Helpful notes for Human Resource Management and Industrial Psychology students. With terminology and concepts that can be helpful for assignments, tests and exams.
1. Performance appraisal: Performance appraisal refers to the evaluation of behaviour
and outcomes in the workplace. This evaluation helps identify record and act on the
strengths and weaknesses of individuals in the workplace and terms of job
performance. There are four elements of performance appraisal, namely: Measuring
performance – assessing performance against specifically agreed targets; Feedback –
giving employees feedback on their performance and progress; Positive reinforcement
– rewarding employees on the things that have been achieved and giving feedback on
what can be improved; Discussion and agreement – discussions on past performance,
barriers to goal achievement, how employees can improve their performance and
reaching an agreement on things that need to be done.
The purposes of performance data:
Performance appraisal makes it easy for personnel to reach decisions such as
salary increases, promotions, demotion and also the discharge of staff.
Assessments can encourage contribution from employees to reach
organisational goals.
The feedback that employees get from employers could help with the decision
making of career choices and also develop strengths for new positions.
A performance appraisal system may help develop employee commitment and
satisfaction with the organisation.
Performance appraisal systems can give personnel explanations on why
certain things happen. For example, an organisation can give reasons on why
one employee got a larger salary increase than another.
Different techniques that the employer uses to rate employee’s performance:
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, 2. Recency: The supervisor focuses on recent behaviour and not on the performance of
the whole assessment period.
Infrequent observations may lead to ratings according to non-representative samples
of behaviour and unsubstantiated inferences.
Leniency or strictness: The supervisor assigns mostly favourable or mostly
unfavourable ratings to all employees.
Central tendency: The rater/supervisor gives all the employees the same answer. For
example, rates all the employees as average.
Halo error: The rating of one performance dimension affects the rating of subsequent
dimensions.
Same-as-me and different-from-me error: The supervisor/rater rates employees
based on their characteristics. Those who behave in a similar way as the rater are
more favourable and those who are different from the rater are less favourable.
Contrast error: The rating is based on a comparison with the previous employee,
which can be negatively or positively influenced.
To reduce errors and enhance accuracy raters can be trained. Certain things should be
considered when developing a performance appraisal system, things such as the
purpose of the system, the people who will be doing the appraising, the organisational
context, the organisational structure and goals.
Reliability and stability:
Reliability refers to whether the assessment process is consistent and stable.
Reliability can be improved by:
Using the same measurement on several items.
By making use of more than one rater
By increasing the frequency of observations.
Validity refers to whether the instrument measures what it is supposed to measure.
Holland’s theory: Distinguish between 6 environments and 6 personality types:
3. Individuals can be placed in appropriate working environments according to their
personality types. This presentation will be based on Holland’s theory which
distinguishes between six environments and six personality types. Each of these
personality types has preferences for and aversions to certain activities. Preferences
result in personal depositions. This means some personality types are fit for particular
occupations. People prefer working in an environment where they will be able to
express their personality.
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