The
performance management can be defined as ‘a means of getting better results
from the organization, teams and individuals by understanding and managing
performance within an agreed framework of planned goals, standards and
competence requirements’ (Armstrong & Baron, 1998). The performance management
is used widely in many companies in the world to measure and manage employee
and organizational performance (Locker & Teel, 1988) (Murphy & Cleveland, 1991). Performance management
is also used for confirmation, promotional decisions, salary administrations,
training and development and providing feedback (Cleveland, et al., 1989).
(Thoti, 2015)
The
performance management is a very complex process and its consequences are both
for individual and for the organization (Anupriya, 2013). When it comes to knowledge-based
industries like software, the performance outcome is difficult to measure.
Software development is a collaborative effort of knowledge workers, where
analytical and technical skills, research and development, new ideas and
adaptation, is required. Further, in a software project there are both
managerial and non-managerial roles, each has a unique task to perform throughout
the project.
The
most valuable assert of an organization in 21st century is its
knowledge workers, (Drucker, 1999). Typically, knowledge workers prefer
freedom, dislike close monitoring, controlled environments when it comes to
dealing with work related matters (Kinnear & Sutherland, 2000). Therefore, managing
performance of knowledge workers has become very challenging. On the other
hand, it is also very important that software employees actively participate in
the performance management process as the industry is heavily depends on highly
skilled human capital (Anupriya, 2013).
Intangible
nature of the knowledge makes it hard to measure and evaluate using universal
tools (Drucker, 1999). Moreover, there is no single correct
or standard outcome of a knowledge worker, at the same time those outcomes are
not easily measurable or comparable. Rating scale is one of the methods used to
evaluate performance by managers in the software industry, from 1(Poor) to
5(excellent). Knowledge workers focus more on quality than the quantity of the
work.
So, transferring this
quality factor into quantitative rating scale during the performance evaluation
is practically very challenging (Prabaharan & Perera, 2017). Due to this
inherent practical difficulties evaluation process of a IT company is less
transparent to its employees.References
Anupriya, S., 2013. Perceptions of Software
Professionals regarding Performance Management Processes: An Exploratory
Study. The Journal for Decision Makers, 38(2), pp. 39-60.
Armstrong,
M. & Baron, A., 1998. Performance management: The new realities.. London:
Institute of Personnel and Development.
Cleveland,
J. N., Murphy, K. R. & William, R. E., 1989. Multiple Uses of Performance
Appraisal: Prevalents and Correlates. Journal of applied Psychology., 74(1),
pp. 130-135.
Drucker, P.
F., 1999. Knowledge-Worker Productivity: The Biggest Challenge. California
Management Review, 41(2), p. 79–94.
Kinnear, L.
& Sutherland, M., 2000. Determinants of organizational commitment amongst
knowledge workers.. South African Journal of Business Management, 31(3),
pp. 106-112.
Locker, A.
H. & Teel, K. S., 1988. Assessment: Appraisal Trends. Personnel
Journal, Volume 67, pp. 139-145.
Murphy, K.
R. & Cleveland, . J. N., 1991. Performance Appraisal: an
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Prabaharan,
P. & Perera, I., 2017. Tool Support for Effective Employee Performance
Appraisal in Software Engineering Industry. Moratuwa: s.n.
Thoti, K.
K., 2015. Performance Appraisal System in Software Industries in Bangalore. Journal
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