of employees must not be linked with the performance but with the job level, experience and other economic factors. It is important that organizations understand the relationship between pay and performance (Ahmad & Haron, 2018).
As
per Boachie-Mensah & Seidu (2012), it is important to implement right
practices in order to implement extraordinary organisational performance. This
can be done when the managers have the ability to differentiate among the high
and low performing ones. With the help of the FD method, the process of PA can
be implied accurately (Boachie-Mensah & Seidu, 2012). Training can be
provided to the managers so that they can learn the application of FD for
assessment of employee performance and the use of feedback system (Alharbi,
2018). It is also essential for a manager to develop their knowledge so that
they can provide with regular and relevant feedback to the employees.
Furthermore, evaluators must be involved in training programs so that they can
develop knowledge regarding errors for which they are responsible and how wrong
evaluation can affect employee motivation and overall performance of an
organization.
Chapter 3: Research Methodology
3.1 Introduction
This section of the research provides a comprehensive overview about the research paradigms and methodologies that is used to collect authentic and appropriate information for the selection and implementation of research tools and techniques. This section of research methodology provides all the detailed description about research philosophy, research design, research methods, data collection sources, sample size and ethical consideration for conducting research. In order to understand the research perspective, it is necessary to know the flow of research and methods of primary data collection. Moreover, the section also focuses on assessing the efficiencies of research tools and techniques for the fulfilment of research aims and objectives (Taylor 2006).
The perception of employees towards the fairness and accuracy of performance appraisal techniques in measuring the actual performance of employees has already been discussed in the section of literature review. It is clear from the literature review that effective and fair performance appraisal system puts positive impact on the perception and beliefs of employees’ works at different level of the organization. In addition, the literature also suggests that an effective performance appraisal system provide opportunity to employees to set relevant goals for their benefit as well as for the organization (Noaman & Ahmed, 2015). The research aims at providing an insight about the perception of employees towards the accuracy and fairness of performance appraisal outcomes among Saudi employees.
In the context of above interpretations, it is significant to understand the experience of participants at two different levels that includes the information collected through primary and secondary sources, both. The primary and secondary data on performance appraisal system helps to provide a new dimension to the understanding related to social and organizational problems existed in the industry. The Onion Model of Saunders has been adopted for formulating the logical sequence in the selection of research philosophy, research approach, research design, sampling techniques and research methods. This model is helpful in findings the tools and techniques that are appropriate and suited to the nature and scope of the research study (Lohr 2009).
3.2 Saunders’s Onion Model of Research and Selection of Tools and Techniques
The research onion model was developed by Saunders in 2007, where each layer of it describes a more detailed description of research process (Jackson, 2008). This model helps to illustrate the different stages that have been adopted to formulate a research strategy. This model provides an effective progression to design a research methodology that further assist in achieving the research objectives by using reliable and authentic sources. In order to ensure its effectiveness, it is important to know that research process passes through each of the layer. There are mainly five layers, which show a path for conducting an effective research. The first layer requires definition of research philosophy, which helps to create a starting point for the second step that is related to the research approach. The third step includes research strategy and forth step is concerned with the identification of time horizon. Fifth step helps to identify the data collection methods. The advantages of adopting this model is that it creates a series of steps, which further helps to understand the different methods of data collection. The detailed explanation of each layer can also be observed from the following figure:
(Source: Saunders, Lewis & Thornhill, 2012)
3.3 Research Philosophy
Research philosophy deals with the most initial phase of research methodology, where it deals with the nature, source and development of knowledge. In other words, research philosophy refers to the belief which provides a way to gather and analyze the data that can be used for the research. The research philosophy can also be seen as a nature of knowledge that is being investigated to provide a justification for research progress. It serves as a base for research strategy. Generally, research philosophy has several branches, but as per the scope of business studies, it can be classified into four main categories including pragmatism, positivism, realism, and interpretivism. As per the research question, Positivism philosophy based on the nature and scope of the research as it is highly structured and based on the analysis of quantitative and qualitative data. Moreover, positivism philosophy believes that knowledge exist independently and also studied on the basis of interference of different subjects. It indicates that meaning of phenomena is dependable on the subject. This assumption of positivism philosophy makes it quantitative in nature.
Realism approach to research philosophy is same as positivism as both follows the structured methods that suited to the subject matter. This philosophy emphasizes on the belief that reality is not dependent on mind, while senses also tends to show the truth. It uses quantitative and qualitative data, while interpretivism research philosophy uses small samples to investigate the truth through qualitative sources. The interpretivism philosophy believes that the inherent meaning of any social scenario is different for different observation group. It also implies that a single situation is assumed by different individual differently and due to this, it is qualitative in nature (Collins, 2010). Pragmatism research philosophy is a mix of multiple research designs, which includes both: qualitative and quantitative data. According to the pragmatism philosophy, it needs different world view to assert the clear and accurate picture of any phenomena rather than a single worldview.
In the context of present research study, it is important to know the perception of employees towards fairness and accuracy of performance appraisal techniques adopted by the AlSaghyir Trading & Contracting Co while measuring their actual performances. It also required exploring the ways in order to improve the effectiveness and accuracy of performance measurement system in the telecom industry. Employees’ responses and their past experiences may have certain impact on the accuracy of performance appraisal system, yet truth can be explored and compared on the basis of data collected through different sources. The nature of study suited to the realism research philosophy as it guides the ways to gather data to achieve the aims and objectives of the research. The present study provides ways to support the view of employees in terms of the performance appraisal system and how these systems helps them to set performance related goals for them. The realism philosophy of research aims at specific circumstance experienced by the employees in particular industry rather than focusing on a common course of action (McBurney and White 2009).
3.4 Research Approach
The selection of research philosophy further leads to identify the research approach that consists with a procedure having certain steps based on assumptions to provide detailed methods of data collection, analysis and interpretation. The selection of research approach is based on the nature of research problem being addressed. There are mainly two approaches to analyze the data including inductive and deductive approach. For qualitative research, inductive approach can be used as it tends to find out the cause or reason for a particular event. On the other hand, quantitative data requires deductive approach for analysis because is based on the assessment of common hypothesis against specific research questions. Mixed approach can also be utilized in case of mixed data (Maxwell, 2005).
The realism philosophy has been adopted for conducting a research, which leads to the selection of deductive approach to analyze the quantitative data. As deductive approach is quantitative in nature though, it can be helpful in investigating the responses of employees towards the accuracy of PMS at STC, Saudi Arabia. However, the deductive approach allows the understanding of basic theories and models related with the PMS. These factors can also be analyzed with the help of different elements related with the research quality of information, ease of use, quality of system, timely and accurate response. While comprehending their association with users, if the data is presented in quantitative figures then it provides a clear view about the research problem to researcher (White 2009).
3.5 Research Design
Research design refers to the plan that contains an arrangement of conditions for the collection and analyzes the data in order to answer the research question. It provides a strategy that is further used to implement that plan. Research design and data collection methods are different in nature but closely related with each other, because it ensures that data gather through different methods is helpful to answer the research question adequately. There are mainly three main categories of research design such as, exploratory, diagnostic and descriptive. In the present study, exploratory research design goes with the nature of research question. The exploratory research design helps in reflecting the personal experiences of employees and tends to cover the distinctions between data, which also based on the difference of opinion among participants (McNabb, 2008). An appropriate research design provides an understanding about the reasons behind the opinion differences among participants.
It is necessary to know the influential factors that guides the way of recognizing the primary objectives of the research. It helps in answering the main research question that what is the perceived effectiveness and accuracy of performance appraisal outcomes among Saudi employees. It also provides an understanding about different tools and techniques used for analyzing the employees’ performance at different level of the organization. it helps to compare the differences and similarities between the employees’ perception towards the fairness and accuracy of PMS.
3.6 Data Collection
The data collection process is started just after the recognition of research philosophy, approach and research design. It provides a clear and convincing view about the type of data that should be used to investigate the objective of a research. This research uses two types of data including primary and secondary data (Ugwuegbu, 2011). The sources of different types of data are also different and both have different methods of data collection. The primary data includes all the information that is based on the current investigation for some specific purpose. This data is fresh in nature, as it needs to be collected for first time to fulfill the pre-defined objectives of the research. On the other hand, secondary data is readily available and can be gathered through various sources. It can also be used for the current investigation.
3.6.1. Source of Primary Data
The source of primary data is considered to be an original data source that collected first hand from respondents. There are various methods to collect primary data such as such as survey, questionnaire, observations, interview and other reference group. The selection of primary data source depends upon the nature, sample size and scope of research study (Poggenpohl and Sato, 2009). Survey method has been adopted for the present study to collect primary data. This method is very common to collect primary data from different participants, as it deals with the information that contains the interest of population. The survey method of primary data collection has two major characteristics including questionnaire and sampling. In this research study, the data is mainly collected through the questionnaire method having close-ended questions. The questions are designed on the basis of likert scale that allows using predetermined responses while collecting responses from the participants. This scale includes responses like strongly agree, agree, neutral, disagree, and strongly agree.
The survey method is a technique that contains a list of questions and answers are collected from the people, who are thought to have desired information. This method has several advantages over other methods like interview, observation and reference groups. Some of the significant advantages of survey method can be identified as it is very cost effective, time effective and easy to administer. The response rate in survey method is generally high as it provides large scale accessibility, flexibility, anonymity, automation and real time access (Taylor, 2006). On the other hand, survey method has some limitations also as it is inappropriate for illiterate audience and sometimes shows errors due to social biasness. It can also be suffered through cooperation problem. Despite having these disadvantages, the survey is used in the research study because it ensures large scale accessibility of data as well as anonymity (Brewster, 2012).
3.6.2 Sources of Secondary Data:
There are wide varieties of sources to collect secondary data as it covers online articles, books, journals, reports published by authentic sources, etc. from the perspective of any research study, it can be said that the secondary sources are very useful in formulating the basic framework for research study. It provides direction to the research problem by providing basic information about the topic. The section of literature review is completely based on the secondary sources that also provide an understanding about the subject matter through detailed explanations. Moreover, secondary data helps in identifying the differences and common things between the opinion and views of scholars (Bergh and Ketchen, 2009). Secondary data is very essential for the research as it provides a broad and clear picture with some dotted lines. However, excessive reliance on secondary information can lead to unreliable results. Due to this fact, the secondary sources may not directly cover the research question, but it could be relevant to a limited extent. Though, an effective research methodology contains a balance between the two while considering their merits and demerits.
3.7 Sample Size and Technique
Sampling refers to the defined set of population that has been used to collect primary data for the research purpose. It also refers to the research population that consists of the individual or objects that mainly respond to scientific query raised by the researcher. In most of the cases, it is not possible to gather feasible information, identify and access to all unit of given population (Walsh and Wigens, 2013). Therefore, sampling can be used to collect data from the small subset of population and combined the characteristics on the basis of similar traits. The sample of the research study is collected in such a way that enables it to infer the meaningful and valid data for the entire population.
Sampling techniques are of two types including probability or random sampling technique or non-random sampling technique. The present study focuses on the probability sampling for collecting data from the certain subset of population. The probability sampling technique further includes simple random technique, cluster sampling, multi-stage sampling and systematic sampling. Among these sub-techniques, cluster sampling technique has been adopted for the research study sampling (Walsh and Wigens, 2013). The sampling technique believes that every member of the population selected for the research study has equal rights to participate while conducting a research. This property allows high degree of flexibility and also reduces bias responses during the selection of sample and collection of data.
The random sampling method has been used for this research and data have been collected as per this sampling technique. As per this technique, the questionnaire has been sent to 150 employees of the AlSaghyir Trading & Contracting Co, Saudi Arabia. The selected employee works at different departments of the company. The respondents are consulted through the personal and professional contact and prior consent has been taken from the concerned authorities. After receiving the approval from concerned authorities, the link of the questionnaire has been sent to them. The questionnaire was designed and administered with the help of SurveyMonkey and a link was generated for it. The same link was shared with -CONFIDENTIAL Co- to collect the data from respondents.
The total numbers of employees in this company is equal to 3000. Among them, 150 employees have been chosen for this study and it accounts for 5% of the total population. It can be regarded as a standard sample size for the study, as this sample size is capable to demonstrate the characteristics of entire population working at the -CONFIDENTIAL Co-mpany. The questionnaires, which are partially filled by the participants has not been considered for the research study.
Among these 150 participants, 123 participants have sent responses within the specified period of time. In these 123 participants, the responses of 115 participants have been taken into account for conducting study. The responses of remaining 8 participants have not been considered for this study, as they the survey was not dully filled or a few replies were missed. It implies that out of 150 respondents, responses of 115 participants have been considered for this study and this brought the response rate to 76.66%.
3.8. Reliability and Validity of Questionnaire
The measurement tools always concerned with the issue that how much the intended concepts and constructs are reliable or true? Therefore, it is crucial to measure the consistency and accuracy of research instruments. Here, the terms validity refers to the degree of measurement that what it purports to measure. In the present study, the focus has been laid to measure that addresses the aims and objectives of the research. However, reliability refers to the degree of procedure that has been adopted to obtain the result for research. Therefore, reliability contributes to the validity of a questionnaire and if the survey is conducted within the specific and similar conditions. There are mainly three aspects for ensuring reliability of research method such as equivalence, stability and internal consistency.
A numbers of tools and techniques can be used to ensure the validity and reliability if the research. Some of commonly known techniques for developing a valid questionnaire include content validity, face validity, construct validity, and criterion-related validity (Bolarinwa, 2015). This research study has adopted a face validity technique for establishing a valid questionnaire for research purpose. This technique allows reviewing the questions and ensure that items, terminology and concepts used in the questionnaire is consistent with the given topic and conceptual domain.
For measuring the reliability of questionnaire, test-retest technique has adopted. This technique focuses on the consistency of results on the basis of score obtained through the responses of participants with repetitive testing. The questionnaire used for this research also tends to show the similar findings for different group of employees. A pilot test has been conducted for this purpose, which further distributed to the large population. Some evidences are also there that known to produce similar kind of results under similar conditions. The pattern of consistency has can also be observed through the application of test-retest technique.
3.9. Discussion on Questionnaire and Data Analysis Technique
The questions attached in the survey questionnaire consist of 8 questions (attached in Appendix 1) that have been designed to capture all types of information such as demographic, attitudinal and professional. The first 3 (three) questions are related with the demographic information of the participants. This information is required to know the diversity, nature, age and the role of respondents in the organization at different level. This is also essential for validating the reliability of research study (Rubin & Babbie, 2010).
The professional roles and responsibility related question helps to collect the information about what respondents do in the organization. The questionnaire is more concerned to gather factual information along with the attitudinal information (Poggenpohl & Sato, 2009). This is due to the fact that the research study is more focused towards the perception and beliefs of employees with regards to the effectiveness and accuracy of performance measurement system within the organization of Saudi Arabia. The questionnaire is based on the 5 point likert scale that is helpful to capture the minor details of the perception of employees. The scale has been designed as below:
| Strongly disagree | Disagree | Neutral | Agree | Strongly agree |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
The primary data collected through the respondents will be analyzed by the quantitative methods that is based on mathematical operations or percentage method. Microsoft excel software has been used in the research study to organize and analyze the data. It also helps to enable quantitative calculation by providing effective visual representation of data in an organized manner (Cooper, 2008). Arithmetical operations have been applied on the collected data and pie charts and graphs will be used to present the data analysis. The correlations between employees and organizational goals have been analyzed and also presented a negative and positive correlation in the perceptions of employees.
3.10 Ethical Consideration
The research study successfully follows the principles of ethical considerations related to the security of primary data and privacy of respondents. Mainly these two concerns related to the participants have been addressed by taking appropriate measures. During the study, the participants are not to be harmed in any manner. The priority is given to the security of participants in terms of their demographic information, respect for their dignity and data provided by them. It is ensured while conducting the research study that the data provided by the participants should be used only for the intended purpose (Creswell, 2013). In order to maintain privacy and anonymity, the questionnaire does not ask for the name of participants and survey link has been shared in such a way that directly submitted to the Google drive after it is finished. This online medium has been adopted to protect the personal information such as emails and other contact information. The online survey process is entirely password protected so that only the intended participants can use the facility. This feature also helps in ensuring the safety and security of data en-route.
Chapter 4: Data Analysis
The data analysis section helps in providing meaningful and valuable information from the interpretation and analysis of the collected data. This section assists in transforming raw data into relevant information, which are used for addressing the aims and objectives of the research work. The central purpose of data analysis can be seen as to capture the amount of variations with respect to direct and indirect factors of research question, and why these variations exist and produced (Bryman and Hardy 2009). This section aims at reflecting upon the significance and implications of existing literature with regard to responses of respondents.
In the context of present research, this section analyses the responses of 115 employees, who work at -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. The responses of 115 respondents have been collected through survey method, and their responses have been analyzed with the help of SPSS tool while applying correlation method.
4.1 SPSS Analysis
A questionnaire was prepared to assess the performance from the three perspectives:
- Employee perspective related to fairness of the implemented appraisal system.
- Employee perspective related to accuracy of the implemented appraisal system
- Employee perspective related to their satisfaction as to whether the performance appraisal system implemented is moderate in this company.
Data was first capture in the excel sheets. This data comes as a primary resource as the questionnaire was forwarded to the employees. A random sample of employees was created and it was ensured that the employees shortlisted to answer this questionnaire appropriately represent the company -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. It was not possible to get the participation of all the employees due to limited amount of resources as well as shortage of time. It is always good to have a random sample and if their responses are accurate, the results from the sample analysis closely represent the whole population views and perspective. A representative sample entailed that the participants be selected from all the various departments from the -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. this will prevent any possible bias. The correlation tests were identified and a group of tests were also identified which can actually validate the results of these tests. This validation in turn also ensures that the sample as well as the analysis which has been undertaken is reliable.
| Statistics | ||||||
| Assessors appraise performance without any biasness | Any other employee is not prioritized during performance appraisal system | Appraisers treat everyone fairly during performance appraisal process | Performance appraisal is used to reward those loyal to supervisors | The results of appraisal are fair | ||
| N | Valid | 115 | 115 | 115 | 115 | 115 |
| Missing | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Mean | 5.00 | 5.00 | 5.00 | 3.07 | 2.80 | |
| Assessors appraise performance without any biasness | |||||
| Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
| Valid | 5 | 115 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Any other employee is not prioritized during performance appraisal system | |||||
| Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
| Valid | 5 | 115 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Appraisers treat everyone fairly during performance appraisal process | |||||
| Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
| Valid | 5 | 115 | 100.0 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| Performance appraisal is used to reward those loyal to supervisors | |||||
| Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
| Valid | 1 | 23 | 20.0 | 20.0 | 20.0 |
| 2 | 20 | 17.4 | 17.4 | 37.4 | |
| 3 | 26 | 22.6 | 22.6 | 60.0 | |
| 4 | 18 | 15.7 | 15.7 | 75.7 | |
| 5 | 28 | 24.3 | 24.3 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 115 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
| The results of appraisal are fair | |||||
| Frequency | Percent | Valid Percent | Cumulative Percent | ||
| Valid | 1 | 27 | 23.5 | 23.5 | 23.5 |
| 2 | 22 | 19.1 | 19.1 | 42.6 | |
| 3 | 30 | 26.1 | 26.1 | 68.7 | |
| 4 | 19 | 16.5 | 16.5 | 85.2 | |
| 5 | 17 | 14.8 | 14.8 | 100.0 | |
| Total | 115 | 100.0 | 100.0 |
The data is then transformed as follows:
The representation of primary data has been done with the help of pie-charts, which have enabled an easy and comprehensive comparison with the responses of the participants. The respondents suggest the company follows a 180 degree personal appraisal technique, which allows rating performance at two levels; employees’ level and supervisor level. The appraisal technique involves rating employees by him/her and their supervisor rates them against employees’ rating. The analyses of primary data have been presented as below:
Table 1: Gender
| Male | 87 |
| Female | 28 |
The primary data was collected from 115 employees in order to investigate the link between perceived fairness and accuracy of performance appraisal outcomes and satisfaction of employees at -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. As per the demographic information of participants, 87 were male and 28 were female that is correspondent to 76% and 24% respectively.
Table 2: Demographic Distribution of Respondents in terms of Age
| < 25 years | 26 |
| 25–39years | 57 |
| 40–49years | 23 |
| 50 and over years | 9 |
It is evident from the above data that primary data was collected from the employees belongs to diverse age group. The percentage of employee, who were below than 25 years was 23% and the employees, whose age ranges between 25-39 years was 49%. The employees having age group of 40-49 years were 20% only. It should be noted that participants of age group of above than 50 years were only 8%. The above demographics depicts that the most of the employees participated in the survey were young as higher level of participation belongs to the age group of 25-39 years.
Table 3: Demographic Distribution of Respondents in terms of job profile
| Executives | 66 |
| Senior Executives | 22 |
| Managers | 12 |
| Senior Managers | 10 |
The information provided by employees in relation to their role, which they perform in respective organizations states that most of the participants were working at an executive level. The pie chart further indicates that 60% of executive filled the questionnaire during survey, whereas the percentage of senior executives was 20%. It also reveals that only 11% managers filled the questionnaire and the percentage of senior managers was below than managers, i.e. 9% only. This indicates that the target population for the survey was able to provide accurate information in relation to the research study, as the study demand the response of employees working at executive level for analyzing their perception towards performance appraisal system.
The following instruction should be taken into account for analysis of below data:
On the basis of your prior experience regarding performance appraisal system, please answer following questions on the scale: (1= strongly agree, 2= agree, 3= neutral, 4= disagree and 5= strongly disagree)
4.2 Employees Perception regarding an effective Performance System
This section consists of five questions that have been asked to employees in the specific context of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. The responses of these sections are driven with the purpose of understanding the most crucial element of a performance system. It helps in developing an understanding what factors of performance appraisal outcomes are regarded as vital from employees’ point of view.
4.2.1 Measure the exact roles and responsibilities of employees
| Strongly Agree | 58 |
| Agree | 31 |
| Neutral | 13 |
| Disagree | 6 |
| Strongly Disagree | 2 |
The above question investigated the fact that does performance appraisal system in their organization was able to measure the roles and responsibilities of employees. While answering this question, majority of the participants 53% strongly agreed with the fact, which depicts that most the employee found that the performance appraisal system in their organization is able to measure the role and responsibilities of employees. In response to this question, 28% answered as they agreed and 12% were neutral. However, a couple of participants as 5% were disagreed and only 2% were strongly disagreed.
4.2.2 Include a rater, who is qualified to evaluate the work
| Strongly Agree | 65 |
| Agree | 46 |
| Neutral | 3 |
| Disagree | 1 |
| Strongly Disagree | 0 |
In order to investigate the accuracy, fairness and effectiveness of performance appraisal outcome within -CONFIDENTIAL Co-, this question was asked. When participants were enquired about the rater, who is qualified to evaluate the work, majority of the respondents strongly agreed i.e. 56% while 40% answered as agreed. However, only 3% employees were neutral towards the question and only 1% was disagreed with the question. It must be noted that there was no one who strongly disagreed with the response.
4.2.3 Ensure that assigned rater understands the requirements and difficulties of a job
| Strongly Agree | 49 |
| Agree | 56 |
| Neutral | 8 |
| Disagree | 1 |
| Strongly Disagree | 1 |
This question was asked to ensure the ability of assigned rater in order to understand the requirement and difficulties of a job. The response collected through the primary data reflects that 42% of the employees strongly agreed with the fact and 49% were answered as agreed. Whereas, 7% were neutral towards the question and 1% was disagreed and 1% was strongly disagreed with the fact. As per the response provided by the employees participated in the survey, it can be said that majority of the respondents were satisfied with the performance appraisal system of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-.
4.2.4 Provide opportunity to set relevant goals beneficial to employees and the organization
| Strongly Agree | 53 |
| Agree | 57 |
| Neutral | 2 |
| Disagree | 2 |
| Strongly Disagree | 1 |
The significance of performance appraisal system is associated with both: employees and organization, as it helps both to set relevant goals for them. The nest question is related with the fact that does performance appraisal system in -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. provide opportunity to employees and organization to set achievable goals for them. In reference to this question, a substantial percentage of respondents, i.e. 49% agreed and 46% were strongly agreed, while 2% of respondents were neutral to the fact. It must be noted that 2% were disagreed with the fact and only 1% were strongly disagreed.
4.2.5 Record performance information with utmost accuracy and fairness
| Strongly Agree | 46 |
| Agree | 59 |
| Neutral | 7 |
| Disagree | 1 |
| Strongly Disagree | 2 |
The present research work is directed to identify the perception of employees towards the accuracy and fairness of performance appraisal system of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. therefore; this question is directly linked with one of the research objective. In this reference, the primary data collected through the survey underlines that 46% (strongly agreed) and 59% (agreed) of employees feel that the present performance appraisal system used by -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. is capable in recording information with utmost accuracy and fairness, while 7% were neutral in providing their response. However, 1 % was disagreed and 2% were strongly disagreed, which states that these employees have doubt on PMS fairness and accuracy and feel that the system is biased.
4.3 Factors Affecting Employees’ Perception regarding Fairness of Appraisal Outcomes
4.3.1 Assessors appraise performance without any biasness
| Strongly Agree | 27 |
| Agree | 31 |
| Neutral | 11 |
| Disagree | 32 |
| Strongly Disagree | 14 |
This section covered the interpretation of data collected through employees working in -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. In order to collect response from the participants; the question was asked from the participants that do assessors appraise performance without any biasness. According to the primary data collected from the respondents, 23% were strongly agreed and 27% were agreed and believes that assessors measure performance of employees without any biasness. 10% participants stay neutral in response and 28% thinks that assessors were biased. It must be noted that only 12% of the respondents were strongly disagreed, which indicated that they experienced some kind of biasness during performance appraisal.
4.3.2 Any other employee is not prioritized
| Strongly Agree | 11 |
| Agree | 21 |
| Neutral | 46 |
| Disagree | 27 |
| Strongly Disagree | 10 |
This question was asked to measure the system’s performance through employees’ experience. It was asked through the questionnaire that any other employee is not prioritized through the performance appraisal system of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. while responding this question, majority of the participants were neutral and only 10% were strongly agreed. 18% respondents were agreed that believe that the system is unbiased and fair in measuring performance of employees. However, 23% were disagreed and 9% were strongly disagreed with the fact.
4.3.3 Appraisers treat everyone fairly
| Strongly Agree | 13 |
| Agree | 36 |
| Neutral | 29 |
| Disagree | 32 |
| Strongly Disagree | 5 |
In order to investigate the fairness of performance appraisal system in -CONFIDENTIAL Co-, this question was included in the questionnaire. When participants were enquired that do appraisers treat everyone fairly, majority of respondents i.e. 31% were agreed and 11% were strongly agreed. However, 25% employees were neutral towards the question. In reference to this, 28% employees recorded their response as disagreed that believes that the system is unfair. Moreover, 5% were strongly disagreed and were not satisfied with their appraisers.
4.3.4 Appraisal is used to reward those loyal to supervisors
| Strongly Agree | 21 |
| Agree | 36 |
| Neutral | 41 |
| Disagree | 17 |
| Strongly Disagree | 8 |
This question was asked to ensure that appraisal system is fair towards the employees, who are loyal to supervisors. As per the theories presented in the literature review, employees’ feels satisfied when they got timely rewards for their performance and loyalty. The response collected through the primary data indicated that 17% employees were strongly agreed and 29% were agreed with the fact while, 33% prefer to respond neutral for the question. On the other hand, 14% employees feel that they were not rewarded for their loyalty and only 7% were strongly disagreed with the question and feels the same. Though, majority of the participants were neutral so no conclusion can be drawn through the primary data.
4.3.5 The results of appraisal are fair
| Strongly Agree | 19 |
| Agree | 23 |
| Neutral | 39 |
| Disagree | 21 |
| Strongly Disagree | 13 |
This question was asked to measure the overall response of employees in order to analyze the fairness of performance appraisal system. As per the response collected through the primary data, 17% respondents were strongly agreed and 20% were agreed, while 34% were neutral towards the question. However, 18% recorded their response as disagreed and 11% were strongly disagreed. Therefore, it is evident that majority of the participants were either neutral and few participants were disagreed with the fact. Therefore, the reviews of employees towards the performance appraisal system were mixed.
4.4 Factors Affecting Accuracy of an Appraisal System
4.3.1 Performance is rated on well one does his/her work
| Strongly Agree | 19 |
| Agree | 37 |
| Neutral | 28 |
| Disagree | 17 |
| Strongly Disagree | 14 |
The next question enquires about the fact that performance is rated on well one does his/her work. The primary data collected through the survey methods depicts that majority of the participants were agreed with the fact and 17% were strongly agreed. It must be noted that 24% respondents were neutral towards the question. In addition to this, 15% respondents were disagreed and 12% were strongly disagreed with the fact. The above analysis states that majority of the employees thinks that performance appraisal system used by -CONFIDENTIAL Co- was accurate as it measure employees’ performance on how well they performed his/her work.
4.4.2 Performance system includes and reflects extra efforts
| Strongly Agree | 17 |
| Agree | 21 |
| Neutral | 40 |
| Disagree | 19 |
| Strongly Disagree | 18 |
In order to investigate the accuracy of performance appraisal system, this question was included in the questionnaire, as it focuses on the extra efforts done by the employees in performing their tasks. This reflects that how accurately performance appraisal system in -CONFIDENTIAL Co- includes and reflects these extra efforts of employees. The primary data reflects that 15% of respondents were strongly agreed with the fact and 18% were agreed. On the contrary, 16% were disagreed and 16% were strongly disagreed. However, majority of the respondents were neutral to the question and did not give any clear answer. This depicts that the employees’ response were mixed towards the fact so no clear inference can be drawn.
4.4.3 Minimum errors are identified in the appraisal system
| Strongly Agree | 32 |
| Agree | 36 |
| Neutral | 29 |
| Disagree | 11 |
| Strongly Disagree | 7 |
As per the analysis of the fact that minimum error were identified in the appraisal system of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-, it can be said that 28% were recorded their response as strongly agreed and majority of the participants were agreed. However, 25% of the employees did not give any clear answer. 10% on the participants were disagreed and only 6% were strongly disagreed. This indicates that performance appraisal system experienced by the majority of employees have minimum errors, which in turn evident its accuracy.
4.4.4 Reliability of results of appraisal system is high
| Strongly Agree | 21 |
| Agree | 31 |
| Neutral | 39 |
| Disagree | 15 |
| Strongly Disagree | 9 |
This question was included in the questionnaire to ensure the reliability of performance appraisal system in terms of its results. The responses provided by the participants depicted that 18% were strongly agreed with the fact and 27% were agreed. Moreover, 13% of the respondents were disagreed and only 8% were strongly disagreed. However, majority of the participants were neutral. This reflects that most of participants rely on the results of performance appraisal system and found the accurate results as per their expectations, but some have mixed views towards it. This indicates the scope of improvement in the present appraisal system of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-.
4.4.5. Appraisal outcome are accurate
| Strongly Agree | 21 |
| Agree | 25 |
| Neutral | 42 |
| Disagree | 16 |
| Strongly Disagree | 11 |
This was included in the survey to analyze the overall response of participants towards the performance appraisal system in terms of accuracy. As per this, 18% of the respondents were strongly agreed with the fact and 22% were agreed, while a significant number of participants did gave any clear answer and say neutral towards it. On the other hand, 14% of the participants were disagreed and only 10% were strongly disagreed. As per the primary data collected through the survey, it can be said that most of employees found appraisal outcome accurate, but still there are discrepancies among the employees towards the appraisal outcome and have mixed views for it.
4.5. Existing Satisfaction of Respondents with Current Appraisal System
This section focuses on the analysis of employee satisfaction towards the performance appraisal system. In order to conduct this analysis, various facts have been included in this to analyze the link between performance appraisal system and satisfaction of employees.
4.5.1. How well one is treated fairly
| Strongly Agree | 17 |
| Agree | 35 |
| Neutral | 36 |
| Disagree | 16 |
| Strongly Disagree | 11 |
It was found from the data collected through the survey, 15% of the participants were strongly agreed and 30% were agreed, which indicates that they rated fairly by the respective performance appraisal system. On the other hand, 14% of the participants disagreed and only 10% were strongly disagreed. However, a significant amount of respondents were neutral towards it, as this may include managers and other senior associates.
4.5.2 Clear knowledge of manager’s expectations in terms of job performance
| Strongly Agree | 17 |
| Agree | 18 |
| Neutral | 43 |
| Disagree | 19 |
| Strongly Disagree | 18 |
This is to analyze the employees have clear knowledge of their respective manager’s expectations in terms of job performance. This can only be done through effective communication between employees and managers. It is the duty of managers to convey expected targets and objectives that to be done by the employees. This clear knowledge of expectation guide employees in meeting their targets effectively. On the basis of primary data, it is evident that employee have mixed views towards the fact, as 15% were strongly agreed and 16% were agreed, but 16% were disagreed and 16% were strongly disagreed. Moreover, 37% were neutral to the question. Thus, it can be said that respondents have mixed view because they were from different departments and have different managers.
4.5.3 Confidentiality of performance data and information
| Strongly Agree | 22 |
| Agree | 26 |
| Neutral | 48 |
| Disagree | 12 |
| Strongly Disagree | 7 |
Confidentiality of performance data and information is vital to avoid disputes between employees and it is essential have this feature in performance appraisal system. In reference to this question, 19% of the respondents were strongly agreed and 23% were agreed, while 42% were neutral towards it. However, 10% of the respondents feel that the present performance appraisal system is not able to maintain confidentiality of employees and 6% also strongly disagreed with the fact. This stated that around half of the respondents were satisfied with the confidentiality, but other half has doubt on it.
4.5.4 Linkage between performance appraisal and performance development
| Strongly Agree | 17 |
| Agree | 26 |
| Neutral | 46 |
| Disagree | 17 |
| Strongly Disagree | 9 |
This question was included in the survey program to investigate the link between performance appraisal and performance development. According to the primary data, 15% of the respondents strongly agreed with the fact and 22% were agreed, which indicates that significant amount of employees effectively understand this concept and can easily connects their performance with appraisal system. Other 15% of the respondents disagreed with the fact and only 8% were strongly disagreed. However, 40% were neutral and can have mixed views.
4.5.5 Accuracy of performance data and minimum errors
| Strongly Agree | 17 |
| Agree | 26 |
| Neutral | 45 |
| Disagree | 16 |
| Strongly Disagree | 11 |
This question has a direct connection with the prime objective of the research study as this enquired the accuracy of performance data without any errors. As per the responses collected through the survey, 15% of the respondents were strongly agreed and 23% agreed with the fact, while majority of the respondents were neutral towards it, i.e. 39%. Moreover, 14% of the respondents were disagreed and only 9% were strongly disagreed. This indicates that most of the respondents felt that the performance data collected through the system for further review have minimum errors, as performance data is collected through the managers and senior executives, though executives have provided their neutral response towards it.
4.6 Measuring the Perceived Impact of Performance Appraisal System
The section focuses to analyze the impact of performance appraisal system over the employees working in -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. the impact was observed to analyze opportunity and scope of improvement.
4.6.1 Opportunity to improve performance
| Strongly Agree | 27 |
| Agree | 33 |
| Neutral | 27 |
| Disagree | 17 |
| Strongly Disagree | 11 |
While analyzing the response, it was found that 23% of the respondents were strongly agreed and 29% were agreed with the fact that performance appraisal system provides opportunity to improve the future performance. Majority of the respondents believes that the performance data provided by the system help them to know where they were lacking behind. It must be noted that 23% were neutral towards the question, 15% were disagreed and only 10% were strongly disagreed.
4.6.2 Increased motivation to make extra efforts for better performance
| Strongly Agree | 23 |
| Agree | 29 |
| Neutral | 41 |
| Disagree | 17 |
| Strongly Disagree | 5 |
This was enquired to analyze that how much performance appraisal contributes to the improvement of employees’ performance. In reference to this, it was analyzed that 20% of the respondents were strongly agreed and 25% were agreed, which reflects that majority of the respondents feel that the results generated through performance appraisal system helped them to make extra efforts for better performance. On the other hand, 36% were neutral, 15% were disagreed and only 4% were strongly disagreed with the fact.
4.6.3 Opportunity to eliminate weak areas in performance
| Strongly Agree | 17 |
| Agree | 33 |
| Neutral | 37 |
| Disagree | 17 |
| Strongly Disagree | 11 |
In reference to this question, 15% of the respondents were recorded their response as strongly agreed and 29% of respondents were agreed. On the contrary, 15% were disagreed and 9% were strongly disagreed. However, 32% were neutral as the survey data include the responses of employees’ working at different level in organization, though they can have mixed views over it. The data reflects that majority of the employees consider performance appraisal system as a tool to improve their performance as it help them to know about their weak point to work upon and also provide opportunity to future progress by eliminating them.
4.7 Summary of Data Analysis
On the basis of above data, it was
found that employees of -CONFIDENTIAL Co- perceive that although the company
has a fair system, it is not used fairly due to lack of understanding about the requirements and difficulties of a job. The system is not capable
enough to reflect extra efforts made by the employees. The employees show a
neutral tendency to critical questions related to prioritizing another
employees during appraisal. The employees of the company also show a low level
of satisfaction with the element of accuracy as most the employees are mark a
neutral response when asked about the factors dealing with accuracy.
Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations
5.1 Conclusion
The study investigates the perceived fairness and accuracy of Performance Appraisal outcomes among Employees of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. It is found on the basis of the primary data that the company uses 180 degree personal appraisal technique for measuring performance of its employees. Therefore, it can be concluded through the primary data that most of employees working in an organization believes that the system is fair towards their performance felt satisfied, but still there are employees, who are not satisfied with the respective performance measurement system. There no conclusion can be drawn as majority of the employees were either disagreed or neutral, which indicates that the system is somewhere biased or employees do not aware about measurement criteria. This data indicates that employees do not feel satisfied with the fairness and accuracy of performance appraisal system used by -CONFIDENTIAL Co-.
From the obtained data, it can be concluded that majority of the employees believes that performance appraisal system is vital to measure the relevant and achievable goals for them as well as for the organization. This also ensures the employee level of satisfaction, because achievable goals defined by the organization lead to increase the efficiency of employees. This primary data highlight the fact that most of the employees from the company believe that inclusion of rater in performance appraisal system help to evaluate the efficiency of employees.
The findings of above data indicate that the science behind the performance appraisal system is directed towards the two necessary objectives such as it creates a measure that helps to access individual performance accurately and second is concerned with evaluation system that results in the advancement of operational function. In this concern the next question enquires from the employees in order to analyse their perception towards the performance appraisal system and what they realised through their experience.
The findings of this study are consistent with the findings of previous studies within the region of Saudi Arabia. The pattern of responses confirm that it is a collectivist society as indicated in the literature review, as there is a little variation in the response of employees, when it comes to measuring the fairness and accuracy of the system. There is a central tendency in the response that shows that almost equal numbers of employees are either satisfied or dissatisfied with the factors of fairness and accuracy of performance appraisal system in -CONFIDENTIAL Co-. Overall, the study confirms a neutral perception about fairness and accuracy of performance Appraisal outcomes among employees of -CONFIDENTIAL Co-
On the basis of above data findings, following recommendations have been given to the company for shifting the perception positive from neutral position:
5.2 Recommendations
5.2.1 Measures to Improve Accuracy of Performance Appraisal
It is recommended to the top management of -CONFIDENTIAL Co- to select the right way to evaluate employee performance by picking a list of competencies to measure against (Capplli and Conyon, 2016). It would be ideal to have a combination of standard competencies like honesty and decision making capabilities and job specific competencies like sales targets or any other measurable expectations from that job profile.
The performance management system of -CONFIDENTIAL Co- should include a 360-degree feedback instead of 180 degree technique. It is a process where all members of an employee’s immediate work circle can give a performance input of the employee. Confidential and anonymous feedback from colleagues, subordinates, customers or stakeholders gives a more wholesome view of an employees’ performance (Capplli and Conyon, 2016). With each input about an employee, the measuring sticks changes. It is hence advised that the management not only include peer reviews but have an objective rating method. The rating scale assists managers to accurately evaluate levels of performance for annual reviews. The performance management system used should be efficient enough to record the right amount of details – a balanced mixture of quantitative ratings against KPIs or Key Performance Indicators and feedbacks.
The Right Frequency should be followed by the company for improving the accuracy of performance appraisals outcomes (Farooq and Khan, 2011). A weekly or monthly frequency of performance reviews is advised to the management. These meeting can be used to discuss and record peer reviews, areas of improvement, appreciation for a task well-done and an update on the progress the employee is making towards achieving the set targets and goals. Feedbacks should be shared in terms of; positive or comments. While praises can motivate to do better, criticism can be timely worked upon
The performance management system used by -CONFIDENTIAL Co- should offer ongoing training and facilitate communication between both managers and employees to update and set expectations regarding performance and ratings. For example, if a five point rating method is employed, it should be frequently communicated that which rating is reserved for what level of performance. Like, whether rating point 3 is an appropriate for showcasing consistent performance and meeting expectations. It is also important to maintain consistency in results. Once the performance management system is set your HR should check for inconsistencies (Bernardin, 2003). This can be done through periodically reviewing completion rates of appraisals, goal assignments etc. The HR Department can also conduct anonymous surveys to ensure regular progress report meetings are being conducted by managers.
5.2.2 Measures to Improve Fairness of Performance Appraisal System
With regular weekly or monthly progress reports, managers at -CONFIDENTIAL Co- must keep the employees updated on expectations. This ensures a fair assessment of employees. With a change in job descriptions and priorities over time, employees should have the opportunity to know how and when to upgrade their performance. Up-to-date job descriptions can avoid any confusion or waste of time. For the performance management system to be truly beneficial, the progress meeting should not only address improvement areas but also appreciate for things done right (Noe, Hollenbeck, Gerhart, and Wright, 2008). This helps the employee take the criticism constructively instead of losing morale and self-esteem. This ensures an employee receives a fair assessment of his/her performance and offers the chance to plan for improvement in the future. Areas of concern should be addresses in a professional manner and a balanced tone communication.
The performance management system at -CONFIDENTIAL Co- should allow for better two-way communication. Instead of only managers informing employees of their progress, the employees should also have a chance to respond to evaluations or site any problem areas they are facing. As employees get a chance to express their point of views, they further take responsibility for their performances. It is recommended that performance management should allow for skip-level meetings on a quarterly or bi-yearly basis (Sudin, 2011). This includes employees reaching out to the superiors of their immediate supervisors and reporting managers in cases they have issues and feel a bias against them from their managers. A great way to bring out optimal results is to have a system of rewards. It is advised that all employees at -CONFIDENTIAL Co- always know performance expected of them and clear goals that they can achieve. Rewards, or incentives, are an effective way to appreciate your employees and show that you notice their efforts. It serves as a huge morale boost and ensures high motivation in employees.
5.3 Limitations of the Study
It is important to
identify and mention the limitations of a study as it helps in defining the
boundaries for its application. The study is based on response of 115
respondents, who represent the sample of only one company named -CONFIDENTIAL
Co-. It is important to understand that sample belongs to one group and it may
not reflect the responses of entire construction industry. This limitation
should be taken into account while using the findings of this study. s
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