Performance Appraisal NATIONAL VOCATIONAL & EDUCATION SYSTEM PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

When & How

360-Degree Method

Favorable for Employees and Managers

This paper discusses the theory of performance appraisal. The uses and objectives of the performance appraisal method are also discussed. It also highlights the most common method of performance evaluation; 360-Degree. The main objective of this paper is to find out if the performance appraisal method is for encouragement of employees only or it can reduce their morale too.

The performance appraisal is a process that provides an analysis of a person's potential and hard work which helps in making informed decisions for a particular purpose. A performance appraisal is a process through which the performance of an employee is analyzed. The basic purpose of performance appraisal is the career development of the individuals and it consists of regular feedback on their work and abilities. Performance appraisals are designed to encourage the employees to work harder for their jobs.

The performance appraisal is a very essential part of the human resource department of all the organizations. An effective appraisal can not only help in improving the behavior and work quality of the employees but it also helps to motivate an employee to contribute more to the organization. Through performance appraisal relevant information regarding the past, present and future work performance of an individual employee is evaluated and reviewed.

Purpose

The basic aim or purpose of the performance appraisal is to monitor, manage and improve individual and organizational performance in correspondence to the strategic direction of the business. Performance appraisals gives the employee the opportunity to have discussions with the managers about their job performance, importance of their role, criteria for measuring performance, training needs and future aspects.

Objective

The main objectives of this performance appraisal system are to provide the employee information related to their work and to give them feedback on their overall performance which is very beneficial for the business objectives. The manager should have a continuous observation of the performance of the employees and should point out any deficiencies the employee has shown and should provide proper training to them. The most important purpose or goal of the appraisal is to improve the future performance of both the employees and the team leaders. Managers can get guidance from the staff members who can help them to make their jobs more productive. Employees can identify the problems that they face through feedback given in the performance appraisal and can take steps to rectify them. The whole process can become effective if the manager cooperates with the employees and start working in harmony to achieve the same goals.

When & How

There is no proper date or time given about when a performance appraisal should be carried out and how often the organizations should arrange meetings with their employees while some organization's appraisals take place after six months or on yearly basis. Usually the employee's immediate manager conducts the performance appraisal because they generally have better information about the employee and are responsible for their performance.

In most organizations, a senior manager conduct's the performance appraisal and approves the results drawn from the appraisal in order to ensure fairness, especially if the performance bonuses are linked with the appraisal. From this discussion, the employee and manager should be able to co-ordinate with each other and should agree upon a plan of training and development for the employee. This plan is commonly known as Personal Development plan (PDP). These plans are useful for the managers who are working with employees that are facing poor performance issues. However, this traditional approach seems to be changing due to the use of 360 degree feedback in large organizations.

360-Degree Method

The concept of the 360 degree feedback is that not only does the employee have their performance accessed by their direct line manager, but also by their colleagues, sub-ordinates, other departments and sometimes their customers. It focuses on providing feedback to the employee rather than accessing the employee's work. The 360 degree feedback approach is more concerned about the development of the employee rather than the reviews on their performance. Any negative feedback can be easily conveyed to the employee as it is not the perspective of only one person and is from a more reliable source.

Favorable for Employees and Managers

The performance appraisal is beneficial for both the employee and the manager. Sometimes the employees and manager do not get along and they don't know the reason. This problem that arises due to lack of communication between the employee and the manager can be resolved through a performance appraisal. Moreover, the performance appraisal...

This not only makes the employee more useful for the organization but also makes the employee feel pleased about them and of great value. The performance appraisal also helps to highlight areas that need improvement. It provides a framework while making decisions and helps the organization to operate effectively. It also enables managers to coach and counsel employees in their career development.
Although the performance appraisal process is approved and appreciated at a large scale but it has also have some negative aspects and has been criticized on the basis of these points. One of the criticisms on performance appraisal is that they are time consuming. It can take hours to write the department's performance appraisal but also hours meeting with the staff to review the appraisals. If a supervisor fails in conducting the performance appraisal on proper time it shows poor leadership skills and can spoil the supervisor-employee relationship.

Conclusion

If the appraisal is not a good experience for the staff, it could highly discourage the employees. The appraisal should not also point out the deficiencies of the employees but should also list the positive things that the employee has done throughout the year. One of the major criticisms on the process of performance appraisal is that the appraisals are usually biased. It is difficult to be unbiased in the appraisal process. Errors are common in the rating of the performance appraisal for managers who access performance based on natural biases rather than on fair evaluation.

The effectiveness of the performance appraisal process depends upon how the manager conducts the meeting and the way he treats the employees. For instance, if the manager gives a highly negative appraisal of the employee's performance without even balancing the feedback with words of encouragement and motivating comments then that could greatly discourage the employee or can make him think that the whole process was based on unfair judgment. The effectiveness of the appraisal process may also depend on the personalities of the employees and the kind of work they come up with.

The goal of a performance appraisal is to appreciate the hard work of the staff and to motivate them to achieve their goals. Any negative opinion by the supervisor or the employee could lead to ineffective results and could leave a bad impact on the employees.

Performance appraisal is a process that requires high level of participation by both the employees and the manager and is a useful tool of managerial control that rewards those employees who put their best for the betterment of the organization.

Bibliography

Lotich, P. (n.d.). Smart Church Management . Advantages and Disadvantages of Performance Management.

Mayhew, R. (n.d.). Business and Entrepreneurship. The disadvantages of Appraisal Systems.

National Vocational and Educational Training System (NVET) of UK

Author's Affiliation

Table of Contents

Introduction 3

Vocational & Educational Systems in UK 3

Conclusion 6

Reference 7

Introduction

UK Vocational and Educational training system (VET) is very flexible and works according to the needs of the society and the individuals. Business works with government, professional and trade associations, awarding bodies and training providers to ensure that the appropriate training is provided for today's needs and the future. The UK has a long tradition of Vocational education and training, and has developed a reputation for high quality training and qualification. Although there are differences between the vocational educational system in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the training and qualifications standards are more or less the same.

The types of vocational and educational training offered depend on the needs of the UK employers, rather than being determined by the training providers. The UK VET system is a market-driven system which focuses on state funding and legislation so that it could provide aid to special groups and to stimulate training by employers.

Nevertheless, there are reasons to believe that UK further education underperforms internationally in comparison with UK higher education and VET systems of some competitor countries, for example, Australia, Canada and Germany. This shortfall in potential market success persists despite the generally very high quality of UK VET provision. Some of the related to UK vocational and educational training system are that UK's skills can be compared with that of France and Germany but they are globally non-competitive and weak in low- intermediate skills. Moreover they have poor and unstable economic and labor market conditions and they have supply driven rather than demand driven NVET systems.

Vocational & Educational Systems in UK

The department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS)…