Strategies to Establish Team Performance, Objectives of Employee Appraisal Scheme - Coursework Example

Strategies to establish team performance, objectives of employee appraisal scheme and individual performance management Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Name and Code: University: Assignment due date: Strategies to Establish Team Performance, Objectives of Employee Appraisal Scheme and Individual Performance Management A team is a collection of individuals, jointly working to achieve certain preset objectives. Working as a team ensures some collective potential that would not have been realized if individuals worked on their own is accomplished. An effective team is attained when team members perform more productively. Performance in a well functioning team is measured from the overall group output rather than on the output of each individual. An ongoing team building process ensures members accomplish group tasks, members support each other; understand each other’s strengths and weaknesses. This cohesiveness leads to improved productivity. One of the principles to establish team standards and performance expectation is the division of work (Mishra 2008, pp. 226). Enacted upon certain individual or group, it ensures attention is directed towards a portion of the task. Emphasis should be put on the individual’s member contribution. Each member should know how the task they perform affect the overall group output and the firm at large. Hence, each member will take responsibility for completing tasks assigned to them. Rewards are introduced when the entire team meets its objectives. Secondly, authority should be respected. Authority is the power conferred upon some individuals to issue commands on others. However, developing a participatory style of leadership ensures that every member has their idea appreciated. Contrary to setting performance standards and forcing them to the members, letting each member express their opinion makes them feel valued. Conclusions attained using consensuses are more willingly accepted and embraced by the members. They easily understand what they suggest themselves as ways to improve service. Discussing issues and finding solutions together also ensures a variety of ideas are available for collective evaluation. For an effective team performance, team members should observe discipline. Orders from authorities should be adhered to for the organisation to run smoothly. To attain this, the management should help the employees understand the reason for a certain order to be made. Communication with the employees guarantees they are informed on the progress of the firm that leads the management to make certain decisions. This hence makes the members willingly observe discipline. Employees are more likely to be more submissive if the management observes provides high-quality leadership than when they manage the organisation poorly. Penalties can be administered on individuals who do not observe discipline. There should be a unity of command for an optimum team performance. Each worker should only be under one boss. By this, the likelihood that an employee may not be sure whose command to follow is prevented. This avoids conflicts in the lines of command. It allows all team members with responsibility to act with a common purpose and approach under one authority. Unity of direction is important for a team to achieve its performance expectations. This chain of command ensures harmony and coordination in the team. To attain this, objectives of the group should be established together. All the members in the team understand the objectives better if they take part in the setting of the goals. Team members should be reminded regularly on the objectives and the progress already made towards achieving it. Subordination of personal interests to the general interest is another principle that guides to an effective team performance. Interests of the firm should not be compromised in favour of interests of certain persons within the team. By this, the team does not lose focus on what it primarily targeted to achieve. Emphasis is put on issues affecting the group. Individual interests should not diversify the firm’s objectives. Team members’ remuneration is important in motivating them. This is the monetary award an employee gets in exchange for the duties they execute for their employer. Factors like status of the firm, cost of living and qualified personnel supply are considered in determining each worker’s pay rate. This may include commission, compensation, fringe benefit, employee stock option, salary or wage. Workers on different levels of management are paid varyingly. There should be a defined line of authority. Bureaucratic management theory focused on dividing an organization into hierarchies (Cole 2004, pp. 25). A scalar chain is crucial for unity of direction. It refers to the number of levels from the highest level of authority to the lowest level in the organisation. The powers bestowed upon each leader are described. This avoids conflicting forces in decision making regarding a certain problem. It also ensures unity of command. For an effective team performance, the chain should be well known to the members. It should also not consist very many levels. The top level management makes strategic and long term decisions. They require a wide knowledge of management skills. Middle management implements the decisions made by the top level managers. They have a particular understanding of certain managerial responsibilities. The lower management ensures that decisions reached by the other management levels are carried out. They can make short term decisions. Stability of tenure of personnel guarantees productive team members are retained (Sims 2006, pp. 116). This should be a high management priority. Employees working under assured job security have increased performance. It minimizes regular recruiting and training of workers thus minimizing the costs associated with it. An insecure tenure may adversely affect the organization at large. An employee cannot deliver substantial service if they are shifted or removed before they familiarize with the work assigned to them. Order must be observed in the team to enhance performance. Material order minimizes lost time. It guarantees safety and competence in the workplace. Social order guarantees smooth operation of the team. It is attained through selection and organization. All materials and team members concerned with a certain kind of task should be treated as uniformly as possible. Management should have ways to promote worker initiative. This is the new or additional activity performed through self motivation. It adds strength and new ideas. Upon embracing these, team standards are improved. In a team that supports members’ initiatives, the members take considerable interest in the operation of the organization. Equity among the team members make certain that all employees are treated fairly, kindly, and justice is observed. Equity theory explains satisfaction in terms of resources fair distribution within interpersonal interaction. (Koontz & Weihrich 2006, pp. 269)Teammates are usually motivated by fair treatment. Members do not have to receive the same amount of benefits, and it is fair when the ratio between contribution and benefits is equal. Contribution may be in terms of time dedicated to work, effort, tolerance, adaptability, determination, personal sacrifice, flexibility, hard work, loyalty, trust in superiors and commitment. An employee would not be inspired upon finding out that another employee who contributes the same as they do receives more recognition or rewards. A team that is observant and appreciative would treat them the same. A certain degree of centralization ensures there is a balance in the distribution of power. Centralization means that decision making is concentrated at the top management. The other management levels only implement the decisions made (Anbuvelan 2007, pp. 101). On the other hand, decentralization is sharing of authoritative power with lower management levels. There are fewer loads on the chief executive. Subordinate team members get a chance to perform independently, which helps exploit their capabilities and skills. Greater motivation and morale is achieved by the team members since they get more independence to decide and act. The degree of centralization would depend on the number of departments, nature of operation, size of a concern, and the volume of profits. Team spirit is a core management principle that should be observed to establish team standards and performance expectations. Management should foster the morale of the team members. This can be achieved through reward of each one’s merit without bothering harmonious relations between them. This is in the scientific management theory tasks are standardized, and workers are rewarded (Jones 2008, pp. 5). Team spirit develops a conducive work environment with common trust and understanding. Employee performance appraisal is the process of finding, analyzing and documenting the relative value of an employee. It focuses on measuring and improving the performance of an employee. It is a systematic way of assessing the performance of an employee during a certain period of time. Regular review on employee performance would dictate the future potential of an employee. This is done with certain objectives. To start with, employee appraisal scheme helps to evaluate the individual performance over a definite period of time. This further dictates what steps the organisation should take. An employee who does not deliver as expected would be guided and motivated towards producing the best of their ability. If this continues for a considerable amount of time, the management would think about replacing the employee. If an employee is satisfactorily productive, the management would consider appreciating them. This would include awarding, promoting or praising them. This further challenges those who are not performing to expectation. Besides, this helps to judge on whether to implement other human resource activities like enrollment, assortment, training and development. Secondly, employees get to have feedback on their performance. This satisfies their curiosity in knowing what the organization expects them to do. They further know how well they have done it. In case the organization does not feel they have done their best, the employee learns how it may help them improve performance. Reward is also expected if both the organization and the employee feel that the employee has executed their duties well. An employee appraisal scheme helps assess if there is a performance shortfall. This is the performance gap that occurs when the performance does not meet the acceptable standards by the organisation. The organisation helps the employee in making up the gap. Relevant training is done to the employee and any issues that prevent the employee from achieving the desired performance are addressed (Talbot 2003, pp. 108). The employee gets to know easier ways of accomplishing their tasks, like introducing them to relevant technology or assisting them develop speed and competence. They additionally learn what knowledge and competences is expected of them in order to improve their efficiency. For an employee who values personal, professional growth, they would be keen to know how well they are fairing. The previous and current performances are evaluated to show progress in performance. Comparison of the employee’s performance and that of the others on the same position also ranks them to be less performing, average performing or excellent performing. These ranks would be as determined by an organization. Various organisations have various ways of ranking their employees. In addition, employee appraisal helps improve communication between the management and their subordinate. The interaction involved in the scheme ensures close relationship. The employee can then comfortably forward the issues that hinder them from achieving as expected. Moreover, other ideas that when implemented would benefit the organization, would easily be passed on to the higher authority when the employees at all levels are sociable to each other. Seniors as well find it easy to convince the junior employees when they want a certain task to be performed. Finally, an employee appraisal assists the organisation clarify the expectations it has of the employee (Rees & Porter 2008, pp. 232). The expectations concern the roles and responsibilities delegated to the employee. Understanding what the organisation requires guides the employee and makes them work harder and more effectively so as to satisfy it. Grievances of the employees are reduced. These may concern the vaguely defined duties. Misunderstandings that would arise with unclear duties are scrapped off. Individual performance management is a process that organisations use to make sure that the employee is contributing to generating high quality service. It encourages the employee to get involved in the development of the company. Various steps are included in employee performance management.(Hannaway & Hunt 1995, pp. 108) These include the planning process where the employee is allowed to input in how the company should configure its policies and process to produce its final product. It defines what is expected of them in production. The second step is monitoring performance. This is an ongoing process involving checking of the product at random intervals. It is based on the analysis of progress made. The individual is given frequent feedback on how they are fairing. An employee is directed on how they can improve, hence improving the company’s product. An employee is thereafter developed. This makes the employee realise the company is concerned in their interests. The management highlights the opportunities within the organisation that the employee can advance into for individual, professional growth. It further points out the areas employee should improve in and in turn be more resourceful. An employee is additionally offered opportunities to attend training so as to improve on the current role and enlarge future opportunity. Rating the employee is the fourth step (Sims 2006, pp. 223). Each is positioned depending on the amount produced. It involves a written analysis of the employee’s performance. The management should inform the employee on the criteria used in rating so that the review would not imply biasness to the employee. The management and employee revisit the rating and clarification is made as to why the employee is rated in a certain position. Lastly there is rewarding of the employee. It can be done at any time in the cycle or after some formal rating. The reward can be in the form of monetary value, promotion or just by oral acknowledgement. This makes the employee motivated. This whole cycle is repeated over time. Among one of the objectives of a human resource department in an organisation is ensuring that duties are allocated to the persons who can best perform them. It targets at producing the best output from an employee. As observed in the individual performance management, each stage is targeted towards improving the welfare of the employ and hence improving performance to the benefit of both the employee and organisation. With each stage having measures to enhance optimised productivity, the process proves to be competent. Therefore, the employee performance is effective in utilising human resources. List of References Anbuvelan, K 2007, Principles of Management, Laxmi Publications, New Delhi. Cole, GA 2004, Management Theory and Practice, Thomson Learning, London. Hannaway, C & Hunt 1995, The Management Skills Book, Gower, Aldershot. Jones, TJA 2008, Professional Management of Housekeeping Operations, John Wiley & Sons, New Jersey. Koontz, H & Weihrich, H 2006, Essentials Of Management, Tata McGraw-Hill Education Limited, New Delhi. Miner, JB 2006, Organizational Behavior 3: Historical Origins, Theoretical Foundations, And the Future, M.E. Sharpe, New York. Mishra, R 2008, Industrial Economics and Management Principles,Laxmi Publications, New Delhi. Rees, WD & Porter, C 2008, The Skills of Management, Cengage Learning, Singapore. Sims, RR 2006, Human Resource Development: Today And Tomorrow, Information Age Pub., North Carolina. Talbot, M 2003, Make Your Mission Statement Work: Identify Your Organisation's Values and Live Them Every Day, How To Books, Oxford. Read More