Question

2) Part A: In your own words, define performance management and a performance evaluation system. Summarize your understanding of the difference between these two concepts. Part B:Why is it important for HRMs to investigate performance issues to identify the root cause? How would you handle an employee conduct violation, such as harassment or theft? How would you counsel an employee who lacked the skills and knowledge to perform his/her job responsibilities? What type of performance issues(s) could benefit from a performance improvement plan?

Answer 1

A-

Performance management is monitoring and managing employees work and making necessary changes on the fly, typically between a superior and subordinate. A performance evaluation system is a system that measures individual performances and rates them, which is typically looked at when giving promotions. The evaluation system is more of the written documentation, whereas the performance management is the hands-on portion or managing.

The main difference is that performance management is not assessing or grading how the employee is performing but instead it is handling issues that affect an employee’s performance or lack thereof. It helps keep employees in line as far as what is accepted behavior and what are grounds for dismissal. It is not ok to take advantage of organizational time, supplies, and equipment. In addition, we all have a life outside of our professional lives and sometimes those things affect how we act and treat others in the workplace. Policies and procedures within performance management help guide HRMs and managers in the organization with a plan of how to act when these instances occur.

B-

It is important for HRM’s to identify the root cause because not only do performance issues cause problems such as being late, always missing work, and nonperformance, but it can also lead to more serious issues

Harassment is a serious violation. It would be dealt with immediately and the employee would most likely be terminated. Employees need to know that harassment is not tolerated and will not be taken lightly. Not acting in such a serious violation will signal to employees that the organization does not care for their safety. Theft is more of a progressive discipline process. The offense will be documented, and the employee will receive a warning for the offense. Obviously, depending on the severity of the situation, the employee may by terminated, but for lesser violations, there will be a disciplinary intervention.

Employees who lack the skills and knowledge to perform what they have been hired should be documented through a performance evaluation system (Human, Human resource management, n.d.). This way, both the employee and the employer have evidence of how much the employee is lacking. If the lack of performance has been going on for a long time, then there should be enough counseling statements that will support grounds for dismissal. On the other hand, performance evaluation can be a positive way to encourage and motivate the employee to get back on track. If they were a valued employee in the past, the employer can develop an improvement plan to get them back to their normal level of engagement and achieving new goals that have been set.  

A performance improvement plan is developed to help the employee succeed. Employees who are not meeting expectations benefit from a performance improvement plan. It will define the problem, discuss how their behavior can be modified, develop both long and short term goals, set a timeline for the improvements, and future dates when they are scheduled to check in to evaluate their progress. This way, the employee has been made of aware of their nonperformance and is held liable for improving. If further training and development is needed, the employer will follow through in providing these needs