individual performance Flashcards
what are the different management approaches to control?
classical - essential feature of formal org, based on routine procedures/rules/regs to achieve consistent and predictable beh
scientific - worker not left any discretion to make mistakes. control system as result of scientific mgment theory was standard costing: inputs could be planned, costs established and variations highlighted. adding budgeting means powerful control system available.
human relations - emphasises social org and importance of informal relationships. control feature of interpersonal influences rather than close and constant supervision. this affects control systems, e.g. operational staff are involved in budget setting to ensure targets are achievable.
contingency - nature of effective control will depend on situation. system needs to be tailored to meet needs.
what are some issues with management controls in scientific management?
motivation - lack of morale and commitment, no interchangeable skills and high staff turnover
quality - no overall responsibility, no intrinsic job satisfaction
little understanding for people - people aren’t always rational and theory doesn’t have room for this.
what employment practices add control within the org?
- health and safety
- discipline
- dismissal/redundancy
- fairness in the workplace
- staff performance appraisal systems
some of these (last one) are management controls, not just legal requirements.
what types of control strategies did Ouchi and Child distinguish?
personal centralised control
small orgs, centralised decision making by owner. reward and punishment will reinforce conformity to personal authority. control carried out by owner through personal supervision. as org grows owners may find increasing demands and need to employ and delegate, moving them away into one of two following:
bureaucratic control
controls based on formalised rules, procedures/hierarchy. rules in formal job descriptions/std methods for performance of tasks. reward/punishment systems possibly used. mgrs typically use budgets and std cost accounting systems.
output control
measures results, most appropriate where there is need for quantifiable and simple measures of performance as required specification of output stds and targets to be achieved. facilitates delegation without need for bureaucratic controls, once output stds have been agreed employees can work semi-autonomously
clan/cultural control
development of employees’ strong identification with mgment goals, perhaps through identification/acceptance of values and beliefs of org.
once they have skills/experience/ability can be given freedom on how to undertake tasks. few formal controls, depends on careful selection, socialisation and development of employees
how does trust help control?
HR approach emphasises social org. Elton Mayo’s studies on how to improve productivity showed work groups impose their own controls on members. this was through series of punishments like ostracising members who were persuaded to comply with objectives of mgment rather than norms set by group.
control therefore feature of interpersonal influences rather than close and constant supervision, recognising people do not behave as unfeeling robots.
allowing trust works well for both, employee can work on initiative and feel valued, leading to increased motivation and productivity, benefitting company.
what is necessary for control based on trust to work?
- The manager must be confident that the employee has the knowledge and the skills to undertake the task.
- The objective must be clear and agreed by both parties.
- The employee must be motivated to work hard and use initiative to achieve the objective.
what is the HASAWA?
Health And Safety At Work Act:
every org employing 5+ people must prepare and revise policy for health and safety of org and arrangements in force to implement this. policy should be brought to notice of employees.
policy should specify senior org member for carrying out.
safety and responsibility includes enforcing safety regulations.
what are the 5 areas of employer responsibility in the HASAWA?
5 key areas of employer responsibility as specified in the act:
- plant and systems of work
- use, handling, storage and transport of articles and substances
- info, training, instruction and supervision
- safe workplace and means of entry/exit
- safe working environment and facilities
what is the role of a safety representative?
representatives (from trade union) usually have 2 yrs experience. employer should consult with them about making and monitoring arrangements to ensure health and safety at work and check effectiveness of measures.
what is the only form of training required by UK statute?
health and safety training
three broad categories: new staff under induction, monitoring safety, prevention.
what does an org need to do to monitor safety?
legally must notify authorities of any serious accident at work and keep detailed records. orgs are going some way towards monitoring implementation of safety policy -
safety sampling - trained observers follow prescribed route and identify defects, then level of safety identified and targets taken to meet this. proactive
critical incident - question employees about where things almost went wrong. proactive.
studying accidents - likely to be undertaken by external agency.
what are the benefits of health and safety controls?
legal obligations met
cost savings
enhanced reputation
preserve employee well-being
what is self-discipline based on?
- socialisation, norms of following reasonable stds of acceptable beh
- most employees want to do the right thing
- most people accept idea that following instructions and fair rules of conduct is part of the work ethics
what goal must discipline have for an employee?
improving future beh of employee and other members of org, to avoid reoccurrence.
why should mgrs set expectations/rules?
once employees know expectations and feel rules are reasonable, self-disciplined beh becomes part of collective norms enabling responsible autonomy. when new rules introduced, mgr must try to convince employees of purpose and reasonableness. if work group as whole accepts change, strong sense of group cohesiveness will exert pressure on dissenters and reduce need for corrective action
what sort of in and out of work behaviour could require disciplinary action?
in:
- Leaving work early, lateness, absenteeism
- Defective and/or inadequate work performance
- Breaking safety or other rules, regulations and procedures
- Refusing to carry out a legitimate work assignment
- Poor attitudes which influence the work of others or which reflect on the public image of the firm, such as improper personal appearance
out:
- An excessive drinking problem
- The use of drugs or some form of narcotics
- Involvement in some form of law-breaking activity
what are the steps of progressive disciplinary action?
informal talk - minor issue/no record.
oral warning - straightforward discussion. stress preventative purpose of discipline. leave employee with feeling there must be improvement.
written/official warning - permanent record. document can serve as evidence in grievance procedures. copy for employee and HR
disciplinary layoff/supervision - for theft/fraud suspicion, suspension with pay during investigation normal.
demotion/transfer - allowable provided procedure is specific or employee agrees.
what is Douglas Mcgregor’s hot stove rule?
compares touching a hot stove and experiencing discipline
- The burn is immediate — with no questions of cause and effect.
- There is a warning — because everyone knows what happens if one touches a stove when the stove is red hot.
- The result is consistent — every time a person touches a hot stove he is burned.
- The result is impersonal — whoever touches a hot stove is burned. One is burned because of what he or she does, because the stove is touched, not because of who the person is.
discipline should be directed against the act and not the person. immediacy means after noticing the offence, the supervisor proceeds to take disciplinary action as quickly as possible.
why should employees have advance warning about what leads to disciplinary action?
- Without a procedure, unfair dismissal claims are likely to succeed.
- It is easier to maintain standards if employees accept them as fair.
- Everyone should know in advance what is expected of them and what the rules and regulations are.set rules in inductions. individual mgrs can set stds which are custom and practice of deptcustom and practice may become as important as written rules and so procedures should be reviewed and anomalies looked into. fact that rule wasnt enforced in past doesn’t mean it can never be, but employees should be informed and warned of consequences.
what are the requirements of disciplinary techniques?
consistency
impersonality
documentation
right to appeal
why should disciplinary techniques be consistent?
A good disciplinary technique requires consistency in application and enforcement. This means that appropriate disciplinary action is taken every time because inconsistency in application lowers morale and diminishes respect for the system. Inconsistency also leads to employee insecurity and anxiety, and creates doubts in their minds as to what can and cannot be done.
However, consistency does not mean imposing the same standard penalty every time for a particular offence. Each case should be considered on its own merit and each employee should be judged according to personal background, work history, length of service and so on.
why should disciplinary techniques be impersonal?
It is only natural to feel some resentment towards someone who has taken disciplinary action against you. Yet, making disciplinary action as impersonal as possible can help remove the personality element. Penalties should be connected with the act and not based upon the personality involved.
Once disciplinary action has been taken, ‘bygones must be bygones’.
why should disciplinary actions be documented?
Procedures often require that records are kept of what happened. Documentation of the facts, including the reasoning involved in the decision, is because the burden of proof is usually on the manager and it is not wise to try to depend on memory. This is particularly true in unionised organisations where disciplinary actions meted out against employees often result in a challenge via the grievance procedure.
why should disciplinary actions feature the right to appeal?
Procedure and natural justice require that the employee should have the opportunity to state his/her case and have a right of appeal. Following the chain of command, the immediate supervisor’s boss would be the one to whom an appeal should first be directed.
As a result of an appeal, the disciplinary penalty may be reduced or set aside. Under these circumstances, a supervisor may become discouraged, feeling that the boss has not backed him or her up.
what is the ACAS code of practice?
In the United Kingdom, there exists a set of advisory booklets about various employment practices published by the Advisory Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS). These are often used as yardsticks against which internal disciplinary procedures are judged to be fair or reasonable.
what does the ACAS code say disciplinary procedures should be?
- be in writing.
- specify to whom they apply.
- provide for matters to be dealt with quickly.
- indicate the disciplinary actions which may be taken.
- specify the levels of management which have the authority to take the various forms of disciplinary action.
- provide for individuals to be informed of the complaints against them and to be given an opportunity to reply.
- give individuals the right to be accompanied by a trade union representative or by a fellow employee.
- ensure that, except for gross misconduct, no employees are dismissed for a first breach of discipline.
- ensure that disciplinary action is not taken until the case has been carefully investigated.
- ensure that individuals are given an explanation for any penalty imposed.
- provide a right of appeal and specify the procedure to be followed.
what is recommended for disciplinary procedures outside of the ACAS code?
- Provide for individuals to be informed of the nature of their alleged misconduct
- Allow individuals to state their case, and to be accompanied by a fellow employee (or union representative)
- Ensure that every case is properly investigated before any disciplinary action is taken
- Ensure that employees are informed of the reasons for any penalty they receive
- State that no employee will be dismissed for a first offence, except in cases of gross misconduct
- Provide for a right of appeal against any disciplinary action and specify the appeals procedure
what are grievance procedures?
not the same as disciplinary procedures, although the two terms are often confused. A grievance occurs when an individual thinks that he is being wrongly treated by his colleagues or supervisor, for example he is being picked on, unfairly appraised in his annual report, unfairly blocked for promotion, discriminated against on grounds of race or sex and so on.
what should a formal grievance procedure do?
Formal grievance procedures, like disciplinary procedures, should be set out in writing and made available to all staff. The grievance procedures should:
- state what grades of employee are entitled to pursue a particular type of grievance.
- state the rights of the employee for each type of grievance.
- state what the procedures for pursuing a grievance should be.
what is the typical escalation path for a grievance?
immediate boss
high manager
HR manager
what characteristics should a grievance procedure have?
- It should distinguish between individual grievances and collective grievances. Collective grievances might occur when a work group as a whole considers that it is being badly treated.
- It should allow for the involvement of an individual’s or group’s trade union or staff association representative. Indeed, many individuals and groups might prefer to initiate some grievance procedures through their union or association rather than through official grievance procedures. Involvement of a union representative from the beginning should mean that the management and union will have a common view of what procedures should be taken to resolve the matter.
- It should state time limits for initiating certain grievance procedures. For example, a person who is passed over for promotion should be required to make his or her appeal within a certain time period.
what is dismissal and the two types?
dismissal = termination of employement, with or without notice. can be constructive or wrongful
constructive - resignation of employee because of employer’s actions
wrongful - breach of contract employment, may or may not be unfair
what are the reasons for acceptable dismissal?
- conduct - well-documented and fair disciplinary procedure best way of handling conduct problems. must demonstrate sufficient reason for dismissal, and why employer didn’t transfer/counsel employee
- capability - normally have to demonstrate when standard were and how employee failed to meet them, detail warnings/remedial actions taken. difficult to show that loss of efficiency has had an effect on the business.
- breach of statutory duty - continuing employment may place employer in breach of statutory duty, e.g. under health and safety legislation.
- redundancy - justified on following grounds: cessation of business, cessation of business in place employee was employed, cessation of type of work for which they were employed.
- ‘some other substantial reason’ - possibilities include dishonesty, refusal to transfer overseas, loss of trust
how should dismissal be done?
in UK, employer must show they acted responsibly in the circumstances in treating that reason as sufficient reason for dismissal.
if contract terminated, must be done in way which follows correct procedures and is fair in circumstances, otherwise employee may be able to claim compensation for unfair dismissal.
what instance of terminating an employee doesn’t involve dismissal?
retirement increasingly takes place before official age, advantages are both parties agree to it and typically employer has plenty of notice so succession planning can take place.
what is the procedure for dismissal?
- consult recognised trade unions
- notify specific countries gov office or dept for education and employment
- select and dismiss fairly
- give appropriate notice
- make redundancy payments if employees qualify
- allow time off for employees under notice to look for jobs
what are the equity theories?
Adam’s equity theory
Equity of payment - Salomon, 1999
what are the two major ways to think of fairness?
the moral case, the business case
what is Adam’s equity theory?
provides framework by focussing on employees’ feelings of how fairly they are treated when compared with others’ treatment. two main aspects:
individuals assess their social relationships as in process theories of motivation - that is they set against what they receive by what they have to contribute
individuals always compare their situation with that of others
what factors does Salomon’s equity of payment theory consider?
supply and demand
a living wage
rate for the job (two employees carrying out same work)
output reward (same level different roles)
responsibility (different levels)
differentials (different work same org)
comparability (same work different org)
status (different work different org)
contribution to organisation (wages vs org profitability)
what is one issue with salomon’s equity of payments theory?
doesn’t consider diversity/equal opportunities
is fairness a contingency issue?
Yes - depends on whose interests one takes as to whether something is fair. difficult to assess how fair various payment practices are, so maybe main element should be equality of opportunity and encouraging policy of diversity. legislation is an imposed strategy according to Mintzberg and Walters and orgs tend to satisfice to introduce specific forms of legislation rather than viewing it as a change process.
what characteristics are recognised in terms of adverse discrimination?
on the basis of ‘acceptable’ dimensions such as health, previous performance, age, height, weight (e.g. airline stewards/esses) — as well as implicit ones such as speech, attractiveness (e.g. for sales jobs, acting, hosting) and also region/county (accents, attitudes), class (manners, speech) and occupation of parents.
what is the difference between equal opportunities and diversity?
equal opportunities:
removing discrimination, personnel and development role, relies on proactive action
diversity: maximising potential, relevant to all employees, managerial role, doesn’t reply on proactive action
what is the equality act (2012)?
most significant legislation in UK. strengthens protection, advances equality and simplifies the law. encompasses:
- age
- disability
- gender reassignment
- marriage and civil partnership
- pregnancy and maternity
- race
- religion/belief
- sex
- sexual orientation
why is the HR dept so important to control?
in todays orgs one of most important systems to control is HR. quality of an org’s employees is fundamental to its success. essential for org to get its people system right, so how to do it?
at strategic level, board sets out policy on HR. at tactical level, HR dept responsible for implementation. will devise detailed procedures to control implementation like performance appraisal systems and employment contracts.
what should the HR policy include?
- employment status of the people: whether willing to use/what mix will be of permanent/contract/agency staff/self employed. flexible working arrangements, job sharing, family-friendly policies, outsourcing of certain activities e.g. catering
- policy on training and development including what training willing to provide/pay for, what level of experience of qualification it will buy in rather than train, whether it’ll have internal mgment development programmes, whether investors in people accreditation is appropriate
- org structure that defines division of work, reporting lines and spans of control
- recruitment/selection processes inc extent of delegation
- use and content of employment contracts
- reward structure
- performance appraisal system
- code of conduct and disciplinary process
what is the performance appraisal system? what components does it have?
typical control system, designed to influence beh of employees to improve efficiency and help achieve org objectives
components:
action plan to be implemented
criteria for assessment
agreement of objectives
preparation of appraisal report
appraisal review
formal review usually by line mgr
what does an effective performance appraisal system do?
identify key deliverables, compare performance vs requirements, identify training/dev needs, identify areas for improvement, provide feedback on org’s recruitment and selection procedures. will be relevant to needs of org and individual, fair/objective/consistent, taken seriously by parties involved, cooperative, not overly time consuming or costly.
what can reduce a performance appraisal system’s effectiveness?
appraisal review. poor performance interviews can be confrontational/judgemental/just a chat/a paper exercise/substitute for mgment process that should be being done day to day and possibly irrelevant if annual.
what alternative methods of performance appraisal avoid some disadvantages of performance appraisal process?
self assessment - increases employee’s responsibility and saves mgr’s time, however rarely objective and reduces effectiveness of control
self and mgr assessment - takes more time and negotiation to reconcile two opinions, but has positives of above
360 degree - subordinates, peers, customers, line mgr. provides fuller view of performance but time consuming and again have to reconcile all the views
what should a good performance mgment system have?
system should: be applied fairly and consistently, have commitment and support from senior mgrs, be carried out w serious intent, relate to main objectives of org, be clearly understood by all parties, be cost effective to operate.
what are reward systems used for?
can be used to motivate employees to work in best interest of company. reward given to individual or group in recognition of services, efforts or achievements.
intrinsic rewards - arise from performance of job itself. satisfaction of doing job well, being allowed to make higher level decisions or being interested in your job.
closely linked to Herzberg’s motivators
extrinsic rewards - separate from/external to job itself and are dependent on decisions of others. pay, working conditions and benefits.
closely linked to Herzberg’s hygiene factors
what are some types of incentive schemes?
performance related pay
piecework - reward related to pace of work/amount of effort
points system
commission
bonus schemes
profit sharing - includes share issues
what is management by objectives? what are the basic company aims?
Drucker (77) - defining org objectives and linking them to a timescale. stated that objectives should be agreed for areas where performance and results have a direct influence on achievement of basic company aims. these aims are:
profitability
mgerial performance
worker performance
public responsibility
what should mgrs do when setting objectives for management by objectives?
agree own dept targets with superiors
discuss and agree targets for staff that are achievable
ensure that all targets set are measurable and possible and that resources are made available together with some setting of priorities
apply control system and discuss progress w staff at regular intervals. where staff jointly set objectives with mgr they achieve valuable feedback on performance (Herzberg motivator)
what are the issues with viewing orgs as machines?
use of basic costing techniques in large multi-product firms may result in misleading info for decision making. more sophisticated models are then more appropriate.
limitations of mechanistic perspectives:
- They can create organisational forms that have great difficulty adapting to changed circumstances.
- They can result in mindless and unquestioning bureaucracy.
- They can have unanticipated and undesirable consequences as the interests of those working in the organisation take precedence over the goals the organisation was designed to achieve.
- They can have dehumanising effects upon employees, especially those at the lower levels of the organisational hierarchy (Morgan, 86).
what are the perspectives in the balanced scorecard?
profitability - financial perspective
how do we look to shareholders?
goals:survive, succeed, prosper. measures: cash flow, sales growth and income, increased market shares and return on equity.
customer perspective
how do customers see us?
goals: new products, responsive supply, preferred supplier, customer partnership. measures: % sales from new products, on time delivery, share of key accounts’ purchases, ranking by key accounts, number of cooperative efforts.
innovation and learning perspective
can we continue to improve and create value?
goals: tech leadership, manuf. learning, product focus, time to market. measures: time to development, process time to maturity, percent of products that = 80% of sales, new products intro vs competition
internal efficiency - internal business perspective
what must we excel at?
goals: tech capability, manufacturing excellence, design productivity, new product introduction. measures: manufacturing geometry, cycle time, unit cost yield, engineering efficiency, introduction schedules vs plans
what is the BSC?
belief that vision can best be achieved when viewed objectively from 4 perspectives. suggest objectives, measures, targets and initiatives recorded for each persp. components designed to be integrative. puts strategy, structure and vision at centre of mgment’s focus.
what does the BSC do?
systematic attempt to design perf mgment system that integrates org objectives, coordination of individual decision making and need for org learning. essential for continual improvement. BSC considers results and causes of actual perf towards org objectives.
to be balanced, perf measurement systems must:
reflect org’s understanding of causes of successful perf
measure most critical aspects of org perf
what type of budgeting usually goes with the BSC?
activity based budgeting to collect and collate basic data
what should the performance measures on the BSC be?
- be clearly understood by all employees
- link manf perf and fin perf
- be linked to ensure constancy of purpose
- be able to identify cause-effect relations to enable employees to deal with poor perf and continue good practices
- be based on critical success factors
- identify trends and rate of change
what are critical success factors in the BSC?
elements of perf required for org’s success:
quality, customer service, resource mgment, cost and flexibility
measures should be developed for each of critical success factors, for each layer of mgment. different scorecards should reflect individual mgr’s activities contribution to all of critical success factors.
performance measures reflect level and nature of individual mgment functions. scorecards combine fin and non-fin and different reporting frequencies. (closer to shop floor = more frequent perf measure reporting)
how should the BSC be used in practice?
should be custom designed for each org to reflect unique situation and current priorities/objectives of each mgr. can be used as form of budgeting. targets set for each component of BSC, actual perf measured and compared. variances calculated and used to direct effort to areas of weak perf.
BSC requires holistic appraisal of org perf, which encourages attainment of all perf criteria and a BSC approach to mgment. little org benefit in significantly reducing product costs if quality falls below level required by customers
what is a mentor? what is their role?
good way to ensure staff have help and support from colleagues. normal to be from same function but unusual to be direct/indirect line manager, otherwise danger for conflict given development vs line mgment nature of mentoring. works alongside more formal control mechanisms
role:
encourage and assist junior members of staff to analyse performance in order to identify strengths and weaknesses, give honest and supportive feedback and guidance on eliminating/neutralising weaknesses
act as sounding board for ideas. helps jrs question and reflect on experiences
function in career enhancing and psychologically beneficial manner. help jr staff expand network of contacts and gain greater exposure in org
what are the benefits of mentoring?
improved motivation
lower staff turnover
faster career progress
what is coaching?
focuses more on specific objectives, usually within defined time period. more about improving performance of someone already competent rather than establishing competency in first place.
- It is usually on a one to one basis and is set in the everyday working situation.
- It involves gently encouraging people to improve their performance, to develop their skills and increase their self confidence in order to develop their career prospects.
- Most coaching is carried out by a more senior person or manager, however the key issue is that whoever carries out the coaching must have sufficient expertise, experience and judgement to help the person being coached.
what are some definitions of culture?
Shein (92) - deeper level of basic assumptions and beliefs that are shared by members of org, that operate unconsciously and define in a basic taken for granted fashion an org’s view of itself and its environment
Hardy (93) - the way things are done around here
what is the iceberg analogy of culture?
part of iceberg visible = goals and strategy, structure/systems/procedures/products/services. greater part is submerged and concerned with values, attitudes, beliefs, norms and leadership style.
what are the main effects/characteristics of a strong culture?
- will strengthen beh regularities and norms among members of org
- will minimise some of perceptual differences among people within org
- will reflect philosophy and values of org’s founder of dominant group
- particular culture will have significant effect on org’s strategy and ability to respond to change
what are Schein’s three levels of culture?
artefacts - things such as factory and/or office equipment, building, way in which employees dress and provision of info for customers
values - often taken for granted and tell individuals what is regarded as important in the org and what beh is desirable. more strongly based values = more likely affected, but doesn’t mean necessarily articulated in written form. explicit approaches to use of culture may not be shared globally, but orgs promote and act on values whether or not formally documented.
basic assumptions - underpinning any set of values is basic assumptions about things which represent deepest level of cultural awareness and guide individuals’ beh, determining how they should perceive, think and feel about things. e.g. relationship between org and environment and what motivates people. very important but largely subconscious, those within the org may not even be aware of their beliefs, they have become so fundamentally part of their way of being.
what variables can determine the structure/culture of an org?
- History and nature of the organisation’s business; the reason the organisation was formed
- Age
- Values of the first owners; influence of the leader
- Nature of the management and staff in the organisation; organisational goals and objectives
- Structure, whether it is centralised or decentralised; nature of the business environment
- Size of the business
- Life stage of the organisation, whether it is in its youth, maturity or decline
what are the advantages of a strong culture?
- facilitate good communication and co-ordination within the organisation.
- provide a framework of social identity and a sense of belonging.
- reduce differences amongst the members of the organisation.
- strengthen the dominant values and attitudes.
- regulate behaviour and norms among members of the organisation.
- minimise some of the perceptual differences among people within the organisation.
- reflect the philosophy and values of the organisation’s founder or dominant group.
- affect the organisation’s strategy and ability to respond to change.
what are the disadvantages of a strong culture?
- strong cultures are difficult to change, beliefs which underpin culture can be deep rooted
- strong cultures may have a blinkered view which could affect the organisation’s ability or desire to learn new skills
- strong cultures may stress inappropriate values. A strong culture which is positive can enhance the performance of the organisation, but a strong culture which is negative can have the opposite effect
- where two strong cultures come into contact e.g., in a merger, then conflicts can arise
- a strong culture may not be attuned to the environment e.g., a strong innovative culture is only appropriate in a dynamic, shifting environment.
