Performance Management Comparison: Critical Analysis Essay for HRM

This essay provides a critical analysis of two journal articles focusing on performance management effectiveness. The essay begins with an introduction to critical thinking and project management, setting the context for the comparison. The main body of the essay delves into the similarities and differences between the articles, which examine various aspects of performance management, including the roles of senior managers, training, employee recognition, and the influence of organizational culture. The analysis incorporates additional literature to support or refute the authors' claims, offering a comprehensive perspective on the subject. The essay concludes by summarizing key findings and emphasizing the importance of effective performance management within organizations. The essay uses at least six referred articles apart from the textbook and the articles chosen for comparison. The essay adheres to the Academy of Management referencing style.

Critical Thinking and
Analysis
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY...................................................................................................................................3
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................7
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INTRODUCTION
Critical Thinking can be defined as analysing different facts in order to form a logical
understanding between them. It is one of the skills that all people within an organisation are
expected to possess. Critical thinking can help individuals in analysing problems effectively and
make informed decisions (Changwong, Sukkamart and Sisan, 2018). This report is based on
project management, which involves applying skills, methods and processes in order to attain the
goals and objectives of the project. Effective project management ensures that right output is
delivered. The report includes comparison of two journals articles that are based on methods of
performance management. It includes similarities and differences between the viewpoints of
authors in the articles. Literature on performance management has also been included in the
report.
MAIN BODY
Performance management is considered to be an important aspect for completing any
project within the given time frame. It not only helps in boosting the morale of employees, but
also enable them to produce better results. This report is a comparison between two research
articles, namely- “Performance management effectiveness: lessons from world-leading firms”
and “Performance management effectiveness: practices or context?”. The first article proposes
four different performance management facilitators. These are involving senior managers in the
process, a broad view of performance management, training performance raters and
communicating performance expectations clearly. The process of performance management is a
continuous process that involves identifying, measuring and developing the overall performance
of an organisation (Cottrell, 2017). The article states that the way in which performance
management system is implemented, makes a difference between systems that are successful and
unsuccessful. Signalling theory that was introduced by Spence states that attributes like age and
gender, are signals that are related to individuals and can be manipulated by them.
As per the views of one of the authors of the journal article, Michal Biron, performance
management can be referred to as a strategic and tactical tool. The performance management
systems are basically designed in order to help the management of a firm to achieve goals and
objectives. As per the view point of Marianne Chrisos, performance management helps in
motivating and empowering the employees. This is because when the employees are aware of
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their jobs and the goals of the organisation, they are motivated to perform in an enhanced
manner. As a result, they support the business in reaching its goals and objectives (How
Important Is Performance Management in Achieving Organizational Goals?, 2020).
Performance management also provide useful information to the HR managers, enabling them to
make informed decisions. This can be related to salary, promotions, termination and retention of
employees etc. According to the article, senior management should always be involved in the
process of decision making. This is primarily because they are responsible for designing,
monitoring as well as implementing the performance management system.
As per the view point of Prachi Juneja, top managers play an important role in
performance management because they are responsible for setting the trends and also act as role
models for the employees within the organisation (Role of Managers in Performance
Management, 2020). Another article, “Performance management effectiveness: practices or
context?”, is based on analysing the effectiveness of performance management. Apart from this,
the article focuses on the performance management training that is received by managers as well
as the use of employee recognition practices (Ismail and et. al., 2018). The training on
performance management that managers receive is an ongoing process. This is because they are
involved in various processes like planning, review, coaching and assessment. The overall
effectiveness of performance management depends largely on the managers of an organisation.
Multi source feedback is a technique wherein employees who are involved in the process of
performance management receive feedback on their performance through multiple sources.
As per the viewpoint of G. Meenakshi, a multi source feedback is an important tool that
can be used to improve the overall performance of individuals in the workplace (Multi source
feedback based performance appraisal system using Fuzzy logic decision support system, 2020).
A study was conducted that did not show that there is an association between multi source
feedbacks and the overall performance management. The authors of the article “Performance
management effectiveness: practices or context?” claim that having a group culture within the
workplace can help in fostering commitment among the employees. As a result, they are more
engaged in their respective jobs. This leads to performing in an effective and desired manner
within the organisation. The article includes a primary research that was carried out in order to
measure the overall effectiveness of performance management.
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As per the viewpoint of Dominika Cechova, there are many ways in which the overall
effectiveness of performance management can be measured (How to measure performance
management effectiveness and efficiency, 2020). These include clearly defining the goals and
objectives of the organisation, establishing measures against which the company can compare its
success, evaluating the results etc. Both the articles that have been compared, have some
similarities as well as some differences. Both of them are based on analysing the effectiveness of
performance management within a company. But in the article named, “Performance
management effectiveness: lessons from world-leading firms”, the primary focus of the authors
is on four different facilitators of performance management. Whereas, in the second article, the
focus is mainly on the extent of training received by managers for management, the use of multi
source feedback as well as different practices of employee recognition.
The author of one of the articles claims that employee recognition is deeply connected
with the various motivational theories (Mahanal and et. al., 2017). It is capable of shaping the
behaviour as well as improving performance of individuals within the workplace. Also, many
organisations have started practising employee recognition within their workplace. It has also
been claimed that employee recognition programs are also adopted in order to encourage
behaviour that the employers expect from their employees. As per the view point of Claire
Hastwell, employee recognition programs help employees to develop a sense that they are valued
by the company (Creating a Culture of Recognition, 2020). The authors of the article “Performance
management effectiveness: practices or context?” claim that practising employee recognition is
expected to improve the effectiveness of performance management systems.
There are also certain differences between the two articles that are compared, like one of
the articles view performance management as a tactical as well as strategic tool. Whereas the
other article states that the culture of an organisation is related to performance management
within the workplace (Reale and et. al., 2018). The researchers have been trying to improve the
overall performance management of employees within the company. As per the view point of
Anne Louise Thorbecke, the different ways to improve and manage performance of the
employees include providing support to the employees, making joint decisions and so on (5 ways
to effectively manage employee performance (through BI), 2020). This will help the employees
in performing effectively as well as attaining the objectives of the company in an efficient way.
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CONCLUSION
From the above report, it can be concluded that performance management is an important
component for an organisation. The performance of employees should be evaluated effectively
so that the overall productivity is also maintained. There are various journal articles published on
performance management as well as its effectiveness. They can be studied carefully in order top
gain useful insights. Also, various practices can like employee recognition, multi-source
feedback etc. can be utilized in order to manage the performance of the company as well as its
employees. Although there are limitations of performance management, it is still being opted by
organisation because of the many advantages associated with it.
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REFERENCES
Books & Journals
Changwong, K., Sukkamart, A. and Sisan, B., 2018. Critical thinking skill development:
Analysis of a new learning management model for Thai high schools. Journal of
International Studies. 11(2).
Cottrell, S., 2017. Critical thinking skills: Effective analysis, argument and reflection. Macmillan
International Higher Education.
Ismail, N. S. and et. al., 2018. The effect of Mobile problem-based learning application
DicScience PBL on students’ critical thinking. Thinking Skills and Creativity. 28.
pp.177-195.
Mahanal, S. and et. al., 2017. The Analysis of Students' Critical Thinking Skills on Biology
Subject. Anatolian Journal of Education. 2(2). pp.21-39.
Reale, M. C. and et. al., 2018. Development of critical thinking in health professions education:
A meta-analysis of longitudinal studies. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning.
10(7). pp.826-833.
Online
5 ways to effectively manage employee performance (through BI). 2020. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.phocassoftware.com/business-intelligence-blog/5-ways-to-
effectively-manage-employee-performance-through-bi>.
Creating a Culture of Recognition. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.greatplacetowork.com/resources/blog/creating-a-culture-of-recognition>.
How Important Is Performance Management in Achieving Organizational Goals?. 2020.
[Online]. Available through:<https://www.techfunnel.com/hr-tech/performance-
management-organizational-goals/>.
How to measure performance management effectiveness and efficiency. 2020. [Online].
Available through:<https://www.peoplegoal.com/blog/how-to-measure-performance-
management-effectiveness-and-efficiency>.
Multi source feedback based performance appraisal system using Fuzzy logic decision support
system. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.researchgate.net/publication/221673091_Multi_source_feedback
_based_performance_appraisal_system_using_Fuzzylogic_decision_support_system>.
Role of Managers in Performance Management. 2020. [Online]. Available
through:<https://www.managementstudyguide.com/role-of-managers-in-performance-
management.htm>.
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