...The Key to Improving Job Performance Vacherrie Toles Troy University Abstract This paper explores factors that affect job performance and the concept of improving job performance. Specifically, it examines how various factors are related to job performance and how to enhance those factors. Job performance is a critical subject that has been assessed for many years as it determines an organization’s overall success. The articles discussed in this paper demonstrate that there is an apparent need for an extensive review of factors affecting job performance. It further emphasizes the need for employers to understand and consider those factors that affect job performance when making strategic decisions. Employers can significantly improve job performance by understanding how to enhance and improve the contributing factors. Keywords: job performance, how to improve job performance, importance of job performance, what affects job performance The Key to Improving Job Performance Job performance is a critical subject that has been assessed for many years. Job performance is based on how well one performs their job. An organization’s overall success is dependent upon the performance of its employees. Thus, it is imperative that employers understand and consider those factors that affect job performance and how. This will allow employers to implement strategies that will improve job performance. The following factors have been known to affect job performance: job satisfaction...
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...organization or they can have a negative impact. There has been a lot of Psychological research done that examines these behaviors in an attempt to enhance job performance. This paper attempts to define both the counterproductive behaviors that can be detrimental to an organization and the productive employee behaviors that enhance an organization. Productive Behavior and its impact on an organization Productive behavior is defined as employee behavior that contributes positively to the goals and objectives of the organization displayed from their employees (Jex & Britt, 2008). Three of the more common forms of productive employee behaviors are job performance, organizational citizenship behavior (OCB), and innovation. Job performance in generic terms covers all of the behaviors that employees engage in while on the job (Jex & Britt, 2008). This unfortunately is not very accurate because employees often engage in behaviors that have little to do with the job task the employees are performing. Job performance may be better described as not only how well an employee performs a job task, but also includes other forms of productive behavior. Over time the research has concluded that three variables can be pointed to as predictors of job performance. One is general cognitive ability. The second one is level of job experience and lastly there is the personality trait of conscientiousness (Jex & Britt, 2008). Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB) is another form of...
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...attitudes and job satisfaction. Research has been done on this subject, and it has been determined that there are 3 major knowledge gaps between HR practice and the scientific research. The article by Saari and Judge , “Employee Attitudes and Job Satisfaction” (2004), discusses not only what those gaps are but what could be done to bridge those gaps. Employee Attitudes The first of the 3 knowledge gaps between HR practice and the scientific research is finding out what the causes of employee attitudes are. The most crucial of the employee attitudes is job satisfaction. The definition of satisfaction as seen by E.A. Locke in his 1976 published article was “a pleasurable or positive emotional state resulting from the appraisal of one’s job or job experiences” (Saari & Judge, 2004). We tend to use both feeling and thinking when we appraise our jobs, just like when we evaluate something of importance to us in our lives,. One of the influences that is usually overlooked by HR specialists when considering job satisfaction is the work itself (Saari & Judge, 2004). There have even been a number of studies that show how one’s job satisfaction can be influenced by one’s temperament. It has also been indicated that the differences in temperament or disposition of some employees can be linked to their differences in job satisfaction, although that relationship has not been fully understood yet. An employee’s culture can also have an impact on their attitude or job satisfaction. Due...
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...Obstacles o Belief that the world is a just place. People want the world to be controllable and predictable, thus they want to believe the world is just, and thus if you behave by the rules you will be all right, or if you fail to follow the rules bad things will happen. Hand-me-down management formulas that reinforce this false belief. o Yourself. Don’t self-handicap. People are afraid of setbacks and implications for their self-image; so they often don’t do all they can to increase their power. Get over yourself and beyond your concerns with self-image, or, for that matter, the perception others have of you. Others aren’t worrying or thinking about you that much anyway! They are mostly concerned with themselves. Politics vs. Performance o People who had more political skill...
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...believe that companies utilize organizational psychology to understand why people act in a certain way, or perhaps to determine ones outcome prior to the end. Research and Statistics is at the foundation of I/O psychology in the scientist-practitioner perspective (Rego, 2010). I/O psychology informs the company about one’s behavior. The use of evidence-based information depends on the integrity of using correct collected data, and analyzing them in a meaningful way (Rego, 2010). Some of the methods used by psychologist are as follows: surveys, experiments, quasi-experiments, and observational studies (Webster, 2010). Other forms of statistics include human judgments, historical databases, and other measures of one’s work performance. Leadership, job performance, and employee stress, all selection techniques that depend on the validity of data received. Simply put, the company’s ability to learn new methods and tactics and their effectiveness on the employees is what research provides to the company. Organizational commitment is the employee’s commitment to the company. Several employees are committed to his or her organization because he or she may believe that the company has much to offer (Rego, 2010). The economy is suffering and many will stay with a company just because leaving the company is more...
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...industrial/organizational psychology. Industrial/Organizational psychology was invented in the twentieth century around the late 1800’s. I/O was introduced by two experimental psychologists who wanted to combine psychology to fixing problems within an organization. In the United States, the focus was on job performance and efficiency, and in the United Kingdom, the focus was on employee fatigue and health. In 1901, the first I/O Ph.D was awarded and in 1913, the first I/O textbook was published. Frederick Winslow Taylor was a huge influence to the field of I/O and wrote the Scientific Management, which stated: “Each job should be carefully analyzed so that the optimal way of doing tasks can be specified. Employees should be selected (hired) according to characteristics that are related to job performance. Managers should study existing employees to find out what personal characteristics are important. Employees should be carefully trained to do their job tasks. Employees should be rewarded for their productivity to encourage high levels of performance” (Chapter 1). WWI took advantage of I/O psychology. Psychologists offered their services in hopes of helping the army place recruits in the job for which they were best suited for. I/O expanded into today, as company regularly hire these psychologists to identify and solve problems within the companies. I/O psychology is used to improve company and employee...
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...environment and globalization, for an organization to compete favourably and competitively, the performance of their employees goes a long way in determining the success of an organization (Ajila and Abiola 2004). Both public and private sectors organizations are putting increasing attention on human resource management to maintain and motivate its most valuable and worthy assets, the employees. According to Catalini (2012), organizations are taking more of a proactive stance towards ensuring employees are satisfied with their place of employment and feel a level of commitment and connection to employers. Back then, employee satisfaction is often not a primary focus of an employer. Organizations routinely focus on finances, production, and pleasing customers and neglect the impact their actions or lack of action has on employee satisfaction. The consequences may be seen in products or services that are not up to standards and an increase in turnover and increase in cost for employers. Hence, finding the right balance between employee satisfaction and its enhancement of employee motivation and performance is imperative as it will have positive effects on several aspects of an organization, including lowering turnover rates and increasing productivity and profit. The use of rewards has been found over the years to be one of the management tools in the organization to increase job performance. Besides, it is common to offer employees attractive, lucrative and competitive remuneration...
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...that increases employee success on the job. Introduction The two conflicting points of view in relation to the motivation and productivity of employees are very essential in selecting the most appropriate view about performance and effectiveness of business operations. Most business organizations struggle a lot in motivation and reward of employees towards improvement in the performance of the organization. Some organizations put emphasis and focus on the happiness and satisfaction of employees at the job in order to boost their morale as well as improving the performance of the business operations and activities. Such organizations focus on the morale and the happiness of the employees as the main determinant of the operations and performance at the job or tasks of the organization. On the other hand, some organizations focus on money as the main motivator towards the performance and operations within an organization. They consider the remuneration and salaries as the main matter of consideration that influence profitability and efficiency of operations of the business in an organization. The point of view relating to money as the main motivator, focus on money as the main source of energy and motivation towards improving the energy and performance of the employees at the operations of the organization (http://reaser.eu/RePec/rse/wpaper/R5_5_DobreOvidiuIliuta_p53_60.pdf). The conflicting views on the performance and motivation of employees are a very...
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...Job Performance Linked to Honesty? By Reid Koch Job performance is defined as the value of the set of employee behaviors that contribute, either positively or negatively, to organizational goal accomplishment. In a recent article published by e! Science News, a study at the Baylor University shows that job performance can be linked to people who are more honest and humble. Job performance is made up of many factors; two of the most important are citizenship behavior and counterproductive behaviors. Of these two factors an individual that displays above average job performance would be rich in citizenship behaviors and lacking in counterproductive behaviors. The study was performed by Baylor researchers along with some business consultants. Over two hundred and fifty employees in twenty five different companies across twenty different states who work in the health care field were involved in the study. Supervisors of the employees in the study were asked to rate the job performance of each employee on thirty five different job skills and describe the kind of customer with whom the employee worked. The Baylor researchers found that the employees who self-reported more honesty and humility scored significantly higher by their supervisor. The researchers at Baylor defined honesty and humility as those who exhibit high levels of fairness, greed-avoidance, sincerity, and modesty. Dr. Wade Rowatt states "This study shows that those who possess the combination of honesty...
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...to be about determining why job satisfaction and motivation is low amongst the faculty at Clinton County High School and how to go about improving it, resulting in better school performance. The TCO that my problem is related to is A: Given that people make the difference in how well organizations perform, assess how an understanding of organizational behavior concepts and theories is a useful knowledge base for career success and for improving an organization's effectiveness. The morale amongst the faculty at Clinton County High School appears to be at an all time low. The teachers seem uninspired in the classrooms and an unusual amount of sick and personal time is being used. Last year the overall performance of the district on state standardized tests declined sharply. As superintendant of the school, I instructed the principal and assistant principals to conduct a survey amongst the staff in an attempt to pin point the problem. The results of the survey revealed that there are multiple reasons for the low job satisfaction, not just one cause. The results revealed that the faculty has concerns with the ever changing state standards, policies and practices. There is frustration and fear of the continuing budget cuts do to a reduction in state funding in education, and it resulting in teacher layoffs. It also revealed some tension issues between faculty members themselves. The layoffs were based on seniority, not job performance. There are complaints about...
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...Performance Management HRM/531 August 24, 2015 Performance Management This email serves as a recommendation for performance management for Landslide Limousine. The email was designed with the intent to increase performance at your organization based of your current business strategy, and the information the owner has provided Tracy. Looking at the organization there are many areas that can be improved and areas where performance management can increase. The new performance management plan will be based off of these areas. During Traci’s last phone conversation with Bradley Stonefield we were able to confirm key pieces of information to this performance plan. We know that the type of business is a Limousine service, and the business location is Austin Texas. We know that Bradley has a plan for 25 employees and he is predicting a 10% annual turnover rate. We know that he is expecting a -50,000 annual net revenue this year, with 5% growth for a couple of years. Ideally we would like to maximize performance to meet or exceed the 5% expected growth, and we would like to minimize the turnover rate to less than ten percent because turnover can be very costly. Aligning the performance management framework to the organization business strategy, Outlining the organizational performance philosophy, and detailing the job analysis, understanding the methods used for measuring an employee’s skills, outlining the process for addressing skills gaps, and outlining...
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...of an appraisal system is improving the performance of the employee and thus improving organizational performance - an well designed system can help in achieving both. Actually, information gathered through the performance appraisal exercise are potentially valuable for practically all human resource functional areas; therefore, performance appraisal can be used for Human Resource Planning, Recruitment and Selection, Training and Development, Career Planning and Development, Internal Employee Relations, and Assessment of Employee Potential. Human Resource Planning Human Resource planning is a process where human resource requirements are systematically reviewed to make sure that the number of employees who possess the required skills for the smooth functioning of the organization are available. It includes conduction skills inventories, developing succession plans and acquiring information for further personnel needs. Managers and supervisors decide the employees who are to be promoted, demoted, transferred, laid-off and who would need training. They also assist individuals with career planning and ascertain whether the skills needed in the organization are lacking (www.opm.gov). An appraisal system that is properly constructed profiles the organization’s human resource strengths and weaknesses to support these efforts - data collected over a number of appraisal periods could be used in evaluating if the overall workforce quality is improving, constant or declining. Recruitment...
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...competition from newly industrialized countries in Asia, as well as China. 2. The depletion of managerial and professional talent because of the uncertainty before the handover. 3. Labour turnover is rising due to tight labour market that added to recruitment and other employment costs. 4. Growing tensions between employers and employees due to the rising expectations from the workforce on issues like compensation and benefits, equality and rights and better organizes and visible union activities. Training and Development: Training is a process designed to maintain or improve current job performance. Most training is directed at upgrading and improving an employee’s abilities or skills. While development is “A process designed to develop skills necessary for future work activities.” Training is for the current improvement in the job while developmental program is for improving the skill which will be used in the future. Both managers and non-managers receive help from training and developmental program but mostly non-managers are concerned with training while the managers are concerned with developmental programs. In special attention is paid on the training and development of the employees. The purpose of training is to upgrade the capabilities and efficiency of all those employees and prepare them for more responsible positions in future. ’s management thinks that it is essential to strengthen...
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...conflict is part of the job. There are many sources of conflict; one source that is often overlooked is the manager. Based on the Week 4 reading and lecture, what major ways do people deal with conflict? Share a personal experience of conflict and how you dealt with the situation. 2. Questions: (TCO E) In order to have a high-performance team you must first recognize the qualities of a high-performance team. Describe at least five qualities of a high-performance team and then what can be done to develop those qualities in a team. 3. 3. Questions: (TCO F) The PMI® Code of Ethics is made up of four areas: responsibility, honesty, respect, and fairness. Discuss the area of responsibility and what it means for you, the project manager. 4. Questions: (TCO F) When developing a stakeholder matrix, the portfolio manager must look at the portfolio governance in order to complete the stakeholder analysis. In your own words, what is the role, interest and expectations of the governance? Version 2 1. Question: (TCO D) As a project manager, dealing with conflict is part of the job. There are many sources of conflict; one source that is often overlooked is the manager. Based on the Week 4 reading and lecture, what major ways do people deal with conflict? Share a personal experience of conflict and how you dealt with the situation. 2. Question: (TCO E) In order to have a high-performance team you must first recognize the qualities of a high-performance team. Describe at least...
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...to Armstrong and Baron (1998) performance management is a strategic and integrated approach of delivering sustained successes to the company by improving individual and group performances and also developing the capabilities of teams and individuals. Currently at work performance management appraisal (PMA) is carried out on a quarterly basis and is a conversation carried out by a line manager and an employee, it is aimed at improving the effectiveness and capability of an employee through development. It is aimed at personnel who want to achieve excellence in their respective fields and want to acquire more skills and knowledge, which will assist in the achievement of personal and professional development goals. Performance management serves as an important tool for realizing organisational goals by implementing competitive HRM strategies. It helps in aligning and integrating the objectives of the company with the key performance indicators (KPI’s) in an organisation across all job categories and levels. This helps in driving all the employees right from the bottom level towards one single goal. Performance management is an important driver in most companies today and is regarded as the tool to use to ensure that the people working for them will deliver the agreed contract and objectives which were set mutually. This study will reveal the importance of a well managed, performance management system by conducting a critical analysis of the performance management system used and what...
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