Description of the research study
Performance appraisal is one of the HR practices widely applied to integrate HR activities and organisation’s policies. In addition, the performance appraisal is understood to be covering several processes in which firms evaluate their employees, develop and enhance their capabilities, performance as well as give out rewards. In this study, the effects of performance appraisal on employees’ behaviours in the context of SG Cowen are examined.
The main objective of the study is to examine how the implementations of performance appraisal within the organisation influence the employees’ behaviours particularly in the context of SG Cowen. Through the application of both qualitative and empirical study, the changes in employees’ outcomes because of the implementation of performance appraisal will be examined. In addition, various studies indicate positive relationship between the two variables. Therefore, this study is hypothesised according to the previous findings of various studies. As such, the findings of this study should authenticate this strong positive correlation between the performance appraisal and the employees’ behaviours within the context of SG Cowen.
Further, the intention of this study is to examine empirically the influence of performance appraisal on the behaviours of employees within SG Cowen. Much of the earlier studies have focused on the impact of the performance appraisal on the job commitment, employees’ attitudes and decision-making as well as on the job outcomes. The study is distinct and original since the effects will be tested empirically to determine the validity of the variables. Besides, this study will provide more knowledge into existing literature on the relationship between performance appraisal and the behaviours of employees particularly within an organisation.
The purposes and significance of the study
The study has two important purposes. First purpose is to evaluate the impacts of performance appraisal on employees’ behaviuor. Second, is to determine the tools that can be applied in the implementation of the performance appraisal particularly in SG Cowen. Various studies have indicated that there is correlation between performance appraisal and the employees’ attitude, performance and commitment outcomes.
In terms of significance, performance appraisal is one of the tools managers of organisations use in their administrative practices and influence their workers general performance and livelihoods. Performance appraisal is being applied by organisations to motivate workers as well as influence their behaviours, attitudes and performance. However, the aims of performance appraisal have not been attained by the implementing organisations. Studies indicate that workers have been dissatisfied with the process due to failure by the organisation to put in place appropriate implantation tool to attain the goals of performance appraisal.
In addition, lack of training on the performance appraisal has also contributed to the gap between the results of and the implementation process. Moreover, there is also lack of information regarding employees’ reactions to the appraisal processes. Practical examination of the workforce’s conduct due to the evaluation process forms the basis of the study in linking the space existing in literature.
Critical analysis of performance appraisal on employees’ behaviours
The impacts of performance appraisal have become one of the major issues within the organisation, whether in policy formulation, human resource management and decision-making process. Most importantly, the processes are involved in evaluating the influence of performance appraisal on employees. The main reason why the performance appraisal concept is important to the organisation’s human resource managers is that they want to find out the impact the concept have on the firm’s performance as well as the employees commitment, attitude and behaviours. In addition, the study of the effects of performance appraisal will be helpful in making out variables that have positive or negative influence on the employees’ behaviours, mind-set and commitment as well as coming up with strategies that will address the impacts.
Further, performance appraisal is one of the tools that are being applied by organisations in planning their human resources management at all levels. Not only have the performance appraisal been used in planning, but also in developing the resources as well as helping in shaping personal actions. In the context of SG Cowen, the performance appraisal plays the role of developmental response as well as in decision-making process. Practically, performance appraisals are purposely used by the organisation to distinguish their employees, establish the strengths and weaknesses of their employees, assess and put into operation the personnel management systems as well as in decision-making processes.
The major stakeholders in this study and reasons for their increased interest in the study
Important stakeholders in this study are the management particularly the human resources and the employees. The reason is that management will utilise the determined implementation tools to put in place various strategies that will ensure performance appraisal achieve the desired outcome. In addition, the human resources managers will utilise the outcome of the study in the planning of personnel management, developing the resources as well as shaping personal actions of employees. Besides, human resources managers will use the study outcome to motivate workers as well as influence their behaviours, attitudes and performance.
On the other hand, employees need to understand the importance of performance appraisal on their work behaviours. Within SG Cowen, many employees have perceived performance appraisal negatively. In other words, employees have perceived performance appraisal as threatening rather than enhancing their performance outcomes. Therefore, understanding the concept and the way it affects the employees’ outcomes is significant in coming up with appropriate tools for the performance appraisal implementations.
Key sources of secondary research
Secondary research is a process where the required information are collected through existing literature or studies that have been conducted. In other words, secondary data collection is a qualitative study on the proposed topic. In this study, the secondary data will primarily be obtained through the literature review on peer reviewed academic journals regarding the proposed topic. The secondary information from peer reviewed academic journals will focuses on the findings, discussions as well as the views of various scholars as well as authors on the area under study.
The reason for reviewing such literature is to increase the knowledge of the concerned stakeholders on the study topic. Another important advantage is that the peer reviewed journal articles presents the extent or the scope in which the proposed topic has been studied. Moreover, the articles contain various study approaches of the proposed topic, which contain more information useful for this study. In essence, the secondary data tend to examine the theoretical aspects of the study through a critical analysis of the existing literature on the concerned topic.
Similarly, the secondary research data and information will accrue from the organisations’ records particularly on the employees’ performance appraisal as well as any other documentation that have been filed by the organisation in relation to the human resources practice under study. The major advantage of the source of secondary data is that direct information concerning the organisations practices on performance appraisal is obtained. Moreover, the information from the records of the organisation explains the employees’ behaviour as well as the management actions towards the performance appraisal practices. The major disadvantage of the source of secondary data is that it is limited to only the organisation actions on the performances of employees. In other words, the information that can be retrieved from the source is limited.
Generally, a review of the effects of performance appraisal on employees’ behaviour and organisations success information through the application of existing literature and organisations records will be evaluated to obtain secondary information. Such research information will facilitate the ascertainment of the effects of performance appraisal on employees’ behaviour within the organisation. Moreover, the information from the secondary sources will be used to determine whether the human resource management practice leads to the success of the organisation. Because the research majorly focuses on the effects of performance appraisal on employees’ behaviour, the correlations that exist between these two factors will amicably be sought through the application of the secondary data sources.
Key sources of primary research
Primary research is the process where the data is collected directly through quantitative means. In this study, the primary data will majorly be obtained through quantitative research methodologies. The quantitative research methodologies that will be applied include survey and interviews. However, the proposed study will primarily utilise the survey method through the application of a well structured questionnaire to obtain the required data. Moreover, the requisite research data will be gathered across the study population consisting majorly of the employees and the management of the organisation.
Sampling of the study population remains critical in the survey methodology. In this study, though all the employees are deemed viable, only a few selected through appropriate sampling strategy will be interviewed concerning the research topic. The data from the survey is aimed at assisting in devising sound and rational study conclusions amid offering feasible recommendations for the research being conducted.
The advantage with the survey method of obtaining primary data is that there are improvements on the type of information to be collected. In other words, the survey questionnaire contains variety of questions targeting the required information. In addition, more related information on the study area can be obtained. Besides, direct information particularly on the part of employees is obtained. The major problem with the survey is that it is time consuming and costly. In other words, the survey method of data collection normally takes time requiring researchers to increase the costs.
In order to present significant research findings, appropriate conclusions, and credible recommendations, the proposed investigative study on the relationship between performance appraisal and employees’ productivity would also use interview method of the primary data collection. In fact, the intentions of the interview study are to administer the questionnaires to the study participants through the application of online procedure by choosing every third organisation’s respondent initially incorporated in the study population. Interview schedules that would be approved to help gather information on the effects of performance appraisal on employee behaviour and the organisation’s success will equally be used to establish the relationship between the variables as well as related factors.
The advantage with the interviewing method of primary data collection is that the various observations such as the employees’ reactions and feelings can be made at the same time. In addition, the interviewer can modify the question depending on the situation to get the required answer. The direct response is critical in establishing the effect of performance appraisal on employees particularly their behaviour as one of the main human resources practices currently undertaken by the organisation to help attain the desired outcome. However, interview process may hinder the provision of the information the respondents consider secret. Moreover, the respondents may twist information depending on what the interviewer require.
The presentation of the findings
Since this study will be majorly primary, quantitative data analysis techniques will be used to determine the research respondents’ proportions that chose various responses. The method will be applied for each group of items available in the questionnaires that ideally corresponds to the formulated research question and objectives. Line graphs, tables as well as statistical bar charts will be used to make sure that quantitative data analysis is simply comprehensible to the stakeholders.
Data from secondary sources such as the organisation files and the documents will be analysed by means of content analysis along with the logical analysis techniques. In addition, data collected from literature review will be analysed and presented through the application of various human resources management models. Models such as 360 degrees performance management models will be simplified and used to present the outcome of the study to the stakeholders. The application of various performance management models is to ensure that the study outcomes are practically comprehensible to the stakeholders.