SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS
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ORGANISATIONAL BEHAVIOUR
HONOLULU, HAWAII
MAY, 2016
Table of contents
INTRODUCTION 5
1.1. Definition of Organizational Psychology 5
1.2. Differences Between Psychology And Organizational Psychology 6
1.3. Current Psychological 9
Current Psychology of Basics Knowledge Management & Organizational Learning 9
Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning 9
Knowledge Management Processes and Goals 10
Current Knowledge Management Systems 11
Organizational Learning 11
Knowledge Management in Organizations 12
The Knowledge Management Processes Cycle 12
KM Strategies 14
Codification Sub-Strategies – Earl’s codification-oriented sub-strategies are: 15 2. MOTIVATION 16 2.1 Motivational Concept 16 Ego-focused versus other-focused emotions 17 2.2 HIERARCHY OF NEEDS 19 Herzberg’s Two-Factor (Motivation-Hygiene) Theory 20 2.3 MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES 21 MOTIVATION THEORIES ARE OFTEN CULTURE-BOUND 23 Maslow's Needs Hierarchy. 23 McClelland's Three Needs Theory 23 Adams' Equity Theory 23 Hertzberg's Two-Factor Theory 23 3. RECRUITMENT 23 3.1 Sources of recruitment 23 The traditional recruitment sources were: 24 The modern recruitment sources are: 24 3.2 Internal recruitment 24 3.3 External recruitment 25 3.4 Recruitment process 26 4. EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS 27 4.1 Frustration and Anxiety 27 The specific goals are to help organizations, managers, and employees 27 Understanding the Causes of Conflict 28 4.2 Stress – Strain and Pressure 30 4.3 Drug use in the Industry 32 The Benefits of Going Drug-Free 32 U.S. Department of Labor 34 5. JOB EVALUATIONS 35 5.1 Evaluation Overview 35 The Challenge: Disconnection 35 5.2 Evaluation Vision 36 DEVELOPING AN EVALUATION VISION 37 5.3 Strategy and Focus 38 STRATEGIES AND TACTICS 38 SYSTEMS MAP AND THEORY OF CHANGE 39 STRATEGIC EVALUATION QUESTIONS 41 Good Strategic Learning and Evaluation Questions 41 Process 41 Outcomes and Impact 42 Organization 42 Field: 42 1) Supporting capacity-building actions 42 2) Raising knowledge (in a specific target population) 43 3) Forming opinions/attitudes 43 4) Initializing policy actions 43 5.4 Monitoring and Evaluation Activities 43 GRANTEE REPORTING AND EVALUATION CAPACITY (RELEVANT TO FUNDERS) 44 PROGRAM, INITIATIVE, AND ORGANIZATION-FOCUSED EVALUATIONS 45 COMMUNICATING AND USING EVALUATION FINDINGS 46 LEADERSHIP 48 Questions to Consider 49 FINANCIAL RESOURCES 49 Questions to Consider 49 HUMAN RESOURCES 49 Questions to Consider 50 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT 50 Questions to Consider 51 5.6 Learning Culture and Practices 51 Questions to Consider 53 Conclusion - So, What Now? 54 6. EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT & SELECTION 54 6.1 Developing the Position Description and Selection Criteria 55 The Position Description 55 Selection Criteria 56 Discriminatory Selection Criteria 57 Classifying the Position 57 Minimum Standards for Academic Levels 57 Professional Staff Position Classification Criteria 57 6.2 Attracting Applications And Selecting Applicants For Interview 58 Draft advertisements should contain the following details: 58 Dealing with Enquiries 58 Shortlisting 59 Shortlisting Internal Candidates 59 6.3 The Interviewing Process 59 Physical Structure of the Interview 59 The Role of the Chair 60 Putting the Candidate at Ease 61 Preparing Key Questions 61 Types of questions 62 Inappropriate Questions 62 Dealing with Prior Knowledge and Hearsay 63 Conflict of Interest 64 6.4 Referees 64 Written Referee Reports 64 Verbal Referee Reports 65 6.5 Making The Decision 65 Process 65 Weight Given to Potential 66 Making the Offer 66 Post-Interview Counseling 66 7. EMPLOYEE TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT 67 7.1 What is Training & Development? 67 Successful Business Testimonies 70 Human Resource Management 72 7.2 Designing Effective Training 72 The training design process refers to a systematic approach for developing training programs. Figure 1.1 presents the seven steps in this process. 72 Conducting Needs Assessment 74 Ensuring Employees Readiness for Training 74 Creating a Learning Environment 74 Developing an Evaluation Plan 74 Ensuring Transfer of Training 74 Selecting Training Method 74 Monitoring and Evaluating The Program 74 Globalization 78 7.3 The Need for Leadership and Coaching 79 Increased Value Placed on Knowledge 80 Talent Management: Attraction, Retention, and Maintenance 81 7.4 Customer Service and Quality Emphasis 84 8. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND APPRAISAL 85 8.1 Performance Management Systems vs. Performance Appraisal 90 8.2 The Performance Appraisal Process 90 8.3 Accurate Performance Measures 92 Valid and Reliable 92 Acceptable and Feasible 92 Why Do We Conduct Performance Appraisals? 94 Decision Making (Evaluating) 95 Motivating (Developing) 95 Evaluating and Motivating (Development) 95 Problems with Evaluation 96 Avoiding Problems with Evaluation. 96 Motivating Development. 96 Separating Evaluation and Development. 97 What Do We Assess? 97 Trait Appraisals 97 Behavioral Appraisals 99 8.4 Results/Outcomes Appraisals 100 Which Option Is Best? 102 8.5 How Do We Use Appraisal Methods and Forms? 102 Critical Incidents Method 103 The Management by Objectives (MBO) 104 Narrative Method or Form 105 Graphic Rating Scale Form 105 Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) Form 106 Ranking Method 107 Which Option Is Best? 108 Who Should Assess Performance? 108 Supervisors 108 Problems with supervisor evaluations. 109 9. EMPLOYEE TERMINATION 109 9.1 Introduction of Employee Termination 109 9.2 Involuntary Terminations 110 9.3 Documentation 111 9.4 Reviewing a Termination Decision 112 9.5 Resignations 113 Soliciting a Resignation 113 Constructive Discharge 114 Legal Restrictions on Termination 114 9.6 Implied Contracts 115 The Termination Interview 116 Dealing With A Difficult Former Employee 117 Release Agreements 119 10. Elements of Personnel Management 121 10.1 Personnel management 121 Nature of Personnel Management 121 Role of Personnel Manager 122 His role can be summarized as: 122 10.2 Following are the elements of Personnel Management: 123 10.3 People 123 People 124 10.4 Personnel Records 124 Types of Personnel Records 125 Purposes of Personnel Records 125 CONCLUSION 126 REFERENCES 126
INTRODUCTION
1.1. Definition of Organizational Psychology
Psychologists involved in organizational psychology are concerned with the issues of leadership, job satisfaction, employee motivation, organization communication, conflict management, organizational change, and group processes within an organization. Organizational psychologists often conduct surveys of employee attitudes to get ideas about what employees believe are an organization’s strengths and weaknesses. Usually serving in the role of a consultant, an organizational psychologist makes recommendations on ways problem areas can be improved. For example, low job satisfaction might be improved by allowing employees to participate in making certain company decisions, and poor communication might be improved by implementing an employee suggestion system.
Professionals in organization development implement organization-wide program designed to improve employee performance. Such programs might include team building, restructuring, and employee empowerment. Organizational Psychology a field that utilizes scientific methodology to better understand the behavior of individuals working in organizational settings. Industrial and organizational psychology (also known as work psychology) which is the scientific study of employees, workplaces, and organizations. Industrial and organizational psychologists contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance, satisfaction, safety, health and well-being of its employees. An I–O psychologist conducts research on employee behaviors and attitudes, and how these can be improved through hiring practices, training programs, feedback, and management systems. I–O psychologists also help organizations transition among periods of change and development. Industrial and organizational psychology is related to organizational behavior and human capital.
The origins of industrial and organization psychology are a relatively new idea. In fact, the notion that the principles of science should be applied to work settings has been around for less than 100 years. Contemporary I/O psychology has its roots in the history of industry, as well as the two world wars, during which eras psychologists were called upon to help address the crucial military concerns of recruitment, selection, and morale. Here we review three important influences on the development of I/O psychology: scientific management, ergonomics, and the human relations approach to management.
1.2. Differences Between Psychology And Organizational Psychology
According to William James an artist, a biologist, and a physician called psychology (from a combination of the Greek psyche, which means “soul” and logos, which means “to study”). Psychology is the scientific study of the mind & behavior. Mind – our private inner experience of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings. Behavior – Observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals. William James (1842-1910) was excited by the new field discovered of psychology, which allowed him to apply a scientific approach to the age-old questions about the nature of human beings.
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. The mind refers to our private inner experience, the ever-flowing stream of consciousness that is made of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings. Behavior refers to observable actions of human beings and nonhuman animals, the things that we do in the world, by ourselves or with others. Psychology is an attempt to use scientific methods to address fundamental questions about the mind and behavior that have puzzled people for millennia. a. What are the bases of perceptions, thoughts, memories, and feelings, or our subjective sense of self? For thousands of years, philosophers tried to understand how the objective, physical world of the body was related to the subjective, psychological world of the mind, and some philosophers even suggested the pineal gland in the brain might function as the magic tunnel between these two worlds. Today, psychologist knows that there is no magic tunnel, and no need for one, because all of our subjective experiences arise from the electrical and chemical activities of our brains. Our mental lives are nothing more or less than “how it feels to be a brain”. (Of course, this is a bit like saying that becoming wealthy involves nothing more or less than making money: It makes something sound simple that isn’t).
Perception allows us to recognize our family and friends, see predators before they see us, and avoid stumbling into oncoming traffic. Language allows us to organize our thoughts and communicate them to others, which enable us to form social groups and cooperate. Memory allows us to avoid solving the same problems over again every time we encounter them and to keep in mind what we are doing and why. Emotions allow us to react quickly to events that have “life or death” significance, and they enable us to form strong social bonds. The list goes on and on, and as far as anyone can tell, there is no psychological equivalent of the body’s appendix; that is, there are no thoroughly useless mental processes that we’d all be better off without. Most of us have wished from time to time that we could be as stoic and unflappable as that; after all, who needs anxiety, sorrow, regret, and angry? The answer is that we all do. Emotions are adaptive because they function as signals that tell us when we are putting ourselves in harm’s way.
Why does the mind occasionally function so ineffectively in the world? The mind is an amazing machine that can do a great many things quickly. We can drive a car while talking to a passenger while recognizing the street address while remembering that name of the song that just came on the radio. But like all machines, the mind often trades accuracy for speed and versatility. This can produce “bugs” in the system, such as when a doughnut-making machine occasionally spews out gobs of gooey mush rather than dozen delicious doughnuts. Our life is just as susceptible to occasional malfunctions in our otherwise-efficient mental processing. One of the most fascinating aspects of psychology is that we are all prone to a variety of errors and illusions. Indeed, if thoughts, feelings, and actions were error free, then human behavior would be orderly, predictable, and dull, which it clearly is not. Rather, it is endlessly surprising, and its surprises often derive from our ability to do precisely the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Difference between Organizational Psychology & Psychology is: Psychology is exciting because it addresses fundamental questions about human experience and behavior of mankind whereas industrial and organizational psychology applies the science of psychology to work and the workplace. In I/O psychology, researchers are interested in a broad range of knowledge related to the work environment, including the selection of the right person for a particular job, the influence of attitudes on joy performance, and the ways people work together in groups. (Ostroff & Judge, 2007; Thompson & Choi, 2006). Much knowledge is also the subject of psychological research in other areas, such as cognition, personality, motivation, emotion, and social psychology. b. Psychology is exciting because it addresses fundamental question about human experience and behavior of mankind in other areas such as:
a. Cognition
b. Personality
c. Motivation
d. Emotion
e. Social Psychology
Organizational psychology applies the science of psychology to work and the workplace. The extensively on research, quantitative methods and testing techniques. I/O psychologists acts as scientist when they conduct research and as practitioners when they work with actual organizations.
I/O psychology is unique, however, in that it tests the theories of basic research in the important real-world. I/O psychology relies extensively on research, quantitative methods, and testing techniques. I/O psychologist are not clinical psychologists who happen to be in industry, and they do not conduct therapy for workers. There are psychologists who work for organizations and help employees with such problems as drug and alcohol abuse, but these are counselors rather than I/O psychologists.
A factor that helps differentiate I/O psychology from other branches of psychology is the reliance on the scientist-practitioner model. I/O psychologists acts as scientist when they conduct research and as practitioners when they work with actual organizations. In addition, I/O psychologist acts as scientist-practitioners when they apply research findings so that the work they perform with organizations will be of high quality and enhance an organization’s effectiveness.
1.3. Current Psychological
For centuries, scientists, philosophers and intelligent laymen have been concerned about creating, acquiring, and communicating knowledge and improving the re- utilization of knowledge. However, it is only in the last 15–20 years or so that a distinct field called “knowledge management” (KM) has emerged. KM is based on the premise that, just as human beings are unable to draw on the full potential of their brains, organizations are generally not able to fully utilize the knowledge that they possess.
Through KM, organizations seek to acquire or create potentially useful knowledge and to make it available to those who can use it at a time and place that is appropriate for them to achieve maximum effective usage in order to positively influence organizational performance. It is generally believed that if an organization can increase its effective knowledge utilization by only a small percentage, great benefits will result. Organizational learning (OL) is complementary to KM. An early view of OL was “…encoding inferences from history into routines that guide behavior” (Levitt and March, 1988, p. 319). So, OL has to do with embedding what has been learned into the fabric of the organization.
Current Psychology of Basics Knowledge Management & Organizational Learning
To understand KM and OL, one must understand knowledge, KM processes and goals and knowledge management systems (KMS).Knowledge is often defined as a “justified personal belief.” There are many taxonomies that specify various kinds of knowledge. The most fundamental distinction is between “tacit” and “explicit” knowledge. Tacit knowledge inhabits the minds of people and is (depending on one’s interpretation of Polanyi’s (1966) definition) either impossible, or difficult, to articulate. Most knowledge is initially tacit in nature; it is laboriously developed over a long period of time through trial and error, and it is underutilized because “the organization does not know what it knows” (O’Dell and Grayson, 1998, p. 154). Some knowledge is embedded in business processes, activities, and relationships that have been created over time through the implementation of a continuing series of improvements.
Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning
Explicit knowledge exists in the form of words, sentences, documents, organized data, computer programs and in other explicit forms. If one accepts the useful “difficult-to-articulate” concept of tacit knowledge, a fundamental problem of KM is to explicate tacit knowledge and then to make it available for use by others. One can also distinguish among “know what,” “know how” and “know why” levels of knowledge. “Know what,” knowledge specifies what action to take when one is presented with a set of stimuli. For instance, a salesperson who has been trained to know which product is best suited for various situations has a “know-what” level of knowledge. The next higher level of knowledge is “know-how” – i.e., knowing how to decide on an appropriate response to a stimulus. Such knowledge is required when the simple programmable relationships between stimuli and responses, which are the essence of “know-what” knowledge, are inadequate. This might be the case, for instance, when there is considerable “noise” in symptomatic information so that the direct link between symptoms and a medical diagnosis is uncertain.
“Know how”-type knowledge permits a professional to determine which treatment or action is best, even in the presence of significant noise. The highest level of knowledge is “know-why” knowledge. At this level, an individual has a deep understanding of causal relationships, interactive effects and the uncertainty levels associated with observed stimuli or symptoms. This will usually involve an understanding of underlying theory and/or a range of experience that includes many instances of anomalies, interaction effects, and exceptions to the norms and conventional wisdom of an area.
Knowledge Management Processes and Goals
Knowledge management is the planning, organizing, motivating, and controlling of people, processes and systems in the organization to ensure that its knowledge-related assets are improved and effectively employed. Knowledge-related assets include knowledge in the form of printed documents such as patents and manuals, knowledge stored in electronic repositories such as a “best-practices” database, employees’ knowledge about the best way to do their jobs, knowledge that is held by teams who have been working on focused problems and knowledge that is embedded in the organization’s products, processes and relationships. The processes of KM involve knowledge acquisition, creation, refinement, storage, transfer, sharing, and utilization. The KM function in the organization operates these processes, develops methodologies and systems to support them, and motivates people to participate in them.
The goals of KM are the leveraging and improvement of the organization’s knowledge assets to effectuate better knowledge practices, improved organizational behaviors, better decisions and improved organizational performance. Although individuals certainly can personally perform each of the KM processes, KM is largely an organizational activity that focuses on what managers can do to enable KM’s goals to be achieved, how they can motivate individuals to participate in achieving them and how they can create social processes that will facilitate KM success. Social processes include communities of practice – self-organizing groups of people who share a common interest – and expert networks – networks that are established to allow those with less expertise to contact those with greater expertise. Such social processes are necessary because while knowledge initially exists in the mind of an individual, for KM to be successful, knowledge must usually be transmitted through social groups, teams and networks. Therefore, KM processes are quite people-intensive, and less technology-intensive than most people might believe, although a modern knowledge-enabled enterprise must support KM with appropriate information and communications technology (King, 2008).
Current Knowledge Management Systems
Knowledge management systems (KMS) are applications of the organization’s computer-based communications and information systems (CIS) to support the various KM processes. They are typically not technologically distinct from the CIS, but involve databases, such as “lessons learned” repositories, and directories and networks, such as those designed to put organizational participants in contact with recognized experts in a variety of topic areas.
A significant difference between many knowledge management systems and the organization’s CIS is that the KMS may be less automated in that they may require human activity in their operation. While information systems typically require that humans make choices in the design phase and then operate automatically, KMS sometimes involve human participation in the operation phase. For instance, when a sales database is designed, people must decide on its content and structure; in its operational phase, it works automatically. When a “lessons learned” knowledge repository is created, people must make all of the same design choices, but they must also participate in its operational phase since each knowledge unit that is submitted for inclusion is unique and must be assessed for its relevance and importance.
Organizational Learning
There are various ways to conceptualize the relationship between knowledge management and organizational learning. Easterby-Smith and Lyles (2003) consider OL to focus on the process, and KM to focus on the content, of the knowledge that an organization acquires, creates, processes and eventually uses. Another way to conceptualize the relationship between the two areas is to view OL as the goal of KM. By motivating the creation, dissemination and application of knowledge, KM initiatives pay off by helping the organization embed knowledge into organizational processes so that it can continuously improve its practices and behaviors and pursue the achievement of its goals. From this perspective, organizational learning is one of the important ways in which the organization can sustainably improve its utilization of knowledge.
In (1994) Dixon, in describing an “organizational learning cycle,” suggested that “accumulated knowledge… is of less significance than the processes needed to continuously revise or create knowledge”. These processes are closely related to the notion of “continuous improvement” through which an organization continuously identifies, implements and institutionalizes improvements. The improvements are embedded in the organization through routines Knowledge Management and Organizational Learning that may be written policies, prescribed machine settings, quality control limits or “best practices” for dealing with frequently occurring circumstances.
Knowledge Management in Organizations
Figure 1 below shows KM a processes directly improve organizational processes, such as innovation, collaborative decision-making, and individual and collective learning. These improved organizational processes produce intermediate outcomes such as better decisions, organizational behaviors, products, services and relationships. These, in turn, lead to improved organizational performance.
The Knowledge Management Processes Cycle
Figure 2 is a process cycle model of KM. Such cycle models provide a useful way to organize one’s thinking about KM processes. There have been numerous KM processes cycle models that describe the relationships of the key processes of KM, ranging from Davenport and Prusak’s (2000) 3-stage model (“Generate, Codify/Coordinate, Transfer”) to Ward and Aurum’s (2004) 7-stage (“Create, Acquire, Identify, Adapt, Organize, Distribute, Apply”).
The process cycle model of Fig. 2 is particularly valuable in that it uses the generally accepted terminology of KM and makes use of alternative paths in order to make important distinctions. The various activities listed as bullet-points under some of the major phases are meant to be illustrative and not necessarily definitional.
The model of Fig. 2 shows that the initiation of the KM cycle involves either the creation or the acquisition of knowledge by an organization. Knowledge creation involves developing new knowledge or replacing existing knowledge with new content (Nonaka, 1994) . The focus of this is usually on knowledge creation inside the boundary of the firm or in conjunction with partners.
The four bullet points under “Creation” refer to Nonaka’s (1994) four modes of knowledge creation – socialization (the conversion of tacit knowledge to new tacit knowledge through social interactions and shared experiences), combination (creating new explicit knowledge by merging,
categorizing, and synthesizing existing explicit knowledge), externalization (converting tacit knowledge to new explicit knowledge) and internalization (the creation of new tacit knowledge from explicit knowledge). Illustrative of these four modes respectively are apprenticeships, literature survey reports, “lessons learned” repositories and individual or group learning through discussions. In contrast to knowledge creation, knowledge acquisition involves the search for, recognition of, and assimilation of potentially valuable knowledge, often from outside the organization (Huber, 1991).
The bullet points under “Acquisition” illustrate some processes for acquiring knowledge from external sources – searching (as on the Internet) (Menon and Pfeffer, 2003) , sourcing (selecting the source to use) (King and Lekse, 2006) and grafting (adding an individual who possesses desired knowledge to the organization) (Huber, 1991) . After new knowledge is created or acquired, KM mechanisms should be in place to prepare it to be entered into the organization’s memory in a manner that maximizes its impact and long term reusability. Knowledge refinement refers to the processes and mechanisms that are used to select, filter, purify and optimize knowledge for inclusion in various storage media. Under “Refinement” in the figure, the bullet points suggest that tacit, or implicit, knowledge must be explicated, codified, organized into an appropriate format and evaluated according to a set of criteria for inclusion into the organization’s formal memory. Of course, explicit knowledge needs only to be formatted, evaluated, and selected. Of the various steps that are involved in doing so, “culling” refers to identifying the most significant exemplars in an emerging collection; “organizing” refers to identifying recurrent themes and linking individual knowledge items to the themes and “distilling” is creating a synopsis or set of pointers) .
Organizational memory includes knowledge stored in the minds of organizational participants, that held in electronic repositories, that which has been acquired and retained by groups or teams and that which is embedded in the business’s processes, products or services and its relationships with customers, partners and suppliers(Cross and Baird, 2000) . As shown in the figure, in order for knowledge to have wide organizational impact, it usually must be either transferred or shared. Transfer and sharing may be conceptualized as two ends of a continuum. Transfer involves the focused and purposeful communication of knowledge from a sender to a known receiver (King, 2006a) . Sharing is less-focused dissemination, such as through a repository, to people who are often unknown to the contributor (King, 2006b).
Many of the points on the hypothetical continuum involve some combination of the two processes and both processes may involve individuals, groups or organizations as either senders or receivers, or both. Once knowledge is transferred to, or shared with, others, it may be utilized through elaboration (the development of different interpretations), infusion (the identification of underlying issues), and thoroughness (the development of multiple understandings by different individuals or groups) (King and Ko, 2001) in order to be helpful in facilitating innovation, collective learning, individual learning, and/or collaborative problem solving (King, 2005) . It may also be embedded in the practices, systems, products and relationships of the organization through the creation of knowledge-intensive organizational capabilities (Levitt and March, 1988).
KM Strategies
Most organizations focus primarily on one or the other of two broadly defined KM strategies –“codification” or “personalization” (Hansen et al., 1999) .Codification, is primarily implemented in the form of electronic document systems that codify and store knowledge and permit its easy dissemination and re-use. This strategy is based on “re-use economics” – invest once in creating or acquiring a knowledge asset and re-use it many times. Personalization, on the other hand, focuses on developing networks to facilitate people-to people knowledge transfer and sharing. It is based on “expert economics” – channeling individual expertise to others with less expertise who may employ it to further the organization’s goals. Earl (2001) has described various KM strategies, or “schools of thought” at a more detailed level. He developed these empirically through observation in numerous companies. They are listed below in groups that emphasize their reliance on either the codification or a personalization approach.
Codification Sub-Strategies – Earl’s codification-oriented sub-strategies are:
1. Systems (creating and refining knowledge repositories and on motivating people to provide content)
2. Process (developing and using repeatable processes that are supported with knowledge from previously conducted processes).
3. Commercial (the management of intellectual property such as patents, trademarks, etc.)
4. Strategic (the development of “knowledge capabilities” that can form the foundation of competitive strategy)
Personalization Sub-Strategies–Earl’s personalization-oriented sub-strategies are:
1. Cartographic (creating knowledge “maps” or directories and networks to connect people)
2. Organizational (providing groupware and intranets to facilitate communities of practice)
3. Social (spatial) (socialization as a means of knowledge creation and exchange; emphasizes the providing of physical “places” to facilitate discussions) While some organizations focus on only one of these strategies or sub-strategies, many use a combination of strategies that suits their needs.
The resolution of these issues represents a forecast of how KM will be different in the future. The top 10 issues were: * How to use KM to provide strategic advantage? * How to obtain top management support for KM? * How to maintain the currency of organizational knowledge? * How to motivate individuals to contribute their knowledge to a KM system? * How to identify the organizational knowledge that should be captured in KM systems? * How to assess the financial costs and benefits of KM? * How best to design and develop a KM system? * How to sustain progress in the organization * How to verify the efficacy, legitimacy, and relevance of knowledge contributed to a KM system? * How to ensure knowledge security if all, or most, of these issues are resolved as KM matures, the future of KM will be largely determined by the manners in which they are resolved.
2. MOTIVATION
2.1 Motivational Concept
Motivation is a problem in the U.S. workforce. Poorly motivated workers express themselves through detrimental behaviors such as absenteeism and high turnover. It is important that motivational theories are understood and applied in the workplace.
a) Motivation: the processes that account for an individual’s intensity, direction, and persistence of effort toward attaining a goal, specifically for attaining an organizational goal.
b) Intensity: how hard a person tries to meet a goal.
c) Direction: efforts are channeled toward organizational goals.
d) Persistence: how long a person maintains effort toward a goal.
People in different cultures have strikingly different construal of the self, of others, and of the interdependence of the two. These construal can influence, and in many cases determine, the very nature of individual experience, including cognition, emotion, and motivation. Many Asian cultures have distinct conceptions of individuality that insist on the fundamental relatedness of individuals to each other.
The emphasis is on attending to others, fitting in, and harmonious interdependence with them. American culture neither assumes nor values such an overt connectedness among individuals. In contrast, individuals seek to maintain their independence from others by attending to the self and by discovering and expressing their unique inner attributes. As proposed herein, these construal are even more powerful than previously imagined. Theories of the self from both psychology and anthropology are integrated to define in detail the difference between a construal of the self as independent and a construal of the self as interdependent. Each of these divergent construal should have a set of specific consequences for cognition, emotion, and motivation; these consequences are proposed and relevant empirical literature is reviewed. Focusing on differences in self-construal enables apparently inconsistent empirical findings to be reconciled, and raises questions about what have been thought to be culture-free aspects of cognition, emotion, and motivation.If a cognitive activity implicates the self, the outcome of this activity will depend on the nature of the self-system. Specifically, there are three important consequences of these divergent self-systems for cognition. First, we may expect those with interdependent selves to be more attentive and sensitive to others than those with independent selves. The attentiveness and sensitivity to others, characterizing the interdependent selves, will result in a relatively greater cognitive elaboration of the other or of the self-in-relation-to-other. Second, among those with interdependent selves, the unit of representation of both the self and the other will include a relatively specific social context in which the self and the other are embedded. This means that knowledge about persons, either the self or others, will not be abstract and generalized across contexts, but instead will remain specific to the focal context. Third, a consideration of the social context and the reactions of others may also shape some basic, nonsocial cognitive activities such as categorizing and counterfactual thinking.
The present analysis suggests several ways in which emotional processes may differ with the nature of the self-system. First, the predominant eliciting conditions of many emotions may differ markedly according to one's construal of the self. Second, and more important, which emotions will be expressed or experienced, and with what intensity and frequency, may also vary dramatically.
Ego-focused versus other-focused emotions.
The emotions systematically vary according to the extent to which they follow from, and also foster and reinforce, an independent or an interdependent construal of the self. This is a dimension that has largely been ignored in the literature. Some emotions, such as anger, frustration, and pride, have the individual's internal attributes (his or her own needs, goals, desires, or abilities) as the primary referent. Such emotions may be called ego focused. They result most typically from the blocking (e.g., "I was treated unfairly"), the satisfaction, or the confirmation (e.g., "I performed better than others") of one's internal attributes.
Experiencing and expressing these emotions further highlights these self-defining, internal attributes and leads to additional attempts to assert them in public and confirm them in private. As a consequence, for those with independent selves to operate effectively, they have to be "experts" in the expression and experience of these emotions. They will manage the expression, and even the experience, of these emotions so that they maintain, affirm, and bolster the construal of the self as an autonomous entity. The public display of one's own internal attributes can be at odds with the maintenance of interdependent, cooperative social interaction, and when unchecked can result in interpersonal confrontation, conflict, and possibly even overt aggression.
These negative consequences, however, are not as severe as they might be for interdependent selves because the expression of one's internal attributes is the culturally sanctioned task of the independent self. In short, the current analysis suggests that, in contrast to those with more interdependent selves, the ego-focused emotions will be more frequently expressed, and perhaps experienced, by those with independent selves. In contrast to the ego-focused emotions, some other emotions, such as sympathy, feelings of interpersonal communion, and shame, have another person, rather than one's internal attributes, as the primary referent. Such emotions may be called other focused. They typically result from being sensitive to the other, taking the perspective of the other, and attempting to promote interdependence. Experiencing these emotions highlights one's interdependence, facilitates the reciprocal exchanges of well-intended actions, leads to further cooperative social behavior, and thus provides a significant form of self-validation for interdependent selves. As a consequence, for those with interdependent selves to operate effectively, they will have to be "experts" in the expression and experience of these emotions. They will manage the expression, and even the experience, of these emotions so that they maintain, affirm, and reinforce the construal of the self as an interdependent entity. The other-focused emotions often discourage the autonomous expression of one's internal attributes and may lead to inhibition and ambivalence.
The study of motivation centers on the question of why people initiate, terminate, and persist in specific actions in particular circumstances (e.g., Atkinson, 1958; Mook, 1986). The answer given to this question in the West usually involves some type of internal, individually rooted need or motive—the motive to enhance one's self-esteem, the motive to achieve, the motive to affiliate, the motive to avoid cognitive conflict, or the motive to self-actualize. These motives are assumed to be part of the unique, internal core of a person's self-system. But what is the nature of motivation for those with interdependent self-systems? What form does it take? How does the ever-present need to attend to others and to gain their acceptance influence the form of these internal, individual motives? Are the motives identified in Western psychology the universal instigators of behavior? As with cognition and emotion, those motivational processes that implicate the self-depend on the nature of the self-system.
If we assume that others will be relatively more focal in the motivation of those with interdependent selves, various implications follow. * First, those with interdependent selves should express, and perhaps experience, more of those motives that are social or that have the other as referent. * Second, as we have noted previously, for those with independent selves, agency will be experienced as an effort to express one's internal needs, rights, and capacities and to withstand undue social pressure, whereas among those with interdependent selves, agency will be experienced as an effort to be receptive to others, to adjust to their needs and demands, and to restrain one's own inner needs or desires. * Motives related to the need to express one's agency or competency (e.g., the achievement motive) are typically assumed to be common to all individuals. Yet among those with interdependent selves, striving to excel or accomplish challenging tasks may not be in the service of achieving separateness and autonomy, as is usually assumed for those with independent selves, but instead in the service of more fully realizing one's connectedness or interdependence. * Third, motives that are linked to the self, such as self- enhancement, self-consistency, self-verification, self-affirmation, and self-actualization, may assume a very different form depending on the nature of the self that is being enhanced, verified, or actualized.
2.2 HIERARCHY OF NEEDS
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs Theory. In this, perhaps best known (and least supported) of all motivational theories, Abraham Maslow proposed that there are five levels of human needs. As each of the lower level needs are satisfied, the next unsatisfied need becomes dominant. Satisfied needs no longer motivate, only unsatisfied needs motivate people.
1. Physiological: lower order need, includes hunger, thirst, shelter, sex, and other bodily needs. Lower order needs are satisfied externally, through forces outside of the person.
2. Safety: lower order need, includes security and protection from physical and emotional harm.
3. Social: upper order need, includes affection, belongingness, acceptance, and friendship. Upper order needs are satisfied internally, that is, from within the person.
4. Esteem: upper order need, includes internal (self-respect, autonomy, and achievement) and external (status, recognition, and attention) esteem factors.
5. Self-actualization: upper order need, defined as the drive to “be all one can be” it includes growth, achieving one’s potential, and self-fulfillment.
McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y. Douglas McGregor’s theory proposed that there were two basic views of human nature, one essentially negative (Theory X) and the other positive (Theory Y). Which view a manager believed was true would give that manager a pre-set series of assumptions and related behaviors.
1. Theory X. In this negative view of human nature, workers are basically lazy and need firm guidance. The assumptions related to Theory X are:
a. Work Avoidance. Employees dislike work and so will try to avoid it.
b. Need for Control. Since employees dislike work, they must be coerced, controlled, or threatened with punishment to get them to achieve organizational goals.
c. Avoidance of Responsibility. Workers seek formal direction and dislike taking responsibility.
d. Security is Paramount. Employees value security above all else and display little ambition.
In Maslow’s terms, a Theory X viewpoint means that lower-order needs dominate individual needs. Theory X managers tend to be very directive, or seen as harsh and unbending, and will often be accused of “micro-management.”
2. Theory Y. In this positive view, employees are willing workers who actively seek responsibility. The underlying assumptions are:
a. Work as play. Work is as natural as play or rest.
b. Commitment. When employees are committed, they will exercise self-direction and self-control.
c. Accepting Responsibility. Workers accept, and will even seek, responsibility.
d. Innovation is Common. The ability to make innovative decisions is widely disbursed throughout the population; it does not only exist in the managerial ranks.
In Maslow’s terms, a Theory Y viewpoint means that higher-order needs dominate individual needs. Managers who hold to this view tend to use participative decision-making, create responsible and challenging jobs, and build good group relations in an attempt to motivate employees. Unfortunately, as with Maslow’s theory, there is no research evidence that either view of human nature is valid or that taking actions based on Theory Y will increase motivation in workers.
Herzberg’s Two-Factor (Motivation-Hygiene) Theory.
Frederick Herzberg proposed that an individual’s relation to work is basic and that one’s attitude toward work can very well determine success or failure. In other words, things that people feel good about at work are motivating and those things they don’t feel good about are de-motivating. In his research, Herzberg realized that the opposite of satisfaction is not dissatisfaction; rather there are two different factor scales, one ranging from satisfaction to no satisfaction and the other from dissatisfaction to no dissatisfaction. When he related a number of workplace factors against these two scales, he realized they were very different concepts. He called the first set of factors motivation factors and the second hygiene factors. * Hygiene Factors. These workplace factors, when not met, lead to job dissatisfaction. When they are met, they do NOT lead to job satisfaction, but rather, to a lack of dissatisfaction. So, meeting hygiene factors does NOT increase motivation, it merely placates the workers. Hygiene factors include quality of supervision, pay, company policies, physical working conditions, relations with others, and job security. * Motivation Factors. These are intrinsically rewarding factors in the work environment such as promotion and personal growth opportunities, recognition, responsibility, and achievement. Meeting these factors will increase motivation by creating a satisfying work environment. * As with the other two main motivational theories, this very popular theory is also not well supported in the research literature. There are many criticisms of the Two-Factor Theory, mostly dealing with the methodology Herzberg used in his initial studies.
2.3 MOTIVATIONAL THEORIES: Unlike the historic theories of motivation, these contemporary theories of motivation do have a reasonable degree of supporting documentation. It is important to remember that these are still theories. None of these has been totally proven to be true.
McClelland's Theory of Needs. David McClelland created a theory based on three needs:
Need for Achievement (NAch): the drive to excel and to achieve in relation to a set of standards. Achievers seek rapid feedback on performance, they like tasks of intermediate difficulty, and they accept personal responsibility for success or failure.
High achievers tend to be successful entrepreneurs. However, having a high need for achievement does not necessarily mean the person would be a good her desire for recognition supersedes his or her concern for the organization. Employees with low achievement needs can be trained to increase their need for achievement.
Need for Power (nPow): the need to make others behave in a way they would not have behaved otherwise. People with high power needs feel they have to have an impact or be influential with other people. They prefer to be placed into competitive and status-oriented situations. High power people are more concerned with prestige and gaining influence over others than with effective performance.
Need for Affiliation (nAff): the desire for friendly and close interpersonal relationships. Affiliates strive for friendship, prefer cooperative situations, and desire friendships with a high degree of mutual understanding.
The best managers appear to be those with a high need for power, and a low need for affiliation.
Cognitive Evaluation Theory: This theory proposes that the introduction of extrinsic rewards, such as pay, tends to decrease overall motivation. This is because the intrinsic reward of the work itself declines in the face of extrinsic rewards.
One of the implications of this theory is that a truism in management, pay or other extrinsic rewards should be tied to effective performance, is false. This technique will actually decrease the internal satisfaction the employee receives from doing the job. Therefore, the cognitive evaluation theory suggests that an individual's pay should be non- contingent on performance, in order to maintain maximum intrinsic motivation. This is not a hard and fast rule, however. The type of rewards makes a difference. Verbal rewards are intrinsic and can increase intrinsic motivation, while tangible rewards, such as pay, undermine it. Managers should provide intrinsic rewards in addition to any extrinsic incentives in order to make employees more motivated.
Goal-Setting Theory: This theory studies the effects goal specificity, challenge, and feedback has on Performance. The study of goal setting has created the following general rules: Specific goals produce a higher level of output than do generalized goals. Typically, the more difficult the goal, the higher level of performance, assuming that goal has been accepted by the employee. This is because: * Difficult goals focus attention on the task and away from distractions. * Difficult goals energize employees. * Difficult goals tend to make people persist in efforts toward attaining them. * Difficult goals force employees to discover strategies to help them perform the task or job more effectively.
Feedback is important in goal-setting theory, especially self-generated feedback. The question of whether participative goal-setting increases motivation has not yet been resolved. The assumption is that when employees are involved in setting the goals, they have greater buy-in and therefore will have a higher level of commitment.
MOTIVATION THEORIES ARE OFTEN CULTURE-BOUND It must be noted that most motivational theories have been developed in the United States; based on, and for, Americans. Other cultures that do not share the cultural traits of the United States may not find these theories very useful.
Maslow's Needs Hierarchy. In cultures that do not share American traits, the hierarchical order of needs may be out of sequence.
McClelland's Three Needs Theory.
The need for achievement presupposes certain cultural characteristics such as moderate degree of risk acceptance and a concern with performance. These two cultural characteristics are not universal, and therefore the need for achievement may not be as powerful in other cultures.
Adams' Equity Theory.
This theory is very closely tied to American pay practices and may not be relevant in collectivistic or socialistic cultures in which there is more of a sense of entitlement or the desire to be paid based on need rather than performance.
Hertzberg's Two-Factor Theory. This theory does show some cross-cultural consistency. The desire for interesting work, growth, achievement, and responsibility, all intrinsic motivation factors in Hertzberg's theory, do seem to be supported across a number of cultures.
An important consideration for managers when reviewing these motivational theories is to determine their relevance, which outcomes they are measuring or influencing, and their relative predictive power.
3. RECRUITMENT
3.1 Sources of recruitment
Recruitment is the process of seeking and attracting the right kind of people to apply for a job in an organization. Recruitment in any organization is effected by various internal and external factors. Internal factors include the recruitment policy, time and cost constraints etc. External factors include the situation in the economy, the job market, the industry etc. The recruitment policy of an organization effectively defines and determines the pattern, the sources and the methods of recruitment of the firm. A good recruitment policy is based on the organization's objectives, complies with the government policy, and results in successful placements in the organization at the minimum cost and time. It provides the basic framework in the form of guidelines, procedures and sources for recruitment. The organization has to take into consideration the relevance and effectiveness of each source before selecting the sources for its recruitment program. Recruitment strategies, objectives, policies and the sources and methods need to be evaluated continuously to ensure their alignment with corporate strategies, objectives, and policies. The effectiveness and efficiency of the recruitment tools and sources can also be evaluated from time to time and changes made, to match the current and future recruitment needs of the organization.
The balanced selection of the recruitment sources to be used in the organization is a key success factor for the effective recruitment process. The organization can choose from many recruitment sources as it can optimize the recruitment process. The recruitment sources drive the costs, length and quality of the job candidates (including the number of job resumes needed to handle with).
The organization has to choose the recruitment sources, which work best for the industry. The organization has to find the unique recruitment sources for the key job positions as it attracts the best job candidates sooner than the competitors in the same industry, location and function.
The traditional recruitment sources were: * Newspaper Job Advertising * Recruitment Agencies (Job Agencies) * Headhunters (Executive Search) * Referral (Employee’s Recommendations)
The modern recruitment sources are: * Web Job Boards * LinkedIn * Professional Communities Web Sites * Facebook
3.2 Internal recruitment
Internal recruitment is the process of finding potential internal candidates (present employees) and encouraging them to apply for and/or be willing to accept organizational positions that are vacant.
The internal recruitment process is the passive career management tool. The organization does not select employees for the promotion. They can apply for the job vacancy, and they can enrich or change their career path. The internal recruitment brings the internal fairness and allows employees to prolong their career in the organization.
On the other hand, the internal recruitment brings conflicts. Managers do not support quick changes and best employees can disappear from the team quickly. Most organizations apply the restrictive rules to the internal recruitment as the organization enjoys the basic level of security.
The internal recruitment is the cheapest recruitment source. It does not require any specific care, and it works quite automatically. HR usually has a clear goal of the ratio of the internal vs. external recruitment. The high-performing organizations are able to fill 30% of specialized job vacancies internally. The more complex the job vacancy is the higher chance of filling the vacancy internally is.
The internal recruitment strategy is the enhancement of the regular recruitment strategy which drives all recruitment processes. The internal recruitment strategy sets the specifics for the internal promotion of employees and job vacancies. Many organizations have the excellent recruitment strategy for the external recruitment, but they do not take care of the internal talents.
The strategy should cover at least following fundamental topics: * Competition of internal and external applicants * Internal recruitment promotion * Clear public rules for the internal recruitment
There needs to be clear cut rules for the internal recruitment, which are published and strictly followed. Employees have to feel safe when they apply for the new job position. The internal recruitment without rules and procedures works, but it creates many tensions in the organization. The employees can be confused and managers complain as there is no unified approach to them.
3.3 External recruitment
External recruitment involves attracting people from outside the organization to apply for vacant positions. There are various sources for obtaining external job candidates. These include advertisements, educational institutions, employment agencies, voluntary applicants, and referrals by present employees.
The external recruitment brings fresh employees to the company and allows it to grow. The external recruitment reacts quicker than the internal recruitment process and the growth of the sales function can be realized just by using the external hires. The external hires bring new ideas, different approaches to problem solving, and they can bring the external best practice.
The external recruitment enriches the organization. The company cannot exist without the external recruitment. Each organization has the attrition, fluctuation and turnover. The external recruitment brings the new potential.
The external recruitment is about the management of the recruitment sources and making the channels efficient. The external recruitment has to be balanced with the internal recruitment as employees feel the opportunity to grow.
The external recruitment is a key recruitment process in the stage of the rapid growth of the organization. Personnel Management is asked to deliver enough suitable job candidates quickly and in a high quantity. The external recruitment is the basic HR tool to create the ability of the organization to react on the changes in the external environment quickly.
Once the candidates are attracted to job positions, the management needs to find qualified people to fill the available jobs through the selection process. The selection process consists of seven steps: (1) preliminary screening, (2) application blank, (3) selection tests, (4) comprehensive interviews, (5) reference checks, (6) physical examination, and (7) making the selection. To integrate the newly hired employees into the organization, managers must adopt a systematic socialization process.
The external recruitment is essential when the business strategy changes rapidly. The change requires a new mindset of employees. The new skills are urgently required, and the company needs to bring new and fresh blood quickly. The massive external recruitment is the only way to success. It is not possible to change the business strategy without new people on board. Personnel management is the change agent and has to identify the key roles to realize the change in the business strategy quickly. The external recruitment has to be extremely flexible to find the right mindset and skill set on the job market.
3.4 Recruitment process
The recruitment and selection is the major function of the Personnel Management department and recruitment process is the first step towards creating the competitive strength and the strategic advantage for the organizations. Recruitment process involves a systematic procedure from sourcing the candidates to arranging and conducting the interviews and requires many resources and time.
It is the process of seeking and attracting the right kind of people to apply for a job in an organization. Recruitment in any organization is effected by various internal and external factors. Internal factors include the recruitment policy, time and cost constraints etc. External factors include the situation in the economy, the job market, the industry etc.
The recruitment process begins with the Personnel Management department receiving requisitions for recruitment from any department of the company. These contain: * Posts to be filled * Number of persons * Duties to be performed * Qualifications required
The recruitment policy of an organization effectively defines and determines the pattern, the sources and the methods of recruitment of the firm. A good recruitment policy is based on the organization's objectives, complies with the government policy, and results in successful placements in the organization at the minimum cost and time. It provides the basic framework in the form of guidelines, procedures and sources for recruitment. A good recruitment policy has to be flexible and proactively respond to the changing market situations. There are various sources of recruitment available for an organization. The organization has to choose the most suitable ones depending on its recruitment needs and its recruitment policy. The different sources are internal sources (recruitment from within the organization) and external sources like campus recruitments, advertisements, employment agencies, etc. The organization has to take into consideration the relevance and effectiveness of each source before selecting the sources for its recruitment program. Recruitment strategies, objectives, policies and the sources and methods need to be evaluated continuously to ensure their alignment with corporate strategies, objectives, and policies. The effectiveness and efficiency of the recruitment tools and sources can also be evaluated from time to time and changes made, to match the current and future recruitment needs of the organization.
4. EMOTIONAL BEHAVIOR IN ORGANIZATIONS
4.1 Frustration and Anxiety
The main goal of understanding emotional behavior is to help organizations, managers and employees handle anger, frustration and anxiety at work by increasing understanding of the basic causes of anger and frustration in the workplace and providing tools for dealing effectively with them.
The specific goals are to help organizations, managers, and employees: * Understand causes of conflicts that cause anger, frustration and anxiety in the workplace. * Manage work relations to minimize the occurrence of anger and frustration in the workplace.
“The ability to work well with people is as purchasable a commodity as coffee or sugar, but I’ll pay more for it than any ability under the sun.”
John D. Rockefeller
“Work without conflict is a hobby.”
Malcolm Forbes
Understanding the Causes of Conflict
Citing survey results, the American Management Association reported that anger is alive and well in the workplace, often triggered by employee dissatisfaction with management and unequal workloads among employees. While this is certainly not the only reason for anger and frustration in the workplace, it clearly illustrates that this is a widespread problem. Managing work relationships with individual employees and teams of employees can reduce company liability helps reduce relationship conflicts. Key managerial actions that can keep conflict to a minimum are as follows: * Regularly review job descriptions – Obtain employee input to assure that the workload is reasonable and address any issues in a timely manner. Employee empowerment and participation in decision-making processes is helpful in avoiding hierarchy-based task and relationship conflicts. As much as possible, managers should ensure that job roles are clearly defined. This helps avoid confusion and reduce employee arguments (task conflict) based on their own interpretation of the job or task at hand. * Relationship building - it is vital that managers build effective working relationships with employees in order to foster an atmosphere of collegiality and mutual respect. Regular one-on-one sessions between employees and managers, as well as regular informal staff or group meetings, can help ease tensions and provide opportunities to discuss and address issues before they escalate into conflicts. * Good communication at all levels will also contribute to a feeling of trust. Managers should communicate verbally and in writing regarding expectations, plans and anticipated changes to keep employees informed about issues that will affect them. Similarly, managers should request regular written updates and status reports on individual and team efforts. This builds the atmosphere of trust that is necessary in creating employee loyalty. * Providing training programs for managers and employees can also greatly reduce conflicts in the workplace. Training topics can include interpersonal communication, conflict management, delegation of duties, etc. * Develop procedures for routine tasks so that everyone knows what is expected. When possible and if appropriate managers can: * Solicit employee input by having them write procedures * Get employees to review procedures and provide feedback * Distribute procedures to employees * Provide training on procedures
Corrective Conflict Management is what people who experience conflict do after the fact or what they intend to do to manage conflicts after they have occurred. It is important to distinguish between task and relationship (emotional) conflict when deciding the best response strategy and its effect on task effectiveness. * Task conflict is about distribution of resources, procedures and policies, judgment decisions, and interpretation of facts. Generally, this type of conflict generates emotions that are less intense than relationship conflicts and can even motivate team members to search for optimal solutions. In these situations, collaborative responses, such as compromise and problem-solving, tend to have positive effects. Open-minded discussion about opposing ideas, feelings and opinions can be very effective in resolving these types of conflicts. * Relationship conflict, on the other hand, is difficult to settle to the mutual satisfaction of the parties involved. Tensions and frustrations that contribute to relationship/emotional conflicts are often rooted in differing personal values, views and ideologies. Changing these closely held personal views is difficult because they are fundamental to one’s personal identity. Seeking middle ground or using collaborative strategies is not likely to be successful because the root problem (long held social attitudes and contracting ideologies) is unchangeable.
In some cases, relationship conflicts can’t be solved and attempts at negotiation can even escalate the problem. It is often a good idea to remind team members that conflicts can be disruptive and suggest that the parties involved put aside personal differences and focus on the task at hand. Avoiding responses thus allows the conflict to become less prominent and provides time for feelings to cool down. Of course, avoidance strategies can sometimes lead to a time-bomb effect. Negative feelings may be curbed temporarily, but over time, frustrations can increase to the point of being out of control.
Therefore, avoidance may be a good temporary strategy to give the parties time to think about possible long-term solutions but managers should keep a close eye to be sure that the problem does not resurface. Other conflict management strategies include: * Self-knowledge – Be aware of traits that bother you – they are often the same traits that offend you in others. * Manage yourself – Anger management is key to avoiding conflict escalation. Don’t provoke the other party. Stay calm by speaking or responding to the other party in an unemotional tone of voice. * If possible, move the discussion to a private area. * Give the other person time to vent. Don’t interrupt or judge. * Verify that you are hearing and understanding accurately. Wait until the person finishes speaking and then ask him/her to let you paraphrase to ensure that you understand the issue. * To gain further understanding, ask open-ended questions. Avoid “why” questions as these tend to make people feel defensive. * State your opinion or response and request that the other person paraphrase what you have said. * Acknowledge areas of agreement and areas of disagreement. * Work the issue, not the person. Keep in the present and ask what can be done to fix the problem. If possible, identify at least one action that can be taken by one or both of you. * Thank the person for working with you. * If the conflict remains unresolved, decide if the other person’s behavior conflicts with policies and procedures in the workplace. If warranted, present the issue to your supervisor or consider asking a third party to mediate.
Organizational conflict is currently one of the most studied topics in organizational behavior. Conflicts can have considerable value when they are managed constructively. The issue is not whether conflicts occur but how they are managed. Desirable outcomes result in greater quantity and quality of achievement, development of complex reasoning skills, and creative problem–solving. This leads to higher quality decision-making as well as healthier cognitive, social, and psychological development by enabling both managers and employees to be better able to deal with stress and cope with unforeseen adversities.
4.2 Stress – Strain and Pressure
The causes of conflict that can result in stress, strain, pressure, anger, frustration and potentially insubordination in the workplace is vital for employees and managers at all levels. When we have an understanding of these issues, we will be better able to respond in a positive manner when faced with conflicts that causes stress and pressure. * Be aware of the common causes of conflict such as dissatisfaction with management, uneven workload distribution, differing personal views, attitudes and work ethic, and the perception on the part of an employee that he or she is not valued by the employer. These are among the most common causes of conflict. Personality clashes among team members and differing opinions on the way a task should be accomplished or the way decisions are made by that team are also significant issues. * Know the two main types of conflict – Task or workplace conflict has to do with a specific job or an assigned project. Relationship or emotional conflict has to do with personality conflicts between workers.
Manage work relations to minimize the occurrence of stress, strain, pressure, anger and frustration knowing how to deal with workplace conflict is an essential skill for managers: * Learn how to manage conflict effectively – It is important to recognize issues and patterns that can lead to workplace conflict and to have the training and tools needed to prevent conflict from developing if at all possible. * Understand the concepts of Preventive Conflict Management – This strategy can help to increase productivity. Managers should be able to facilitate building and maintaining employee and group trust and be able to develop high levels of consensus in work values. Creating an atmosphere of collegiality can improve employee interactions in the workplace and reduce stress levels that can lead to conflicts. * Know some of the key concepts that will help you prevent conflict.
Conduct reviews of job descriptions regularly with employees to be sure you know what they are/should be doing. This will help avoid uneven workload distribution. Work at building relationships with employees that you manage and schedule informal staff meetings on a regular basis to encourage open and constructive communication between group members. * Communicate clearly and openly with employees to build a relationship of trust. * Seek training as needed, especially in areas that will help you develop the skills needed to manage both individual and team work relations. * Develop policies and procedures to cover routine tasks and outline specific procedures for addressing the more complex workplace issues, such as an employee grievance process, a progressive discipline policy, etc. * Provide education to staff regarding these policies and be sure all policies are implemented consistently. * Understand the concepts of Corrective Conflict Management. On a case-by-case basis, be sure you understand the specifics of the incident and review all circumstances and courses possible and strategies before deciding on a course of action.
SUMMARY: Tips for Handling Stress, Strains, Pressure, Anger and Frustration at Work.
Understand the issues that can cause stress, pressure, anger, frustration and potentially insubordination.
Be sure that preventive conflict measures are in place to the extent possible.
1). Realize when your stress levels are high and use stress and anger management techniques to reduce your volatility.
2). Remember the context of work precludes any actions that may appear violent or disruptive.
3). Do not anticipate the motives of others but rather give them time to share their ideas, thoughts and views without judgment.
4). Be aware of employee workload issues and distribute tasks as evenly as possible.
5). Be circumspect in dealing with issues, consider implications before taking action.
6). Be sure policies and procedures addressing the specific behavior are in place.
7). Be sure staff is educated on these policies.
8). Seek or provide training on these topics as appropriate.
4.3 Drug use in the Industry
Abuse potential refers to a drug that is used in nonmedical situations, repeatedly or even sporadically, for the positive psychoactive effects it produces. These drugs are characterized by their central nervous system (CNS) activity. Examples of the psychoactive effects they produced include sedation, euphoria, perceptual and other cognitive distortions, hallucinations, and mood changes. Drugs with abuse potential often (but not always) produce psychic or physical dependence and may lead to the disorder of addiction.
The concept of abuse potential encompasses all the properties of a drug, including, for example, chemical, pharmacological, and pharmacokinetic characteristics, as well as fads in usage and diversion history. Addiction is defined as a chronic, neurobiological disorder with genetic, psychosocial, and environmental aspects, characterized by one or more of the following: impaired control over drug use, compulsive use, continued use despite harm, and craving.
The Benefits of Going Drug-Free.
The available data continue to indicate that substance abuse has a significant impact in the workplace, with costs estimated at over $100 billion annually. Data show that: * Seventy-one percent of illegal drug users are employed. * Alcoholism causes 500 million lost workdays each year. * Drug and alcohol-related problems are one of the four top reasons for the rise in workplace violence. * Of those who called the cocaine helpline, 75 percent reported using drugs on the job, 64 percent admitted drugs adversely affected their job performance, 44 percent sold drugs to other employees, and 18 percent had stolen from co-workers to support their drug habit. * A study conducted by the Institute for Health Policy, Brandeis University, found substance abuse to be the number one health problem in the country, resulting in more deaths, illnesses, and disabilities than any other preventable health condition. While we do not yet have comprehensive data on the specific impact of workplace substance abuse, the data and studies available are compelling. For example: * Drug-using employees at GM average 40 days sick leave each year compared to 4.5 days for non-users. * Employees testing positive on pre-employment drug tests at Utah Power & Light were 5 times more likely to be involved in a workplace accident than those who tested negative. * The State of Wisconsin estimates that expenses and losses related to substance abuse average 25 percent of the salary of each worker affected.
Despite recent news reports about the increased use of drugs, we continue to be encouraged that workplace substance abuse is a problem for which a solution exists. When the issue is addressed by establishing comprehensive programs, it is a "win-win" situation for both employers and employees. The following examples are illustrative. A study of the economic impact of substance abuse treatment in Ohio found significant improvements in job-related performance: * a 91 percent decrease in absenteeism; * an 88 percent decrease in problems with supervisors; * a 93 percent decrease in mistakes in work; and, * a 97 percent decrease in on-the-job injuries. * At Southern Pacific railroad, injuries dropped 71 percent. * An electric supply company with 150 employees experienced a 39 percent decrease in absenteeism and a 36 percent increase in productivity. * A construction company with 60 employees reduced workers' compensation claims by $50,000. * A manufacturer with 560 employees experienced a 30-35 percent decrease in industrial accidents.
Statistics such as these suggest not just that workplace substance abuse is an issue that all employers need to address but also that it is an issue for which there is an answer. Taking steps to identify those with substance abuse problems and offer a helping hand will not only improve worker safety and health but also increase workplace productivity and competitiveness.
U.S. Department of Labor
No one wants to believe that a friend or a co-worker has a substance abuse problem. Subtle changes in behavior may not be recorded because no one knows how or wants to confront the problem. If there is a problem, ignoring it will not make it go away.
An employer that implements a Drug-Free Workplace Program, and becomes a carrier certified drug-free workplace may be protected (in most cases) from workplace accidents that are a result of employees working under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Studies have shown a well-planned program to reduce substance abuse can increase productivity, reduce accidents, and decrease costs due to insurance claims. An employer implementing this program will also receive additional benefits: * All employees will become more aware of the importance of safety in the workplace and will benefit from a safer work environment. * When an employee incurs a work-related injury, and refuses to take a drug test when requested, the injured employee may forfeit eligibility for workers' compensation benefits, regardless of the cause of the accident. * An employee who loses a job or is denied employment as a result of a positive drug/alcohol test, may not qualify for unemployment compensation benefits. In that case, the contributory employer could be relieved of charges in connection with the unemployment claim. * If drugs are found in the employee's system at or above threshold levels, the injured employee may not be entitled to workers' compensation benefits (Note: Case law may affect the injured employee's eligibility to benefits). This benefit is provided to employers who are carrier certified and in compliance with the program. If the employer is not carrier certified as a drug-free workplace, and the injured employee is able to show that the cause of the accident was not related to the presence of drugs in his/her system (i.e., if a heavy piece of equipment falls on the worker through no fault of his or her own), he or she may still be entitled to benefits.
Substance abuse problems do not get better if left alone, they only get worse. When these behaviors are ignored, workers who have a substance abuse problem continue to be a risk to themselves and their co-workers. By taking steps to eliminate drugs in your workplace, you will have a safer work environment, a more productive workforce, reduced workdays lost as a result of work accidents, and possibly lower workers’ compensation costs and premiums.
5. JOB EVALUATIONS
5.1 Evaluation Overview
Evaluation in many of today’s organizations is ad hoc, not aligned to strategy, underfunded, and underused. We have found this to be true regardless of sector, type or size of organization, or whether they are for profit, philanthropic, or nonprofit organizations. Often times, this situation has led to monitoring and evaluation efforts being perceived as adding little value to organization decision makers, and a perception that monitoring and evaluation efforts are not worth their cost.
At the same time, evaluation as a tool for strategic learning is gaining traction within the philanthropic field. This focus on learning is generating interest in evaluation methods and approaches that provide the insights needed to inform strategic decisions. Though concerns about the value of evaluation continue, foundations and nonprofits are increasing their investments in evaluation – and are experimenting with new approaches – expecting that they will help increase their effectiveness and impact.
Further evidence of this continued commitment to evaluation was found in a recent study conducted by the Center for Evaluation Innovation for the Evaluation Roundtable (The Center for Evaluation Innovation, 2013). Responses from more than 40 foundation evaluation staff via a survey and interviews indicated that: * The evaluation function and investments continue to expand. Moreover, the number of FTEs dedicated to evaluation also appears to be increasing slightly -(over 2009). * Evaluation continues to play a role in shaping foundation strategy and its use during all phases of the strategy life cycle (beginning, middle, end) is improving.
With calls for evaluation to inform learning and a desire to move from outputs to outcomes and results, there is a tremendous opportunity and need to increase the value of evaluation to connect it with strategy, and to elevate it to a meaningful and critically important function within an organization.
The Challenge: Disconnection
In many organizations, the meaningfulness and usability of evaluation information has been limited because of its disconnection from strategic and organizational-level decision making. Even in the most well-intentioned organizations – with leaders who believe in evaluation’s ability to support individual, group, and organizational learning – evaluative thinking and practice are loosely aligned, fragmented, and siloed. Through our practice, we have observed: * Most evaluations focus on program- or initiative-level questions only; they are not designed to answer important strategic questions within and across programs. * There is a lack of alignment between the kind of monitoring and evaluation data being collected and the needs of program and organizational leaders in making strategic and organizational decisions. * What gets evaluated is mostly ad hoc and reflects the needs of particular individuals or departments, rather than the organization as a whole. * Evaluation budgets are a mystery; there is rarely a dedicated organizational-level budget line item for monitoring, evaluation, and learning work; as a result, this work is underfunded. * There are few internal mechanisms for capturing, storing, accessing, and sharing learning’s from evaluation efforts. * There are few processes, systems, and opportunities for learning from and about evaluation, which limits the ability of organization members to make sense of findings and to translate them into action.
As a result, organizations spend significant amounts of time and effort developing a compelling strategy, defining goals, and articulating a convincing theory of change, without putting into place the infrastructure and support needed to monitor and evaluate whether or not the strategy is actually working. If organizations were to establish and maintain systems and processes that support effective monitoring, evaluation, and learning practices, they would be more effective in: * Understanding and tracking their strategy’s effects, influence, and impacts; * Ensuring the collection and use of meaningful and useful grantee and other stakeholder information; * Facilitating and supporting individual, group, and organizational learning; * Providing insights into the effectiveness and efficiencies of the organization’s core activities (e.g., communications); and informing the field about key learning’s from their work.
The current state of evaluation in the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors points to the need for a more strategic approach to evaluation. In this lesson of Organizational Psychology: Job Evaluation we will address the question: How can organizations be more systematic, coordinated, and intentional about what to evaluate, when, why, with whom, and with what resources?
5.2 Evaluation Vision
An evaluation vision reflects the values that the organization has for learning and evaluation, and communicates evaluation’s role in strategic and organizational decision making. Organizations that clearly articulate the principles and values underlying their approach to evaluation find themselves more willing to use evaluation to build knowledge, inform action, and hold stakeholders accountable.
DEVELOPING AN EVALUATION VISION - To develop an evaluation vision, organization members should consider the following questions in crafting a 2–4 sentence vision statement: * What role might learning and evaluation play in the organization? * What value will learning and evaluation add to the organization and other stakeholders? * How might evaluation contribute to strategic decision making?
The California Endowment (TCE), for example, uses its evaluation vision to describe its commitment to using evaluation (among other activities) for learning within the foundation and among its partners and grantees.
The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) is an international organization dedicated to human rights advocacy on behalf of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their actual or perceived sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression. The organization focuses on two strategic goals:
1) Capacity building for the documentation of human rights violations, and
2) Global advocacy. Their vision for learning and evaluation is:
a. The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) strives to engage in collaborative and learning-oriented monitoring and evaluation that guides internal decision making and informs conversations with external stakeholders about IGLHRC’s influence, effects, and impact.
A clear vision for evaluation signals to staff and the field what evaluation is going to be used for and the values on which evaluation practice is based. Organizations may emphasize learning, collaboration, impact, accountability, organizational effectiveness, and a host of other purposes for evaluation in their vision statement. A list of core values for evaluation – transparency, authenticity, commitment to impact, among others – usually accompanies a vision statement. Values provide a guiding framework for making decisions about what to evaluate and the way in which it will be undertaken.
For example, the Issues Affecting Women Programme of the Oak Foundation developed its evaluation and learning system to reflect the following values:
We approach evaluation in a way that is:
1) Collaborative – we aim to work with our partners and other actors in the field to contribute to the information we seek to collect, to determine the best ways to go about doing so, and to share in the findings;
2) Designed to generate actionable and on-going learning’s – we strive to only gather information that can guide our strategies and decisions; and we view evaluation as an ongoing process, not a one-time event at the end of a grant, project, or strategy;
3) Flexible and adaptive to the many dynamic contexts we work in – we work with grantees of all shapes and sizes, working in contexts that are in constant flux; we thus do not subscribe to a rigid one-size-fits-all approach to evaluation; and…
4) Mindful of our partners’ time and resources – we appreciate how precious time and resources are and thus strive to engage in evaluation that is not an onerous side activity but rather strengthens the internal learning and capacities of our partners.
When it is not clear why evaluation is important, how it will be used, and who stands to benefit most, a mismatch between the expectations of funders and grantees can occur. Failure to communicate a clear, simple evaluation vision can result in confusion and misunderstanding, and in the some cases, an unproductive skepticism of an organization’s intentions. Funders may see evaluation as a way to improve performance, while grantees see funders’ interest in evaluation as an attempt to cut off or scale back their investment. This situation highlights the importance of communicating the evaluation vision with internal and external stakeholders in a consistent and authentic way to minimize any misconceptions about how evaluation is meant to be conducted and used.
5.3 Strategy and Focus
This element of a Strategic Learning and Evaluation System ensures that there are agreed upon strategies to guide organization and program level decisions, that staff understand the larger system in which the work is happening, and that the majority of evaluation activities are guided by a set of strategic evaluation questions.
STRATEGIES AND TACTICS
A Strategic Learning and Evaluation System (SLES) exists to support strategic decision making, both at the program and organization levels. Therefore, it is critically important that an organization not only have, but be able to articulate and agree on the strategies and tactics it is using to achieve its goals. In developing a SLES, an organization reviews and assesses the coherence of the current strategy or strategies being employed. Without a clear understanding of the organization’s strategy, evaluation activities easily become scattershot and disconnected – making it difficult to turn evaluation findings into insights for strategic learning and change.
SYSTEMS MAP AND THEORY OF CHANGE
Taking a more strategic approach to evaluation requires an organization to:
a) understand the larger context in which its work is occurring, and
b) reflect on and discuss the assumptions embedded in its strategy and how they believe change occurs.
This conversation highlights potential conflicts or misunderstandings about expected outcomes, and clarifies the issue of contribution vs. attribution.
We have found that engaging stakeholders in developing a “systems map” helps facilitate this dialogue. The activity typically involves providing flipchart paper and markers to groups of 3-4 and inviting participants to “draw a map of the system in which their work lives” (e.g., college readiness system, substance abuse and prevention system, news and information system), and what organizations and/or actors, play a role in, influence, or work towards the same goals. Each group shares their map, which is followed by a large group discussion that focuses on commonalities and differences, faulty assumptions, new insights, and implications for evaluation.
It is also important for the organization to develop a high level theory of change that depicts the organization’s understanding of the problem, how it plans to address or solve the problem, and the long-term change it is hoping to affect. While there are many ways to illustrate a theory of change, we have found it best to keep it fairly simple. Its utility is in its ability to connect the organization’s strategy to the change(s) it seeks.
For example, the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission developed the following theory of change that frames and guides their work:
IGLHRC believes that building capacity to document human rights violations and engaging in advocacy at regional and global intergovernmental fora constitute the most efficient way to contribute to building stronger LGBT rights movements that will help LGBT people around the world live richer, fuller, and fulfilling lives. | Outcomes | Greater level of LGBT rights institutionalized and operationalized at the UN and regional fora · Allied movements are committed to LGBT rights issues · Effective LGBT work is led by diverse, representative, community based groups, individuals, and organizations | State and non-state and private actors are held accountable for SOGI related violations · Improved cultural and social norms for LGBT people · LGBT communities more effectively meet the broad needs of LGBT people living in their country and region | Activities | · Build the capacity of organizations and leaders in the South to document human rights violations · Collaborate with partners on the ground to document human rights violations | Lead effective LGBT engagement at international, regional, and national human rights bodies · Support activists in the South in their advocacy efforts | The Problem | LGBT people around the world are still discriminated against · Activists in the South need to build their capacity to document human rights violations · Lack of organizations focused on | LGBT human rights documentation capacity building · Increased need to understand what works in advancing the LGBT human rights movement and demonstrate impact |
STRATEGIC EVALUATION QUESTIONS
Once the organization’s strategy and tactics have been agreed upon and are explicit, and there is a broader understanding of the system in which the organization is working, then it’s time to develop a set of high level strategic evaluation questions that will focus and guide the majority of the organization’s evaluation and learning activities.
These questions are the overarching questions that serve as guideposts for understanding what an organization is achieving, in what ways, and with what kinds of resources. The vast majority of future evaluations should be grounded in and help inform the answers to the strategic evaluation questions. Some strategic evaluation questions may be inward looking; for example, “In what ways are our organizational structures and processes supporting (or hindering) grantees’ ability to implement innovative strategies to improve educational attainment?” Other questions may focus on the process, outcomes, and impact of the work, while others could address the ways in which the field is influencing the work and vice versa.
Good Strategic Learning and Evaluation Questions: * Frame the scope and boundaries of evaluation activities * Are grounded in the program’s theory of change * Reflect a variety of key stakeholders’ information needs * Are those that matter most for decision-making and action * Can be answered through the collection and analysis of data
It is important to develop a set of questions that will guide the organization’s evaluation activities for the next 1–3 years. Oftentimes, these questions address process, impact, organization, and field-level outcomes. The following is a general set of questions that could be tailored to the specific foci and issue areas of the organization’s mission, values, and strategy:
Process:
? In what ways are the organization’s statewide, regional, and local efforts working together to influence policy?
? How can the organization strengthen its relationships with and impact on grantees?
? To what extent, and in what ways, is progress being made toward accomplishing the organization’s multi-year goals?
? What factors are influencing the extent to which progress is being made?
Outcomes and Impact:
? To what extent and in what ways have the organization’s investments led to changes in local and state policies and practices?
? Which models are proving to be most effective?
? To what extent are the organization’s strategic approaches effective relative to alternative approaches?
? What difference has our work made in the last ten years?
Organization:
? How have the organization’s structures and processes helped or hindered progress toward addressing its goals?
? To what extent and in what ways is the organization effectively communicating its strategy, values, and vision within the organization?
? How has the organization increased its organizational capacity to respond to an increasingly challenging field?
Field:
? To what extent is the organization contributing to the field’s knowledge? To what extent is it catalyzing action?
? What role is the organization playing relative to others working on these issues?
? To what extent and in what ways is the organization transforming the field?
? The tailored set of questions would look something like the following, as illustrated by those developed by the King Baudouin Foundation in Brussels, Belgium. Here are a sample of their questions specifically focused on their process and outcomes:
1) Supporting capacity-building actions
a) How have our capacity-building efforts helped the grantees and partners of those efforts?
b) To what extent are the grantees and partners satisfied with our capacity-building efforts?
2) Raising knowledge (in a specific target population)
a) To what extent has the amount of knowledge increased?
b) To what extent has the quality of knowledge increased?
c) To what extent has interest in the topic increased?
3) Forming opinions/attitudes
a) To what extent are opinion leaders engaging with our content/events?
b) What % of opinions/attitudes in our target group have we changed? How?
c) To what extent and how have opinions/attitudes in the political arena or the popular media shifted?
d) To what extent and how have shifts in opinion/attitudes led to shifts in action?
4) Initializing policy actions
a) Has policy in fact changed?
b) How are policy makers engaging with our content/events? How many?
c) How are stakeholders, beyond the direct stakeholders of our project, embracing and advocating for the policy recommendations we’ve made?
d) To what extent are members of parliament making public statements about the issues we’re promoting?
5.4 Monitoring and Evaluation Activities
A major element of a Strategic Learning and Evaluation System is determining what to evaluate, when, and at what level, and how to communicate and use the evaluation findings for learning, adaptation, and change. This includes developing one or more program, initiative, and/or organization-level outcome maps, considering what to ask for from grantees and how often, determining which programs to evaluate, and how to communicate key learning’s with multiple stakeholders (intended users of the key findings).
It has become expected and common practice for program staff to develop outcome maps or logic models for their various programs. Quite simply, an outcome map makes explicit, in one place, the activities, resources, outputs, and short, interim, and long-term outcomes of a program or initiative. When designed collaboratively, an outcome map clarifies the assumptions underlying the program in addition to expectations for what the program would look like if it were successful. Outcome maps often describe the relationships between activities and outcomes and anticipated or predicted pathways to success.
The fundamental value of outcome maps is that they provide an opportunity for staff and senior leaders (and sometimes grantees) to negotiate understandings about the true purpose and hoped for outcomes of a strategy overall, as well as one or more programs. Even though outcome maps have their limitations (e.g., they are linear, they assume the program is based on a model that has been tested and the expected outcomes are known or can be predicted, and they don’t capture systems variables), they are an invaluable resource for:
1) Helping organizations make explicit their assumptions and understandings about the issue and the organization’s “solution”.
2) Designing and implementing monitoring and evaluation activities.
GRANTEE REPORTING AND EVALUATION CAPACITY (RELEVANT TO FUNDERS)
Nearly every foundation asks its grantees to provide some kind of performance or accountability information once or twice a year during the grant period in the form of a narrative report, program documents, or survey. However, the information collected is often not aligned to either the program’s or organization’s strategy, and given foundation staff’s multiple responsibilities and workload, grantee reports may not be read or used as much as might be desired.
Developing a Strategic Learning and Evaluation System (SLES) provides an opportunity to connect grantees’ work with the foundation’s and ensures that grantees are asked to collect information on topics that matter to them, and also to the foundation – those related to the organization’s strategy and tactics. This component of the Strategic Learning and Evaluation System (SLES) addresses the extent to which grantees’ work reflects: * The desired outcomes embedded in the program and organization-level outcome maps; * The degree to which grantee-reported information is aligned with the organization’s strategic evaluation questions; * The ways in which grantee information is reported and used; and * The grantees’ capacity to collect the requested information.
Insights from working on this component often highlight the need for making some adjustments to what is being asked for from grantees, how information is being collected, and potential areas in which to support grantee evaluation capacity.
PROGRAM, INITIATIVE, AND ORGANIZATION-FOCUSED EVALUATIONS
Evaluation planning provides a structure and set of processes for determining the scope, timing, and purpose of various evaluation efforts, so that evaluations are strategic, intentional, and learning-oriented. Without an overarching evaluation plan that includes all or most programs and initiatives, evaluation activities become fragmented and increasingly isolated from strategic and programmatic decision making. This fragmentation also makes it difficult to use evaluation findings for strategic learning.
Program or initiative-level evaluations within nonprofits and foundations reflect many different types, approaches, sizes, and purposes. They are often conducted by a third-party evaluator who can bring the necessary time, skills, and expertise to the evaluation work. Since it is unnecessary to evaluate all programs at any given time, a Strategic Learning and Evaluation System (SLES) guides staff in prioritizing what kinds of information they need in the near term and from whom (which programs, activities, organizations). Organization-level evaluations might focus on the organization’s capacity to do its work (e.g., evaluating the effectiveness of its structures, processes, and functions), the field’s perceptions of the organization’s work, or the next phase of the organization’s strategy. These evaluations may be conducted with internal personnel, or they might warrant hiring a third-party evaluator, depending on the need for an outside perspective and the staff’s availability.
Each evaluation should have a set of its own key evaluation questions, and these are explicitly linked to at least one Strategic Evaluation Question that the leadership, board, or other stakeholders want to know more about. Once the questions have been determined, an organization can decide what types of resources it might need to carry out an evaluation (depending on the breadth, depth, and scope of the evaluation).
Research | Seeks answers to questions in order to generate new knowledge and/or understanding | Research | Seeks answers to questions in order to generate new knowledge and/or understanding | Monitoring and Performance Measurement | Tracks adherence to accountability requirements; Assesses a program or initiative by quantitatively measuring key indicators of progress | Process Evaluation (Formative) | Explores how a program or initiative is making progress towards its goals in terms of outputs and short-term outcomes | Impact Evaluation (Summative) | Determines the long-term effects of a program or initiative |
When it comes to evaluation approaches, there are several choices, but choosing the right one depends on the stage at which the program is in its life cycle and the purpose of the evaluation. For example, monitoring and performance measurement is commonly used by foundations to track grantees’ performance as part of a grantee reporting process. Developmental evaluation may be used to understand and inform the development of an innovative and experimental program or initiative (Preskill and Beer, 2012). Strategic reviews can inform an organization about the progress and/or impact of a particular strategy over time, or cluster evaluations can explore and determine the influence, effects, or impacts of a group of programs or grantees. Clarity around the purpose of evaluations will help determine which forms of evaluative inquiry are most appropriate for getting the information needed to inform the Strategic Evaluation Questions. The purpose and scope of the evaluation will, in part, determine the design and data collection methods used in implementing the evaluation.
COMMUNICATING AND USING EVALUATION FINDINGS
Improving the mechanisms for reporting and communicating evaluation information helps ensure that high quality, relevant, and timely evaluations are fully reflected upon, discussed, and ultimately used. Many organizations invest great resources in carefully designing a methodologically rigorous evaluation while giving little thought to the ways in which evaluation findings will be shared with and used by various stakeholders. This leaves many evaluation reports unread and unused, rather than actively informing decisions that are being made about key strategies and tactics. One of the ways to address this is by developing a plan for communicating evaluation findings and insights, both internally and externally.
For example, the Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) determined that it wanted to share learning’s from its evaluation work with both internal and external audiences and, as a result, developed the following communicating and reporting plan to guide these efforts. What’s important to note is the variety of strategies the foundation uses to share its insights and findings with others.
Spectrum of Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) Communications Approaches | Discussion | Memo/Email | Progress Report | Dashboard | Presentation | Social Media | Webinar | Newsletter | Report/White Paper | Video | Convening | CFT Trustees | X | | X | | X | | | | X | | | CFT Leadership | X | | | X | X | | | | X | | | CFT Grantmaking & Program Staff | X | | | X | | | | | X | | X | CFT All Staff | | | | | X | | | | X | | | Grantees | X | | | | | | | X | X | | X | Nonprofits/Partners | | | | | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | Donors | | | | | | | | X | | X | X | Media | | | | | | | X | | X | | X | Other Funders | X | | | | X | | | X | X | | X | Policy Makers | X | | X | | X | X | | X | X | | X |
A sound communications plan requires identifying who can use and learn from the evaluation, what the key messages of the evaluation are, and how the intended audiences will best receive that information. For example, a board member will likely be interested in different kinds of information and expect it in a different format than a program officer or nonprofit staff member. The architects of an evaluation must plan and budget for communication efforts appropriately, and communications staff must also be aware of and support these activities.
Questions to Consider
? Are there theories of change and outcome maps for each of our program areas?
? To what extent are these complete, reflective of reality, and used?
? Taking into account the Strategic Evaluation Questions, which programs/portfolios would benefit most from evaluation within the next year or two?
? What kind of evaluation would be most appropriate for the program, given where it is in its life cycle – performance measurement, developmental, formative, or summative (or retrospective lookback)?
? What is our organization’s perspective on what constitutes relevant, credible, and useful information? To what extent does our organization need/want numbers and/or stories?
? How are evaluation findings communicated and reported internally and externally?
? What communication and reporting strategies are working particularly well?
? What strategies are not achieving the desired impact?
5.5 Supportive Environment
Evaluation functions most effectively when it is well supported by a strong infrastructure, which includes supportive leadership and human, financial, and technological resources.
Spectrum of Communities Foundation of Texas (CFT) Communications Approaches
The most critical is an organization’s people – staff who are assigned responsibility to oversee and/or carry out evaluation activities. Financial and technological resources, such as knowledge management systems, are also critical to developing a fully functioning Strategic Learning and Evaluation System (SLES). While designated evaluation staff may have direct control over certain evaluation and learning activities, it is often the case that the infrastructure needed to support the design, implementation, communication, and use of evaluation findings is the responsibility of other departments such as Information Technology (IT) and communications.
Therefore, the support of organizational leadership and coordination across departments is essential to ensure that resources for evaluation are adequate and made available at the right time.
LEADERSHIP
For a strategic learning and evaluation system to work – for evaluation to be integrated into how the organization does its work and accomplishes its goals – it is critical that organizational leaders believe that evaluation is a meaningful and important activity. As such, they must consistently:
a) Communicate the importance of evaluation for decision making,
b) Encourage organization members to engage in asking questions, reflection, and dialogue
c) Provide the necessary time, personnel, and financial resources to ensure that evaluations can be conducted. Leaders who support evaluation: * Actively engage in, and encourage others to think evaluatively; * Provide resources (financial, time, personnel) for conducting relevant, credible, timely, and useful evaluations; * Use findings to learn, make decisions, and take action; * Clearly articulate staff’s roles and responsibilities regarding how, when, and by whom evaluations are to be conducted; and * Provide reward and recognition systems that value staff’s engagement in learning and evaluation activities.
Questions to Consider
? How does our organization’s leadership think about and value evaluation?
? What can be done to help our leaders understand their role as champions of learning and evaluation?
? Who might be internal champions or leaders of evaluation within our organization?
FINANCIAL RESOURCES
While it always takes a committed set of leaders to elevate evaluation and its use within an organization, adequate financial and human resources differ by organization size, annual expenditures, as well as the evaluation’s purpose and role. On average, foundations tend to spend much less on evaluation than the often recommended 5–10% of grant making; in fact, most spend less than 1% (Patrizi Associates, 2010).
A true commitment to evaluation is backed by a consistent allocation of financial resources earmarked for evaluative purposes on an annual basis. These resources must include the full array of evaluation activities – including investing in various kinds of evaluations (e.g., developmental, formative, summative, strategic reviews) as well as learning processes, such as retreats and staff, and communications costs. Providing adequate resources to learning and evaluation efforts is also a signal of the leadership’s support of using evaluative inquiry to facilitate organizational learning.
Questions to Consider
? How are current evaluations budgeted? What percent of each program’s budget is set aside for learning and evaluation activities?
? How does our organization determine how much is allocated to any one evaluation?
? How adequate are the current evaluation funds? What else is needed to ensure an ongoing ability to conduct learning, monitoring, and evaluation activities?
HUMAN RESOURCES
Successful implementation of a strategic learning and evaluation system also requires deliberate investment of time and staff resources to manage, design, and conduct the needed evaluations, as well as to plan for and facilitate learning from the findings. Some organizations rely almost entirely on external evaluators, whereas others depend primarily on internal staff to oversee and conduct monitoring and evaluation activities. The development of a Strategic Learning and Evaluation System SLES helps the organization determine what kinds of staff resources are needed to support its learning, monitoring, and evaluation work.
Questions to Consider
? To what extent does our organization have sufficient human resources to support ongoing evaluation and learning processes? What else might be needed?
? What are our internal staff’s roles and responsibilities for learning and evaluation?
? What role might external evaluators play?
? Are there internal staff who would like to be more involved in the organization’s learning and evaluation work? If yes, what can be done to support their increased participation?
? What kinds of evaluation capacity building activities would be beneficial to staff?
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Often overlooked in many organizations is the need for technological processes and resources that are necessary to support not only data collection and analysis but also the ability to capture, organize, and access monitoring and evaluation information for continuous learning and improvement. In many organizations, information is stored in multiple locations – email servers, websites (public and/or internal), personal hard drives, and in print. Access is either limited or challenging, creating challenges to using evaluation findings in meaningful ways.
An effective knowledge management and database system enables multiple inputs from multiple programs so that data can be captured, stored, summarized, and used by organization members when they need information. Knowledge management systems can range from simple shared drives where reports are posted online to cloud-based platforms with complex functionality. To create a useful and useable system for knowledge management, an organization should consider the primary audience for the system and its needs, the existing culture around data sharing, and the alignment with work processes, as well as the time available to input and use the information in the system.
Questions to Consider
? What kinds of technology/software currently support the collection and analysis of grantee and other forms of evaluation data? How effective/useful are these technologies?
? Does our organization have a knowledge management system? Is it used?
? What would need to happen to enhance the current knowledge management system so that it can support the learning and evaluation system?
? What kinds of learning and evaluation resources would be meaningful to organization members? How can these be made available to those who need and want them?
5.6 Learning Culture and Practices
An organization may design an elegant and comprehensive evaluation system as described in this brief, but if it lacks a learning culture, the system will have little to no effect in making evaluation strategic and useful. Evaluation, at its core, is a means for learning, adapting, and changing. Organizations need to support a culture of risk taking, trust, tolerance for failure, and curiosity if they are truly going to benefit from evaluation efforts. In other words, organizations need to embrace and support a learning culture: “An environment that supports and encourages the collective discovery, sharing, and application of knowledge” (Gill, 2010).
Good evaluations affirm and challenge what we think we know, provide evidence on the influence, effects, and impact of our work, and give us the confidence to make decisions and to take action. Supporting this view, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations has written, Evaluation is a core learning practice. It provides the content of learning as grantmakers and their grantees explore the results of their work and how to improve their performance…Evaluation, of course, is not the only way in which organizations learn. But grantmakers must think evaluatively about their work and have access to the information, feedback, and data that only evaluation can deliver. (GEO, 2009, p. 6).
An important way to enhance the relevance and use of evaluation activities is to embed learning processes into the ways in which the organization gathers, analyzes, understands, discusses, and uses evaluation findings (Preskill and Torres, 1999). This creates a dynamic environment where learning takes place among multiple people, in various roles, and with different levels of responsibility for applying evaluation knowledge in their work. In many organizations, organizational culture is established at the top. While leadership plays a major role in setting the tone for learning, all staff are considered responsible for supporting evaluation and learning in their own ways.
Learning requires consistent engagement in 5 key learning processes.
1) Engaging in Reflection – creating space, slowing down, paying attention, creating new patterns of thinking, creating alternative interpretations, creating new theories of action.
2) Engaging to Dialogue – participants working together toward common understanding, finding common ground, re-examining all positions, admitting that others’ thinking can improve on one’s own, searching for strengths and value in others’ positions, listening to understand.
3) Asking Questions – seeking clarification, probing assumptions, reasons, and evidence, illuminating viewpoints and perspectives, probing implications and consequences, questioning the questions (Socratic questions).
4) Identifying and Challenging Values, Assumptions, and Beliefs – asking questions (testing assumptions), surfacing mental models, seeking evidence, understanding inferences.
5) Seeking Feedback – asking for and providing feedback on experiences, assumptions, perceptions, and actions.
These learning processes are the key ingredients to creating a healthy and productive learning culture. Opportunities for embedding learning from monitoring and evaluation activities might include: * Hosting learning convening’s on various evaluation topics and findings with grantees and/or partners. * Holding brown bag lunches to present and discuss learning’s from an evaluation or to share learning’s from engagement in daily work. * Adding time to program staff meetings to reflect on, discuss, and learn about various evaluation topics. * Conducting after action reviews (AAR), which are structured reviews or debriefings for analyzing what happened, why it happened, and how it can be done better. An AAR is distinct from a debriefing because it begins with a clear comparison of intended vs. actual results achieved. * Engaging program staff in a 1–2 day quarterly or semi-annual retreat to discuss the implementation and learning’s from individual evaluations or evaluation-related issues and challenges across evaluations. * Using Appreciative Inquiry to illuminate effective, successful, and motivating evaluation experiences. * Hosting roundtable research discussions. * Building and using a knowledge management system to serve as a resource for evaluation practices and key learning’s. * Administering the Readiness for Learning and Evaluation (ROLE) survey (available at www.fsg.org) and facilitating conversations around the findings.
For example, the Blue Shield of California Foundation (BSCF) is committed to being a learning organization and to using evaluation as a means for facilitating team and organizational learning. To this end, they are making significant efforts to integrate discussions based on the following questions into staff meetings and their efforts to build a culture of learning’s: * In what ways is the Foundation evolving into a learning organization? * To what extent has the Foundation grown in taking risks and learning from mistakes? * How consistent are the messages about learning with actions taken by the organization’s leadership? * What have been the most effective tools for increasing learning across Foundation staff? * How have staff integrated time for reflection and dialogue into their daily work practices? * What assets do we have to build on, and what do we need to change so that BSCF can become more of a learning organization?
In the end, an authentic commitment to learning means recognizing the value of learning at the individual, group, and organizational levels. It means having learning leaders who champion and model learning; it means developing, nurturing, and sustaining a culture that supports the five learning processes, in addition to taking risks, and trusting one another; it means rewarding and recognizing staff for engaging in learning and evaluation processes; and it means making learning a priority through the expectation and provision of time and space to allow it to happen.
Questions to Consider
? To what extent does our organization have a culture of learning and evaluation, leaders who champion learning and evaluation, and the systems and structures in place to support learning and evaluation?
? To what extent and how are evaluation findings currently shared within our organization? Outside the organization?
? What kinds of learning activities currently exist within our organization?
? How effective are these?
? What else is needed to encourage and sustain learning?
? What systems and structures do we have that currently support staff learning?
Conclusion - So, What Now?
When all of the components of a Strategic Learning and Evaluation System (SLES) are in place – intentionally connected, interdependent, and dynamic – an organization is able to more effectively use evaluation findings to develop and refine its strategy and, ultimately, achieve its long-term impact. For readers who wish to develop a strategic learning and evaluation system, we recommend starting with an assessment of what is currently in place and possible gaps for each of the SLES components, as well as the alignment of current practices (e.g., to what extent and how are evaluation practices aligned with strategic decision making needs?).
Once it is clear what is needed to build out the Strategic Learning and Evaluation System (SLES), work can begin to develop or refine each component and to develop a road map or action plan for implementing the newly refreshed, aligned, and strategic system of evaluation activities. A strategic learning and evaluation system not only provides guidance for making important evaluation decisions, but it also gives the organization confidence that evaluation resources are being used efficiently and effectively. In the end, a Strategic Learning and Evaluation System (SLES) provides the organization with an evaluation strategy that ultimately increases the value of evaluation for the organization.
6. EMPLOYEE RECRUITMENT & SELECTION
Recruitment and selection is an important, time-consuming and expensive process. Effective and non-discriminatory selection of staff used of human resources, and reduces the chance of costly errors. It is essential to good administrative and educational practice.
Selections of positions within any company are based on the principles of appointment on merit and the provision of equal employment opportunity. The appointment of staff must be made on the basis of the individual capacity of the person having particular regard to the knowledge, skills, qualifications, experience and potential for future development of that person in their employment.
Selection on the basis of merit means that the grounds for the decision must directly relate to the inherent requirements of the position and prevents those decisions being made on unjustified discriminatory grounds such as:
* Race, Colour, National or Ethnic Origin, Nationality * Sex or Gender, Sexual Preference, * Marital Status, Pregnancy, Status as a Parent or a Carrier * Religious or political belief or activity, industrial activity * Age, physical features, disability, medical record * Personal association with a person who is identified by reference to any of the listed attributes
Various anti-discrimination legislation at both State and Federal level also dictate that certain behaviours, gestures, comments and practices, etc are unlawful in the employment environment, including the selection process. Failure to adhere to legislative requirements could lead to individuals seeking remedies through various tribunals. This, study outline has been produced in order to assist those staff involved in the recruitment and selection of staff.
6.1 Developing the Position Description and Selection Criteria
Prior to deciding whether to fill a position following a resignation, retirement or other departure or if a new position is to be created, it is important to assess the need for a position and its requirements. Identify the tasks which are required and the objectives which are to be achieved. This should be done in consultation with School/Section strategic and management plans.
While initially the filling of a vacant position may appear to be imperative, a review of current staffing arrangements could result in a restructure of other current positions providing career development opportunities for existing staff and a more effective use of resources. A review of the ‘old’ position description will also ensure that any changes in requirements are identified and incorporated into a new position description.
The Position Description
The position description is a written statement of the primary tasks, functions, responsibilities, interactions and qualifications and experience attaching to a specific position. In general terms, a position description should: * Provide a clear and concise description of the whole position so that its purpose is clearly understood * Describe each major task clearly in a separate sentence * Determine how much direction and supervision is required to conduct the functions of the position and the interaction with other positions in the University to achieve a given result, and * Provide a context for understanding the objectives of the position by defining and clarifying its responsibilities, supervision, relationships and qualifications and skills required to perform the duties of the position
Selection Criteria
Once the tasks of a position have been identified, the next important step is to consider what knowledge, skills, experience, and qualifications the ideal candidate should possess to successfully fulfill the functions of the position. It is usual to distinguish between what is essential and what is desirable. Essential criteria are the knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications a candidate must possess. Desirable criteria are the knowledge, skills, experience and qualifications which would be a ‘bonus’.
Desirable criteria are particularly helpful in helping to distinguish between candidates who meet all of the essential criteria. It is critical to the success of the selection process that appropriate selection criteria are established at the beginning of the process: it defines the type of candidate we are looking for. It is against the criteria that all subsequent information and evidence must be sought, questioned and evaluated.
Developing Selection Criteria
Well developed criteria assist in attracting the right candidates and provide the means to properly distinguish between candidates. In this respect they should: * Relate directly to the tasks and functions required of the position * Be capable of measurement at a level appropriate to the position * Be fair and objective In developing selection criteria it is helpful to: * Refer to each of the primary tasks of the position and consider which skills, etc. are required to perform each task * Determine what level of skills etc. is necessary to perform each task * Determine how you would measure whether a candidate has the necessary skills, etc. * Test whether the selection criteria are capable of measurement
Academic position descriptions must include an essential selection criterion that states “demonstrated ability to meet and continue to meet the Performance Expectations for the relevant Academic Level and/or Field of Research. An equivalent statement must be made in the list of duties/accountabilities that the appointee is expected to meet or exceed the relevant performance expectations on a continuing basis. Experience has shown that the common mistakes in developing selection criteria occur where: * The criteria do not relate to all of the primary tasks required of the position * The measurement is too low in which case most candidates will satisfy them * The measurement is too high in which case it may create incorrect expectations of what the position entails and attract candidates who are ‘over qualified’ for the position and deter appropriately qualified candidates from applying * The wrong measurement is used. For example, a selection criteria may ask for ‘a minimum of 5 years’ supervisory experience’ when a more useful measurement would be ‘a demonstrated ability to supervise staff’
Discriminatory Selection Criteria
Discriminatory language or statements concerning gender, race, cultural background must not be used. The golden rule is that criteria should be fair, objective, measurable and directly relevant to the inherent requirements of the position.
Example: it would be inappropriate for the University to require a staff member to hold a driver’s license if there were no essential functions requiring driving.
Example: it would be appropriate for the University to require that the successful candidate for a Switchboard Operator demonstrate an ability to communicate effectively in the English language.
Classifying the Position
In drafting position descriptions care must be given to specifying the level of knowledge, experience or training having regard to the responsibilities of the position. The classification of the position will be determined having regard to the Minimum Standards for Academic Levels and the Professional Staff Position Classification Criteria.
Minimum Standards for Academic Levels
A Job and Performance Expectations within provide a reference point (ARP) for both applicants and decision-makers in recruitment, appointment, and probation. In creating
Position Descriptions, selection criteria must reflect the Performance Expectations of the company for the Academic Level, workload allocation and Field of Research (if there is one listed).
Professional Staff Position Classification Criteria
All professional staff positions are classified in accordance with the Higher Education Officer (HEO) Levels 1-10 classification structure which was established and implemented on a national basis in 1993. Most classifications structure is supported by the nationally-developed DWM classification descriptions for each of the Higher Education Officer (HEO) levels, which set out matters such as typical duties and prerequisite educational requirements which can be expected or required by the University for appointments at the various Higher Education Officer (HEO) levels.
Professional staff positions are graded by Human Resources with reference to the DWM classification descriptions and to the enhanced Classification Descriptors for each of occupational streams. These enhanced descriptors represent an expansion of the DWM classification descriptions in terms of the typical duties and activities which staff can be expected to perform.
6.2 Attracting Applications And Selecting Applicants For Interview
Drafting Advertisements - The purpose of advertising is to bring the vacancy to the attention of the greatest number of suitable applicants in a way that encourages them to apply. In drafting the advertisement consideration should be given to: * What publications will be read by the target group * Whether the position should be advertised locally, nationally, or internationally * How the advertisement can be written to attract the attention of suitable applicants * Whether you need to take special measures to attract applications from disadvantaged or under-represented groups, e.g. Aboriginals, Torres Strait Islanders, Women, or People with disabilities
Draft advertisements should contain the following details:
1) School or Section
2) Position title
3) Period/nature of Appointment
4) Summary of primary tasks – the summary should be clear and concise and reflect the position description
5) Skills, experience and qualifications required of applicants – this should reflect the selection criteria
6) Classification and Salary
7) Name and telephone number of the contact officer. NOTE: the contact officer should have an understanding of the requirements of the position and should normally be the immediate supervisor of the position.
8) Closing date for the receipt of applications
Dealing with Enquiries
The contact officer should have an understanding of the requirements of the position and would normally be the immediate supervisor of the position. It is important that all staff who have contact with potential applicants interact with them in a discreet, professional and non-discriminatory manner. The following guidelines are provided: * Respond in an informed, courteous and helpful manner, which will give a good impression of the company. * Encourage enquirers to study the position description and selection criteria * Be careful to avoid discriminatory comments or questions. Do not ask personal questions like “are you married?” or “do you have children?”
Shortlisting
The purpose of shortlisting is to select from the applications received a smaller group who appear to meet the selection criteria at the highest levels. The first step in shortlisting is to assess if applicants appear to meet the essential criteria. Applications should then be considered against the desirable criteria. It is not necessary that every applicant who appears to meet all the essential criteria be interviewed. Ideally the number of candidates invited for interview should be 3 or 4.
At least two members of the selection committee must be involved in the shortlisting process, however any member of the committee has the right to review the applications received and make a reasoned request to the Chair for the inclusion of any other applicant(s).
Shortlisting Internal Candidates
Encourage staff to apply for positions for developmental and career purposes, internal candidates should only be invited for interview on merit and should not be invited to interview as a token or goodwill gesture.
6.3 The Interviewing Process
The interview provides the opportunity to meet with a candidate and to exchange information. The selection committee will obtain information and evidence which will assist in making a judgment about the candidates’ suitability for the position. At the same time, candidates will be obtaining further information about the position and the company, which in turn will allow them to make an informed decision as to whether they in fact ‘want the job’.
The interview is part of a total selection process which aims to uncover as much relevant information and evidence as possible upon which to make a decision. It can be a costly error to mistake a candidate’s ‘performance’ at interview for evidence of a candidate’s capacity to do the job.
Physical Structure of the Interview
In preparing for the interview, the following factors are important to consider: * Whether the interview room will be clean, tidy and have adequate lighting & access to the room * Seating arrangements to allow for easy access and to make candidates feel at ease * Glasses of water for candidates and selection committee members * Actions to ensure that there are no interruptions * How much time will be adequate for each interview * Whether each selection committee member understands the position and the selection criteria * Arrangements to ensure that each selection committee member has a copy of the agenda, the position description and a copy of the written applications of shortlisted candidates
The Role of the Chair
While all committee members should be actively involved in the interview process, the Chair has ultimate responsibility for controlling the overall proceedings. This includes the following responsibilities:
1) Outlining to candidates how the interview will be conducted
2) Ensuring that the interview maintains its basic structure and that selection criteria are systematically examined
3) Ensuring that all aspects of the selection process are conducted fairly and without bias
4) Confirming all written evidence of qualifications, experience, etc.
5) Raising any issues which require clarification or queries relating to referee reports during interview (if reports have been obtained in advance)
6) Concluding the interview by allowing the candidate to seek or present any further relevant information which may or may not have been covered in the interview
7) Advising the candidates when they are likely to be notified of the final decision and of any likely delays
8) Co-ordinating discussion of all available information to ensure the best selection decision is made on the basis of the relative merit of each applicant according to the selection criteria
9) Preparing the minutes & Signing the minutes
Putting the Candidate at Ease
People respond in different ways to interviews. Some are expert at presenting themselves confidently at an interview, while others may be shy at ‘selling themselves’. The majority of candidates do not present themselves as they will in their normal work situation. It is important to remember that the aim of the interview is to uncover as much information and evidence as possible about a candidate’s ability to do a job, not to evaluate how well they ‘perform’ at an interview. Most candidates will reveal more information about themselves if they are at ease. To put a candidate at ease, the following may help:
a) Ensure that selection committee members are well briefed and are at ease
b) Candidates should be welcomed and introduced to members of the selection committee and advised of each member’s relationship to the position and their role on the committee
c) Begin by asking straightforward questions such as recent work history or educational achievements
d) Portray a sense of interest in the candidate, e.g. look at the candidate and do not look out of windows or fix your gaze on pictures on walls etc.
e) Provide the candidate with some verbal or visual feedback in response to their answers, e.g. smile or nod at the candidate. Follow up on answers in a way which portrays that you are interested in what the candidate is saying and that you have read their written application
Preparing Key Questions
The fundamental purpose of questions is to obtain information and evidence which will assist in making a reasoned judgement of a candidate’s suitability for a position against the selection criteria. A series of questions related to the requirements of the position, based on the previously defined selection criteria, should be agreed to before interviews commence. These core questions should be asked of all candidates, however this does not preclude follow up questions. ‘Gut’ feelings can be a good thing, but make sure you use questions to test the validity of your feelings.
1) In asking questions, the aim is to get the candidate to do the answering. Avoid talking too much and be careful that you are not in fact answering your own questions. In preparing key questions, it is helpful to: determine whether the question fits a selection criterion
2) Determine what range of responses you are looking for
3) Test the questions by answering them yourself
4) Keep the questions short and clear to encourage the candidate to do most of the talking & avoid asking multiple questions at a time
Types of questions
There are a range of types of questions which should be considered:
a) Opening questions - this type of question asks “why”, “how” “explain”. They encourage the candidate to do the talking. It is recommended that 80% of questions be ‘open’ questions.
b) Closed questions – this type of question will often result in a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer, e.g. Do you like teaching? If you had in fact wanted to find out more about a candidate’s attitude to teaching you could have asked “What do you like/dislike about teaching?” A closed question can be useful if you find that answers to other questions have been ambiguous or when you want a direct answer.
c) Probing or follow-up questions– these are usually a series of questions which are used to gain a fuller set of information, e.g. first question “Could you tell me what supervisory experience you have had?” First follow up question “How many staff did you supervise?” Second follow up question “As a supervisor, did you engage in performance management?’ etc. It depends, of course, on what type of information you are after and the responses of the candidate to the questions.
d) Hypothetical questions – this type of question is usually of limited use. They can be used to get attitudes on subjects e.g. “How would you handle a staff member who is not performing adequately?” Beware that you may get a ‘model’ answer which does not reflect how the candidate would in fact behave.
e) Critical incident – this type of question will ask the candidate to provide an example of a past incident, in order to assess responses to future events, e.g. “Can you give me an example of how you have handled a staff member who was not performing adequately?” A follow-up question could be to ask “Would you handle a similar situation in the same way?” The answer to the first question should be capable of being checked with a referee. The answer to the second question will give you an insight as to whether the candidate has a fuller understanding of the issues and has gained experience and knowledge.
Inappropriate Questions
Of vital importance to the process is ensuring selection committee members do not ask questions which may be considered discriminatory. For example: * “Are you married?” * “Do you have a family?” * “Who collects the children after school?”
This type of questioning is inappropriate and may result in a claim of discrimination.
It is also important not to make assumptions. Not only can they lead to discriminatory questions, they can be wrong and miss the point. For example, it is wrong to assume that a woman or man with children will not be prepared to work outside of normal working hours. Similarly, a person without children may have commitments outside of normal working hours.
If the selection committee wishes to assess the suitability of a candidate for appointment to a particular position which may involve work outside of normal hours, the committee could ask “Is there anything which would preclude you from working the hours of duty outlined?” This style of question would normally be asked towards the end of the interview. The committee will have already established the credentials of the candidate, the candidate will have been made aware of the working conditions and is then in a position to assess the impact on their own life. The question should be asked of all candidates.
Dealing with Prior Knowledge and Hearsay
Sometimes a member of a selection committee knows one or more of the candidates for a position. He/she may have information or knowledge which is additional to, or different from, the information contained in the application and/or referee reports. This information may affect his/her judgment of the candidate.
In general, only such information should be disclosed to the selection committee as relates to the selection criteria, and is capable of being verified. Information that is not relevant to the candidate’s ability to do the job should not be disclosed. It is important that the committee member does not use such irrelevant and prejudicial information in making his/her decision.
If there are any relevant concerns about the ability of the candidate to perform a job, the candidate should be given the opportunity to address the concerns at the interview and referees should be checked. If a member of a selection committee wishes to have additional information included in the selection process, they should raise the matters with the Chair of the committee, and seek ways of verifying it before the committee meets. A member of a selection committee must withdraw from membership of the committee if they believe that they have information about a candidate which will, or may, preclude them from making an objective judgment.
Conflict of Interest
Where there may be a possible conflict of interest, selection committee members need to alert the Chair as early as possible in the process. Family and other close personal relationships as well as business relationships must be declared. The Chair and the committee member must be satisfied that there is in fact no conflict of interest which will preclude a member from participating in the decision making process. Your Human Resource HR Advisor can give guidance where there is uncertainty as to what may constitute a conflict of interest.
6.4 Referees
Referee Reports - Referee reports are an important part in the selection process in obtaining or checking information. A referee report can provide valuable information and evidence as to a candidate’s performance in a previous employment situation which may assist in predicting a candidate’s likely future performance. Referees who have recent knowledge of an applicant, who have been or are a supervisor and who are not a ‘personal friend’ of a candidate are usually the most valuable sources of information. It is important to note, however, that referee reports should not be relied upon solely as the reason for a particular decision.
Referee reports may have a number of limitations, including:
a) Candidates usually name referees who they believe will provide positive comments
b) Referees will not always have a detailed understanding of the company’s work environment
c) Referees may have an interest in either keeping a valued employee or in losing an under-performing employee
d) The ability of referees to provide an objective reference may vary
e) Referees may only report on positive aspects of an employee’s performance and not report on any weaknesses
Written Referee Reports
Written reports are usually obtained after shortlisting, and before interviews, to assist the selection committee in making a decision. A report which is obtained before interviews provides the opportunity to investigate particular matters which may be identified in the referee report with a candidate during the interview. In order that the same range and type of information is obtained for each candidate the position description and selection criteria must be provided to referees requesting comment on the candidate’s suitability for the position. Written referee reports are requested by Human Resources. After having interviewed a candidate, the selection committee may find it useful to seek an additional verbal report from the referee.
Verbal Referee Reports
Verbal reports are usually sought following interview. This provides a means of checking matters raised during the interview and/or to directly ask the referee questions which may have not been addressed in the written report. It is good practice to check if the referee would like a copy of the position description and selection criteria before providing the reference.
Before contacting a referee for a verbal report, it is useful to write down the questions which you would like to ask. Ask questions which relate to the selection criteria and which will give you factual information and evidence. Focus on strengths as well as weaknesses. A very useful question can be to ask the referee whether he/she would re-hire the candidate. A negative response may require some further probing.
Where a Selection committee Member is Also a Referee
It is possible that a candidate may nominate a selection committee member as a referee. In most cases, such a member has a detailed knowledge of a candidate’s skills and ability and the information will be very useful to the committee as a whole. It is important, however, that the committee member does not act as an advocate for the candidate. It may also be useful to obtain an additional referee report
6.5 Making The Decision
A Matter of Judgment - A decision on which candidate to appoint will be made on merit. This is always a matter of judgment made by members of the selection committee who will need to carefully consider all the information and evidence obtained with regard to shortlisted candidates. The sources for such information and evidence will include the written application, information obtained from the candidate at interview, written and /or verbal referee reports, formal qualifications, and results of tests if these have been conducted.
Process
It is helpful to first identify any interviewee whom the selection committee regard as ‘not appointable’. This will narrow the field down to the ‘appointable’ candidates. Consider each of these remaining candidates’ strengths and weaknesses against the selection criteria. Some committees prefer to do this by giving each candidate a mark against each of the criteria and by weighting the criteria. This can be useful, but remember that it is only a tool in helping the decision making process.
Weight Given to Potential
All candidates who are offered a position at the University must meet the essential criteria at a base level. Future potential may validly be used by a selection committee as an aspect in making their judgment about the most meritorious candidate. The committee will need to take into account the length of the appointment and how quickly they believe a candidate with higher potential will exceed another candidate who has “more runs on the board”. They will also need to be clear on what evidence they base such a judgment.
Making the Offer
If a decision is made to make an offer the selection committee should reach agreement on the following:
a) Commencing salary, which should be within the advertised range and commensurate with the applicant’s relevant qualifications, skills and experience
b) Starting date
c) Probationary period
d) Any conditions which must be met during a probationary period
It is usual for the selection committee to consider the eventuality that a preferred candidate does not accept the offer. The committee will either identify the second candidate who is to be offered the position together with the conditions of offer, or will agree to reconvene in the case of the preferred candidate not accepting the offer. A candidate should not be offered the position until after Human Resources has endorsed the selection committee minutes and the preferred candidate has completed a Pre-Employment Health Report form. Human Resources will prepare the written offer to be sent to the preferred candidate.
Post-Interview Counseling
Internal candidates may request post-interview counseling from the Chair of the selection committee. Such discussions should concentrate firstly on the specific reasons for non-selection in relation to the selection criteria and secondly on an indication of strengths and weaknesses and how the latter might be improved.
7. EMPLOYEE TRAINING & DEVELOPMENT
Kansanshi Mine PLC training and development centre offers training ranging from competence based, safety, first aid and induction for new and leave return employees.
7.1 What is Training & Development?
Training refers to a planned effort by a company to facilitate employees’ learning of job-related competencies. These competencies include knowledge, skills, or behaviours that are critical for successful job performance in the immediate term or near future. This is in contrast with development, which is training that provides employees with competencies for anticipated future jobs and roles. The goal of training is for employees to master the knowledge, skill, and behaviours emphasized in training programs and to apply them to their day-to-day activities. Recently it has been acknowledged that to impart a competitive advantage, training has to involve more than just basic skill development and training to gain a competitive advantage.
Companies should view training broadly as a way to create intellectual capital. Intellectual capital includes basic skills (skills needed to perform one’s job), advanced skills (such as how to use technology to share information with other employees), an understanding of the customer or manufacturing system, and self-motivated creativity. Keep in mind that traditionally most of the emphasis on training has been at the basic and advanced skill levels. But some estimate that soon up to 85 percent of jobs in Canada, the United States, and Europe will require extensive use of knowledge. This requires employees to share knowledge and creatively use it to modify a product or serve the customer, as well as to understand the service or product development system.
Many companies have adopted this broader perspective, which is known as high-leverage training. High-leverage training is linked to strategic business goals and objectives, uses an instructional design process to ensure that training is effective, and compares or benchmarks the company’s training programs against training programs in other companies. High-leverage training practices also help to create working conditions that encourage continuous learning. Continuous learning requires employees to understand the entire work system, including the relationships among their jobs, their work units, and the company. Employees are expected to acquire new skills and knowledge, apply them on the job, and share this information with other employees. Managers take an active role in identifying training needs and help to ensure that employees use training in their work. To facilitate the sharing of knowledge, managers may use informational maps that show where knowledge lies within the company (for example, directories and/or skills inventories that list what individuals do as well as the specialized knowledge they possess) and use technology such as groupware or the internet that allows employees in various business units to work simultaneously on problems and share information.
The emphasis on high-leverage training has been accompanied by a movement to link training to performance improvement. Companies have lost money on training because it is poorly designed, because it is not linked to a performance problem or business strategy, or because its outcomes are not properly evaluated. That is, companies have been investing money into training simply because of the belief that it is a good thing to do. The perspective that the training function exists to deliver programs to employees without a compelling business reason for doing so is being abandoned. Today, training is being evaluated not on the basis of the number of programs offered and training activity in the company, but on how training addresses business needs related to learning, behaviour change, and performance improvement. In fact, training is becoming more performance-focused. That is, training is used to improve employee performance, which leads to improved business results. Training is seen as one of several possible solutions to improve performance. Other solutions can include such actions as changing the job or increasing employee motivation through pay and incentives. Today there is a greater emphasis on:
1) Providing educational opportunities for all employees. These educational opportunities may include training programs, but they also include support for taking courses offered outside the company, self-study, and learning through job rotation, secondments, and special assignments.
2) An ongoing process of performance improvement that is directly measurable rather than organizing one-time training events.
3) The need to demonstrate to executives, managers, and trainees the benefits of training.
4) Learning as a lifelong event in which senior management, trainer managers, and employees have ownership.
5) Training being used to help attain strategic business objectives, which help companies gain a competitive advantage.
Medtronic is a good example of a company that uses high-leverage training. Medtronic is the world leader in medical technology, providing lifelong solutions for people with chronic heart and neurological diseases. Medtronic has 30 000 employees in more than 120 countries. The company has set a goal of 15 percent annual growth, a goal of doubling the size of the company in five years. To reach this goal, Medtronic believes that people development is important. Medtronic engages employees in learning and development, which links them to the company mission to restore many people to full and productive lives and to make sure that products are available to patients who need them.
Training and development occurs only after business strategies for achieving growth are identified by the company. For example, strong leadership is needed for a growing company. Strategies that the company uses to develop leadership skills include cross-functional, global job rotations as well as mentoring. To keep up with Medtronic’s growth, training and development initiatives must be flexible. The training and development staff are continually scanning the company and the broader medical device industry to understand the issues and prepare training solutions to meet them.
Medtronic is a global company, and certain skills are needed by all managers wherever they are in the world. But the various offices have the ability to adapt programs to their locations. In the Medtronic Asia/Pacific location, for example, a developing managers’ program placed more emphasis on cultural awareness because the managers were from many different locations and backgrounds. Training also supports new product launches to ensure that customers get a consistent message about the product. For example, Medtronic introduced a new heart therapy with a training event broadcast via satellite to salespeople located throughout the United States.
Measuring the return on investment in research and development, marketing, sales, and human resources is key for demonstrating the value to the business. Each of Medtronic’s businesses uses a scorecard to measure success and return on investment. Medtronic is currently developing metrics to measure how training contributes to the company’s success.
This discussion is not meant to minimize the importance of “traditional training” (a focus on acquisition of knowledge, skills, and abilities), but it should alert you that for many companies training is evolving from a focus on skills to an emphasis on learning and creating and sharing knowledge.
Successful Business Testimonies
Employee attraction and retention, customer service, quality and productivity, enhanced profitability—these are some of the issues affecting companies in all industries and of all sizes, and influencing their training practices. Four companies—Boston Pizza International, Bowater’s Coated and Specialty Paper Division, Dofasco, and Home Depot—are examples of how these concerns have affected business and how training has helped these businesses succeed.
Boston Pizza International, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, is one of the top casual restaurant chains in Canada, with 172 restaurants in Canada and the western United States. Recently, the training and development director noticed a skills gap among the store managers: most of the managers understand the Boston Pizza concept, but they lack the soft skills needed to be successful managers. At Boston Pizza College, managers learn and practise skills needed for successful store management, including professional conduct, performance management, and coaching.
Bowater’s Coated and Specialty Papers Division in Catawba, South Carolina, trained all employees on continuous improvement techniques. Work teams attended the training together and were given a real-world problem in their area to solve. Skills were taught as they were needed to help employees work on the problem. Each team used the techniques acquired in training to solve their assigned problems, then measured the results of their solutions in dollars. The training teams saved $10 million! In addition, since 1996—the first year in which training was completed—one production area has increased productivity by 2.5 percent, another by 6 percent, and the amount of poor-quality product has decreased by 55 percent.
Dofasco, a steel company in Hamilton, Ontario, has a slogan: “Our Product is Steel. our Strength is People.” It spends about $15 million annually on training and development, with almost every employee participating in some kind of training. The present job holders are able to retire, ensuring that there are no unplanned gaps in having capable employees with the right skills. The company has been identified as one of the Financial Post ’s 10 Best Companies to work for in Canada.
Home Depot is the world’s largest home-improvement retailer, with over 1500 stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico, and Puerto Rico. Every year about 30 000 Home Depot associates participate in training and development activities designed to help their careers and improve the company’s productivity and customer satisfaction. Every associate has a position curriculum to complete. The training activities include studying printed materials distributed to stores, receiving on-site instruction, and completing e-learning programs.
The company is looking toward training to better drive sales performance in the stores and to build leaders from within the company. Most of the leadership development is done face-to-face, whereas e-learning, instructors, and printed materials are available learning solutions for in-store training. E-learning is used because it reduces training costs and allows employees to access training anytime. Each store has at least two e-learning computers. Home Depot’s vice-president of learning has reorganized the learning function to focus on five major areas: needs assessment;
1) Cost Budgeting
2) Funding;
3) Content Creation;
4) Content Delivery;
5) Evaluation
Boston Pizza International, Bowater’s Coated and Specialty Paper Division, Dofasco, and Home Depot illustrate how training can contribute to companies’ competitiveness and profitability.
Competitiveness refers to a company’s ability to maintain and gain market share in an industry. Although they are different types of businesses, these four companies have training practices that have helped them gain a competitive advantage (an upper hand over other firms in an industry.) in their markets. That is, the training practices have helped them grow the business and improve customer service by providing employees with the knowledge and skills they need to be successful.
Companies are experiencing great change due to new technologies, rapid development of knowledge, globalization of business, and development of e-commerce. Also, companies have to take steps to attract, retain, and motivate their workforces. Training is not a luxury; it is a necessity if companies are to participate in the global and electronic marketplaces by offering high quality products and services! Training prepares employees to use new technologies, function in new work systems such as virtual teams, and communicate and cooperate with peers, customers, and stakeholders who may be from different cultural backgrounds.
Human Resource Management refers to the policies, practices, and systems that influence employees’ behaviour, attitudes, motivation, and performance. Human resource practices play a key role in attracting, motivating, rewarding, and retaining employees. Other human resource management practices include recruiting employees, selecting employees, analyzing and designing work, compensating employees, and developing good labour and employee relations.
“Strategic Training,” details the importance placed on training and how organizations can use it to enhance their competitive advantage. To be effective, training must play a strategic role in supporting the business. With any type of training, it is critical that the activities are linked with all human resource management practices within an organization. In addition to enhancing an employee’s contributions (through goal setting and performance management), training should also align with recruitment (through orientation programs), retention (effective and meaningful opportunities for skill development), succession planning (forecasting the correct competencies required by employees to ensure the ongoing viability of the company), and workplace health and safety issues (legal compliance).
Human resource management is one of several important functions in most companies.
Other functions include accounting and finance, production and operations, research and development, and marketing. Keep in mind that although human resource management practices (such as training) can help companies gain a competitive advantage, the company needs to produce a product or provide a service that customers value. Without financial resources and physical resources (e.g., equipment) needed to produce products or provide services, a company will not survive.
Stakeholders refers to shareholders, the community, customers, employees, and all of the other parties that have an interest in seeing that the company succeeds. The discussion of the forces (including technology, globalization, and attracting and winning talent) highlights the role of training in helping companies gain a competitive advantage.
7.2 Designing Effective Training
The training design process refers to a systematic approach for developing training programs. Figure 1.1 presents the seven steps in this process. * Step 1 is to conduct a needs assessment, which is necessary to identify if training is needed. * Step 2 is to ensure that employees have the motivation and basic skills necessary to master training content. * Step 3 is to create a learning environment that has the features necessary in order for learning to occur. * Step 4 is to ensure that trainees apply the training content to their jobs. This step involves having the trainee understand how to manage skill improvement as well as getting co-worker and manager support. * Step 5 is to develop an evaluation plan. Developing an evaluation plan includes identifying what types of outcomes training is expected to influence (for example, learning, behaviour, skills), choosing an evaluation design that allows you to determine the influence of training on these outcomes, and planning how to demonstrate training’s effect on the “bottom line” (that is, using a cost–benefit analysis to determine the monetary benefits resulting from training). This is also known as measuring a training program’s return on investment (ROI). * Step 6 is to choose the training method based on the learning objectives and learning environment. This step may include a traditional training method of face-to-face interaction with a trainer, or e-learning using a CD-ROM or web-based training. * Step 7 is to evaluate the program and make changes in it or revisit any of the earlier steps in the process to improve the program so that learning, behavior change, and the other learning objectives are obtained.
The training design process shown in Figure 1.1 is based on principles of instructional system design. Instructional system design (ISD) refers to a process for designing and developing training programs. There is not one universally accepted instructional system development model. The training design process is sometimes referred to as the ADDIE model because it includes:
1) Analysis
2) Design
3) Development
4) Implementation
5) Evaluation.
In Figure 1.1, Step 1 (conducting needs assessment) and Step 2 (ensuring employees’ readiness for training) are related to analysis. The next three steps (creating a learning environment, ensuring transfer of training, and developing an evaluation plan) are design issues. Step 6 (selecting and using a training method) relates to implementation. Step 7 (monitoring and evaluating the program) relates to evaluation. Regardless of the specific Instructional system design (ISD) approach used, all share the following assumptions:
Conducting Needs Assessment * Organizational Analysis * Person Analysis * Task Analysis
Ensuring Employees Readiness for Training * Attitudes and Motivation * Basic Skills
Creating a Learning Environment * Learning Objectives * Meaningful Material * Practice * Feedback * Community of Learning * Modeling * Program Administration
Developing an Evaluation Plan * Identify Learning Outcomes * Choose Evaluation Design * Plan Cost-benefit Analysis
Ensuring Transfer of Training * Self-Management * Peer and Manager Support
Selecting Training Method * Traditional * E-Learning
Monitoring and Evaluating The Program * Conduct Evaluation * Make changes to improve the Program * Measurable learning objectives should be identified before training. Training design is effective only if it helps employees reach measurable instructional or training goals and objectives. * Evaluation plays an important part in planning and choosing a training method, monitoring the training program, and suggesting changes to the training design process.
Figure 1.1
Ensuring Employees Readiness for Training * Attitudes and Motivation * Basic Skills
Ensuring Employees Readiness for Training * Attitudes and Motivation * Basic Skills
Creating a Learning Environment * Learning Objectives * Meaningful Material * Practice * Feedback * Community of Learning * Modeling * Program Administration
Creating a Learning Environment * Learning Objectives * Meaningful Material * Practice * Feedback * Community of Learning * Modeling * Program Administration
Developing an
Evaluation Plan * Identify Learning Outcomes * Choose Evaluation Design * Plan Cost-benefit Analysis
Developing an
Evaluation Plan * Identify Learning Outcomes * Choose Evaluation Design * Plan Cost-benefit Analysis
Ensuring Transfer of Training * Self-Management * Peer and Manager Support
Ensuring Transfer of Training * Self-Management * Peer and Manager Support
Monitoring and Evaluating
The Program * Conduct Evaluation
Monitoring and Evaluating
The Program * Conduct Evaluation
Selecting Training Method * Traditional * E-Learning
Selecting Training Method * Traditional * E-Learning
Some training professionals argue that the Instructional system design (ISD) model is flawed for several reasons. First, in actual organizations, the training design process rarely follows the neat, orderly, step-by-step approach of activities shown in Figure 1.1. Second, in trying to standardize their own ISD method used in the training function, some organizations require trainers to provide detailed documentation of each activity found in the model. This adds time and cost to developing a training program. Third, the ISD implies an end point: evaluation. However, good instructional design requires an iterative process of design, execution, evaluation, and reconsideration of the needs that the program was designed to meet, the learning environment, the transfer of training, and all the other activities in the Instructional system design (ISD) process. Despite these criticisms, the ISD model can be considered a set of general guidelines that trainers need to follow to ensure effective training.
The training design process should be systematic yet flexible enough to adapt to business needs. Different steps may be completed simultaneously. Keep in mind that designing training unsystematically will reduce the benefits that can be realized. For example, choosing a training method before determining training needs or ensuring employees’ readiness for training increases the risk that the method chosen will not be the most effective one for meeting training needs. Also, training may not even be necessary and may result in a waste of time and money!
Employees may have the knowledge, skills, or behaviour they need but simply not be motivated to use them. The development of a web-based training program focusing on teaching managers skills needed to run effective business meetings provides a good example of use of the instructional design process. The first step of the process, needs assessment, involved determining that managers lacked skills for conducting effective meetings and helped to identify the types of meetings that managers were involved in.
The needs assessment process involved interviewing managers and observing meetings. The needs assessment process also identified the most appropriate training method. Because the managers were geographically dispersed and had easy access to computers, and because the company wanted a self-directed, self-paced program that the managers could complete during free time in their work schedule, the training designers and company management decided that web-based training was the appropriate method. Because training was going to be conducted over the web, the designers had to be sure that managers could access the web and were familiar with tools for using the web (e.g., web browsers). This relates to determining the managers’ readiness for training.
The next step was to create a positive learning environment on the web. Designers made sure that the program objectives were clearly stated to the trainees, and provided opportunities within the program for exercises and feedback. For example, trainees were asked to prepare an outline for the steps they would take to conduct an effective meeting.
The designers built into the program a feedback system that indicated to the managers which of the steps they outlined were correct and which needed to be changed. The designers also built in assessment tests allowing the trainees to receive feedback through the program and to skip ahead or return to earlier material based on their scores on the tests. The assessment included a test of meeting skills that the managers completed both prior to and after completing the program. The assessment tests were stored in a databank that the company could use to evaluate whether trainees’ meeting skills improved from pre-training levels.
Table 1.1 illustrates the forces that are influencing working and learning. Globalization of business, demographic changes, new technologies, and economic changes are several of the forces shown in Table 1.1 that influence all aspects of our lives: how we purchase products and services, how we learn, how we communicate with each other, and what we value in our lives and on the job. These forces are affecting individuals, communities, businesses, and society. To survive, companies must address these forces—with training playing an important role.
Table 1.1
Need for Leadership Increased value placed on knowledge
Attracting and retaining talent
Customer service and quality emphasis
Changing demographics and diversity of the workforce
New Technology
High-performance models of work systems
Economic changes
Need for Leadership Increased value placed on knowledge
Attracting and retaining talent
Customer service and quality emphasis
Changing demographics and diversity of the workforce
New Technology
High-performance models of work systems
Economic changes
Globalization
Globalization
Every business must be prepared to deal with the global economy. Global business expansion has been made easier by technology. The internet allows data and information to be instantly accessible and sent around the world. The internet, e-mail, and video conferencing enable business deals to be completed between companies and individuals thousands of kilometres apart.
Globalization has affected not just businesses with international operations. Companies without international operations may buy or use goods that have been produced overseas, hire employees with diverse backgrounds, or compete with foreign-owned companies operating within Canada. Many companies are entering international markets by exporting their products overseas, building manufacturing facilities in other countries, entering into alliances with foreign companies, and engaging in e-commerce. Developing nations such as Taiwan, Indonesia, and China may account for over 60 percent of the world economy by 2020. Globalization is not limited to a particular sector of the economy or product market. For example, Procter and Gamble is targeting feminine hygiene products to new markets such as Brazil. Competition for local managers exceeds the available supply. As a result, companies have to take steps to attract and retain managers.
In Beijing, China, Starbucks researched the motivation and needs of the potential local management workforce, and found that managers were moving from one local Western company to another for several reasons. In the traditional Chinese-owned companies, rules and regulations allow little creativity and autonomy. Also, in many joint North
American–Chinese ventures, local managers were not trusted. To avoid local management turnover, in its recruiting efforts Starbucks emphasized its casual culture and opportunities for development. Starbucks also spent considerable time in training. New managers were sent to Tacoma, Washington, to learn the corporate culture as well as the secrets of brewing flavourful coffee.
Besides training and developing local employees and managers, many companies are sending Canadian employees and managers to work in international locations. Cross-cultural training is important in preparing employees and their families for overseas assignments. Cross-cultural training helps employees and their families:
1) to understand the culture and norms of the country to which they are being relocated and
2) to return to Canada after their assignment.
Globalization also means that employees working in Canada will come from other countries. Immigrants provide scientific talent as well as fill low-wage jobs. Ways of effectively utilizing the skills of immigrant workers must be continually explored and training will play a critical role in this process. North American employees will need skills to improve their ability to communicate with employees from different cultures. Canadian employees will need knowledge and understanding of other cultures, and skills to improve their communication with people from these cultures, as the Canadian workforce becomes more diverse.
Globalization also means that Canadian companies may move jobs overseas; offshoring refers to the process of moving jobs from Canada to other locations in the world. It has been stated that many of Canada’s future employees will be living in China and/or India. For example, many technical workers are being asked to train their foreign replacements, who return to their home countries once the training is completed. The Canadian workers either lose their jobs or are offered other jobs at lower wages. As an example, Canadian educational institutions are graduating fewer Canadian-born engineers, so companies have to look overseas to hire the best employees. Implications of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the granting of visas to targeted groups of employees will continue to be examined and discussed by the federal government.
7.3 The Need for Leadership and Coaching
The aging of the workforce and globalization mean that companies will need to identify, train, and develop employees with managerial and leadership talent. Executive, administrative, and managerial occupations will experience the greatest turnover due to death or retirement. This will result in a significant loss of senior level human resources.
Many companies do not have employees with the competencies necessary to manage in a global economy. For example, 85 percent of Fortune 500 companies believe that they do not have enough employees with global leadership skills. Among those companies that believe that they have employees with global leadership skills, 60 percent of the firms believe that those employees’ skills are not adequate. To successfully manage in a global economy, managers need to have a strong emotional quotient, be self-aware, and be able to build international teams and create global management and marketing practices. Managers must also be able to interact with and manage employees from diverse cultural backgrounds. Strategic leaders often fulfill a coaching role, as they guide and support employees. Management based upon control and power is no longer effective. Leaders/coaches must motivate and encourage people, while articulating strategic goals and directions.
Effective managers are also important because they help motivate and retain employees. One of the key reasons that employees leave jobs is because they are uncomfortable with the working environment created by their manager. Effective managers not only perform the basic management functions (planning, organizing, leading, and controlling), but are also good communicators, help employees develop, and work collaboratively with employees (rather than relying on an autocratic leadership style).
Companies need both to identify employees with managerial talent and to help potential new managers as well as current managers develop the skills needed to succeed. This includes providing employees with mentors, job experiences, and formal courses to develop their skills. For example, Charles Schwab, the discount stockbroker, uses employee surveys to find out how employees are feeling about workloads, benefits, office culture, and career development. Managers are responsible for identifying any serious problems indicated by the survey. They are expected to meet with their employees and develop plans to solve the problems. Schwab provides managers with coaching and training so that they can develop the skills necessary to be more effective managers. If employees are critical of a manager’s interpersonal skills, Schwab may require the manager to take a communication seminar or assign a more senior manager mentor who can model and offer suggestions on effective communication skills.
Increased Value Placed on Knowledge
Today, more and more companies are interested in developing intellectual capital as a way to gain an advantage over competitors. As a result, companies are trying to attract, develop, and retain knowledge workers. Knowledge workers are employees who contribute to the company not through manual labour, but through what they know about customers or a specialized body of knowledge. Employees cannot simply be ordered to perform tasks; they must share knowledge and collaborate on solutions. Knowledge workers contribute specialized knowledge that their managers may not have, such as information about customers. Managers depend on them to share information.
Knowledge workers have many job opportunities. If they choose, they can leave a company and take their knowledge to a competitor. Knowledge workers are in demand because of the growth of jobs requiring them. Service-producing industries will account for much of the job growth to 2013. Health services, systems design and service, scientific, technical, and advertising services, and social science, education, and government service domains are expected to show annual growth of from 2.0 percent to 3.5 percent.
To completely benefit from employees’ knowledge requires a management style that focuses on developing and empowering employees. Empowerment means giving employees responsibility and authority to make decisions regarding all aspects of product development, implementation, and/or customer service. Employees are then held accountable for products and services; in return, they are accountable for any resulting profits or losses. For empowerment to be successful, managers must be trained to link employees to resources within and outside the company (people, websites, etc.), help employees interact with their fellow employees and managers throughout the company, and ensure that employees are updated on important issues and cooperate with each other. Employees must also be trained to understand how to use the web, e-mail, company intranet, and other tools for communicating, collecting, and sharing information.
As more companies become knowledge-based, it’s important that they promote and capture learning at the individual, department/team, and company levels. In addition to acquiring and retaining knowledge workers, companies need to be able to adapt to change. Change refers to the adoption of a new idea or behaviour by a company.
Technological advances, changes in the workforce or government regulations, globalization, and new competitors are among the many factors that require companies to change. Change is inevitable in companies as products, companies, and entire industries experience shorter life cycles. For example, Samsung Electronics cut one-third of the payroll, replaced half of its senior managers, sold off $1.9 billion in assets, and introduced new products to save itself from bankruptcy. The characteristics of an effective transition management process are discussed in a changing environment means that all employees must embrace a philosophy of learning.
A learning organization embraces a culture of lifelong learning, enabling all employees to continually acquire and share knowledge. Improvements in product or service quality do not stop when formal training is completed. Employees need to have the financial resources, time, and content resources (courses, experiences, development opportunities) available to increase their knowledge. Managers take an active role in identifying training needs and helping to ensure that employees use training in their work. Also, employees should be actively encouraged to share knowledge with colleagues and other work groups across the company using e-mail and the internet. detail.
For a learning organization to be successful requires that teams of employees collaborate to meet customer needs. Managers need to empower employees to share knowledge, identify problems, and make decisions. This allows the company to continuously experiment and improve.
Talent Management: Attraction, Retention, and Maintenance
As the economy grows, a much larger number of new workers will be needed due to replacement (i.e., job openings due to death, disability, retirement, or leaving the labour force for education or to stay at home). As the North American and global populations grow, there will be more consumers of goods and services, increasing demand for employees. Figure 1.2 shows expected job openings due to new jobs (growth) and job openings resulting from replacement. Most of the job growth in professional specialties is expected among computer and mathematical occupations, health care practitioners and technical occupations, and education, training, and library occupations. Computer-related positions such as computer engineer, computer support specialist, systems analyst, and computer database administrator are projected to be four of the fastest growing jobs in the economy.
Figure 1.2
The labour force is expected to grow by 0.9 percent from 2009 to 2013. Although immigrants will fill many jobs, the main source of employees for the new jobs will be school leavers. It is anticipated that some 1.3 million new jobs will be created due to expanded demand between 2004 and 2008, but replacements for employees who have retired or left the labour force will amount to some 1.5 million. Table 1.2 highlights the key industries in which Canada is expected to see employment and productivity growth in the future. The current tight labour market could be exacerbated, hindering prospects for economic growth and putting a greater burden on those remaining in the workforce, perhaps forcing them to work longer hours. Especially in occupations with functions less conducive to technology-driven productivity innovations—many jobs in health services and educational services, for example—service may suffer and needs could go unmet unless older workers can be retained or other sources of workers can be found. Even in occupations in which technological innovations have produced relatively large productivity gains—many of the more complex machining jobs in manufacturing, for example—the learning curves often are steep, meaning that new workers need to enter these occupations soon, so they can become proficient in the necessary skills by the time the baby boomers begin leaving the labour force. As the age of the labour force rises, a greater number of people will leave the labour force due to death, disability, or retirement
Table 1.2 Employment and Productivity Growth by Industry, 2004-2013
Despite the need for high-level skills, many job applicants lack basic skills. The International Adult Literacy and Skills Survey (2005) reported that about 42 percent of working-age (aged 16–65) had low literacy, and 55 percent had low numeracy, meaning that they did not have the minimum reading, writing, math, and problem-solving skills needed to cope with the demands of everyday life in a complex, advanced society. Given the tight labour market and numerous job applicants’ lack of basic skills, many companies are unable to hire qualified employees. But they are unwilling or unable to leave jobs open. Therefore, they have to hire employees with skill deficiencies and rely on training to correct the deficiencies.
Leading Canadian companies have recognized the impact of literacy, and the lack of it. Each year, Awards for Excellence in Workplace Literacy are given to five or six companies that have demonstrated their commitment to training employees in the basic skills. Retention and maintenance are an important part of talent management. Talented employees are looking for growth and a career path. Training and development is a key to keeping and maintaining talented employees. A recent survey of changes in the Canadian workforce in the context of ongoing and social change identified that a large group of workers are more concerned with opportunities for mentoring and growth than job security and stable employment. Employees have a strong desire to keep their skills and knowledge current.
7.4 Customer Service and Quality Emphasis
Companies’ customers judge quality and performance. As a result, customer excellence requires attention to product and service features as well as to interactions with customers. Customer driven excellence includes understanding what the customer wants and anticipating future needs. Customer-driven excellence includes reducing defects and errors, meeting specifications, and reducing complaints. How the company recovers from defects and errors is also important for retaining and attracting customers.
Due to increased availability of knowledge and competition, consumers are very knowledgeable and expect excellent service. This presents a challenge for employees who interact with customers. The way in which clerks, sales staff, front-desk personnel, and service providers interact with customers influences a company’s reputation and financial performance. Employees need product knowledge and service skills, and they need to be clear about the types of decisions they can make when dealing with customers.
To compete in today’s economy, whether on a local or global level, companies need to provide a quality product or service. If companies do not adhere to quality standards, their ability to sell their product or service to vendors, suppliers, or customers will be restricted. Some countries even have quality standards that companies must meet to conduct business there. Total quality management (TQM) is a companywide effort to continuously improve the ways people, machines, and systems accomplish work. Core values of TQM include the following: * Methods and processes are designed to meet the needs of internal and external customers. * Every employee in the company receives training in quality. * Quality is designed into a product or service so that errors are prevented from occurring rather than detected and corrected. * The company promotes cooperation with vendors, suppliers, and customers to improve quality and hold down costs. * Managers measure progress with feedback based on data.
There is no universal definition of quality. The major differences in its various definitions relate to whether customer, product, or manufacturing process is emphasized. Managers use a four-step model for staff training: * Show It, * Do It * Evaluate It & * Perform Again.
Employees must demonstrate 100 percent competence before they are allowed to work at a work station. Initial training for all employees includes intensive instruction on effective listening skills, health and safety, and organizational culture.
8. PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AND APPRAISAL
Performance appraisals at Kansanshi are done annually electronically. See the format below. I did my personal assessment and my manager commented on it as shown below. My subordinates also assessed themselves; I had a discussion with each one of them and agreed on the scores as can be seen below for Amos Zimba.
8.1 Performance Management Systems vs. Performance Appraisal
“In a knowledge economy, organizations rely heavily on their intangible assets to build value. Consequently, performance management at the individual employee level is essential and the business case for implementing a system to measure and improve employee performance is strong.” Management time and effort to increase performance not only meets this goal; it also decreases turnover rates.
How do we manage performance within the organization? The most common part of the process, and the one with which we are most familiar, is the process of the performance appraisal, or evaluation. In this paper, we will use the phrases performance evaluation, performance appraisal, and appraisal interchangeably. However, the performance appraisal process is not the only thing that’s done in performance management.
Performance management is the process of identifying, measuring, managing, and developing the performance of the human resources in an organization. Basically we are trying to figure out how well employees perform and then to ultimately improve that performance level. When used correctly, performance management is a systematic analysis and measurement of worker performance (including communication of that assessment to the individual) that we use to improve performance over time.
Performance appraisal, on the other hand, is the ongoing process of evaluating employee performance. Performance appraisals are reviews of employee performance over time, so appraisal is just one piece of performance management.
8.2 The Performance Appraisal Process
Exhibit 8-1 illustrates the performance appraisal (PA) process. Note the connection between the organization’s mission and objectives and the performance appraisal process. Here we briefly discuss each step of the process.
Step 1. Job Analysis. This is logically our first step because if we don’t know what a job consists of, how can we possibly evaluate an employee’s performance? We should realize that the job must be based on the organizational mission and objectives, the department, and the job itself.
Step 2. Develop Standards and Measurement Methods. If we don’t have standards of acceptable behavior and methods to measure performance, how can we assess performance? We will discuss performance measurement methods in the next part of this section, and in the major section “How Do We Use Appraisal Methods and Forms?” we will discuss these topics in more detail.
Step 3. Informal Performance Appraisal—Coaching And Disciplining. Performance appraisal should not be simply a once- or twice-yearly formal interview. As its definition states, performance appraisal is an ongoing process. While a formal evaluation may only take place once or twice a year, people need regular feedback on their performance to know how they are doing. We will briefly discuss coaching in the “Critical Incidents Method” subsection of “How Do We Use Appraisal Methods and Forms?” and in more detail along with teaching how to discipline.
Step 4. Prepare For And Conduct The Formal Performance Appraisal. The common practice is to have a formal performance review with the boss once or sometimes twice a year using one or more of the measurement forms we will be learning about. Later in this chapter we will discuss the steps of preparing for and conducting the performance appraisal.
In the major sections to come, we discuss “why” we assess performance, “what” we assess, “how” we assess, and “who” conducts the performance appraisal. Then we discuss performance appraisal problems and how to avoid them, and we end the performance appraisal process with the actual formal review session. But before we leave this section, we need to understand a critically important part of each step in the performance appraisal process—accurate performance measurement.
8.3 Accurate Performance Measures
Performance should be accurately measured so employees will know where they can improve. Knowing where to improve should lead to training employees to develop new skills to improve. To be an accurate measure of performance, our measure must be valid and reliable, acceptable and feasible, specific, and based on the mission and objectives. Let’s discuss each here.
Valid and Reliable. As with all areas of our people management process, we must make sure that all of our performance management tools are valid and reliable. Here again, we can pull out and dust off the OUCH test as a quick measure to ensure fairness and equity in the performance management and appraisal process. We remember by now that OUCH stands for Objective, Uniform in application, Consistent in effect, and Has job relatedness, right? However, we still need to analyze validity and reliability in some detail.
If our method of measurement is not valid and reliable, then it makes no sense to use it. Recall that a valid measure is “true and correct.” When a measure has validity, it is a factual measure that measures the process that you wanted to measure. A reliable measure is consistent; it works in generally the same way each time we use it.
Acceptable and Feasible. In addition to validity and reliability, we need to look at a couple of other characteristics of our performance measures. We need to analyze acceptability and feasibility. Acceptability means that the use of the measure is satisfactory or appropriate to the people who must use it. However, in performance appraisal, this isn’t enough. Acceptability must include whether or not the evaluation tool is feasible. Is it possible to reasonably apply the evaluation tool in a particular case? As an example, if the performance evaluation form is two or three pages long and covers the major aspects of the job that is being evaluated, and both managers and employees believe that the form truly evaluates performance measures that identify success in the job, then they are likely to feel that the tool is acceptable and feasible. If, however, the manager must fill out a 25-page etc. form/s that has very little to do with the job being evaluated, the manager may not feel that the form is acceptable or feasible, at least partially due to its length, even if the employee does.
Conversely, if managers fill out a two-page evaluation that they feel is a true measure of performance in employees’ jobs but the employees feel that the evaluation leaves out large segments of what they do in their work routine, they may not feel that the form is acceptable and feasible. If either management or employees feel that the form is unacceptable, it most likely will not be used correctly. So, we always have to evaluate acceptability and feasibility of a measure.
Specific. Next, we want any evaluation measure to be specific enough to identify what is going well and what is not. The word specific means that something is explicitly identified or defined well enough that all involved understand the issue completely. In performance appraisal, specific means that the form provides enough information for everyone to understand what level of performance has been achieved by a particular employee within a well-identified job.
Creating specific measures is the only way that we can use a performance appraisal to improve the performance of our employees over time. The employees have to understand what they are doing successfully and what they are not. Many times, evaluation forms may be too general in nature to be of value for modifying employee behaviors because we want the form to serve for a large number of different types of jobs. This can create significant problems in the performance appraisal process.
Based on the mission and objectives. Finally, you want to make sure that your performance management system leads to accomplishment of your organizational mission and objectives. As with everything else we do in HR, we need to ensure that the performance management process guides our employees toward achievement of the company’s mission and objectives over time. As managers in the organization, making sure of this connection will allow us to reinforce employee behaviors that aim at achieving organizational goals and to identify for our employees things that they may be doing that actively or unintentionally harm our ability to reach those goals. Thus, stating specific objectives of exactly what each person in each job should achieve or his or her performance outcomes leads to accurate assessment that can increase performance.. Without accurate measures of performance, the performance appraisal can’t be reliable or valid.
Why Do We Conduct Performance Appraisals?
As you can begin to see already, the appraisal process gets extremely complicated very quickly. And remember, anytime a process in an organization is complicated, it costs a lot of money. So why do we even do performance appraisals? What value provided to the organization and to the individual makes the process of evaluating the performance of our workers so critical?
If performance appraisals are done in the correct manner, they can provide us with a series of valuable results. However, done incorrectly, the process of evaluating employee performance can actually lead to lower levels of job satisfaction and productivity. In this section, let’s discuss three major reasons why organizations complete performance evaluations—communicating, decision making, and motivating.
Communicating
The first major reason for performance appraisal is to provide an opportunity for formal communication between management and the employees concerning how the organization believes each employee is performing. All of us know intuitively that successful communication requires two-way interaction between people. “Organizations can prevent or remedy the majority of performance problems by ensuring that two-way conversation occurs between the manager and the employee, resulting in a complete understanding of what is required, when it is required and how the employee’s contribution measures up.”
Communication always requires that employees have the opportunity and ability to provide feedback to their bosses in order to make sure that the communication is under-stood. So, in performance appraisals the communication process requires that we as managers communicate with the employees to provide them information about how we believe they’re doing in their job, but the process also requires that we provide the opportunity for the employees to speak to us concerning factors that inhibit their ability to successfully perform for the organization.
Factors in a job that management may not know about can include many things, including lack of training, poorly maintained equipment, lack of tools necessary to per-form, conflict within work groups, and many other things that management may not see on a daily basis. If the communication component of the performance appraisal process does not allow for this two-way communication, managers may not know of the obsta-cles that the employees have to overcome. The only way that we can resolve problems is to know about them. So, as managers, we need to communicate with our employees to find out when issues within the work environment cause loss of productivity so we can fix them. Thus, two-way communication is a critical component of correcting problems through the performance appraisal process.
Decision Making (Evaluating)
The second major purpose of performance appraisals is to allow management to make decisions about employees within the organization. We need to make decisions based on information, the information we get from our communication. Accurate information is necessary for management decision making and is an absolutely critical component to allow the manager to improve organizational productivity. We use information from annual performance appraisals to make evaluative decisions concerning our workforce including pay raises, promotions, demotions, training and development, and termination. When we have valid and reliable information concerning each individual within our division or department, this gives us the ability to make decisions that can enhance productivity for the firm. List and briefly discuss the purposes for performance appraisals.
If, for instance, through the process of coaching (the third step of the performance appraisal process) we find that several machine operators are having trouble keeping their equipment in working order, this piece of information would quite likely lead to a needs assessment. To determine whether or not maintenance training is necessary for our group of operators. Without our rigorous evaluation process, we might not learn of this common problem as early, and as a result could do some significant damage to very expensive equipment. This and similar types of information frequently come to the forefront as we go through the performance appraisal process. Decision making based on good communication is a very large part of why we take the time to do annual perfor-mance appraisals.
Motivating (Developing)
The third major purpose for performance appraisal is to provide motivation to our employees to improve the way they work individually for developmental purposes, which in turn will improve organizational productivity overall. What is motivation, and are per-formance appraisals normally motivational? Well, from a business perspective, motivation can be defined as the willingness to achieve organizational objectives. We want to create this willingness to achieve the organization’s objectives, which in turn will increase organizational productivity.
Evaluative decisions should lead to development of employees. Returning to the machine operators having trouble keeping their equipment in working order, making the decision to train the employees leads to their development through improving their performance, as well as better utilizing the resources to improve organizational performance.
Evaluating and Motivating (Development)
An effective performance appraisal process has two parts (evaluating and motivating), and it does both parts well. Evaluating is about assessing past performance, and motivating is about developing employees to improve their future performance. But, are both parts done well? Have you ever been in a position of being evaluated and debriefed as an employee? Was the process motivational? Probably not. Think about the appraisal process and how it was carried out. Here we discuss problems with evaluation and how to overcome them, explain how to motivate, and suggest separating evaluation and motivation.
Problems with Evaluation. A common problem in appraisals is overpowering employ-ees during an evaluation debrief with large amounts of negative information that they have not heard during coaching. This tends to cause the employees to “turn off,” or stop listening to their managers as they explain what is wrong. Employees will just “raise their shields” to ward off all of the negative information. This is a natural human characteristic. We are naturally suspicious of negative information for a variety of psychological reasons (defense mechanisms), so when employees are presented with a large amount of negative information, they tend to discount or even disbelieve it. They may consider the process unfair or one-sided and not an accurate measure of their performance, and as a result the evaluation may be useless as a motivator.
Avoiding Problems with Evaluation.
To help overcome such problems with evaluation, an effective manager who is a good coach will generally never identify a weakness that the employee has not previously been made aware of during the formal appraisal interview— there are no surprises. The evaluative part of the appraisal should only be a review of what the employee already knows and should be willing to hear. However, avoiding surprises is not enough.
The appraisal debrief must be a well-rounded look at individual employees; it should identify both positive and negative factors in the employees’ behaviors and results within their job (and remember that the communication needs to be two-way). As managers, we want to tell employees what they are doing right, but also where they have room for improvement. This more balanced approach to the debriefing process will minimize the potential that the employees will raise those shields and avoid listening.
Motivating Development.
The important part of development is the need for managers to provide motivational opportunities for employees to improve their performance over time. In other words, we need to tell them how to fix the problem. We need to provide them with tools, training, or other methods that will allow them to improve to the point where their behavior is sufficient, and we then must continually strive to get them to perform at an above-average level and ultimately to be superior through ongoing coaching between formal reviews.
If we provide employees with tools to allow them to improve over time, we’re focusing not on the negative past results but on the positive future potential results. If they are given an honest opportunity to fix something that they know is a problem and are given the necessary tools or training, most will take advantage of that opportunity. So performance appraisals can be motivational if they are properly used and debriefed.
Separating Evaluation and Development. To improve both parts of the performance appraisal, we suggest splitting the debriefing into two separate interviews. The first meeting is to evaluate the employees’ past performance, pointing out strengths and areas for improvement; the employees are asked to think about how they can improve their performance. At the second meeting, manager and employee jointly come up with a developmental plan that should lead to increased performance that will result in a higher future evaluative rating during the next formal appraisal.
What Do We Assess?
Now that we know why we conduct performance appraisals, the next step is to figure out what needs to be evaluated. In other words, we have to decide what aspects of the individuals and their performance we’re going to measure. The best option for what we evaluate would come from analyzing the essential functions and qualifications required for a particular job—or, in HR terms, our job analysis. We could then use these facts to design an appraisal instrument with measurable and observable factors with which performance can be evaluated. However, we can’t evaluate everything that is done over the course of the year. We have to choose what we will focus on because if we can’t measure it, we can’t manage it, and what gets measured and evaluated gets done. Our three primary options are traits, behaviors, and results.
Trait Appraisals
Traits identify the physical or psychological characteristics of a person. We can evaluate the traits of an individual during the performance appraisal process. Can we accurately measure traits that affect job performance, can trait measures pass the OUCH test, are traits commonly used to measure performance, and should we measure traits as part of our performance appraisal process? Here we answer these questions, and we will answer these same questions for our behavior and results options.
Can we accurately measure traits that affect job performance? Certainly, there’s some evidence that particular types of traits are valuable in jobs that require management and leadership skills. Characteristics such as inquisitiveness, conscientiousness, and general cognitive ability have been shown to have a reasonable “link” to job performance. But just how accurate is the link?
Many traits that most of us would be likely to focus on, such as physical attractiveness, height, extroversion, and others, actually have been shown to have very little bearing on job performance. If we’re going to use traits in performance evaluation, we must ensure that we focus on traits that have a direct relationship to the essential functions of the job being done, and they have to be accurate measures.
If we decide to use trait-based evaluations, is that a good method for judging work per-formance? How many of us would want to have judgments made about our work based on our appearance or personality? Would you consider this to be a valid and reliable measure of your work performance? In most cases, it’s very difficult to show that personal traits are valid and reliable measures of work performance.
Can trait measures pass the OUCH test? Let’s take a look at trait-based measure-ments using the OUCH test. Is a physical characteristic, such as height, or a psychological characteristic, such as attitude, cheerfulness, work ethic, or enthusiasm, an objective measure of an individual’s work performance? We would have great difficulty creating a quantifiable and factual link between height or enthusiasm and job performance.
So it’s difficult when measuring traits to meet the objective requirement of the OUCH test. If we utilized these trait-based measures in all cases in employee evaluations, we would be able to meet the uniform in application requirement of the OUCH test. The third test— consistent in effect—would likely be extremely difficult to meet due to the fact that different racial, ethnic, social, and gender groups tend to have different physical and psychological characteristics. Remember, reliability is a measure of consistency.
Could we meet the has job relatedness test? Is a particular trait directly related to the essential functions of the job? In a very few cases this may be true, but in most situations physical and personality characteristics have less to do with success in the job than certain behaviors will. So it’s very difficult to meet the has job relatedness test.
Finally, we need to ask whether or not different supervisors would evaluate our traits differently, based on their traits. Would their individual biases based on their personalities cause them to evaluate us differently? The answer is, of course, that different people would quite likely evaluate our traits differently.
Are traits commonly used to measure performance? Surprisingly, if you go to the local office supply store and look at standard evaluation forms that are available in preprinted pads, you will find that they usually contain many traits as part of the evaluation. Why would this be the case? The simple answer is that at least some traits, both physical and psychological, are fairly easy to identify, and we make the assumption that they are related to how the individual will perform on the job. Many of us, individually and as managers, value certain things like enthusiasm even if enthusiasm has very little to do with the ability to do a particular job or the actual results of job performance.
Certainly, there are some jobs where enthusiasm is critical. However, in most jobs, being enthusiastic employees may have very little to do with job success. If we evaluated individuals based on the characteristic of enthusiasm, we might make an error in judgment concerning their performance. And if we make errors in analyzing the performance of our employees, the appraisal form becomes much less acceptable to both the individual employee and management.
Finally, if our organization happened to be sued by a former employee who claimed that they were fired based on an appraisal process that was unreliable and not valid, it would be very difficult to defend trait-based evaluation forms due to their subjective nature.
Should we measure traits? “Author Ken Blanchard says that there are too many evaluation items that can’t be objectively measured because they attempt to measure things that no one knows how to accurately measure, such as attitude, initiative, and promo-ability.”
An important question is whether both managers and employees will agree that the measured rating is accurate. The bottom-line test (we will call it the Blanchard test) is whether everyone understands why they are assessed at a specific level (evaluation) and what it takes to get a higher rating (development). So we should only assess traits if we meet the bottom-line test of having a direct and obvious objective relationship between the trait and success in the job.
Behavioral Appraisals
Our second option in the assessment process is to evaluate employees based on behaviors. You will recall that behaviors are simply the actions taken by individuals—the things that they do and say. Behavioral appraisals measure what individuals do at work, not their personal characteristics. Is this a good option to use in a performance appraisal process?
Can we accurately measure behaviors that affect job performance? As a general rule, behaviors are a much better option to use in an appraisal than traits. While an individual supervisor or manager may make a mistake in judgment of the traits of an employee, physical actions or behaviors can be directly observed, and as a result they are more likely to be a valid assessment of the individual’s performance.
Can behavior measures pass the OUCH test? Let’s take a look at a behavioral evalu-ation using the OUCH test. Would an evaluation based on actions taken by an employee be objective? In general, directly observing and evaluating an action is significantly more objective than making an attempt to judge a trait such as effort. If we applied the same evaluation of behaviors to all of the individuals in the same type of job, we would have a reasonable certainty that we were being uniform in application. The same thing would be true here in evaluating the concept of consistent in effect.
So, we come down to whether or not a behavioral evaluation has job relatedness. Would a behavioral evaluation be directly related to the essential functions of a job? It would be if we made sure that we chose behaviors that were necessarily a part of successfully accomplishing a task. For instance, if a person acted correctly to fill out a requisition form, putting the proper information in the correct blocks and providing the requisition to the appropriate person who would then order the material, we would be assessing behaviors that are job-related. If, however, we evaluated the action of walking to the lunchroom and back to your workstation, would that be a valid job-related behavior? More than likely it would not. Of course, this is a silly example, but it should help you understand that no matter what we do in the evaluation process, we need to ensure that our actions are job-related.
Would behavioral evaluations be defensible in the situation of our fired employee above? Would it be possible for us to show that our evaluation process was valid and reliable? If we choose job-related behaviors, it becomes much easier for the organization to defend the validity and reliability of the appraisal process. Observation of actions that are directly related to a job provides at least some presumption of validity as well as reliability purely because the behaviors are directly job-related. Again, if we chose behaviors that were not able to be directly associated with the job, the validity and reliability would be suspect.
Should we measure behavior? Are behaviors that measure performance more acceptable to the individual employee and the managers than personal traits? In fact, evidence shows that most individuals are very comfortable with the evaluation of their performance being based on their behaviors. In general, the most useful and therefore acceptable feedback to employees is considered to be in the form of specific job-related behaviors. As managers, though, we still need to be cognizant of the fact that a behavioral evaluation can be a poor measure of work performance unless the behaviors chosen are directly applicable to being successful in the job. So, like with traits, the Blanchard test is whether everyone understands why they are assessed at a specific level (evaluation) and what it takes to get a higher rating (development).
8.4 Results/Outcomes Appraisals
Our final option concerning what we evaluate is the results, or outcomes, of the work process. Results are simply a measure of the goals achieved through a work process. Using results as an evaluation measure provides management of the organization with an assessment of the goals that were achieved in a particular job over time.
Can we accurately measure results that affect job performance? Is measuring the outcomes of a particular individual’s job a valid and reliable measure of that person’s performance? Well, certainly results are a concrete measure of what has happened in the organization. However, could results of a job have been skewed based on factors that were outside the control of the individual who is performing that job? The answer is obviously that the results could be affected by many other factors besides the individual. For example, the goals could be set too low and be easy to achieve, or too high and be impossible to achieve.
Even though this is true, the measurement of results is the final organizational measure of success. The results produced through organizational processes provide the company with its return on investment—in this case its investment in the people in the organization. So, organizations really like to measure results.
Can results pass the OUCH test? Let’s take a look at the OUCH test concerning results-based evaluations. Is a result achieved in a particular job a concrete, factual measure that can easily be quantified? Obviously, it is a very objective measure of what has happened in that particular job. If we apply the same results-based measure to each similar job, then our measure is uniform in application. The measure of results would almost certainly be consistent across different groups of employees, so we would meet the consistency in effect requirement of the OUCH test. And of course, if we are measuring the results of what happens in a job, we are certainly providing a measure that has job relatedness. So, with a quick scan we can see that a results-based performance appraisal meets the requirements of the OUCH test better than either of the other two options.
Should we measure results? Results-based evaluations, like behavior, are also typically very acceptable to both the employee and the manager. Employees readily accept results-based appraisals because they feel that such measures are one of the fairest methods of analyzing their performance. After all, results are the most concrete form of evaluation that can be performed. Either the result was achieved, or it wasn’t. We can also defend this type of appraisal much easier than the other two options in court, if necessary. It tends to be very easy for the organization to go into a courtroom and show that an individual’s results were absolutely lower than the results achieved by other people in the same or similar jobs, if such an action becomes necessary.
But would a performance evaluation measured on results be valid and reliable? The results-based evaluation would most likely be highly valid and would usually be reliable, assuming that we were able to take into account factors outside of individuals’ control that nonetheless affect the performance of their job. So, like with traits and behaviors, the Blanchard test is whether everyone understands why they are assessed at a specific level (evaluation) and what it takes to get a higher rating (development).
Which Option Is Best?
Our three options concerning what we evaluate are traits, behaviors, and results. But, which option is best? The answer’s not as easy as you might think. Certainly, results-based and behavior-based evaluations are more defensible due to the fact that they are more reliable and valid than trait-based evaluations. But we have to include a large number of factors in order to select which option is best in a particular situation.
For example, if we need to evaluate employees who work on the assembly line, we may need to evaluate behaviors such as punctuality—do they show up to work on time? If we have employees who, when they are there, produce at 150% of the standard, but only show up two or three days a week, that creates a problem for the whole assembly line. In that case, we may need to evaluate attendance and punctuality (behaviors) because everyone on the assembly line depends on everyone else.
However, if we have individuals who don’t do their actual work where managers can measure traits and behaviors—for example, people who work from home (telecommuters) and in independent outside sales positions—we need to rely on results. Other employees are often not affected by the hours that the telecommuters and salespeople work. It will not matter when they are at the office, as long as they get the job done. The firm will be concerned with how much they produced or sold. So circumstances dictate which method we will use; we cannot say one method will always be superior to the other two.
8.5 How Do We Use Appraisal Methods and Forms?
The formal performance appraisal usually involves the use of a standard form developed by the HR department to measure employee performance. Again, “If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it.” But you must be careful how you measure success, as the assessment should be as objective as possible, not subjective. Employees need to know the standards and understand what good performance looks like, and they need to be able to measure their own performance. If you are stuck with a form that has subjective sections, work with your employees to develop clear accurate standards.
Exhibit 8-2 lists the commonly used performance appraisal measurement methods and forms and displays them on a continuum based on their use in administrative evaluative and developmental decisions. In the following section, we discuss each of them, starting with the developmental methods and working toward the evaluative.
Critical Incidents Method
The critical incidents method is a performance appraisal method in which a manager keeps a written record of positive and negative performance of employees throughout the performance period. There is no standard form used, so it is a method. Here, and for each of the other methods and forms, let’s answer two questions: Why and when is it used, and how is it used?
Why and when do we use the critical incidents method? Most formal reviews take place only once or twice a year. Do you want to wait for formal reviews to talk to employees about what they are doing well and when they are not performing up to expectations? Of course you want to let them know how they are doing on an ongoing basis. Also, let’s say we are a manager with 12 employees. Can we remember everything each of them did well, and when they messed up, and on what dates, so we can evaluate their total performance for the past 6–12 months? Very few, if any, of us can say yes. However, many managers don’t keep a record of critical incidents, which leads to problems of accurate measures during the formal review meeting.
We use critical incidents to do a good assessment of the entire review period, and we coach when needed during the entire review period for developmental decisions. We need to continually conduct informal coaching and disciplining when needed as we make notes of critical incidents to use during the formal review. With clear standards and coaching, you can minimize disagreements over performance during the formal performance appraisal because there are no surprises, because employees know what is coming. Although critical incidents are commonly used for developmental decisions, they are also used for evaluative decisions. For legal purposes, a list of documented critical incidents is especially important to have leading up the evaluative decision of firing employees
How do we use critical incidents? Managers commonly simply have a file folder for each employee, which can be hard copy or electronic. Critical incidents are important employee actions, not minor ones, which help or hurt performance. Every time employees do something very well, such as beat a tough deadline or save angry customers from terminating their business relationship with the firm, a note goes in the employees’ file. Notes also go into the file every time the employees’ behavior hurts performance, such as coming to work late or the quality of work not meeting standards.
The note is usually written by the manager and/or is in the form of documentation, such as a warning that is given, performance reports, or a letter from a happy customer thanking the employee for doing a great job. Coaching is part of this ongoing process, and it involves helping employees succeed by monitoring performance through giving feedback to praise progress and to redirect inappropriate behavior as often as needed. One error managers tend to make is to focus on the negative actions of employees. Remember that a good balanced evaluation includes both positive and negative, so look for good performance, not just poor, and praise it when you see it.
The Management by Objectives (MBO) method is a process in which managers and employees jointly set objectives for the employees, periodically evaluate performance, and reward according to the results. Although it is a three-step process, no standard form is used with MBO, so it is a method. MBO is also referred to as work planning and review, goals management, goals and controls, and management by results.
Why and when do we use the MBO method? The MBO method is one of the best methods of developing employees. Like critical incidents, employees get ongoing feed-back on how they are doing, usually at scheduled interval meetings. We can use the MBO method successfully with our employees if we commit to the process and truly involve employees rather than trying to make them believe that our objectives are theirs—accurate measures.
On an organization-wide basis, MBO is not too commonly used as the sole assessment method. It is more commonly used based on the evaluative assessment during the development part of the performance appraisal. One difficult part of MBO is that in many situations, most, if not all, employees will have different goals, making MBO more difficult and time-consuming than using a standard assessment form.
How do we use the MBO method? MBO is a three-step process:
Step 1. Set individual objectives and plans. The manager sets objectives jointly with each individual employee. The objectives are the heart of the MBO process and should be accurate measures of performance results. To be accurate, objectives should be SMART. They need to be Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-based. Being specific, measurable, and time-based is fairly easy to determine in a written goal, but being attainable and relevant is more difficult. So we developed a model based on the work of Max E. Douglas with two examples in Model 8-1 that we can use when setting objectives for ourselves or with others.
Step 2. Give feedback and evaluate performance. Communication is the key factor in determining MBO’s success or failure, and employees should continually critique their own performance. Thus, the manager and employee must communicate often to review progress. The frequency of evaluations depends on the individual and the job performed. However, most managers do not conduct enough review sessions.
Step 3. Reward according to performance. Employees’ performance should be measured against their objectives. Employees who meet their objectives should be rewarded through recognition, praise, pay raises, promotions, and so on. Employees who do not meet their goals, so long as the reason is not out of their control, usually have rewards withheld and even punishment when necessary.
Narrative Method or Form
The narrative method or form requires a manager to write a statement about the employee’s performance. There often is no actual standard form used, but there can be a form, so narrative can be a method or a form. Why and when do we use the narrative method or form? A narrative gives managers the opportunity to give their evaluative assessment in a written form that can go beyond a simple “check of a box” to describe an assessment item. Managers can also write up a developmental plan of how the employee will improve performance in the future. Narratives can be used alone, but are often combined with another method or form. Although the narrative is ongoing, it is commonly used during the formal review.
How do we use the narrative method or form? The system can vary. Managers may be allowed to write whatever they want (method), or they may be required to answer questions with a written narrative about the employee’s performance (form). Let’s dis-cuss both here.
The no-form narrative method can be the only assessment method used during the for-mal review process. But the narrative method, when used alone, is more commonly used with professionals and executives, not operative employees. How we write the formal narrative assessment varies, as writing content and styles are different. A narrative based on critical incidents and MBO results is clearly the best basis for the written assessment.
The narrative is also often used as part of a form. For example, you have most likely seen an assessment form (such as a recommendation) that has a list of items to be checked off. Following the checklist, the form may ask one or more questions requiring a narrative written statement.
Graphic Rating Scale Form
The graphic rating scale form is a performance appraisal checklist on which a manager simply rates performance on a continuum such as excellent, good, average, fair, and poor. The continuum often includes a numerical scale, for example from 1 (lowest performance level) to 5 (highest performance level). Self-Assessment and Skill Builder 8-1 uses a graphic rating scale form.
Why and when do we use the graphic rating scale form? Graphic rating scales are probably the most commonly used form during the formal performance appraisal (primarily for evaluative decisions), but they should lead to development decisions as well. Why the popularity? Because graphic rating scales can be used for many different types of jobs, they are a kind of “one form fits all” form that requires minimal time, effort, cost, and training. If we walk into an office supply store, we can find pads of them. But on the negative side, graphic rating scales are not very accurate measures of performance because the selection of one rating over another, such as an excellent versus good rating, is very subjective. For example, think about professors and how they measure performance with grades. Some give lots of work and few As, while others give less work and almost all As.
How do we use the graphic rating scale form? It is very simple, and we have most likely all used one. For example, many colleges have student assessments of professors at the end of the course. All we do is check off, or usually fill in a circle for, our rating. One problem is that some of us don’t bother to actually read the questions. Based on our biases, some of us just go down the list checking the same rating regardless of actual performance on the item. To be fair, this problem is not common with managers formally evaluating their employees. However, it does tend to occur when customers evaluate products and services, including student assessments of professors.
To overcome this problem, which is unfortunately not commonly done, we can reverse the scale from good to poor on different questions. Why isn’t this done all the time? Some HR, or other, managers who make the scales do not know they should do this. Some who do know they should reverse the scales don’t because they don’t want to end up with overall ratings being pushed to the middle because people don’t read the questions.
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) Form
The Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS) form is a performance appraisal that provides a description of each assessment along a continuum. Like with rating scales, the continuum often includes a numerical scale from low to high. Why and when do we use the BARS form? The answer to why and when is the same as for graphic rating scales. So let’s focus on the differences between graphic rating scale and BARS forms. BARS forms overcome the problem of subjectivity by providing an actual description of the performance for each rating along the continuum, rather than one simple word (excellent, good, etc.) like graphic rating scales. A description of each level of performance makes the assessment a more objective accurate measure. So if BARS forms are more accurate, why aren’t they more commonly used than graphic rating scale forms?
It’s partly economics and partly expertise. Again, the graphic rating scale can be used for many different jobs, but BARS forms have to be customized to every different type of job. And developing potentially hundreds of different BARS forms takes a lot of time (which costs money) and expertise. Even when a firm has an HR staff, the question becomes whether developing BARS forms is the most effective use of staff members’ time. Obviously, it depends on the types of jobs being evaluated and the resources available to complete the evaluation process.
How do we use BARS forms? Like graphic rating scales, we simply select a level of performance along the continuum. College accreditation associations are requiring more measures of student outcomes as assurance of learning, and as part of the process they want more BARS rubrics as evidence. So in college courses, especially for written assignments, professors give out rubrics that describe in some detail the difference between excellent (A), good (B), average (C), poor (D), and not acceptable (F) grades for multiple criteria put together to provide a final grade. Here is a very simple example of making a graphic rating scale item into the more objective BARS form.
Attendance—excellent, good, average, fair, poor
Attendance—number of days missed 1, 2, 3–4, 5, 6 or more
Ranking Method
The ranking method is a performance appraisal method that is used to evaluate employee performance from best to worst. There often is no actual standard form used, and we don’t always have to rank all employees.
Why and when do we use the ranking method? Managers have to make evaluative decisions, such as who is the employee of the month, who gets a raise or promotion, and who gets laid off. So when we have to make evaluative decisions, we generally have to use ranking. However, our ranking can, and when possible should, be based on other methods and forms.
Ranking can also be used for developmental purposes by letting employees know where they stand in comparison to their peers—they can be motivated to improve performance. For example, when one of the authors passes back exams, he places the grade distribution on the board. It does not in any way affect the current grades—but it lets students know where they stand, and he does it to motivate improvement.
How do we use the ranking method? Under the ranking method, the manager compares an employee to other similar employees, rather than to a standard measurement. An offshoot of ranking is the forced distribution method, which is similar to grading on a curve. Predetermined percentages of employees are placed in various performance categories, for example, excellent, 5%; above average, 15%; average, 60%; below average, 15%; and poor, 5%. The employees ranked in the top group usually get the rewards (raise, bonus, promotion), those not at the top tend to have the reward withheld, and those at the bottom sometimes get punished. In Self-Assessment and you are asked to rank the performance of your peers.
Which Option Is Best?
While this section does not contain an exhaustive list, it provides examples of each major method of performance appraisal. Determining the best appraisal method or form to use depends on the objectives of the organization. A combination of the methods and forms is usually superior to any one used by itself. For developmental objectives, the critical incidents, MBO, and narrative methods work well. For administrative decisions, a ranking method based on the evaluative methods and especially graphic rating scale or BARS forms works well.
Remember that the success of the performance appraisal process does not just lie in the formal method or form used once or twice a year. It depends on the manager’s human relations skills in ongoing critical incidents coaching, and on effective measures of performance that are accurate so that everyone knows why they are rated at a given level (evaluative), as well as how to improve (develop) for the next assessment.
Who Should Assess Performance?
Now that we’ve learned the why, what, and how of the performance appraisal process, the next thing we need to discuss is options for the rater, or evaluator. There are a number of different options concerning who should evaluate the individual employee, and the decision needs to be based on a series of factors. Let’s take a look at our options for who should evaluate an employee.
Supervisors
When we ask who should evaluate employees, the most common response is their immediate supervisor. Why would the supervisor be the best person to evaluate an employee? Well, the supervisor is supposed to know what the employee should be doing, right? Certainly, supervisors are frequently one of the best and most commonly used options to choose as evaluators for the employees under their control. However, this is not always the case due to problems with supervisor performance assessments.
Problems with supervisor evaluations. What if the supervisor doesn’t see the employee very frequently? This may not be all that uncommon in a modern organization. Many times today, supervisors may be in a different building or even a different city than the individuals they supervise. Virtual teams, Internet-linked offices, telecommuting, and other factors cause supervisors to not be in constant touch with their employees, unlike the situation 20 or 30 years ago.
There are other problems as well. What if there’s a personality conflict? Supervisors are human, just like their employees, and may just not relate well to some of their employees. This may cause a personal bias for, or against, certain employees that may invalidate the appraisal process if it’s significant enough.
What if the supervisor doesn’t know what employees are supposed to be doing in their jobs? Aren’t supervisors always supposed to know every job for which they are responsible? Again, 30 years ago this may have been true. However, in today’s work environment, with the amount of information necessary to do the complex tasks that organizations must accomplish in order to compete, nobody can know every job. There’s just too much information for any one individual to learn. So jobs have been segmented down into smaller and smaller areas, and the supervisor may not know each of those jobs in great detail. So there are certainly problems that can occur in the case of a supervisor being responsible for a subordinate employee’s evaluation process.
9. EMPLOYEE TERMINATION
9.1 Introduction of Employee Termination
Terminating employees is one of the most unpleasant aspects of a business owner or manager’s job duties, but sometimes it is absolutely necessary in order to continue the business of the employer. But if terminating an employee is necessary, then it should be performed in the most ethical, and professional manner possible. Following the proper protocol in conducting the termination softens the blow to the terminated employee (who is very often surprised that they are being terminated); protects the business from potential litigation arising from the termination; and reassures the owner or manager that they did the right thing. Whether the terminated employee was a good worker or a bad worker is irrelevant. The decision to terminate an employee, once made, sets in motion a number of duties of the employer to handle the termination in a professional manner preserving the dignity of the terminated employee and protecting the employer’s interests as the employer does not want to see an angry former employee down the road in court.
9.2 Involuntary Terminations
Involuntary terminations typically fall into two categories:
1) Terminations resulting from employment problems such as unsatisfactory performance, excessive absenteeism or tardiness, or poor attitude. Employees with such problems are typically not terminated by employers without being given a warning of their performance deficiencies and an opportunity to improve.
2) Terminations resulting from more serious types of employee offenses, such as insubordination, dishonesty, misconduct, theft, unethical practices, fraud, and falsification of records. Employees who have committed such offenses generally can be discharged without warning.
For any involuntary termination, it is always easier to defend against a claim of wrongdoing when good cause exists for the action. Good cause for termination of employment can be most easily defined as a behavior or situation that any reasonable person agrees would warrant discharge. There are no hard and fast rules on what constitutes good cause for termination, but the following causes for discharge have been upheld by the courts:
1) Inadequate work performance. Courts will generally defer to an employer's assessment of an employee's work as long as the employer's standards are applied uniformly and well communicated to employees.
2) Inadequate productivity. An employer's termination decision can be easily defended if the employer has established standards for quantity of work output and the employee has not met them.
3) Poor attendance. Chronic absenteeism, tardiness, misuse of excused absences, and not following procedures for either obtaining permission for an absence or not returning from an excused absence are all valid causes for termination.
4) Violation of work rules. Employers have successfully justified discipline or termination for violating work rules prohibiting such on-the-job conduct as intoxication, sleeping, smoking, conducting personal business, and fighting.
5) Failure to meet legitimate employer expectations under a new policy. One company successfully defended its decision to terminate a 22-year employee because his work record, which revealed complaints of sexual and racial harassment, did not fit with the employer's new policy for improving employee relations.
6) Dishonesty. One of the most easily defended causes for dismissal is dishonesty--such as giving false information on an application form.
7) Illegal conduct. Any employee who engages in illegal conduct on the job may be terminated.
8) Endangerment of health and safety. Employees whose continued employment endangers the health and safety of other employees, the general public, or themselves may be terminated.
9) Insubordination. Termination because of an employee's failure to follow a supervisor's reasonable instructions can usually be defended.
10) Personality/attitude problems. Although personality problems can be successfully defended as cause for discharge, employers must be careful to focus on behaviors, not just subjective conclusions about personal traits. For instance, a statement that the employee "screamed at a coworker who refused to handle his request immediately" is better than a statement that the employee "is impatient and lacks self-control."
11) Poor interaction with subordinates. Because employers are liable for the acts of their supervisors, courts usually grant management latitude to fire supervisors who treat subordinates poorly.
However, employers should review their obligations to disabled employees before terminating them for safety-related reasons to ensure that if a disabled employee's condition constitutes a direct threat to the safety of the employee him or herself, coworkers, or the employer's property, the direct threat cannot be eliminated by a reasonable accommodation to the employee's condition.
9.3 Documentation
Although there are no laws that require employers to document their dealings with employees, employment lawsuits often focus on the reasons for an employee's termination. The employer's records can constitute important evidence in its defense of a termination decision. Documentation of the termination decision should normally begin well before the employee is discharged and should include the following:
The employer's disciplinary policies and performance standards
1) Any eyewitness accounts of employee misconduct
2) The supervisor's memos in which performance deficiencies are recorded in objective terms
3) Performance evaluations
4) Warning memos to the employee
What termination documents do employers need? Termination documentation should show that:
1) The employer had a standard or policy governing the behavior in question.
2) The employee knew of the standard or policy and of the consequences for violating it.
3) The employer applied the standard and policy uniformly.
4) The employee violated the policy or failed to meet the standard.
5) If the employee was terminated for unsatisfactory performance or for repeated minor violations, documentation showing that the employer counseled the employee and made an effort to improve his performance is also important.
Because of the potential for legal retaliation on the part of a discharged employee, it is generally a good idea for employers to establish review policies for all termination decisions. Generally, it should be the responsibility of the human resources manager to review termination decisions. But if no such position exists in an organization, termination decisions should be reviewed by a higher-level manager or by the firm's counsel.
9.4 Reviewing a Termination Decision
Regardless of who undertakes the termination review procedure, the following steps should be taken:
1) Determine whether there is a valid, job-related reason for terminating the employee, such as a violation of company policy, poor job performance, poor attendance, excessive tardiness, or a problem with the employee's conduct, attitude, or demeanor.
2) If the termination recommendation is due to a specific incident, determine whether the incident has been properly investigated and documented in writing. Also determine whether there are any questions that remain unanswered about the incident.
3) Make sure that the employee was made aware that his behavior or job performance was unacceptable.
4) Ensure that the employee's overall work record has been reviewed.
5) Look for extenuating circumstances (such as abusive or unfair treatment by a supervisor) that may have contributed to the employee's unsatisfactory performance.
6) Look for any evidence of sexual harassment, racial harassment, or illegal retaliation for an employee's exercise of his legal rights.
7) Be sure that the discharge recommendation is not merely the result of a personality conflict with the supervisor.
8) Determine whether the termination recommendation is consistent with prior actions where the factual circumstances are similar.
9) If step 8 reveals that there are some inconsistencies, check to see whether the manager making the recommendation to terminate the employee has job-related reasons why the decision to terminate should be different under these circumstances.
10) Have the recommendation to terminate reviewed by an individual familiar with employment discrimination laws and unjust dismissal theories (such as outside employment counsel), to ensure that there is no legal problem.
11) Ensure that the employee has received all rights conferred by company policy, such as a progressive disciplinary procedure.
12) Explore alternatives to termination such as transfer, counseling, or demotion before making the final decision.
9.5 Resignations
A resignation is a voluntary termination of the employment relationship initiated by the employee. Except in emergency situations, employers typically encourage employees who are voluntarily resigning to provide written notice of their intentions. No employer, of course, can force an employee to give notice. Normally, nonexempt employees are asked by employers to provide two weeks' written notice, lower-level exempt employees three weeks' written notice, and higher-level exempt employees, such as senior managers, four weeks' written notice.
Some legal experts recommend that an employer not require notice, because doing so may undercut the presumption that the employment relationship may be terminated at the will of either party. However, employers can ask employees to give reasonable notice as a courtesy. Many companies have written policies saying that employees absent more than three days without calling in are automatically terminated because they have in effect abandoned their job. This helps to resolve the status of employees who resign without giving any notice.
Soliciting a Resignation
Rather than smudge an employee's employment record by firing him, some employers give the employee an option to submit his resignation. This process is easier on the employee's morale, spares the supervisor from having to fire the employee, and allows an employee to save face. However, some employees who agree to resign under pressure can and do turn around and sue the employer if they later regret the decision. For this reason, many employers who give employees the option to resign, require a waiver and release agreement as the "quid pro quo" or legal consideration for the release.
Constructive Discharge
Sometimes an employee resigns because the supervisor has imposed intolerable conditions on the employee's continued employment that have left the employee little choice but to quit. This is referred to legally as a "constructive discharge." Constructive discharges can have very serious financial consequences if the employee sues. If the supervisor's motive was discriminatory or otherwise illegal, the employer carries the same liability as if the employee had been fired. Moreover, the supervisor and employer may be liable for both compensatory and punitive damages for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
Legal Restrictions on Termination
Almost two-thirds of the U.S. work force is employed on an at-will basis. In the past, an employer's right to terminate employees who were not hired for a specific duration or who were not represented by a labor union was curtailed only by certain legislative restrictions. These restrictions included, for example, laws prohibiting the discharge of employees based on unlawful discrimination against classes of employees protected from such discrimination. Recently, however, the courts have imposed a number of additional limitations on an employer's right to terminate. In fact, more than half of the states now recognize some court-created exception to the employment-at-will rule.
During the 1960s and 1970s, numerous federal statutes and regulations were enacted that place further restrictions on an employer's right to terminate employees at will. As a result of this legislation, the following practices are prohibited, including but not limited to: * Discrimination (including unlawful termination) on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, or national origin in accordance with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VII). * Discrimination (including unlawful termination) on the basis of age against people 40 years of age and older in accordance with the Age Discrimination in Employment Act. * Discrimination (including unlawful termination) on the basis of disability in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA). * Discharge of a participant in an employee benefit plan for exercising any rights under the plan or for the purpose of interfering with the individual's attainment of any right under the plan (e.g., termination of an employee to prevent him from vesting in a pension plan) in accordance with the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA). * Discharge of an employee for a single wage garnishment in accordance with the Consumer Credit Protection Act. * Discharge of an employee for performing jury service in a federal court in accordance with the Jury System Improvement Act of 1974. * Discharge of any employee who has filed for personal bankruptcy or who has been adjudicated as bankrupt in accordance with the U.S. Bankruptcy Code. * Retaliation (including unlawful termination) for an employee's reporting employer violations of statutory safety and environmental standards and for filing a claim for any benefits they may be entitled to receive under the respective act in accordance with numerous statutes, including but not limited to workers' compensation.
9.6 Implied Contracts
Often, specific sections in employee handbooks and in policies and procedures manuals are the source of implied contracts:
a) Probationary Periods for New Hires: such periods often lead employees to believe that they have a "heightened sense of job security" when the probationary period is successfully completed.
b) How to prevent: Avoid reference to such periods in these documents; or, alternatively, change the name to "Introductory" or "Orientation" period and include a disclaimer such as "The successful completion of this period is not a guarantee of employment for any specific duration.
c) Rules and Regulations: employees are often led to believe that they can be terminated only for an offense listed in the rules and regulations.
d) How to prevent: Be sure to inform employees that the list of rules is not "all inclusive" and that the company may discipline or terminate an employee for offenses or infractions not set forth in the rules. Also, avoid setting forth specific penalties that will be administered if a rule is violated. For example, "Employees will receive a written warning for violating the company's smoking policy." If, indeed the company desires to terminate an employee for a smoking policy violation (e.g., employee smoking near flammable liquids, which is extremely hazardous), the company may be unable to do so because this may breach an implied contract not to terminate for a smoking offense.
e) Progressive Disciplinary Procedure: courts often find implied contract violations where such procedures are not followed.
f) How to prevent: do not include a specific procedure that must be followed before an employee may be terminated. If such a procedure is included, however, make sure that a disclaimer is included in the procedure clearly informing employees that the company reserves the right to "bypass any or all steps in the procedure at its discretion, and terminate an employee without prior warning or notice, in those circumstances where the company deems such action appropriate."
Public Policy
The following are examples involving public policy where courts have found for employees: * Discharge for refusal to engage in illegal activities * Discharge in violation of freedom of speech * Discharge for reporting wrongdoing by others * Discharge for performing a statutory duty (e.g., jury duty) * Discharge in retaliation for an employee's filing workers' compensation claims * Discharge after filing sexual harassment charges * Discharge for accusation of negligent criminal conduct * Discharge for protesting company policy * Discharge for filing a lawsuit against the employer
The Termination Interview
Terminating an employee can be the most difficult task a supervisor faces. Unfortunately, some supervisors feel such emotional conflict about firing a subordinate that they handle the matter badly. This can cause problems for a number of reasons, but most notably because employees whose termination has been poorly managed are the ones most likely to take legal action against the employer as a result of the termination.
The way an employee is informed about his or her termination can influence such matters as whether the employee will sue for wrongful discharge and whether he or she will be able to win the suit. The following steps are recommended: * Make it clear that the employee is discharged. The supervisor should make it clear that the termination decision is final and should underscore this point by informing the employee of his or her last day of employment. * Avoid personal references or accusations that cannot be proven. The supervisor should maintain a business-like tone in disclosing the termination decision to an employee. In most states, an employer is not required to disclose the reason for discharge. If the employer does choose to disclose the reasons, however, it should be described in terms of behavior and no references to the employee's personal character, or to misconduct that is suspected but cannot be proven, should be given. * Be prepared for the employee's reaction. No matter how much an employee may suspect that it is inevitable, termination of employment is a traumatic event. The employee may respond with anger or tears. The supervisor should concentrate on listening and avoid defensive comments or counterattacks to an angry employee. * Reassure the employee--but not to the extent that the terminating decision seems inconsistent. A fired employee may need reassurance that he or she is still employable. The supervisor can point out the employee's strengths but should avoid being over complimentary or the employee--and perhaps a jury-- may have difficulty understanding why he or she is being fired. * Give the employee time to collect his or her thoughts. Discussions about severance pay and benefits should be postponed until after the employee has had time to adjust to the termination decision. Alternatively, severance pay and benefits can be addressed during the termination discussion, with the employee's receiving a written summary of his or her severance and other benefit entitlements after the discussion. Some employers include this information in the employee's release agreement.
Dealing With A Difficult Former Employee
Occasionally, an employee who has been terminated will refuse to comply with the employer's decision and will continue to report to work. What steps can the employer take to get the employee out, without leaving itself open to a false arrest, assault, battery, invasion of privacy, or defamation claim? Here are some recommendations based on interviews with private security professionals:
1) Give the former employee written notice. The employee who refuses to leave the premises, or who shows up for work the next day after being told he or she is dismissed and told to vacate the office, should be notified again in writing that he or she has been dismissed and is expected to vacate the office or workplace by a certain time. This notice should be given orally (perhaps by reading the contents of the written notice to the employee), and the written notice should be presented to the employee.
2) Allow a reasonable time for departure. The employee should be given a reasonable time within which to leave, at least several hours, perhaps 24 hours. Understandably, in some cases an employer may not want the employee to remain on the premises for any period after the termination notice is given (e.g., where there is a concern regarding possible vandalism or sabotage of company equipment), or may not even want the termination interview conducted on company property (e.g., fear of violence). In these instances, thought should be given to terminating the employee by telephone or by letter.
3) Prohibit the use of company property. The written notice of dismissal and order to leave the workplace should also advise the employee that he or she is not to take any company property with him or her and that he or she is not to make any personal, unauthorized use of company property, such as telephones for long-distance calls or the photocopy machine.
4) Notify the former employee that the police may be called. The written notice should further advise the employee that if he or she is not gone by the deadline, the company's security officers will be called to escort him or her from the premises. If there are no private security personnel, the employee should be advised that municipal or county police will be asked to render assistance.
5) Do not touch the departing person. If it becomes necessary to have security personnel physically escort the employee out, it is very important that they be able to do this peaceably. Private security personnel should not physically touch the employee in any way, even gently on the shoulder. Technically, any unauthorized touching is battery, for which the company may be liable. If an employee should still refuse to budge, the municipal or county police should be called.
6) Evacuate other personnel. If it appears that the dismissed employee will leave only under escort, it may be wise to clear the immediate area of all other personnel.
7) Use security or police as a last resort. Calling private security or public police to remove an employee who refuses to leave otherwise is a drastic remedy that should be resorted to after other, less visible and quieter means have failed.
8) Isolate the former employee. The employee who refuses to leave may be isolated so that in a very short time, even he or she will likely see it is foolish to remain. This may be accomplished by unplugging or disconnecting telephones in his office, by moving his or her secretary, by telling his or her callers that he or she is no longer employed by the company, by refusing to bring him or her his mail, etc. The employer may have to bring in movers to remove furniture in the office or workspace.
9) Change locks, if necessary. It may be necessary to change the locks on the employee's office door, or the main entrance to the workplace, if that is feasible. It is not necessary to wait until the employee has left to change the locks; this may be done while the employee is still on the premises. Then, as soon as the employee leaves the office or building, as he or she must sooner or later, he or she is prevented from re-entering.
10) Warn the former employee. Whatever steps are taken, it is advisable to tell the employee in advance what the next move will be before making it. This is a very important step. This gives the employee time to make up his or her own mind to leave of his or her own accord; bespeaks professionalism on the employer's part; conveys the message that the employer knows what to do and is in charge of the situation; and it may actually spare the company some effort, since the mere warning of intent to take a subsequent step may be sufficient to accomplish its purpose.
11) Be patient. The employer must be patient. In rare, exceptional cases, it may take one or two days to physically remove an employee who is determined to stay. In such situations, the employer does not want any force to be used by or against the employee. The disruption caused by a dismissed employee's temporary refusal to leave is a lesser evil than the liability that can attach as a result of any physical force used on the employee, especially if coworkers are present to observe it.
Release Agreements
When an employer terminates an employee for cause or separates an employee under an early retirement or some other voluntary separation program, it is common to ask the employee to enter into a written separation agreement. Under such an agreement, known as a release agreement, the employee agrees to waive all claims against the employer and its officers, directors, and other employees in return for certain financial and other consideration.
The purpose of seeking a waiver and release agreement is to prevent a departing employee from filing a lawsuit against the company. Although such agreements involve a payment from the employer in exchange for the employee's waiver, they are usually far less expensive than litigating a claim brought by an aggrieved former employee.
Employers must proceed with caution when entering into release agreements because administrative agencies and the courts frown on releases that are not executed under proper conditions or that do not provide sufficient financial or other benefits to the individual in exchange for the waiver of his or her right to sue.
Giving References
Employers must be cautious in providing information to other organizations concerning current or former employees. Equal employment opportunity (EEO) laws, the laws on defamation of character, and the employee's right to privacy may be implicated when giving references. Certain information may be given in response to inquiries from other organizations, but a balance should be sought between providing whatever information may be helpful to a prospective employer and the potential liabilities that may arise in connection with the release of information. The majority of employers are reluctant or unwilling to give references for employees who deserve negative references for fear that the employee may sue for defamation. Defamation is the publication of a false oral or written statement that harms the reputation of another person.
Generally under the law of defamation, an employer may provide information to a prospective employer (or other third party) about a current or former employee, provided the information affects an "important interest" of the prospective employer and giving the information helps the prospective employer protect that interest. An important interest involves one's own affairs or a duty to speak for legal or moral reasons. Interests that the courts have found justifiable include defending one's own reputation, warning others about an individual's misconduct, protecting one's business interests against unfair competition, and protecting the interests of a third person. An employer's option to communicate truthful but unflattering information about a former employee is a "qualified privilege." Under certain circumstances, this privilege may be lost and a cause of action for defamation may be found to exist.
When should an employer not speak? An employer should not communicate truthful but negative information about a person under the following circumstances: * The employer does not believe the truth of what it is saying * The employer believes the truth of the information but has no reasonable grounds for this belief * The information is given to a person who does not have a need to know it * The information is not responsive to the third party's inquiry * The information is disclosed by the employee, and the employer could have anticipated that this would happen (this is known as "compelled self-publication") * The information is given out of malice, and not for a legitimate purpose.
(Employers should understand that the term "malice" in the context of defamation law means not only ill will, hatred, vindictiveness or animosity, but also recklessness, lack of belief or reasonable grounds for belief in the truth of the defamatory remark, an improper motive for providing the information, an absence of good faith, or repetition of the information without reason or necessity).
To achieve a balance between providing useful information to prospective employers and avoiding liability, employers might consider providing limited information in response to a reference inquiry, such as the following: * Verification that the individual worked for the company as a full- or part-time employee and for the period actually worked; * Verification of the position(s) held by the individual during his tenure of employment; and * Verification of the individual's final salary.
Although it is not unlawful to provide the reason for the individual's having left the company, it is often problematic to do so. For example, differences of opinion between an employer and former employee may arise about whether the separation was voluntary or involuntary. Moreover, employers often are unaware of promises that may have been made to a departing employee by his department supervisor. For instance, although an individual's record may reflect that he was terminated, a manager may have promised the individual (typically against company policy) that the company would provide a favorable or neutral reference. If this promise is broken, the company could find itself in the midst of senseless litigation.
Before adopting a policy of providing no references whatsoever, an employer should check state law. Many states require employers to give employees who quit or are fired service letters or letters of reference. Although the content of such letters varies from state to state, state laws may require inclusion of the employee's tenure of employment, occupational classification, wage rates, and reason for termination. Most states that have service letter laws require employers to provide service letters only at the employee's request.
10. Elements of Personnel Management
10.1 Personnel management
Personnel management can be defined as obtaining, using and maintaining a satisfied workforce. It is a significant part of management concerned with employees at work and with their relationship within the organization. According to Flippo, “Personnel management is the planning, organizing, compensation, integration and maintenance of people for the purpose of contributing to organizational, individual and societal goals.” According to Brech, “Personnel Management is that part which is primarily concerned with human resource of organization.”
Nature of Personnel Management
Personnel management includes the function of employment, development and compensation- These functions are performed primarily by the personnel management in consultation with other departments. Personnel management is an extension to general management. It is concerned with promoting and stimulating competent work force to make their fullest contribution to the concern.
Personnel management exists to advice and assists the line managers in personnel matters. Therefore, personnel department is a staff department of an organization.
Personnel management lays emphasize on action rather than making lengthy schedules, plans, and work methods. The problems and grievances of people at work can be solved more effectively through rationale personnel policies. It is based on human orientation. It tries to help the workers to develop their potential fully to the concern. It also motivates the employees through its effective incentive plans so that the employees provide fullest co-operation. Personnel management deals with human resources of a concern. In context to human resources, it manages both individual as well as blue- collar workers.
Role of Personnel Manager
Personnel manager is the head of personnel department. He performs both managerial and operative functions of management. Personnel manager provides assistance to top management- The top management are the people who decide and frame the primary policies of the concern. All kinds of policies related to personnel or workforce can be framed out effectively by the personnel manager.
His role can be summarized as: * Planning – this involves formulating the future course of action. Planning includes determining in advance the personnel programs and changes required that would contribute to the achievement of organizational goals. * Organizing – it involves establishing an intentional structure of roles for people in an organization. Structural considerations such as the chain of command, division of labor, and assignment of responsibility are party of the organizing function. The organizing function establishes relationships among employees so that they can contribute collectively towards the attainment of an organization’s goals. * Staffing – This is the process of obtaining and maintaining capable and competent personnel in various positions at all levels. It broadly encompasses manpower planning, recruitment, placement, induction and orientation, transfer, career progression, promotion and separation. * Directing – it involves directing all the available resources towards the common organizational goals. Thus, direction is a vital management function, which ensures maximum employee contribution and also helps in establishing sound industrial and human relations. It also involves coordination between different departments. * He advices the line manager as a staff specialist- Personnel manager acts like a staff advisor and assists the line managers in dealing with various personnel matters. * As a counselor,- As a counselor, personnel manager attends problems and grievances of employees and guides them. He tries to solve them in best of his capacity. * Personnel manager acts as a mediator- He is a linking pin between management and workers. * He acts as a spokesman- Since he is in direct contact with the employees, he is required to act as representative of organization in committees appointed by government. He represents company in training programs.
10.2 Following are the elements of Personnel Management:
Organization- Organization is said to be the framework of many activities taking place in view of goals available in a concern. An organization can be called as a physical framework of various interrelated activities. Right from manpower planning to employees’ maintenance, all activities take place within this framework. The nature of the organization is dependent upon its goal-profit-making.
Clubs, hospitals, schools, etc. their goal is service. The objective of consultancy is providing sound advice. Therefore, it is organizational structure on which the achievement of goals of an enterprise depends upon.
In personnel management, a manager has to therefore understand the importance of organizational structure.
Job- The second element, i.e., jobs tells us the activities to be performed in the organization. It is said that the goals of an enterprise can be achieved only through the functional department in it. Therefore, seeing the size of organization today, the nature of activities is changing. In addition to the three primary departments, personnel and research department are new additions. Various types of jobs available are:
* Physical jobs * Creative jobs * Proficiency jobs * Intellectual jobs * Consultancy jobs * Technical jobs
10.3 People
The last and foremost element in personnel management is people. In a organizational structure, where the main aim is to achieve the goals, the presence of manpower becomes vital. Therefore, in order to achieve departmental goals, different kinds of people with different skills are appointed. People form the most important element of the organization without them structure is meaningless.
It helps to achieve the goals of the enterprise.
People
help in manning the functional areas. help in achieving the functional departmental goals. people make a concern operational. people give life to a physical organization.
The different types of people which are generally required in a concern are:
Physically fit people
Creative people
Intellectuals
Technical people
Proficient and skilled people
In personnel management, a personnel manager has to understand the relationship of the three elements and their importance in organization. He has to understand basically three relationships:-
Relationship between organization and job
Relationship between job and people
Relationship between people and organization
Relationship between organization and job helps making a job effective and significant. Relationship between job and people makes the job itself important. Relationship between people and organization gives due importance to organizational structure and the role of people in it.
10.4 Personnel Records
Vital to Personnel Management are its records of employees. Personnel Records are records pertaining to employees of an organization. These records are accumulated, factual and comprehensive information related to concern records and detained. All information with effect to Personnel Management in the organization is kept in a systematic order. Such records are helpful to a manager in various decision-making areas.
Personnel records are maintained for formulating and reviewing personnel policies and procedures. Complete details about all employees are maintained in personnel records, such as, name, date of birth, marital status, academic qualifications, professional qualifications, previous employment details, etc.
Types of Personnel Records
1. Records of employment contain applicants past records, list sources, employee’s progress, medical reports, etc.
2. Wages and salaries records contain pay roll records, methods of wages and salaries, leave records, turnover records and other benefit records.
3. Training and development contains appraisal reports, transfer cases, training schedule, training methods.
4. Health and safety records include sickness reports, safety provisions, medical history, insurance reports, etc.
5. Service Records are the essential records containing bio-data, residential and family information, academic qualifications, marital status, past address and employment records.
Purposes of Personnel Records
According to the critics of personnel records, this system is called as wastage of time and money. Dale Yoder, an economist of Michigan University, USA has justified the significance of personnel records after making an in-depth study.
1. It helps to supply crucial information to managers regarding the employees.
2. To keep an update record of leaves, lockouts, transfers, turnover, etc. of the employees.
3. It helps the managers in framing various training and development programs on the basis of present scenario.
4. It helps the government organizations to gather data in respect to rate of turnover, rate of absenteeism and other personnel matters.
5. It helps the managers to make salary revisions, allowances and other benefits related to salaries.
6. It also helps the researchers to carry in- depth study with respect to industrial relations and goodwill of the firm in the market.
Therefore, personnel records are really vital for an organization and are not a wasteful exercise.
CONCLUSION
Industrial and organisation physcology is one aspect I have come to understand to be a useful too which all employees in management must learn and understand. Industrial and organizational psychology contribute to an organization's success by improving the performance, satisfaction, safety, health and well-being of its employees.
REFERENCES
* Organisational Behaviour
By: A, Mustafa. Edition: 2nd ed. London : Global Professional Publishing Ltd. 2013. eBook. * Neo-industrial Organising : Renewal by Action and Knowledge Formation in a Project-intensive Economy
By: Ekstedt, Eskil. In: Routledge Advances in Management and Business Studies. London : Routledge. 1999. eBook * Organizational Behaviour Reassessed : The Impact of Gender
By: Wilson, Elisabeth M. London : SAGE Publications Ltd. 2001. EBook * Understanding Emotion at Work
By: Fineman, Stephen. London : SAGE Publications Ltd. 2003. EBook * Open learning Atlantic International University. * Copperbelt University School of Business department of post graduate studies
