A performance appraisal, employee appraisal, performance review, or (career) development discussion] is a method by which the job performance of an employee

is evaluated (generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost, and time) typically by the corresponding manager or supervisor[2]. A performance appraisal is a part of guiding and managing career development. It is the process of obtaining analyzing and recording information about relative worth of an employee to the organization. Contents [hide]

1 Aims 2 Methods 3 Criticism 4 See also 5 References 6 Sources 7 External links

[edit] Aims Generally, the aims of a performance appraisal are to:

Give an employees feedback on performance Identify employee training needs Document criteria used to allocate organizational rewards

Form a basis for personnel decisions: salary increases, promotions, disciplinary actions, bonuses, etc. Provide the opportunity for organizational diagnosis and development Facilitate communication between employee and administration Validate selection techniques and human resource policies to meet federal Equal Employment Opportunity requirements

[edit] Methods A common approach to assessing performance is to use a numerical or scalar rating system whereby managers are asked to score an individual against a number of objectives/attributes. In some companies, employees receive assessments from their manager, peers, subordinates, and customers, while also performing a self assessment. This is known as a 360-degree appraisal and forms good communication patterns. The most popular methods used in the performance appraisal process include the following:

Management by objectives 360-degree appraisal Behavioral observation scale Behaviorally anchored rating scales

Trait-based systems, which rely on factors such as integrity and conscientiousness, are also commonly

used by businesses. The scientific literature on the subject provides evidence that assessing employees on factors such as these should be avoided. The reasons for this are two-fold: 1) Because trait-based systems are by definition based on personality traits, they make it difficult for a manager to provide feedback that can cause positive change in employee performance. This is caused by the fact that personality dimensions are for the most part static, and while an employee can change a specific behavior they cannot change their personality. For example, a person who lacks integrity may stop lying to a manager because they have been caught, but they still have low integrity and are likely to lie again when the threat of being caught is gone. 2) Trait-based systems, because they are vague, are more easily influenced by office politics, causing them to be less reliable as a source of information on an employee's true performance. The vagueness of these instruments allows managers to fill them out based on who they want to/feel should get a raise, rather than basing scores on specific behaviors employees should/should not be engaging in. These systems are also more likely to leave a company open to discrimination claims because a manager can make biased decisions without having to back them up with specific behavioral information. [edit] Criticism

Performance appraisals are an instrument for social control. They are annual discussions, avoided more often than held, in which one adult identifies for another adult three improvement areas to work on over the next twelve months. You can soften them all you want, call them development discussions, have them on a regular basis, have the subordinate identify the improvement areas instead of the boss, and discuss values. None of this changes the basic transaction... If the intent of the appraisal is learning, it is not going to happen when the context of the dialogue is evaluation and judgment. Peter Block[3] Need to Appraise Performance To assess the ability of the individual in order to make the best use of his talent in the present job

There are many methods you can use when doing performance appraisals. Now performance appraisals are used to determine a lot of things with your employer. Here are some of those things listed below. Deciding promotions Determining transfers Deciding of future employment Determine training employees need Finding out skill and competency deficits
o

Deciding who gets rewards

Here are some different methods and definitions on these methods, and also a quick description of some of the bad things about these methods.

Lets the employees give feedback

1.

Peer Ranking is a method that usually involves the employer to rank the employees performance against other employees that are doing the same tasks that they are. Peer rankings are used in a lot of applications, between sports ranking players, and teams. Car and Driver ranking vehicles, and so forth. Everything uses this system to determine the best of the best. Unfortunately there are some consequences of using this method when talking about your employees. Here are some negatives with this system. Some of the negatives about using this system is the potential effects of telling someone that other employees are doing better, and that in essence that they are a loser. Another negative would be that are actually making the

employees compete with each other in a negative way, and the last negative would be that if the company is very large it will be hard for the manager to group all the employees together since they all will be doing different things.

2.

Trait Rating is basically the manager will set up a numerical ranking and base all your traits on a scale. Some of these traits include attitude, motivation, cooperation with other employees, and flexibility.

Some of the bad things associated with the trait rating way is that this way assumes that the person doing the ranking can rank each trait objectively. That sounds easy but since there are so many definitions of each trait they might see a definition of one trait a different way then someone else. Since there are so many questions on who the employer sees the traits it may be unclear to the employee and may have unmotivated them, and cause stress between him and his managers.

3.

Behaviourally based scales and behaviourally anchored rating scales basically means that it rates performance factors, instead of personality factors like

the trait rating scale. This scale uses a job analysis to determine what it takes to do the job, after it does that it rates the employee against that and determines how well you do. These scales are very time consuming and expensive to do. Someone has to know what it takes to do each job within the company. And after it's set up its also very expensive to keep going to because if the job changes the scale has to change.

4.

Objectives and goal-setting procedures are when a manager determines how long it would take to do a job and then sees how long it takes you to do the same job.

The negatives with this way of doing it is that it makes the employees try to outdo all the other employees, making it a non cooperative environment. Tends to make work a little more non-enjoyable. It measures past performance and not present performance, does not motivate people, meaning they learn to do something at a certain speed and never try to push themselves.