Performance Appraisals

Performance Appraisals

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Institution

Performance Appraisals

Section I: Article Summary

In his article Get Rid of the Performance Review, Samuel Culbert argues against the necessity of performance reviews and appraisals. According to the author, the reviews do not have any meaningful contribution to the company and it only serves to lower the morale of the employees and hinder cordial relationships. He argues that the reviews are a way for the managers to preserve and stem their authority in the organization. The people conducting the appraisal and the ones being appraised have different agendas. He adds that the reviews are unnecessary because they do not influence pay, most methods used for the appraisals make them subjective rather than objective, and the same measurements and ratings are used on all the employees irrespective of their differences.

The author notes that reviews have the tendency to hinder personal development on the part of the employees. The workers do not want to seem as if they are not qualified since this might result to negative feedback in their appraisal. The one sided nature of performance reviews affects teamwork in the company. He adds that performance reviews tend to encourage a culture of dishonesty and cynicism among the employees. As a solution, the author suggests that performance reviews should be two sided. The bosses should consider the subordinates as part of a team and they should ask for their suggestions regarding the direction that will drive the company forward. He adds that such discussions should not take place once a year, but should be done every time there is an opportunity to do so.

Section II: Application of Textbook Concepts

The author has identified several issues concerning performance appraisals. He has mostly dwelt on the negative aspect, which identifies the limitations of the appraisals. Some of the issues concern bias and subjectivity when conducting appraisals. Bias occurs when the person conducting the appraisal lets personal feelings towards the employee get in his way. He might dislike the employee and this might eventually affect the way he conducts the evaluation. Workers feel that the appraisals are not objective especially if they involve input from other employees. Stereotyping is closely related to the issue of subjectivity. Although it can have positive results, managers should ensure that their approach concerning employee evaluation is not determined by pre-conceived ideas.

Many employees spend the whole year working and putting in all their efforts to improve the company and attain its objectives and goals. Therefore, they do not approve of reviews because they tend to focus on their limitations. This means that they lack motivation in their jobs and this affects their willingness to work and their productivity. Another important issue concerning performance appraisals concerns the measurements and ratings used. There are many different types of performance review measurements and each of them has its strengths and weaknesses. It is important for the management to consider all different angles when selecting the performance measurements to use.

The article mentions the prevailing differences among the workers in terms of their abilities and capabilities. Every worker within the company contributes something different and each one of them has his or her own strengths and shortcomings. In addition, the idea of conducting appraisals annually may not be fair and it fails the goal of conducting the evaluations in the first place. There is a need for employees to get frequent feedback concerning their performance, as this will give them a chance to improve and it will make the process more effective.

Reference:

Culbert, A. S. (2008, October 20). Get rid of the performance review. Wall Street Journal. Retrieved from http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB122426318874844933?mod=WSJ_mgmt_promo_left&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB122426318874844933.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_mgmt_promo_left