Case: Building Performance Through Employee Participation
Type of document Essay
2 Pages
Subject area Management
Academic Level Master
Style APA Number of references 1
Order description:
Please read the case study and answer both question in APA style format
Case: Building Performance Through Employee
Participation
A process of performance management is developed in companies to better
shape how employees execute their job responsibilities and complete their work.
Ideally, employees should feel comfortable with this process, believing that the
communication occurring between managers and workers facilitates the
completion of important workplace goals. Unfortunately, many employees
become dissatisfied with how their organizations encourage goal-directed
behavior, which can result in poor job attitudes, decreased motivation, and
reduced effort on the job. These negative factors lead some companies to seek
alternative ways to design and implement performance management systems so
that employees are encouraged to work hard in their jobs.
Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company (JMI) is one such company that has
actively improved its performance management approach, and the results have
been very encouraging. Employees were initially dissatisfied with the feedback
and goal-setting approaches that were being utilized to manage job performance,
so company leaders decided to involve employees in the redesign efforts to
create a more viable program that would be satisfactory for all the parties
involved. An outside consultant started the process by interviewing top leaders in
the company, and focus groups were used to solicit feedback from various other
members of the organization. By utilizing a more participative and inclusive
approach, the company was able to identify the problems with the current
performance management system and generate greater support for the proposed
changes that would ultimately fix these issues. This case illustrates how
important employee participation is in the effective management of human
resources, particularly when developing a viable performance management
system.
Several key changes were made to the performance management system
based on the feedback received from managers and employees. In particular,
inconsistencies in the administration of the performance management system,
problems with the rating techniques and forms, and various challenges linking
pay to performance were specifically targeted as part of the redesign effort. Such
reflection and self-assessment prompted a number of specific improvements to
management of job performance within the company. Evaluations are now based
on narratives, various metrics of accountability, and job goals. Further, feedback
is provided to employees on a quarterly basis, compensation is more strongly
linked to individual effort, and the performance management system functions in
concert with the other elements of human resource management. The changes
made to the performance management processes at JMI Company demonstrate
how human resource professionals can work with other staff members to create
a system that excites employees and, ultimately, yields greater job
performance.
QUESTIONS
- Discuss how this case illustrates how greater support for a
performance management system can be developed through
employee participation.
- Identify some of the ways that performance management systems
can be improved based on the experiences at JMI.
