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EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL.
Term Paper ID:26777
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Examines theories & applications for assessing workers in public administration.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Examines theories & applications for assessing workers in public administration.
Paper Introduction:
Contemporary Techniques of Performance Appraisal
Introduction
During the course of its history, public administration has increasingly focused on developing standards of performance appraisal that are just, equitable, clear, and pertinent to the tasks to be accomplished. One recent effort to create such standards is the International City Management Association Center for performance Measurement. Its mission was to help local governments obtain comparable data on the quality and efficiency of service delivery in their areas (ICMA's Center for performance measurement, 1998). One of the
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As Luthynoted, the performance appraisal system of the past is clearly inadequateto the demands of a public that wants service quality, good results, andhigh accountability for taxpayer dollars. Pete Beach inFlorida. The intention in the followingpages is to look at that citizen involvement, along with other contemporarytechniques of performance appraisal.Performance appraisal It might be helpful to start by looking at what performance appraisalis, and what some of the obstacles are to effective performance appraisal. Again, there is mention here of customerreview, along with peer review, as an important aspect of the evaluativeprocess. Accountability begins with electedofficials, extends through public administrators, and is embodied on adaily basis by public personnel. The task to be accomplished maybe badly-defined. Case study: St. Pete Beach and its performancemeasurement system (PERFORM). This led tocomplaints from taxpayers of ill-treatment and employees focused onsqueezing the last drop of blood out of each taxpayer. PM, Public Management, 76(1), 12-15. For example, Routh (1994)reported on the performance measurement system in St. Many marketing techniques have been developed based onsurveys of consumers who provide information about what they like and whatthey do not like. The IRS was forced by Congress to change its ways, and theresult is a new performance measurement system that has three majorcomponents. They may not lend themselves toquantifiable measurement. Journal ofAccountancy, 187(5), 117-118. Its mission wasto help local governments obtain comparable data on the quality andefficiency of service delivery in their areas (ICMA's Center forperformance measurement, 1998). According to Luthy (1998), it is a critical managementtool that needs to be a central initiative in a public agency. The focus on customersatisfaction, employee satisfaction, and business results incorporated bythe IRS also seems a fruitful approach. Certainly one agency that has been forced to respond to publicdissatisfaction, changing its methods and its means of performanceappraisal is one that citizens have also long charged with overstepping itsauthority. Contemporary Techniques of Performance AppraisalIntroduction During the course of its history, public administration hasincreasingly focused on developing standards of performance appraisal thatare just, equitable, clear, and pertinent to the tasks to be accomplished.One recent effort to create such standards is the International CityManagement Association Center for performance Measurement. The ICMA Center for Performance Measurement referenced in theintroduction had several ideas about the future of performance appraisal.It has developed pilot programs so that groups with special interests candevelop highly detailed and focused comparisons that contribute to theoverall database. In looking at the systemscurrently in use, Luthy's seemed the most comprehensive in placingperformance appraisal within the context of systematic governmentperformance measurement. The citizens' review board seems toprovide the most evaluative information at the upper levels, dealing withofficials and administrators, but can also clearly provide importantinformation about the individual government employee and his or her impacton the citizenry. (1998). (1998). Citizen/customer surveys may be a useful tool. This demandresulted in a piece of legislation she considered extremely simplistic.The Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 was supposed tostructure expectations for performance-based management throughout thefederal government. It is a method that encourages professional development, ratherthan coasting. For one thing, it incorporates a goal-setting process which involves all employees. For him,these dimensions included core/job-specific attributes, technical knowledgeand skills, interpersonal characteristics and skills, job-relatedobjectives and assignments, career management, peer-customer review, andemployee-to-supervisor feedback. To look at the reverse, a performancemeasurement system can work if it starts from the top, if there isincentive to improve, if there is commitment throughout the organization,if there is context, and if there is stakeholder feedback.Contemporary Techniques What are some of the current systems that are in use that are provingto be effective and equitable? In looking for a starting point in designing a performance appraisalsystem, however, it seems like the place to begin is within the context ofthe overall performance measurement system of the governmental entity. Thiscreates a great deal of specificity and objectivity for the performanceappraisal process. They will not depend upon actual tax enforcement results (IRSunveils new performance measures, 1999). PM, PublicManagement, 8 (7), 24. If there is a focus onpunishment, rather than improvement, individuals will try to hide theirperformance, or manipulate the system, in order to avoid being fired orsuffering in some other way. (1994). In looking at performance appraisal at the public level, citizenresponses in some jobs may be the best measure of the employee'sperformance. Performance evaluation, in general, has become a much more importantprocess in government during the past decade. Quantitymeasures are designed to be outcome-neutral in terms of production data,such as the number of cases closed, work items completed, and hours spenton cases. Selling your community on acitizens' review board. The purpose of the legislation was unclear. IRS unveils new performance measures. Searching for government performance: theGovernment Performance and Results Act. It is the latter that is of the most interest here. How do supervisors measurethis? However,Braunstein and Tyre (1994) explored the idea in terms of improvedaccountability for both agencies and employees over a wider range ofservices. G. Working together, they can create a performancemeasurement system that is less objective than some of those previouslymentioned, but has the virtue of being ongoing, flexible, and responsive tochanges within the community. An even more intense focus on customer review is incorporated in thedevelopment of a citizens' review board. In the past, the main criteria for judging employee performance wasthe employee's record in enforcement and collection. Luthy notedthat even with the recognition that traditional performance evaluationsystems were inadequate for a changing workplace, more than 8 percent ofsurveyed government organizations still use outdated processes. Conclusion: Radin (1998) noted that one of the themes that characterizes thepublic sector in the 199 s is the demand for performance. For another, the citymanager has included project deadline goals in employment contracts and inperformance deadline standards for some of the department managers. This would be an effective tool forthose jobs in which public personnel deal frequently and centrally with thepublic in a service capacity. One of the focuses of the group was theinvolvement of citizens in performance measurement, which is certainly onthe growing edge of performance appraisal. (1999). If quality performance does not influence resource allocation,and poor performance likewise does not, departments and individuals oftenhave little incentive to move toward excellence. ICMA's Center for Performance Measurement. Furthermore, it is not a tool imposed from above, but onein which the primary stakeholder - the employee - is constantly involved indefining and refining. His performance appraisal system of choice is one in which supervisorsand employees work together to create an employee contribution anddevelopment plan that is unique to each employee and his or her position.In other words, it is an individualized plan that not only expects theemployee to meet job requirements, but encourages that employee to grow anddevelop. (1998). Seven pitfalls to avoid when establishingperformance Theurer (1998) talked about some of the general problems in governmentin creating performance measurement systems as a whole. The obstacles to doing that andplacing individual performance appraisal within that include problems ofthe lack of set context, lack of commitment from leaders, a focus onpunishment instead of improvement, no stakeholder feedback, and no linkbetween performance measures and resource allocation. Taxpayers are to be asked directly if theyreceived courteous, timely, and professional service from IRS personnel.This information will be used to evaluate both individual IRS employee andoperating units. Perhaps theperformance appraisal tool most akin to this are those forms in restaurantsand other service establishments in which customers are asked to comment onthe level of service they received. Some of these areobvious. Routh, M. With the newsystem, customer satisfaction is central to the process, and fair andequitable treatment of taxpayers is one of the new standards for evaluatingthe performance of employees. There have beenmany trends, including management by objective and zero-based budgetingwhich attempted to create overall systems. Both of these recognize that jobsare many-faceted, and that government is a service industry. References Braunstein, S. The kindof processes he defined as outdated included all those which simplyemphasize punishment/reward, or compensation systems, but do not motivate,encourage, teach, or recognize employees. This is a more controversialideal, usually applied to law enforcement, and usually thought of as ameans to control the police from over-stepping their authority. (1994). New keys to employee performance and productivity. It is an unwieldy problem that begins with each individual. Even private businesses, however, have not generallybased performance appraisals directly on information from customers. It also seemed to provide a means to make theevaluation process less adversarial, and more focused on maximizing thepotential of each individual employee. Luthy, J. Certainlycustomer satisfaction measurements have been important for private businessfor many years. Yet,these have contributed to assessments. As accountability has becomemore important to the citizenry, performance appraisal systems have becomemore sophisticated tools to provide an ongoing look at the conduct of thepublic business. It tried to promote a focus onexcellent results, service quality, and public satisfaction, but has notmanaged to make major changes in the public sector. Certainly for employees who are working directly with thepublic, their demeanor, helpfulness, attitude, and ability to be efficientand responsive are central to job performance. Whether this attitude can holdunder the pressure of decreasing budgets and increasing expectations is aquestion, but it seems like a good beginning. This seems like a straightforward mission,and sometimes is, but there are obstacles. PM, Public Management, 76(9), 21-23. Theindividual is not separate from the context. PM, Public Management, 8 (3), 4-8. PS, Political Science andPolitics, 31(3), 553-555. There is still room for measuring business results, whichwill be identified by using both quality and quantity measures. However, this has not been applied on a system-widebasis, nor in any standardized way. It was designed primarilyto improve the confidence of people in the government, but without reallycreating the means to accomplish this. Radin, B.A. (1998). The ultimate goal of a review board in this context is toinvolve the community in a process of consensus building, which allowscitizens to educate public administrators about their needs and desires,while also allowing administrators to educate their audiences aboutrealistic goals. Performance appraisal, or performance, measurement, is a tool toexplore the quality of an individual's, or department's, achievement inrelationship to job objectives. The goals may be vague. Three of the major emphases for the future in terms ofperformance appraisal include (1) on-line data collection and querycapability; (2) identification of "best practices" associated with highperformance; and, (3) regular collection of outcome information fromcitizen/customer surveys. These include customer satisfaction measures, employeesatisfaction measures, and business results measures (IRS unveils newperformance measures, 1999). This system (PERFORM) provides the context for the development ofthe performance appraisal system. Luthy (1998) also recommended that the performance appraisal systememphasize objective criteria through seven specific dimensions. Luthy's planhas the advantage of expecting the employee to grow and develop through hisor her career, and for the public manager to assist in this process. And Tyre, M. Theurer, J.
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