Improving Organizational Performance

This report discusses the need for performance management at organizations and recommends strategies to improve it. It also covers the main stages of the performance management cycle and the role of development and performance reviews. The report identifies some of the main barriers to high performance workforce and evaluates the link between HPW and sustained organization performance, employee well-being, and competitive advantage.

Running head: 5IVP
Improving Organizational Performance
Name of the University:
Name of the Student:
Author Note:

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Executive Summary
The performance management process contributes a lot to the success of the organization. It
helps in reducing organizational challenges and enables proper recognition of talents.
Constant changes take place at organizations. In order to meet the challenges, the
organizations need to be adaptable and dynamic. They should have the right employees at
place to meet the changing needs. This essentially involves having a proper workforce
management procedure. In addition to this, the organizations should have appropriate
workforce plans so that it encompasses the whole company. This entire planning ensures that
the organizations can achieve their goals not just now, but also in the near future. The
purpose of this report is to discuss about the need for performance management at
organizations. In addition to this, the report also recommends some strategies on how these
procedures can be improved for the betterment of the companies.

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Table of Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Section 1.....................................................................................................................................3
Section 2.....................................................................................................................................7
Section 3...................................................................................................................................13
Recommendations....................................................................................................................14
Conclusion................................................................................................................................16
References................................................................................................................................17

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Introduction
High performance workforce or HPW in organizations is related to identifying the
better employees and the workforce in terms of strata, rank or quality. The better person can
be anyone from the higher level such as someone in the managerial position or someone in
the level of regular employees. However, the managers in the superior level are responsible
for suggesting the quality of people hired in the organizational workforce (Carpenter, Berry
and Houston 2014). A high performing workforce is required in every organization to meet
the constantly changing needs of the business environment. At the same time, an organization
needs to be dynamic as well as adaptable in order to value the high performance workforce.
Section 1
A brief analysis of the concept and components of HPW;
According to the case study, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO), which is
responsible for the overseas promotion of British interests, has adapted to the changing needs
to high performance workforce. Initially the employees of the company were used to working
in a traditional and male- oriented environment (Luthans, Luthans and Luthans 2015). This
traditional environment required workforce of varied talent and skills who will have the
confidence to work single or in teams. Working in teams is synonymous with high
performance workforce and working with collective talent. However, the notion might be
wrong as a single individual might contribute to high performance too.
In high performance workforce, talent is not a substitute for employees. Every
organization such as FCO has wide range of people who contribute for the organization.
Talent is not only limited to certain people but also consists of regular employees, temporary
workers, contractors, professional firms, outsourced services and others. Therefore, it can be

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analyzed that HPW is not only restricted to the employees of the organization. It is an
important part of organizational development and an incredible criterion to be considered by
the management. It will be short- sightedness on the part of the manager if he does not
consider talent and focus only on the enhancement of the employee side (Miner 2015). FCO
should also work on their goal of optimizing the talented workforce of the organization. It
will lead them to sustain in the competitive market by contributing to harmony in the
workplace.
A brief evaluation of the link between HPW and sustained organization performance,
employee well-being and competitive advantage;
As the staffing needs of an organization are changing continuously, therefore it might
suffer if there is no proper planning and shortage of skill. A reputed organization such as
FCO might land up in providing poor service to the clients if there is lack of talented and
experienced staff. Workforce planning is an important part of organizational performance,
which in turn is effective for employee well- being and competitive advantage (O'Neil Jr and
O'Neil 2014). FCO needs to take into consideration the following factors for providing
competitive advantage to the organization-
 Senior employees need to be promoted or they can retire or resign
 With the advent of new technology there will be demand for new set of skills and
requirements
 There is demand for new set of skilled staffs for new requirements in the business
Stirpe and Zárraga-Oberty (2017) suggested that the link between HPW and the other
factors were predicted to implement the HR practices in the organization such as training and
development of the employees as per the new requirements. It will be helpful in modifying

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the competence level of the employees and create an understanding about the required
resources for the organization.
On the other hand, Stirpe, Bonache and Revilla (2014) stated that the dynamic power
of sustained organizational performance is dependent on the updated training and
development sessions that will be incorporated by the management of the organization.
Implementation of such HR practices is based on the realization of the organization in first go
and then create an effective decision on the requirement of those practices which are
significant for the organization.
Such link with HPW is dependent on the employee benefits such as flexible working
and job design, which will lead to commitment of the employees and organization
productivity. For example, the factor of high performing workforce is directly linked with the
employee welfare by providing sustainability in the organization to give FCO a competitive
advantage. The organization gets the opportunity to keep a stable position in the market by
developing innovation within the product and services. Moreover, social relationships are
developed within the organization such as FCO, which becomes hard to imitate by the rival
companies (Vasu, Stewart and Garson 2017).
An identification of some of the main barriers to HPW;
As an organization is trying to be successful in the competitive environment by using
HPW, there will be certain barriers in its way. It can come in the form of business strategy,
size of the business, managerial issues and others. The people or the employees are complex
and their behavior often leads to complexity in the organization (Zhong, Wayne and Liden
2016). They might not be ready to accept new changes in the form of HPW and at that time,
different barriers arise. When there are problems in the high performance teams, it is the
individuals, who need to take a step forward in resolving the problem. If the problem is not

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mitigated at the grassroots level, then there is a chance that the entire concept of HPW might
fail. Trust is a major issue that becomes a barrier when working with the high performing
workforce. There are certain individuals who are not ready to believe and trust a subordinate
due to ego problem. At that point, team efficiency, quality, innovation are put at stake and
conflicts take a bad shape.
Relationship issues need to be taken care of and removed in the first place so that it
cannot hamper the business. It is the responsibility of the team leader to clear performance
role for everyone so that it does not become a barrier at the later stage. Apart from all these,
the barriers might emerge when there is lack of defied objectives, poor performance criteria,
weak leadership, political conflicts, lack of feedback and effective interaction. High
Performance organizations or work places have been described in different ways, but the
general emphasis is upon empowered and engaged workforces, high quality services and
goods.
The organizations that have a less and flat hierarchical structure are totally based upon
higher levels of communication and trust, especially where employees are working in greater
autonomy. According to the frameworks of HPW, the key components to the success of the
organizations are leadership, strategies, work organization, organization development,
employee involvement, employee reward and others (Scott and Davis 2015). For example;
the HPW has defined the components of high performance working as the vision based upon
increasing the values of the customers.
This is done by differentiating the services or products of the organizations and
moving towards customization in order to cater to the most number of individual needs.
Leadership is another component of the HPW, which is an important success factor. The
organizational leaders should create momentum from the top of the hierarchical structure and

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all throughout the organizational environment. Devolved and decentralized decision making
helps in constantly improving or renewing the offers to the customers. It helps in developing
the capabilities of the people at different levels, with special emphasis on team capabilities,
project based activities and self management (Mone and London 2018).
The culture and support systems that include people management processes and
performance operations, aligned to the objectives of the organizations help in building trust,
commitment and enthusiasm within the workplace. In addition to this, the HPW frameworks
also support fair treatment for the ones who leave the engagement or organizations with the
community needs. This is an important component of commitment and trust based relations
both outside and within the organization (Argyris 2017). The organization of the production
is totally based upon the assumption of not only cost effective improvements, but also on the
enhancement of the quality of products and services.
Section 2
Summarise the main stages of the performance management cycle and the role of
development and performance reviews;
On designing an effective plan of performance management, it is likely to come
across the performance management cycle. Performance management helps to make a
progress of the organization. The performance management includes certain aspects like the
planning of the work in advance so that the expectations and the goals of the organizations
are fulfilled. It helps in monitoring the progress and the performance continuously. It includes
the development of the ability of the employees in order to perform through an effective
training program. This includes the rating and rewarding good performances inside the
organization. In order to understand the performance management it is essential to study the
different stages of the performance management cycle (Zhong et al. 2013).

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The cycle includes the phases like, the step of planning, the review and act and finally
the tracking. All these come under the goals and the values of the organization. The first stage
of the performance management cycle is planning (Andreeva and Kianto 2012). This phase
was carried out only once in an entire year. In this phase, the employees are set to achieve the
multiple goals of the organization. In this phase the focus is laid upon the personal
development of an individual. This includes the abilities and the strengths that the employee
should develop in order to achieve the goals. FCO provides an opportunity of staff
development. It plans for training facilities, where the staffs were supposed to undertake a
form of self-study (Gervásio et al. 2014). The organization heads towards the personal
development that involves the process of coaching and mentoring.
The employees are exposed to the new areas of work and new forms of
responsibilities. This is called the secondment and shadowing. The next stages would include
the stage of act and track. This occurs throughout the year. In this the employees makes effort
to achieve their objectives and they work hard to achieve their targets and goals by
understanding their job role. For example; the managers of FCO provide coaching to the
employees and track their progress regularly and they provide feedbacks to the employees.
The loophole of this system is that since it takes place once in a year, it becomes stressful for
the employees as well as for the managers. All the necessary things are not possible to cover
in one single meeting. In the past instances it has been observed that the organizations have
focused on the final stage. The final stage is the stage of Review. It envelops the ratings that
are given to the employees (Renninger et al. 2014).
The role of development and performance reviews:
The performance appraisals are sometimes called the performance reviews. This is
measured with the help of numerous number of management tools. The staff performance

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review helps the employers to recognize and value the members of the team. It helps the
employers to clarify the roles of the employees and to identify the training and developmental
needs. This also helps in creating a culture of open communication in the business. The
results of the performance reviews enable the employers to make decisions about the amount
of the increase of the salary and the pay scale. It allows the employers to concentrate on the
budget for the next financial year (Porter 2012).
Give some examples of different ways of involving line managers in the performance
review process;
Some examples of different ways of involving line managers in the performance review
process:
The top managers play a vital role in acting as a role model of the employees. An
organization essentially requires an efficient management. The top management plays an
effective role in influencing the line managers in order to perform well. There are various
ways to involve the managers in the process of review.
 The top managers can provide leadership from their own level itself. The line
managers can be provided with trainings. The top managers can organize the training
programs for the line mangers on their job roles (Zairi 2012).
 In order to involve the line managers in the process of review the feedbacks of the line
managers should be taken into account. Before that it should be checked by the top
managers that the line managers are aware of the performance records of the
employees. The line managers should keep a regular track of the performance of the
employees.
 The other step that can be taken in order to involve the line managers is by
communicating with them about the importance of the performance management in

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driving successful results and explaining them the way it is a part of their
responsibility.
 The line managers can be involved by maintaining simplicity in the overall process of
the performance management.
 The line managers should be given the responsibility to conduct the review. While
doing so the pressure from them should be reduced and the process should be
conducted on regular intervals. It should not be conducted on an annual basis. The
auditing should be conducted once in every two months.
 The line managers should be involved in the design and the development program of
the performance management process (Richey and Klein 2014).
Throughout in all the organizations the line managers have been involved in
managing the human resource department. According to the studies it has been observed that
there are significant organizational benefits and cost that is relevant in involving the line
managers in the HR works. The organization can adopt the strategy to involve the line
managers in the works of HR as it will help the line manager to know about the personal
progress of the employees. The activities to involve the line managers into the performance
process it is necessary to give them the responsibility of recruiting and hiring talent in order
to fill team. They should be given the responsibility to provide training and support to the
new hires. They should be given the responsibility to maintain a daily report of the
performance of the team members and to provide a report of production of the employees
(Bryson et al. 2013).
Provide a brief evaluation of the contribution of the performance management process
to promoting challenges, capability or recognizing and rewarding talent;

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Performance Management is a set of processes, which aim to improve and maintain
the performance level of the employees in line with the objectives of the organization. It is
operational as well as strategic and aims to ensure that the employees make positive
contributions to the business objectives. The performance must be managed holistically, all
throughout the range of human resource processes as well as activities. The assessment
explores the crucial aspects of performance management and the recent changes in the
organizational thinking process. However, it summarizes the main tools of performance
management that includes performance ratings, objective settings, performance feedback,
performance appraisals, learning and development as well as performance related pay
(DeNisi and Murphy 2017).
The management of employee performance requires the multifaceted approach linked
with organizational strategies. The SMART objectives perform well at many contexts and are
considered to be better alternatives for the complex jobs. The regular performance feedbacks
are highly crucial for the overall progress in monitoring. The employees’ voice as well as
perceived fairness can be referred to the critical elements required in performance feedback.
In addition to this, there are several biases, which the organizational managers need to look
after for enhancing the level of performance. Good management of the employee
performance is highly important for the organizational success (Van Dooren, W. and Van de
Walle 2016).
The employees of the organizations need to understand the organization’s
expectations from them. In order to achieve the organizational goals, the managers need to
manage the performances of the employees so that they feel motivated and encouraged. It is
important to measure and evaluate the competencies of the employees in order to ensure that
they have the necessary skills, support, resources and their accountability. In broader terms,

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good performances of the management revolve around effective and regular feedback on the
employees’ progress towards the organizational objectives or goals (Ljungholm 2015).
The performance management process contributes a lot to the success of the
organization. It helps in reducing organizational challenges and enables proper recognition of
talents. Constant changes take place at organizations. In order to meet the challenges, the
organizations need to be adaptable and dynamic. They should have the right employees at
place to meet the changing needs. This essentially involves having a proper workforce
management procedure. In addition to this, the organizations should have appropriate
workforce plans so that it encompasses the whole company. This entire planning ensures that
the organizations can achieve their goals not just now, but also in the near future (Metcalf
2017).
Companies require employees with varied talents as well as qualities. It selects
applicants or candidates who have great creative skills and ambition, along with the
confidence to work with teams and alone as well. In order to fulfill several roles within the
organizational departments, companies now seek for candidates from different backgrounds
and experiences. Moreover, there are some companies, which look for candidates with
transferrable skills. Majority of the organizations prefer adopting performance management
processes in order to manage these fresh talents and direct them to give their best shot for
their growth (Kallio et al. 2016).
In modern days, most of the organizations want the candidates to be good at team
working. In addition to this, the candidates need to have good leadership and communication
skills, so that they can manage and lead organizational teams. Most importantly, the
organizations want that the candidates should be adaptable to organizational changes, both
internal and external. It is immensely important for the individuals to undertake different

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responsibilities and roles within the workplace. However, it is crucial for the companies to
have a good performance management system, in order to manage employee performances
(Bititci, Cocca and Ates 2016).
These factors help the organizations in changing and responding to the fast moving
environment. Moreover, with globalization, the companies are changing and improving the
work performance in order to compete with this every competitive working environment.
However, without proper planning or strategic implementation, the organizations may hugely
suffer from skill shortages. In addition to this, without proper workforce management
strategies, the company cannot get benefitted on the long run. It is highly important for the
human resource managers of any company to review, monitor and check the performance
level of the employees. Without proper performance review or management strategies, the
team leaders will not be able to understand the competencies or in-competencies of the
candidates (Cascio 2018).
If an organization suffers from huge losses or profitability issues, it is because the
employees are not giving their best performances. Organizations should always have its
performance management strategies on place in order to get benefitted on the long run.
Performance management planning involves estimating the future and present staffing
requirements of the companies. It needs to take several management factors into
consideration, while managing employee performance. These factors include; monitoring,
reviewing and checking the performances of the employees (Albrecht et al. 2015).
Section 3
Recommend some of the ways of building trust, enthusiasm and commitment in support
of a high-performance culture;

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Recommendations
In order to sustain a HPW culture, the organizations should include that clarity of
mission, vision as well as values. To recommend, organizations should maintain effective
intra-organizational communications, inclusive of collaborative working practices
commitment, mentoring and coaching sessions will help in providing the employees with
proper support. The term performance is being understood as the organizational achievement
in relation with their goals. It highly includes the outcomes accomplished or achieved through
individuals’ contribution to the strategic goals of the organization. Performance management
encompasses behavioral as well as economic outcomes. Shields et al. (2015) views
performance comprehensively and believes that it encompasses both behaviors as well as
results.
The basic principles of an effective performance management system within the
organizations include transparency, employee development and empowerment, values,
congenial work environment and external environment. The decisions relating the
improvement of performance and their measurement like work allocation, counseling,
monitoring, guidance and performance review must be communicated effectively to the
managers and other associated members of the organization. For example, effective
participation of the employees or managers in the decision making procedures are also
important. This helps in treating the employees as partners within the enterprise (DeNisi, A.
and Smith 2014).
Mentoring and training sessions help the organizational managers to gain an overview
of the organizational goals and objectives, In addition to this, recognizing the merit,
capabilities and talent must be done by rewarding them often and giving them the authority or
responsibility, to some extent. Moreover, the organizational values should ensure that the
employees are being treated fairly, with due satisfaction of the organizational stakeholders.

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There should be a trust or empathy within the organizational culture and the managers should
treat the employees as human beings rather than mere workers. Furthermore, the management
of the organization needs to create a congenial and conducive work culture as well as climate,
which would help the employees in sharing their information, experiences or knowledge.
Lastly, the external environment of the management should be contextual and effective for
effectively managing the impediments or obstacles (Gerrish 2016).
Effective organizations are focused, reliable and fast in executing their strategies and
initiatives for improving the organizational agility. Therefore, it can be recommended that in
order to maintain a high performance working culture, the organizations should continuously
deliver results that are extraordinary in nature at almost every task. Even if something goes
wrong, the organizations should have alternative strategies in order to mitigate the challenges.
For example, the major aspect which differentiates one organization with the other is how
they maintain and manage a high performance culture. A high performance culture is the one,
where every employee, organizational leaders and others deliberately and continually give
their best performances (Rua and Araújo 2015).
In the nutshell, a High Performance Culture is an invitation which allows the
candidates to be the part of a dynamic organizational team that continuously interacts with
other team members in constructive manner. Moreover, a High Performance Culture allows
the individuals to embrace organizational changes, when necessary. Therefore, organizations
need to build as well as embed effectively, a High Performance Culture by engaging the team
members in the shared mission, vision as well as values. It will ensure clear alignment,
understanding as well as alignment; thereby creating a unity of purposes. In addition to this,
introducing consistent and continuous leadership behaviors or practices all throughout the
organization can help in ensuring candid and honest communication, commitment and
discipline (Shah, Cross and Levin 2015).

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This will in turn, establish trust as well as organizational consistency. Moreover, the
companies should foster positive role playing or modeling by the leaders on all organizational
levels. It will ensure motivation and enthusiasm and achieve commitment or engagement
among the employees. This in turn, will encourage or motivate consistent employee attitude
as well as ways of working. Moreover, High Performance Culture at the organizations boosts
talent and fair performance management. This in turn, builds capabilities among the
workforce, provide them with new opportunities and encourage new talent. These
opportunities enable the employees in developing their talents as well (Katzenbach and Smith
2015).
Conclusion
To conclude, a High Performance Culture at the workplace ensures good reward and
recognition systems by aligning the expectations of the employees with the organizations.
The organizational values reflect what actually happens in daily interactions between the
employees, stakeholders and all other clients. On the basis of the demonstrated behaviors, the
business leaders of the organizations should work on their commitments and encourage the
team members in following those (Zak 2017). The subject of good as well as bad
performances is a regular and honest dialogue on all organizational levels.

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