Optimizing Nursing Performance Appraisals: Methods and Error Avoidance

This essay delves into the realm of performance appraisal within nursing, emphasizing its importance for nursing managers. It highlights objectives such as identifying employee strengths and weaknesses, providing feedback, and maintaining records for compensation and promotion. The essay explores different evaluation methods including trait, behavioral, comparison, and result methods, alongside tools like 360 feedback and balanced scorecards. It underscores the value of longitudinal data in establishing cause-and-effect relationships and developmental trends, while also addressing challenges like time consumption, workplace stress, and potential human bias. The conclusion emphasizes the role of performance appraisal in fostering productivity, enabling pay-for-performance systems, and aligning employee efforts with institutional goals. This document is available on Desklib, where students can find a wealth of academic resources including past papers and solved assignments.

Running head: PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL BY NURSING MANAGER 1
Performance appraisal by nursing manager
Name
Institution

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Performance Appraisal by Nursing Manager
Introduction
Every organization needs a defined performance appraisal plan. Performance appraisal
can be explained as the evaluation of employee work performance for understanding abilities of
an individual to facilitate further development and growth. Usually, this method of evaluating
performance tends to vary depending on with factors within the organization. Mostly, the
primary factor usually is Management style. It’s important to note that evaluation of worker’s
performance can have both drawbacks and benefits. Nursing as an Institution can apply
performance appraisal to make it more useful. This document will shed light on the aspect of
performance appraisal within the continuum of Nursing as a displace and how it can be of benefit
to nursing managers.
The objective of performance Appraisal in Nursing
Performance Appraisal has the many goals which can be of great importance to nursing
managers. These objective include: identifying weakness and strength of employees to retain the
most suitable for the task; provision of feedback regarding work performance by employees;
evaluation of employee’s potential to seek room for growth; maintenance of accounts for the
purpose of work; compensation and salary increase aspects; reviewing and maintaining
promotion programmer and influencing working habits (Dusterhoff, Cunningham, and
MacGregor, 2014).

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Decisions made by nursing managers will tend to be shaped by the objectives
mentioned above and are coupled with a lot of benefits to them. To specify the decisions mostly
influenced are on the issue of Promotion, Compensation, and Communication (Aggarwal and
Thakur, 2013).
It’s evident that promotion in a nursing organization is essential. However, there needs to
be a defined criterion when offering promotion. Performance appraisal can help the nursing
manager to come up with effective promotion program. In this case, efficient employees can be
rewarded while those who are not will be demoted or dismissed.
Also, performance appraisal can help nursing managers in providing compensation
package for nursing workers. With an excellent defined performance appraisal, the worth of
employee will be recognized (Mieroop and Vrolix, 2014). Also, it will enable a nursing manager
to compensate workers based on Merit rather than seniority.
Moreover, managers will be able to understand and accept skills of the subordinate as
result of effective communication.
Types of evaluation
There is three commonly used evaluation method. First, is known as Trait method
whereby the manager looks for a specific trait in ration to the job, e.g., friendliness. Second, is
the behavioral method, which checks to the particular action of the individual worker? Lastly,
Comparison method, it compares one employee with other employees. Besides these, Result
method, checks on employee’s accomplishment of the task.

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Behavior as an aspect of evaluating performance will help in meeting employees’
expectation. Employees want to feel appreciated for their hard work. Consequently, this can help
in reducing work turn over.
When evaluating these methods, a nursing manager can use the following tool in the
course of his/her work 360 feedbacks, management by objective, balanced scorecard and self-
evaluation.
A nursing manager can also apply longitudinal data in developing Performance appraisal.
The data helps to draw out cause and effect relationship. Moreover, it’s useful in researching
developmental trends (Wong and Laschinger, 2013). Also, it ensures clear focus and validity. To
ensure that longitudinal data is applied for an extended period the following system should be
adopted; there should be proxy interviews and creation of the longitudinal database to store the
data.
However, performance appraisal is not without challenges. Mostly, it can be time-
consuming and overwhelming to nursing managers. Secondly, it may create a stressful
workplace for both manager and workers (Gomez-Mejia, Berrone, and Franco-Santos, 2014).
Also, performance appraisal can be subject to human bias. Therefore, the nursing manager
should be impartial and make the performance appraisal favorable.
Conclusion
It’s evident that with a compelling performance appraisal will result in excellent
productivity. It will help a nursing manager to develop pay-for-performance in rewarding

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employees. Moreover, it will help him/her with tools that can improve the productivity of every
employee and also in communicating institution goal.

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References
Dusterhoff, C., Cunningham, J. B., & 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), 265-273.
Aggarwal, A., & Thakur, G. S. M. (2013). Techniques of performance appraisal-a
review. International Journal of Engineering and Advanced Technology (IJEAT), 2(3),
617-621.
Van De Mieroop, D., & Vrolix, E. (2014). A discourse analytical perspective on the
professionalization of the performance appraisal interview. International journal of
business communication, 51(2), 159-182.
Wong, C. A., & Laschinger, H. K. (2013). Authentic leadership, performance, and job
satisfaction: the mediating role of empowerment. Journal of advanced nursing, 69(4),
947-959.
Gomez-Mejia, L. R., Berrone, P., & Franco-Santos, M. (2014). Compensation and
organizational performance: Theory, research, and practice. Routledge, 100-132.