Monday, January 27, 2020
Concepts Of Performance Management In Human Resources
Concepts Of Performance Management In Human Resources Abstract Performance management is becoming increasingly important in the department of Human Resources in recent years. It refers to a systematic instrument for improving the development of individuals, teams and organizations. With the wide acceptance of performance management to the organizations, how can it be understood, accepted and implemented by managers and employees effectively in practice? The paper makes a study on the performance management from the perspective of Human Resources, analyses the definitions and process of performance management and discusses the positive and negative effects of performance management. Overall, it will be argued that the positive effects of performance management outweigh its negative effects, but it is also necessary to pay attention to its disadvantages, such as judgement errors caused by distortion of performance information. Performance Management in HR à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ . Introduction The concept of performance has been around for more than a hundred years, experiencing some remarkable changes in the process of performance developments and subsequently integrating into the Human Resources Management system. Performance management, as one of the most important parts in these development procedures, has attracted intensifying attention in many organizations. In addition, economical globalization, speedy development of technology and high capitalizations are conspicuous trends in this fast-paced society, people have to promote their performance and become more flexible to satisfy the needs of this fast-changing and competitive society. Hence, how to select employees, who are regarded as an organizations greatest assets, plays a dominant role in avoiding companies to fall behind their competitors. Simultaneously how to keep the talent and how to encourage them to give their maximum ability to improve the competitiveness of company are crucial issues to managers. Effic ient use of performance management can help the company to solve such problems. In this essay, a clear definition of performance and performance management will be given firstly by the analysis of different interpretations put forward by many scholars. Then from four steps, including planning, implementation, appraisal and feedback, it will introduce performance management process. Finally, this essay will attempt to demonstrate that the positive effects of performance management are more significant than the negative. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¡. Defining the concepts A. What is performance? Performance management is obviously to do with performance, and what is meant by that word? There are two dissimilar views on the definition of performance. One is the outputs and outcomes of activities, Bernadin et al (1995, cited in Armstrong 2000: 3) states that performance should be defined as outcomes of work because they provide the strongest linkage to the strategic goals of the organization, customer satisfaction, and economic contributions. An alternative view contends that performance is behaviour, including working proficiency, literacy and efforts. Campell (1900, cited in Armstrong 2000: 3) believes that performance is behaviour and should be distinguished from outcomes because they can be contaminated by systems factors. Actually, in the practice of performance management in HR, managers usually intend to use a more comprehensive view of performance, which includes outputs and behaviour, because they have a mutual relationship of complementation, the behaviour is deemed to be one of the indispensable conditions to reach outcomes or outputs of performance. This view is concluded by Brumbrach (1988, cited in Armstrong 2000: 3) that performance is composed of behaviour and outcomes or outputs. Performer tries his or her best to turn abstract plans or behaviour into some concrete outcomes. In other words, behaviour is an instrument for gaining results. To summarize, an overall definition of performance should consist of behaviour and results, and these two elements need to be taken into account when measuring the performance of individuals and teams. B. Performance management Performance management is an essential part in HRM, which has become increasingly popular since the 1980s. Dransfield (2000: 69) states that performance management is a process which is designed to improve organizational, team and individual performance and which is owned and driven by line managers. According to Dransfields (2000) definition, currently, there are three different viewpoints on the definition of performance management. The first one is to be understood as organizational performance. It means that the implementation of organization strategies should emphasize on the adjustment of organizational structure, business process, technology and targets. The second viewpoint is that performance management is a means of getting better results from teams. Performance management applies to everyone in the business team, not just managers, but also employees. As stated by Armstrong (2000:5), It rejects the cultural assumption that only managers are responsible for the performance of their teams and replaces it with the belief that responsibility is shared between managers and team members. The third one claims that the core of performance management is developing individuals potential, and after that improving organizational performance through aligning individual and organiza tional targets. This essay is in favour of the third opinion, mainly because the inconsistent or missing information of target content is inevitable during the top-down transmission from organizational targets to individual targets. In order to make sure the staffs activities and outputs are congruent with organizational targets, it is widely believed that performance management should be focused on guiding and helping staffs to fulfil their tasks in the light of organizational target and requirement. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¢. The process of performance management In order to ensure the targets can be accomplished effectively and punctually, managers should follow a performance management process in an orderly way. An all-around definition is provided to reflect the performance management process, as a management cycle under which program performance objectives and targets are determined, managers have flexibility to achieve them, actual performance is measured , and this information feeds into decisions about programme funding, design, operations and rewards or penalties'(Curristine, 2005: 131). This section will introduce the standard Deming cycle applied in the performance management context and the Deming cycle refers to PDCA where P for plan ,D for do, C for check and A for action. During plan phase the goals and information are decided for employee or team. The do phase is for the implementation of plan and in check phase, supervisors will review and appraise the performance, then confirm the performance and gives feedback in the stage o f action(Evans Lindsay, 2008). A. Performance planning Performance planning is the starting point of performance management process, including three basic aspects-setting the direction, concluding performance agreements and agreeing personal development plans(Armstrong 2000:17-18). In other words, performance planning is deemed to be an activity of deciding what to do and how to do it. Compared to the other types of planning in traditional process and management activities, performance planning has the following characteristics: (1). The process of performance planning is a bidirectional communication between managers and employees. (2). All members, including managers and employees should be responsible for drawing up plans together. B. performance implementation Performance implementation is one of the most fundamental parts throughout the performance management. Undoubtedly, without this basic guarantee of performance implementation, plans cannot be put into practice. In essence, performance implementation is a process of delivering organizational targets or plans from managers to employees, and then people have flexibility to achieve them. C. Performance appraisal Performance appraisal is the focal part of performance management in which managers give assessment to individuals work and achievements in relation to the organizational targets. A useful definition of performance appraisal is set out by the Adivory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS) which states that: appraisals regularly record an assessment of an employees performance, potential and development needs. The appraisal is an opportunity to take an overall view of work content, loads and volume, to look back on what has been achieved during the reporting period and agree objectives for the next'(cited in Dransfield, 2000: 71). Generally speaking, the main task of performance appraisal is to identify what the employee is to do and has it been done well. Hence, it is necessary to establish a standard for performance appraisal. If an employees behaviour can be in accordance with the following criteria, it is deemed that this is an effective performance: 1. Strategic Congruence, 2. Validity, 3. Reliability, 4. Acceptability, 5. Specificity (Baker, 1988). D. Performance feedback After being checked, individuals need to know whether their performance is good or not. So managers should provide feedback which needs to be concerned with actual performance and careful measurement. The good feedback is not simply warning employees what they have done wrong or successful, but also guiding a way for individuals future development and improvement. This feedback information is also the evidence that human resources strategy and feedback improve leadership capability and consequently affect organizational performance (Mabey Martin, 2001). In the practise of feedback, there are a number of methods to give feedbacks; one of the most famous systems is 360-degree feedback, which refers to a process in which employees receive confidential, anonymous feedback from the people who work around them, including managers, peers, subordinates and customers (Tyson Ward, 2004). To sum up, performance feedback can be collected from abundant information channels, ranging from superio rs to subordinates, colleagues to customers, and thereafter this feedback information will flow into decision about strategic adjustment, modification, rethinking operation and rewards or penalties. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ £. Performance management influences the development of HRM With the wide dissemination of performance concept, performance management has attracted intensifying attention in many organizations. Managers have placed a premium on the employees performance in their work. So the adoption of performance management not only can improve organizational performance, but also can be personally fulfilling and skill-enhancing. However, there are still some potential problems existing in performance management, which seems to undermine the organizational and individual development. This section will attempt to demonstrate that the functional effects of performance management are more significant than the dysfunctional. A comprehensive definition is provided to point out the functional effects, as In general term, we define a phenomenon as being functional if its consequences contribute positively to a larger structure (Van Dooren, 2010: 152). Performance management thus would have functional effects when it contributes to the whole target of organization. Firstly, performance management can stimulate learning and innovation among employees and inside the organization. In terms of employees, performance management provides a motivation for encouraging employees to improve their own skills, especially those who perform poorly; they are guided to meditate deeply on their working practice, the defects in particular, which is the pivotal to the improvement of their performance. So only keep learning, can employees ensure that they can hold the job position and follow the best career path for themselves. In terms of the whole organization, performance management may trigger changes and innovation. Accord ing to De Brujin (2004), it is obvious that the yearly growth in the number of employees is steady in a company, this means that the organization accumulate slack resources who do not make any contribution to organization. The managers in department of HR can therefore adjust and improve the standard of choosing and employing persons, and cut off the overstaffed offices. Moreover, performance management can create transparency in the organization. Managers or supervisors, who are used to having a lot of priority, may commit mistakes, such as judgement errors and bias. Performance management can make their performance more visible inside or outside the organizations. It is an effective way to supervise and keep managers from giving others unfair treatment. Despite the functional effects that performance management has, it is impossible to deny its dysfunctional effects, which can undermine the goals of the individuals and organizations. Deming (cited in Evans Lindsay, 2008) holds the view that performance management nourishes short-term performance at the cost of the long-term planning. In order to realize the short-term interests and personal achievement, employees may make a flimsy promises to their customers and overdraw organizational resources, at last, the development of the whole organization will be blocked. What is more, the negative effects of performance management can be often caused by distortion of performance information and outputs. In conclusion, despite the existence of drawbacks, the positive effects of performance management are more significant than the negative. Performance management is thus an evolutionary process in which individuals can obtain many opportunities for career development, such as receiving training and guiding, improving the development of capabilities, even attainment of full potential. Simultaneously, organizations can get generous profits in return from their professional performance management. It is likely that performance management will have a bright future in the department of HR. à ¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã‚ ¤. Conclusion As mentioned above, this essay has discussed definitions, process and effects of performance management. It has emerged that the functional effects of performance management are more significant, despite the existence of dysfunctional effects as well. According to Hatry (2008, cited in Van Dooren 2010), performance management may not have a bright future, because some challenges remain to a certain degree and its problems are so thorny that can hinder the development of organizations. Nevertheless, now there are increasingly managers using performance management, as stated by Van Dooren (2010:175), practitioners, management consultants as well as academics have sought solutions in response to the paradoxical and often problematic nature of performance management. Accordingly, the foreground of performance management is still optimistic. An efficient way to solve these problems is to improve the quality of performance information, which can guarantee the reliability and equality of pe rformance appraisal and feedback. From the aspect of employees, adequate training and skills development should be applied in the performance management. In a word, performance management is an indispensable part in the department of HR and it is to be hoped that improvements and adjustments should be taken to deal with challenges and ensure to gain the greatest returns on professional performance management.
Sunday, January 19, 2020
Investigating the concentration of the solutions inside the vacuole of a potato cell. :: essays research papers
Osmosis Investigation We are trying to find out what the concentration of the solutions is inside the vacuole of a potato cell. We will investigate how the mass of the potato chips change in different sucrose solution concentrations. We will use osmosis to do this. I will be measuring and controlling many different variables, these include; - The dependent Variable – Weight of potato chip Independent Variable – Concentration of sucrose Control Variables consist of; - 1.     Temperature 2.     Surface area of potato 3.     Volume of sucrose solution 4.     Same time for each potato chip submerged in solution 5.     Potato chips all from same potato The effects on the dependent variables all differ; here is how the main variables in my experiment work out. Variable     Effect on Dependent Variable Surface area of potato chip     The greater the surface area the more water it will be able to absorb Same chip from the same potato     The genetic make-up will be the same and therefore the partly permemble membrane will be similar Time left in the solution     The longer spent in solution the more that is absorbed Coating on the potato chips     If not rinsed off and dried after a certain period of time the chips will form a coat of sugar thus decreasing surface area Quantitative prediction I predict that the effect of changing the sucrose concentration will be that as the concentration of the sucrose solution increases, first of all the mass of the chip will increase, and then the change in mass will gradually decrease until mass is lost and this mass loss will gradually increase in amount. Because when the sucrose concentration is low, the concentration of water outside the cells of the potato chips will be greater than that inside, and therefore water will osmosis into the cells of the chip which will gain mass. As the concentration of sucrose increases the concentration of water outside the call will eventually become less than inside the cells of the chip and mass will be lost.      Dependent      Variable      Inside the cells Outside the cells Dilute solution          Concentrated solution                                    Higher water concentration Low water concentration Key: = Sucrose particle = water molecule = osmosis = partially permeable membrane In the higher sucrose concentration solution, the net movement of water (osmosis) is to the outside of the cell, and the chip will lose mass, the cells will become plasmolysed. The chip in a low concentration of sucrose solution, is the opposite of the diagram above, in that the water osmoses into the cells of the chip, mass it gained, through osmosis of water into the plant cells, the cells will become turgid.
Saturday, January 11, 2020
Andok’s Lechon Manok Essay
Andok’s Lechon Manok is one of the longest and most popular roast chicken in our country. This company was started by the so called father of â€Å"Litson Manok,†Leonardo â€Å"Sandy†Javier Jr. twenty years ago. He said that he encountered numerous disappointments and struggles in sustaining their business especially when they have a lot of competitors like Baliwag but he did not give up. He made his business his passion and was very determined to be successful. When he was still starting, he did not have the capital to start a business. He was forced to borrow twelve chickens from his mother’s friend. Unfortunately, he only sold two chickens. His struggles in life inspired him to strive harder and to be a better entrepreneur. He experimented with the different ingredients to capture what we know today as the trademark Andok’s taste. Before, he started with twelve chickens until it boosted its daily inventory to eighty chickens. His business started evolving because he said that he loves what he is doing and he believes so much in his business. Up to date, Javier continues to grow Andok’s with its menu expanding to include liempo, pork chop, sinigang, etc. Andok’s also opened its doors to franchising. Because of their efficient and systematic franchise support, an â€Å"AA†standard for Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) has been obtained by their Metro Manila commissary and nominated â€Å"AAA†standard GMP for Iloilo commissary. For the consumer’s better access, Andok’s were strategically located in places where it is visible and accessible from major thoroughfares; passenger terminals of public utility vehicles; community centers or malls; near markets; commercial/ business district; and areas with high foot and vehicle traffic. To maintain the quality of the food being served, all stocks and ingredients will be supplied from the Andok’s production facility pre-portioned, marinated and ready-to-cook. Take-out franchise stores will be equipped with the standard rotisserie machine with hood and stainless steel chimney, stove, siopao steamer, cooking table, Dokito fryer, chiller boxes, freezers and other equipment. Here is the list of awards garnered by Andok’s through the years of service: 1999â€Å"GAWAD NEGOSYANTENG PINOY†Most Outstanding Food Retailer Operator given by NEGO-PILIPINO FOUNDATION, INC.and MORNINGS @ GMA 7 2002 DANGAL NG PILIPINAS BEST SELLING LITSON MANOK â€Å"CONSUMER’S CHOICE ANNUAL AWARDS†Given by Organization For Peace and Progress Oriented Group, Inc. 2005PRODUCT & SERVICE EXCELLENCE AWARDEE â€Å"BEST FAMILY-ORIENTED LITSON MANOK BRAND†PARANGAL SA PAMILYANG PILIPINO In conclusion, Andok’s has been operating effectively for over 25 years. Although a roasted chicken business meets a number of rivals in the market, Andok’s has made its stand to be one of the most successful brand of litson manok in the country. Despite having a lot of competitors, they try to innovate their products, add different products, and at the same time expand their company. They were able to overcome the struggles that they faced and be successful in their business.
Friday, January 3, 2020
Essay on Themes, Symbolism, and Atmosphere in Dickens...
When Charles Dickens was writing his commentary on a fast industrializing world, the thought that Hard Times would still be relevant over 150 years later is assumed to be far from the forefront of his mind. And yet at present, 158 years after its first publication, Charles Dickens’ tale of industrialization and its implications still holds a prominent place in today’s society. The following is one interpretation of Dickens’ story of an industrialized dystopia, and discussed are its ever-relevant theme, the symbols and motifs which reinforce it, and the effective atmosphere which it creates. Throughout the novel there are two very prominent themes: the notion that industrialization has a mechanizing effect on human beings and the†¦show more content†¦However, Dickens, through both the plot and his narrator, does his best to bias the argument, providing the reader with sound arguments against the accumulation of facts and the mechanization of humanity. â⠂¬Å"It is known, to the force of a single pound weight, what the engine will do, but not all the calculators of the National debt can tell me the capacity for good or evil, for love or hatred, for patriotism or discontent, for the decomposition of virtue into vice, or the reverse, at any single moment in the soul of one of these quiet servants, with the composed faces and the regulated actions.†(Dickens 78-79). Not only is this a welcome insight into the moral compass of the narrator, but so too is it a statement which shows where it is that fact has no frame of reference. Dickens is pointing out that fact can never reveal the reasons behind the aspects of human nature that separates man from machine, humanity from industry. This can even be seen as foreshadowing as Dickens later details a transformation in Mr. Gradgrind that facts could never endeavor to explain. It could be said that Mr. Gradgrind’s change of stance is the most symbolic of the battle, since, from the beginning of the novel, he seems to represent all that is logical, practical, and utilitarian. In the final book, we see Mr. Gradgrind’s change of heart in practice as he helps his son to escape to America so that he may avoid punishment for his robbing Bounderby’s bank. Dickens mostShow MoreRelatedCharles Dickens was one of the Brightest and Most Influential Writers of His Time1325 Words  | 5 Pages The British writer Charles Dickens was one of the brightest and most influential people of his time. 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