Application of Performance Management and Appraisals in the Emirates Airline - Case Study Example

Performance Management and Appraisals: Case study; Emirates Airlines Name Institution Date Table of Contents Name 1 Institution 1 Date 1 Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 Explanation of Performance management and appraisals 3 Concepts of performance management and appraisals 4 Pros and cons of performance management and appraisals 7 Application of performance management and appraisals in the Emirates Airline 8 Company background 8 Implementation of performance management and appraisals in the Emirates Airline 9 Advantages and disadvantages of the techniques used 11 Advantages 11 Disadvantages 12 Conclusion 12 Bibliography 13 Introduction Performance management and appraisal are concepts of human resource management that have been used by various organizations in their daily operations. Performance appraisal is a powerful tool that is aimed at ensuring smooth operations of the organization. It is also geared towards ensuring that the employees work in accordance with the acceptable rules and regulations of the organizations. This tool also ensures that the administration and the employees work together towards achieving the goals and objectives of the organization. The performance of each employee is also measured using this tool. According to Mark (2006), the organization is able to determine the efficiency and effectiveness of its employees. The measures to be taken against the employees who are not performing will be determined using this concept. The employees however have the right of being trained effectively regarding the concepts of performance management and appraisals before it is implemented. The paper will analyze in details the concepts of performance management and appraisal as applied in the Emirates Airlines in the United Arabs Emirates. This will include the impacts of this concept on the organizations. Explanation of Performance management and appraisals Performance management is the processes that are involved in bringing out the best potential of an employee so as to gain profitability. The process involves creating enabling environment for the employees so as to perform exceptionally well in the duties assigned to them. This human resource tool is beneficial to both the individual employee and the company. The employee is able to get job satisfaction while the company is able to realize huge profits and growth. This process includes giving the employees their correct job descriptions and training them on the concepts of performance management. Performance appraisal on the other hand is an important tool for performance management. It is defined as a process in which a manager evaluates the work of an employee based on the set goals and standards (McNamara, 2011). This is mainly for the purpose of determining if they are to receive further training, promotion, demotion or they are to be fired. The process is continuous throughout the employee’s service to the particular company. It gives the manager the opportunity to set goals for the employees and evaluate them according to their performance. This will then determine the action to be taken depending on the performance of the employee. The action may be positive or negative depending on the ability to meet the set goals and criteria used for the evaluation. Positive actions may include rewarding of the employees who perform well. The reward may be informed of thanking them verbally to show appreciations for their efforts. It may also include promotions or recognition. On the other hand negative action on the employee may include dismissal from duty or displinary action. Through this tool companies are able to work with the right employees and achieve the goals and objectives set. The performance management and appraisals is a continuous process. Once it has been implemented, it has to be continuous. The gains made will be realized depending on how well the goals and objectives of the company are achieved. Concepts of performance management and appraisals Reviewing the organizations goals and objectives is the first process that is widely associated with performance management and appraisals. This includes the costs required to fulfill the set goals, The time it will be set and how the organizations plans to achieve the goals and objectives it has. This review is mainly for the purpose of coming up with the most efficient system in place in terms of profitability and cost saving. The capacity of the employees to fulfill the goals should also be reviewed in details. This should then be followed by specifying the results that is to be achieved. The manager should be quite specific at this point. This is mainly because performance management is more of result oriented task. The results should be reasonable enough and fair to the employees who are to achieve them on behalf of the company. Focus should also be placed on the client’s needs and satisfaction. It will not be useful for the company to specify results which will not meet the demands of the clients. The organization may end up loosing clients if it does not consider their needs at this point (Aubrey, 2006). The results that have been set should also be able to meet the demands of the company and the employees. These results should also be the desired results that are in line withy the goals and objectives of the company. When choosing the desired results for the company, it is important to weigh several options before arriving at the final choice. This will be important in ensuring that any problem that may arise during the implementation period can easily be solved. Measures to solve any issue or problem that may be encountered should also be put in place or drafted. The first level measure should also be decided at this point. This will ensure that the managers will have an easier time during the implementation process. Any internal or external factors that may affect the outcome of the desired result should also be considered and taken into account. The standards of measurements should then be used to determine the outcome. These standards should be able to gauge how well the desired results are achieved. This will then determine whether the results were above the performance, average or below the performance. This will be important in providing the details on areas of weaknesses and how to solve the weakness. The standards should also be able to measure the performance of the employees and what they can do to improve on their areas of weakness. This is important since the process is continuous. After completing the above process, the manager should then document a plan of how the operations management will be conducted. This should include the new desired results, the most appropriate standards of measurement and when to implement the process. The manager should then inform the employees of the plans to implement performance management and appraisal. This is for the process of preparing them and to win their support. During the implementation period, it will be necessary to observe the process and analyze the outcome. A feedback mechanism should then be developed to help in the monitoring of the performance. A clear mechanism should be used to obtain the feedback from the employees regarding their performance. This may include reports from their supervisors or analyzing their written daily reports. This will determine the progress being made towards achieving the goals and objectives that have been set. It will also be important to get the feedback from the clients as this is the major determining factor towards achieving the goals and objectives (Mark, 2006). The last step toward implementing this process will include the appraisals. An appraisal report should be written based on the feedback. The managers should also be fair during this process. The set goals and objectives should first be analyzed. This is for the purpose of determining whether they were achieved or not. If they were not achieved then it will be necessary to address the performance gap. This can be done through updating the development plan so as to factor in the gaps that needs to e filled and the areas that need to be addressed (Mark, 2006). On the part of the employees the appraisals play a very vital role that may end up affecting their future performance or their careers. If an employee has performed above the set standards and achieved the desired results, then they should be rewarded. The reward will depend on the rules and capacity of the company. In the case where the employee has recorded an average performance, then it will e necessary to analyze the situation and the employee should state the reasons for not achieving the full potential. Measures should also be put in place to ensure that they realize their full potential. In cases of poor performance the employee should give reasons and what should be done to make improvements. However if the poor performance persists then displinary action should be taken against the employee. Pros and cons of performance management and appraisals Pros The best potential of the employee is brought out during this process. This improves the quality of the services given to the clients. This will benefit the company since the clients will continue being loyal to the company. According to Emirates Airline, (2012) the company will also be able to know its areas of weaknesses and improve on them before it brings negative effects to the company. The relationship between the employees and the management will also be improved leading to harmonious working relationship. This will in turn translate to better services to the clients. The employees will be motivated since they will be rewarded whenever they perform well. This is beneficial to both the company and the employees. The employees are able to understand their jobs even better when this process is implemented (Carter, 2011). Cons Despite the positive impacts, it may as well have negative impacts to the employees. In some instances the employees will feel that they ate blamed whenever the target is not met. The problem could have originated from the management but the employees ends up taking responsibility. Unfair competition may also arise among the employees so as to get rewarded. This may lead to conflicts and thus affects the progress of the company towards achieving the goals and objectives. Application of performance management and appraisals in the Emirates Airline Company background Emirates Airline is a company dealing with flights. Its headquarters is in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. It was established in 1985 by the government of Dubai. It is one of the most profitable companies in the UAE. The company is government owned but it was given the power to operate as an independent business entity. This boosted the growth of the company. The company employs thousands of employees from the UAE and also expatriates. The company offers an attractive package to its employees who in turn work hard to ensure the growth and expansion of the Airline. To ensure that the operations are up to the modern standards, the company has undertaken various quality management strategies which has seen it awarded with various certification including ISO. The company has also won several awards for the outstanding services it offers to its clients. The company was able to succeed due to the implementation of performance management and appraisal strategies. These strategies enabled the growth of the company as well as confidence from clients (Emirates Airline, 2012). Implementation of performance management and appraisals in the Emirates Airline During the implementation of performance management and appraisal in the Emirates Airline, Method of analysis was used. This was with a view of ensuring that the services are coordinated and the employees are given the targets to achieve. Due to stiff competition in the industry, the company resolved to be the best so as to beat all the competitors who were both local and international. The company also introduced an automated performance management solution technique. This was mainly for the purpose of measuring the performance of the employees and the compared based on the goals and objectives that had been set. The goals and objectives of the company were reviewed by a team of exerts from the human resource department. They then recommended that the company should set the new goals and objectives tat will steer the growth and performance of the company to new heights. All the employees were also notified of the process so s to prepare them physiologically (Emirates Airline, 2012). This was followed by training of the employees on the concepts of performance management. However the company also has a policy whereby all the employees should attend to training and seminars annually depending on their department. The human resource department also has policies put in place regarding the employees. Each employee has a job description clearly spelt out and easy to understand. The targets have also been set for the employees. Each employee is supposed to meet the target set for them. Daily reports are also written by each employee and submitted to the immediate supervisor. These reports are then assessed by the human resource department. The employees are usually notified about the importance of meeting the targets set for tem and the consequences of not meeting the said targets (Carter, 2011). The human resource department deals with rewarding of employees together with promotion and discipline. Guidelines have been set on how an employee will be rewarded depending on the performance and the ability to meet the goals and objectives. Every year many employees are usually promoted based on their outstanding performance. Top performers are usually rewarded ever year for their dedication to the company. However since the company strives for Excellency, some of the employees who fail to perform are usually dismissed from the company. The employees who feel that they have been dismissed unfairly are always given the opportunity to appeal (Aubrey, 2006). The company also uses some methods and techniques which are quite efficient when appraising its employees. The appraisals are based on the summary of an ongoing year round dialogue. The appraisal method used by the company is mainly the ranking technique. The company uses this method due to the fact that it has many employees. McNamara (2011) notes that this method works best since it aim at identifying the top performers. In some of the departments individuals are paired then their performance is compared. The standards have been by the company with the purpose of rating the individuals against each other. This technique is usually used when several individuals have performed outstanding performances. Another technique used by the company is the checklist method whereby the individuals are evaluated depending on the important performances for the company. Some individuals are quite innovative and are responsible for most of the technologies adopted by the company. During the appraisal period, these outstanding performances area usually recognized and the individuals rewarded. This has promoted alot of innovations for the company. The behavior of individuals is also assessed during the appraisal period. This has ensured good behavior among the employees who have won praises from clients and workmates. High level duties are also appraised. This is usually applicable to the high level staff (Carter, 2011). Advantages and disadvantages of the techniques used Advantages The techniques used by the company to implement performance management and appraisal have been quite productive. This is mainly because the method ranks the employees from the best performer to the least performing. This method is thus transparent and most of the employees have gained the courage and morale to compete with the others and thus promoting good results. It also enables the employees to know their position and potential in terms of performance. The employees are also comfortable with these techniques since everyone is evaluated including the top managers and superiors. The company is also very reliable to the company and it gives accurate results regarding the performance of the company (McNamara, 2011). Disadvantages The company has also noted some of the negative impacts due to the methods and techniques it uses during the performance management and appraisal. Some of the employees who are ranked among the least performers are sometimes demoralized. The ranking affects some of them who feel that they cannot be easily recognized although they perform well in some of the areas. However these disadvantages are however minimal and do not affect the company to great heights. The company has also been able to its goals and objectives despite the disadvantages involved in this method of evaluation. Conclusion According to the paper, performance management and appraisals is an important tool in ensuring the success of an organization. The Paper also states that this process is continuous and it does not stop once it has been implemented. It is also important to train the employees concerning this process so as to enable its success. The paper also emphasizes the importance of this process concerning the services offered to the clients. When the clients are appraised better services are offered to the clients. According to the paper, performance management has been adopted by Emirates Airline so as to boost its performance. This tool has been important in ensuring that the company has grown to a high level of success. The employees of the company also embraced this management tool and it has enabled good working relations between the company and clients. According to the paper the company has developed policies which enable rewards for employees who perform well in the duties assigned to them. The company also promotes employees who registered good performance. Various techniques are used to measure performance of the employees and that of the company. However the paper highlights a few cons in the performance management and performance appraisals as applied by the company. It is however overshadowed by the many advantages it has. Bibliography Emirates Airline, 2012, Emirates Home. Retrieved on February 24, 2012 from McNamara, C., 2011, Performance Management: Performance Appraisal. http://managementhelp.org/performancemanagement/appraisals.htm Aubrey, C., 2006. Performance management. New York: Prentice Hall Publishers. Mark. N, et al 2006, Business performance management: One truth Retrieved on February 24, 2012 from Carter, M., 2011, Benefits of performance management. 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