Managing Performance: Performance Management in Action - Literature review Example

Running Head: Performance Management Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course code: Date of Submission: Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Introduction 3 The experiences learned from Journal articles 4 Lessons from the Group 6 The Individual’s Performance as A Leader and a Team Member 6 The Performance Expectations of the Group Members 7 Theories Associated with the Assessment 9 Improving the Team Performance in Future 10 List of References 12 Introduction This paper is a description of self-evaluation, self-reflection of knowledge acquired in the classroom, and the attempt to plan for future developments in the performance and talent management. It also goes further to consider the most crucial learning points acquired throughout the course while at the same time incorporating reflection on the strengths and weaknesses observed and various recommendations aimed at improving the weaknesses to ensure future success. The paper will not only analyze academic and other formal aspects of class experience but also explores the crucial interpersonal aspects of learning. In addition, the paper seeks to develop concepts that are crucial for both professional and vocational success in the future careers. As Fraser & Bosanquet (2006) point out, every well-calculated school curriculum is subject to scrutiny and is expected to deliver theoretical and practical knowledge that will eventually prepare individuals for future corporate development. However, scrutinizing the validity of curriculum and designing the appropriate formal structure is just an aspect among several other aspects of ensuring efficiency of curriculum. Transformation begins with formal education from classroom lectures to field research and practices. Accordingly, this self-reflective paper will examine the utilization of communication skills, oral teaching, and listening skills in considering self-management in evaluating performance and talent management in organizational situations. In conclusion, this report is my own individual reflection and evaluation though, where necessary, the report will refer to theory and other works published by researchers of performance and talent management and other authorities. The report is organized into four sub-topics that include skills learned, lessons learned from the group, personal strengths and weaknesses, and group strengths and weaknesses. The experiences learned from Journal articles Discussing from a purely personal point of view, participating as a dedicated group member made me have a clear insight and reconsideration of my personal identity and purpose through considerations of multiple dimensions of life. According to Hofstede (2003), every individual will always possess more than one identity that are compressed in a tension form. Consequently, being a team member allowed me to reconfigure my own self-identity and direction through interaction with other group members and the knowledge acquired in the process. In this respect, I had the opportunity to appreciate the fact that personality and self-image always play an important role in setting personal objectives, defining the necessary requirements necessary for interaction of individuals and the environment, and facilitating the right course for defining outcomes. This point is supported by Elliot (2001), who argues out that individuals usually perceive themselves a basic private domain with some sort of distinctive internal realm that define personal thoughts, behavior, strivings, emotions, and individual desires. However, although this view seems more self-evident, it greatly differs with the manner in which sociologists define human identity. Therefore, positioning myself alongside the dimensions of the social continuum made me understand that skill is a necessary prerequisite that facilitates group orientation though in some cases can be both limiting and damaging at the same time (Braken & Rose, 2011). Another important skill learned during the group teamwork was the ability to interact and socialize with individuals from different cultural backgrounds in a more efficient manner to ensure successful completion of a performance. It is also important to consider individual cultural identities, as this is important and constructive in determining the constructiveness of our own life politics and the ability to interact with others. It has become a truism that emotional intelligence is of much importance in determining how individuals interact, engage, approach with, and function in social structures not only in private life but also later in public spheres to improve individual performance. As Guest & Conway (2004) puts it clearly, engaging in teamwork that enables one to understand self-awareness through recognition of the feeling as it happens is an important scenario of emotional intelligence, which is also necessary in determining one’s leadership and performance later in corporate life (Braken & Rose, 2011). Although some people can learn this concept and capacity through innate cognitive ability, while others through reflective and self-evaluation techniques, the experience I gained through being a team member has shed some light for me to understand that either of these are not an option. To gain interpersonal effectiveness, individuals need to exercise emotional intelligence at all levels of their engagement in a group set up to internalize and conceptualize the concept throughout the assessment and beyond the performance of the project. As Bolton (2005) explains, engaging in a reflective practice does not form any part of the school curriculum but rather a pedagogical approach that is crucial in pervading the curriculum. Therefore, the module and its theoretical concepts became even more internalized through a case study of performance management in the group work, as it was necessary to put such skills into practice. Therefore, it would be better to argue that performance management concepts, and the curriculum in general, were important in developing leadership and management skills among the group members (Zhang, et al 2012). Among the skills internalized are those of emotional intelligence. I indeed found out clearly that, in the interactive learning environment, the concepts of performance management were easily internalized through members willing to share knowledge and information freely for the success of the group. In this respect, it was important to appreciate the changing nature of knowledge in the entire management discipline and the entire process of research in the discipline area. This greatly influenced the structure and the group goals in carrying out the assessment (Fulk, et al, 2011). Lessons from the Group I consider that one of the key aspects learned from the group work is the assessment’s capacity to offer room for individuals to develop interpersonal working and facilitate effective working across all the spheres of a group dynamic. Issues like the resolution of problems, well-meditated and organized coordination of effort by all team members, and proper delegation of duties to ensure maximization of individual skills are among the most important skills acquired generally because of participation as a group member, which benefit the group in developing skills necessary for effective performance management. As Davis (2003) observes, although there is a rise in demand for individuals to work independently, analyze, and think critically by their own, there is also a growing demand for group work, transferable skills, communication, and proper communication among individuals to improve outcome. In the management of performance for instance, interaction among group members and their dedication in contributing efforts and knowledge of performance and talent management resulted in integration of good transferable skills (Becker, 2011). The Individual’s Performance as A Leader and a Team Member Before the project commenced, I had developed the confidence and appreciation of the effectiveness of the team but lacked the necessary skills to carry out the assessment by my own self. By the end of the project however, I realized my knowledge and understanding of performance and talent management had grown by a greater margin. I also managed to understand the importance of a leader to act in a manner that motivates and encourages followers through the process of leading by example while at the same time providing direction to the group members (Fulk, et al, 2011). My greatest weakness during the group work however was my lack of ability to pay attention to certain members of the group and this resulted in my inability to contribute in discussions or even worse still, walk out of the group discussion. Nonetheless, the experience has now taught me that teamwork and respect for other people’s opinion and contribution are among the vital aspects for the success of any group. It was also useful for me to learn how to understand my own emotions and prejudices as leader and appreciate how this would affect the outcome of my behavior as the group leader. The Performance Expectations of the Group Members To begin with, my group developed a report of the task at hand without critically examining the requirements of the question and the instructions that needed extensive research. This serious mistake resulted in a shallow report that focused on defining terms and thus failed to answer the question asked. On realizing this, some members of the group proposed a second draft, which then consumed more time. There was also an identified lack of commitment from certain members of the group during the beginning of the assignment. This was observed through late completion of scheduled work that created a strong divide among the group members. The language barrier was another great milestone that we had to encounter. Although this difficulty was expected, it indeed posed a serious challenge to the group meeting and we had to quickly formulate a successful strategy to ensure cohesion within the team in order to avoid collapse of the assignment (Armstrong, 2005). However, with poor dedication and differing motives among group members, achieving cohesion was almost impossible. Jesen & Eskerod (2009), argue the importance of every individual or group analysis in projects. Any individual who can be influenced or influence the direction of any assignment or project can always be regarded as the team leader and thus has the ability to recognize the important and the not-so-important members of the team and thereby coming up with a hierarchy of the team. However, the Jesen & Eskerod theory applied to our group and though every individual member of our group had equal importance, it was evident that the group hierarchy had to evolve almost spontaneously. The hierarchy started with the individual understanding of basic concepts and knowledge of the management discipline as taught in class and took precedence thereafter with the individual willingness to accomplish the project successfully. The assignment also offered a great opportunity for members to put their leadership skills into test within a group situation. As for my case, the group enabled me to understand and appreciate the importance of good leadership skills within a group. Leadership in this context is the ability to develop successful strategies, developing vision, objectives, motivating team members, and leading them towards the achievement of the set goals and objectives and thus improving performance. The performance also enabled me to understand the fact that any group that lacks hierarchical leadership is likely to encounter various problems such as increased confusion and poor sharing of the workload, thus leading to inefficiency. Finally, throughout the group task, I have had the opportunity to appreciate and internalize the concepts of management, not only as theory learned in class but also through a practical experience as a group member. I am now even more confident that the knowledge and skills acquired during the performance will be used in the future not only to help myself but also others around me in the light of solving real world problems of performance management. Theories Associated with the Assessment Before I portray the theories associated with the learning outcomes of the entire performance management module and reflect on the module exercise, it is vital and ethical to come up with a brief ad clear introduction of my previous knowledge of management. My average knowledge of general management concepts began with class theory and practical management of performances, however small they may be, in our daily lives. Groupwork assignment and discussion with fellow group members and research in the management discipline has contributed to my knowledge of management and greater internalization of theories that have been developed to aid understanding of the field dynamics Having been a punctual student with a passion of management, attending various seminars and participating in various group discussion and assignment groups has greatly improved my knowledge of performance management. The basic knowledge behind my understanding of management is the systematic process of managing performances and the entire knowledge necessary for general management. The following is a brief explanation of various theoretical concepts learnt, and which I believe are necessary in relating to future performance in the management career. The increased complexities in organizations resulting from changing environmental aspects of technology, changes in demands, and improvements in technology has called for adoption of various management strategies to ensure success. Managing performance is therefore among the many aspects of management that organizations strive to put more efforts into to ensure continued productivity. According to Aguinis (2009), by definition, performance management is a day-to-day process of identifying and measuring the performance of individuals and groups within the workplace and developing such performance to ensure that they are aligned to the organization’s strategic goals and objectives. It is therefore vital to point out that performance management is different from performance appraisal. From the group assessment, I realized that indeed there is no single universally accepted model of performance and talent management. However, most authors and scholars have developed a ‘performance management cycle’ model that most organizations adopt in their daily management activities. The cycle has five components that must be implemented to ensure successful and sustainable performance management. The key elements of the performance management cycle include setting objectives, measuring the performance, feedback of performance results, reward system based on performance outcomes, and amendments to the objectives and activities (Salaman et al, 2005). Improving the Team Performance in Future The following are some key points proposed for future performances. There is always the need to come up with a clear definition of individual roles in the group with more focus on the group leader. It is also important to scrutinize the qualities of every individual to ensure that every member will at least use both personal characteristics and knowledge acquired to deliver and contribute to the success of the performance at hand. It is also necessary to ensure that the team members maintain a good communication is during meetings and throughout the performance life cycle to eliminate conflicts among the group members. Additionally, it is important that team leaders have an exclusive ability to manage the team effectively while at the same time motivating people to ensure dedication and hard work. Furthermore, it is necessary to ensure successful establishment of strengths and weaknesses within any given group or team to facilitate effective sharing of the workload. Lastly, it is also vital that team members appreciate language barriers and cultural diversity in order to offer room for every member to contribute to the success of the performance without feeling discriminated in any way whatsoever. Conclusion This paper has tried to examine and demonstrate my knowledge and understanding of performance and talent management theory and evaluate my engagement and functioning within the module assignment. It is indeed my self-reflection and self-evaluation of the group’s report Assessment one (21760). I therefore must note that the detailed explanation of group limitations, individual strength, and weaknesses, are obviously beyond the scope of the theory learned in class. For that reason, the group’s assignment 1 report can be referred to (21760 Assessment 1). This report concludes that for effective performance management, teamwork is very important to incorporate ideas from different individuals. A well-developed team should however be dedicated and focused on achieving the predetermined objectives and goals within the stipulated time. However, it is also important to appreciate the fact that the successful performance of any project depends on good leadership to enable every individual gain the benefits of teamwork that include improved personality and the realization of self-awareness and self-identity. These self-appraisal carried out in a group work will help an individual to carry on to the future projects. List of References Aguinis, H. (2009). Performance Management. New Delhi: Dorling Kindersley India Pvt. Ltd. Armstrong, A. & Baron, A. (2005). Managing Performance: Performance Management in Action. London: CIPD. Becker, B. (2011). Guidelines for implementing and HR scorecard, The HR Scorecard, Harvard Business School Press, Boston, pp .183-205. Braken, D. & Rose, D. (2011). When does 360-degree feedback create behaviour change? And how would we know it when it does? Journal of business Psychology, 26, p. 183-192. Bolton, G., 2005. Reflective Practice: Writing and Professional Development, (2nd Edition), London: Sage. Davis, M. (2003). Barriers to reflective practice: the changing nature of higher education. Active learning in higher education, 4(3) pp. 243-255. Elliot, A. (2001). Concepts of the Self. Cambridge: Polity Press. Fraser, S. & Bosanquet, A. (2006). The curriculum? That is just a unit outline, isn't it? Studies in Higher Education, 31, pp. 269-284. Fulk, H. et al, (2011). Team management by objectives: Enhancing developing teams’ performance, Journal of Management Policy and Practice, 12(3), pp. 17-27. Guest, D. & Conway, N. (2004). Employee Well-being and the Psychological Contract: A Report for the CIPD. Cambridge: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Hofstede, G. (2003). Cultures and Organizations: Intercultural Cooperation and its Importance for Survival. London: Profile Business. Jesen, A. & Eskerod, P. (2009). Stakeholder Analysis in Projects: Challenges in using Current Guidelines in the Real World. International Journal of Project Management, 27(4), 335- 343. Salaman, G. et al. (2005). Strategic Human Resource Management: Theory and Practice. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Sonnetag, S. (2002). Psychological Management of Individual Performance. London: John Wiley and Sons, Chichester. Zhang, S., Tremaine, M., Milewski, A., Fjermestad, J. & O'Sullivan, P. (2012). Leader delegation in global software teams: occurrence and effect, Electron Markets, vol. 22, pp. 37-48. Read More