Data Bases • Custom Term Papers • Free Term Papers • Free Research Papers • Free Essays • Free Book Reports • Plagiarism? Links • Top 100 Term Paper Sites • Top 25 Essay Sites • Top 50 Essay Sites • Search 97,000 Papers @ DirectEssays.com • Search 101,000 Papers @ ExampleEssays.com • Search 90,000 Papers @ MegaEssays.com Free Essays • Term Paper Sites • Chuck III's Free Essays • Free College Essays • TermPaperSites.com • My Term Papers • Get Free Essays • Essay World • Planet Papers	Search Lots of Essays Back to Subjects - Business Performance Appraisals and Motivation Performance Appraisals and Motivation Performance Appraisals and Motivation In analyzing the effectiveness of performance appraisals on employee motivation one needs to start with a basic understanding of human nature. Some fundamental truths can be ascertained by simply observing common situations in our everyday lives. For instance, my mother is a much better housekeeper than I am. Motivational differences are, in my opinion, the cause of this. In my mother’s reality, a clean house is tied to her self-image. A clean house reaffirms her value as a person so she takes it seriously. Now I enjoy a clean, pleasant environment as well, but I don’t consider dust bunnies and undone dishes as having a deleterious effect on my value as a human being. On the other hand, I do consider knowledge and understanding of others and the world around me to be a significant component of my self-image. This requires me to constantly question my own opinions and viewpoints, whereas my mother is comfortable with the opinions and viewpoints she has established over her lifetime and is not motivated to a great deal of introspection. There are no value judgements attached to these statements; the point is that in almost any situation, from the mundane to the existential, from housekeeping to paradigms, motivation controlled by self-image varies greatly from one person to the next. Now, looking at corporate cultures in this context, one must wonder if any of this is taken into consideration when addressing issues of employee motivation. One of the most common tools, and often the only one, used is the yearly performance appraisal. To gain some insight into whether performance appraisals are effective motivational tools, specifically in relation to whether they take into account differences in reasons for motivation, I interviewed three people in regard to their past experience with performance appraisals. The following five questions were asked of each individual. When you were hired or at any time before actually receiving an appraisal, were you informed of the criteria that you would be judged by? All three of the interviewees stated that they had never received any information of this type. One even mentioned that the forms had changed from one year to the next so he couldn’t even base his expectations on the previous appraisal. Before even getting into issues of self-image, one must acknowledge that the prerequisite for motivation is the knowledge of what one is supposed to be motivated to achieve. Clearly, in all three cases, the program that used these appraisals as motivational tools failed in this most basic requirement. Has your supervisor ever spoken to you about your view of your job and what you would like to achieve? One of the respondents answered no to this question, while the other two both mentioned that while they had never had the discussion in any other context, their performance appraisals had required them to describe what they would like to accomplish in the upcoming year. One these two people has not had another appraisal since but the other stated that they had recently been appraised and the goals they had been asked to outline had not been revisited. So, apparently some thought went into ascertaining what these individuals would like to achieve, but there was no follow-up nor was there any attempt to discover the motivations behind these goals. Was the feedback received during your appraisal helpful in improving your performance afterward? All three of the people interviewed were very negative in this regard. One stated that he didn’t think his supervisor had any idea of what his job entailed and how well (or poorly) he may have been doing. He said that even though he received a satisfactory pay increase, he found his supervisors lack of knowledge very demoralizing and was actually less motivated after his appraisal. Apparently, recognition and praise motivate this individual as much as if not more than money. By not realizing this, his supervisor did more harm than good. Do you think your supervisor is qualified and has been properly trained to prepare and present performance appraisals? Again, all three respondents answered in the negative. I asked how they came to this conclusion and the answers were all along the lines of “my boss didn’t seem comfortable or knowledgeable.” None of the interviewees had any direct knowledge of whether their supervisors had received training although one did state that his supervisor mentioned beforehand that he detested appraisals and hated doing them. All of this seems to send a pretty clear message to the employees that the company does not value them enough take appraisals seriously other than as a way to justify various levels of salary increases. Was your latest salary increase based on your appraisal and if so do you think it was fair? Although all three individuals felt that they should have gotten larger increases based on their actual performance, none felt that the increases were actually tied to the appraisals. They felt that they had received the “set amount” and the appraisals were tailored to justify this amount. Again, we see a lack of motivational success. In conclusion, while none of the interviewees were particularly unhappy about the appraisal process, they were definitely ambivalent about its usefulness. All people are motivated by self-image. This may manifest itself in striving to attain monetary wealth, knowledge, recognition or some other goal. Based on the responses I received, and indeed as I expected, one of the greatest drawbacks of the performance appraisal process is that is does not acknowledge this or seek to Bibliography: Word Count: 921
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