Financial Security Investment: HRM Appraisal Case Study Analysis

This case study evaluates the Human Resource Management (HRM) system and practices of Financial Security Investment, focusing on its performance appraisal process. The analysis addresses the manager's behavior, organizational role, and recommends changes to enhance fairness and effectiveness. The study examines the goal-setting process, proposing a SMART objective-based table for employee performance evaluation. It identifies the HRM areas involved, specifically job performance and motivation, and provides recommendations for improving the appraisal method. The case study highlights the importance of incorporating reviews, adopting Management by Objectives (MBO), and ensuring transparency to promote employee motivation and identify deserving candidates for promotion. The document provides a detailed analysis of the case, offering insights into the strengths and weaknesses of the current appraisal system and proposing actionable solutions for improvement. This case study is available on Desklib.

Running head: HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT
Human Resource Management
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author Note:

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Assignment 1: Case Study
Executive Summary
The purpose of the following assignment is to evaluate the Human Resource Management
system and practices of Financial Security Investment organization. The report contains a
case study to evaluate the appraisal process and further answers to specific questions that will
help to understand job aspects and human resource approach to appraisals. The report
develops a performance review table and identify the areas where Human Resource
Management department should be involved.

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Table of Contents
Response to discussion question no. 1:......................................................................................3
Evaluation of Performance Appraisal Process.......................................................................3
Manager’s Behavior and Decision Making........................................................................3
Organization’s Role in the Process....................................................................................4
Response to discussion question no. 2:......................................................................................4
Recommendations to Change and their reason......................................................................4
Response to Discussion Question no 3:.....................................................................................6
Response to Discussion Question no.4:.....................................................................................8
Analysis of the HRM area involved in the process................................................................8
References................................................................................................................................10

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Topic: Case Study of Financial Security Investment
Response to discussion question no. 1:
Evaluation of Performance Appraisal Process
According to Culbertson, Henning and Payne (2013) a performance appraisal in any
company is designed to review, discuss and plan how each of the employee’s perform. It is
necessary process that defines the roles and responsibilities of the employees to them, the
factors of their performance evaluation and identifies those employees within the
organization who have potential for improvement (Salleh et al. 2013).
In the case study it is seen that Brooks being a long term employee faces problems
regarding his appraisal and promotion. He turned to the upper management to find out the
reason and came up short with answers.
Manager’s Behavior and Decision Making
The answer that the manager provided that Baskin was just too good in her job was
unsatisfactory. It indicates that the appraisal method that was applied to evaluate employee
performance fell short. There are several aspects that needs to be considered before appraisal
such as peer review and contribution to the company (Jacobs, Belschak and Hartog 2014).
Baskin had cut throat approach and impressive public relation skills helped her remain at the
focus of the managers. Thus when it came to the promotion to the position of vice president
Baskin became the obvious choice. The method of employee appraisal is not effective as it
only evaluates turnover contribution. In spite of her unpopularity she has been chosen for the
position due to her political method of handling her job description. The decision making
process of the manager was flawed and lacked logical reasoning. An appraisal should include
past performance, peer review, superior review, future goals, responsibility management and
innovation to determine whether the employee is eligible for the position or not (Dusterhoff,

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Cunningham and MacGregor 2014). Depending on those factors, it is can be easily concluded
that Brooks should have been a much more prudent choice if the appraisal had been done
correctly. The manager might have been misguided by his ‘similar to self’ approach to
Baskin in which case he might have recognized similar characteristic in her and favored her.
Organization’s Role in the Process
The organization played a vital role in this process. First, the appraisal method is
adopted by the company in a mutual decision making process. Second, the higher authority
should be involved in the process of promotion (DeNisi and Murphy 2017). The organization
might have chosen a more modern approach. Third, the ethical aspects should have been
enforced. The standard aspects of performance evaluation should be determined beforehand
and the employees must be informed about them to avoid confusion and future questions
(Espinilla et al. 2013).
Response to discussion question no. 2:
Recommendations to Change and their reason
The company prepared a goal setting document to help the employees to understand
the current method and factors that are involved in the appraisal. The other leaders in the
company were following that. It is necessary for each of the employees to know about the
documents. Other than these, other methods should be adopted to ensure a fair and ethical
process. These are:
 Changing the adopted appraisal method: the company follows a traditional
appraisal method where the turnover contribution is taken into account. This
method should be changed and a new method should be adopted (Rowland
and Hall, 2013). While deciding the new method many things should be taken

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into consideration. The number of employees in the company, ethics and
ideals of the company, and opinions of the other supervisors should be
accounted.
 Incorporation of reviews: another change that is recommended here is
incorporating reviews of different departments before appraisal of an
employee. Many groups should be taken into account here, such as, peer
reviews, subordinate reviews, client reviews, superior reviews along with self-
assessing the performance of the employee. Some frameworks like Key
Performance Indicators (KPIs), Critical Success Factors (CSFs) and Milestone
determination should be adopted to evaluate the performance of each
employee unbiasedly (Iqbal, Akbar and Budhwar 2015).
 Management by Objectives (MBO): MBO method should be adopted to
determine and analyze the performance of an employee. In this method both
the manager and the employee identify objectives that are shared goals. The
skills that are necessary for accomplishing these objectives are also
determined during their period of performance (Ofojebe and Olibie 2014). The
objectives are chosen in such a way that they are aligned with goals of the
respective departments and the strategy adopted by the organization.
Rationale: the rationale behind these recommendations are to be as fair as possible in the
appraisal method. It is necessary that the process is fair as well as transparent to all the
employees. With the change in appraisal method the standards by which the employees had
been evaluated till then will change and the deserving candidate will be rewarded properly
and the employees will feel motivated (Albrecht et al. 2015). The traditional grading method
has many errors and it is likely that deserving and competent employees will leave the
organization due to frustration. With the adoption of MBO method the employees’ strengths

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and weaknesses, their achievements and failures will become clear to the superiors. Along
with these, the reviews of peers, supervisors, subordinates and clients will contribute to the
process. These elements will determine the popularity of the employee in all spheres of the
organization which is another indication of his or her competency.
Response to Discussion Question no 3:
The goal setting table as referred to in the case study is a framework that the
employees of the company are following. These system helps the employees to easily
determine and maintain the goals and achievable targets in the forefront of their mind. This
system is useful for the managers and the Human Resource Management department during
the appraisal process and their evaluation as they can clearly identify the best potentials for
each employee and the most deserving candidate for the promotion (Aggarwal and Thakur
2013). For Brooks, a goal setting table defining all his deliverables should be prepared so that
his performance review becomes simpler. For this the SMART objective method of goal
setting table should be applied to determine whether the deliverables are achievable in the
given time frame. The goal setting table for Brooks is given below:
Planning A long-term financial strategy that aligns with the objectives of the
organization should be suggested in the table. Cost cutting plans, limiting the
expenses of products, targeting a profit margin should be included in the
planning part. A master budget needs to be created and must be categorized
carefully to incorporate all aspects of expenses. The profit and loss statement
should be included and reviewed regularly to recognize the changes that are
needed to be made.
Brooks has shown great ability in increasing the company’s turnover and profit
margin. He has prepared the annual budged for his department since his
promotion three years ago. He has carried out plans to acquire new projects,

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project proposals and project budget.
Cost Containment
A proposal request must be created. A bidding process and policies for
purchase for the suppliers, vendors and contractors are to be designed keeping
in mind the current as well as the future resources of the organization. It is also
the responsibility of the finance manager to minimize the debts and taxes payed
by the company (Fisher et al. 2013).
Brooks has been quite efficient in this matter. He incurred lowest costing for
training the group. He has been given responsibility to train new groups and
cutting the cost for training has enabled the company with better financial
resources. Due to incomparable co-operation by his team employee attrition
reduced which led to further cost containment for the company.
Management of
Cash flow
Cash flow management is one of the most important duties of a group manager.
Keeping the clients hooked, keeping the stakeholders’ interests in mind is
necessary to achieve that. Acquiring new clients is also important.
Brooks and his team has enabled steady cash flow for the organization through
their client base. They have incorporated new clients and have achieved
business from their previous clients.
Legal Aspects
According to Kampkötter (2017) It is the responsibility of the group manager
to take into account the legal aspects of the team’s work. Income tax, sale
payments, federal wages are to be included in the consideration for legal
compliance. There are some industry specific laws that needs to be followed.
Brooks has been exemplary in this aspect. He has maintained all the legal
aspects in the project executions and kept the client happy as well. He has a
loyal customer base who will only work with him.

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Response to Discussion Question no.4:
Analysis of the HRM area involved in the process
From the case study it is clear the job performance and the motivation department of
the Human Resource Management is involved in this case. In the appraisal process, generally
the performance management team is involved (Mone and London 2018). The motivational
area of HRM dealt with Brooks’ grievances. The job performance area of the organization is
sub-par in their performance. It is their responsibility to analyze the performance of each
employee, to determine how far they have been successful in achieving their job roles, targets
and goals, how they have treated their superiors and subordinates, and the client and peer
reviews of them to determine how deserving they are for further promotion (Cascio, W.F.,
2015). In this case they failed to do so and thus Brooks had to approach the motivational area
of the HRM department. They finally heard Brooks’ complaint and devised him a strategy
following which he will be able to achieve a fair promotion.

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References
Aggarwal, A. and Thakur, G.S.M., 2013. Techniques of performance appraisal-a
review. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT), 2(3),
pp.617-621.
Albrecht, S.L., Bakker, A.B., Gruman, J.A., Macey, W.H. and Saks, A.M., 2015. Employee
engagement, human resource management practices and competitive advantage: An
integrated approach. Journal of Organizational Effectiveness: People and Performance, 2(1),
pp.7-35.
Ann Rowland, C. and David Hall, R., 2013. Perceived unfairness in appraisal: engagement
and sustainable organizational performance. EuroMed Journal of Business, 8(3), pp.195-208.
Cascio, W.F., 2015. Managing human resources. McGraw-Hill.
Culbertson, S.S., Henning, J.B. and Payne, S.C., 2013. Performance appraisal
satisfaction. Journal of Personnel Psychology.
DeNisi, A.S. and Murphy, K.R., 2017. Performance appraisal and performance management:
100 years of progress?. Journal of Applied Psychology, 102(3), p.421.
Dusterhoff, C., Cunningham, J.B. and MacGregor, J.N., 2014. The effects of performance
rating, leader–member exchange, perceived utility, and organizational justice on performance
appraisal satisfaction: Applying a moral judgment perspective. Journal of business
ethics, 119(2), pp.265-273.
Espinilla, M., de Andrés, R., Martínez, F.J. and Martínez, L., 2013. A 360-degree
performance appraisal model dealing with heterogeneous information and dependent
criteria. Information Sciences, 222, pp.459-471.

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Fisher, C.D., Minbashian, A., Beckmann, N. and Wood, R.E., 2013. Task appraisals,
emotions, and performance goal orientation. Journal of Applied Psychology, 98(2), p.364.
Iqbal, M.Z., Akbar, S. and Budhwar, P., 2015. Effectiveness of performance appraisal: An
integrated framework. International Journal of Management Reviews, 17(4), pp.510-533.
Jacobs, G., Belschak, F.D. and Den Hartog, D.N., 2014. (Un) ethical behavior and
performance appraisal: the role of affect, support, and organizational justice. Journal of
business ethics, 121(1), pp.63-76.
Kampkötter, P., 2017. Performance appraisals and job satisfaction. The International Journal
of Human Resource Management, 28(5), pp.750-774.
Mone, E.M. and London, M., 2018. Employee engagement through effective performance
management: A practical guide for managers. Routledge.
Ofojebe, W.N. and Olibie, E.I., 2014. Management by Objectives (MBO) Imperatives for
Transforming Higher Education for a Globalised World. Journal of International Education
and Leadership, 4(2), p.n2.
Salleh, M., Amin, A., Muda, S. and Halim, M.A.S.A., 2013. Fairness of performance
appraisal and organizational commitment. Asian Social Science, 9(2), p.121.

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Assignment 2
Topic: Organizational Management
Response to Question no. 1:
a. Explanation of the term: The term job analysis refers to the process where
information related to the content of a job and required human skills are gathered and
analyzed to determine the work force and specialization that is needed for the job to
get done (Fine and Getkate 2014). The purpose behind this is to record the
employment procedure and skill set, training requirements, compensations and
rewards as well as appraisal of performance.
b. 4 stages of job analysis: according to Algera and Greuter (2013) there are four
stages that are involved in the process of job analysis. The very first step that is
involved in the job analysis procedure is to collect all the information that are relevant
to the different jobs in an organization. Various methods are used to meet this
purpose. Questionnaires are prepared to collect information. It is a very popular
method and reduces cost of gathering information. A detailed questionnaire needs to
be created so that all relevant information can be collected. Another method is
observation and interviews. Observation is not a fool proof method but interviews
give a detailed insight about the requirements of the job. The second stage is the
preparation of the form that contains the job description. The information that are
collected through the above mentioned method are used to create a form of job
description. This form will contain complete and concrete information about what the
job requires, the skills that will be necessary to complete the job, and how the job
holder will execute it (Ahsan, Ho and Khan 2013). There are several job description
forms for different family of jobs. In the next stage a job specification or criteria is