PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL AND ORGANIZATIONAL SUCCESS OF SELECTED GAS FIRMS IN RIVERS STATE

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Abstract

The study examined the relationship between performance appraisal and organizational success. The survey method was adopted. The study was designed to focus on Ciscon Nigeria Limited and Thompson and Grace Investment Limited. The population of the study was made to be one hundred (100). The Yaro Yemen’s was used to determine the sample size as 80. A self-designed questionnaire on performance appraisal and organizational success was used and administered for the data collection. The Chi-Square statistical tool was used to test the hypothesis. Findings reveal that there is a significant relationship between performance appraisal and organizational success. Based on the findings of the study summary, conclusion and recommendations were made that for appraisal to yield the desired outcomes, adequate attention should be paid to the avoidance of appraisal politics and the pursuance of fairness and transparency in the organization, performance appraisal exercise should not be seen as ingestion but rather as a means of developing the employee in his job with the intention of strengthening the strong points of the employee while enabling him to improve his weak point and that in addition, for management to achieve the objective of performance appraisal, the performance of workers at work and errors committed should be pointed out to them from time to time since this will aid their careers development in the attainment of corporate objectives.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Title Page            i

Cover Page         i

Declaration         iii

Certification       iv

Dedication          v

Acknowledgements       vi

Abstract               vii

Table Of Contents           viii

CHAPTER 1          1

INTRODUCTION                1

1.1 Background Of The Study      1

1.2 Statement Of Problem           3

1.3 Objective Of The Study          4

1.4 Research Questions 4

1.5 Research Hypotheses             4

1.6 Significance Of The Study      5

1.7 Scope Of The Study 5

1.8 Limitation Of The Study          6

1.9 Definition Of Terms 6

CHAPTER 2          8

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE             8

2.1 Conceptual Framework          8

2.1.1 Concept of Performance Appraisal                8

2.1.2 Dimensions of Performance Appraisal         12

2.1.3 Concept of Organizational Success                15

2.1.4 Measures of Organizational Success             16

2.2 Theoretical Framework          19

2.3 Empirical Framework               19

CHAPTER 3          22

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY         22

3.1 Research Design        22

3.2 Population   22

3.3 Sample And Sampling Techniques     23

3.4 Questionnaire Design             24

3.5 Source And Method Of Data Collection           24

3.6 Data Analytical Techniques   25

3.7 Reliability And Validity            26

CHAPTER 4          27

DATA PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS     27

4.1 Data Collection And Presentation      27

4.2  Data Analysis             28

4.3 Test Of Hypotheses 31

4.3 Discussion Of Findings            36

CHAPTER 5          38

SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION       38

5.1 Summary      38

5.2 Conclusion   38

5.3 Recommendations   38

References         40

Appendix I          42

Appendix Ii         43

CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Organizational success is a measure by how well a company meets the individual objectives of its business plan. It lies in understanding how each element can support or restrain the other, on how to balance the dynamics between the elements to determine the most constructive solutions in any situation. To be successful, an organization must have a statement, a philosophy, and a series of programs and goals that focuses on the skills and talents of its employees. All of this must be managed with care and guidance so that the organization’s mission is successfully accomplished. Successful organizations need both inspirational leaders and sound managers. In order to achieve increased and sustainable results, organizations need to execute strategies and engage employees. Success is measured by analyzing where the organization is in regards to its goals and its mission. Organizations need to think about the future of their business and think of better ways to be successful. Organizations can either view their challenges as competition with others or as opportunities to push them closer to reaching their full potential. What route they choose to take determines if they are successful or not. One of the ways an organization can be successful is through performance appraisal.

Performance appraisal is a key in human resource management function which is viewed as a subset of performance management. Rao (2005) argues that performance appraisal is a method of evaluating the behavior of employees in the workplace, this normally include both the quantitative and qualitative aspects of job performance. It helps to identify and overcome the problems faced by the employees in their workplace (Mackey & Johnson, 2000). Although it has many benefits for the organizations, states that performance appraisal have the equal probability of having a bad influence on the organization as well as on employee performance (Nurse, (2005)

According to Kuvaas, (2006); performance appraisal or employee appraisal is a method by which the job performance of an employee is evaluated generally in terms of quality, quantity, cost and time typically by the immediate line manager or supervisor. A performance appraisal is a part of the process of guiding and managing career development in both private and public sectors. It involves the task of obtaining, analyzing and recording information about the relative worth of an employee to the organization (Maud, 2001).

Accurate appraisals are crucial for the evaluation of recruitment, selection, and training procedures that can lead to improved performance. Appraisals can determine training needs and occasionally, counseling needs. They can also increase employee motivation through the feedback process and may provide an evaluation of working conditions, thus, improving employee productivity, by encouraging the strong areas and modifying the weak ones (Rao, 1994).

To thrive or survive, organizations need to continuously improve quality, attract more customers, and become more cost conscious.   In other words, firms need to better manage their performance appraisal which has the propensity of enhanced employee performance. Over the years, there are many practices, tools, techniques, systems, and philosophies that aim at helping organizations to gain the competitive advantage of higher performance.

There has been a widespread use of performance appraisal in work organizations all over the world.   This widespread use of Performance Appraisal Systems (PAS) can be attributed to human resource specialists, academics and consultants who proclaim that performance appraisal is a critically needed tool for effective human resource management.

However, in the review of past studies carried out by Ebue (2003) despite the level of work that has been done; only few studies try to discuss some specific aspects of performance appraisal that can affect survival of organizations.  From the foregoing therefore, this study seeks to examine the relationship between performance appraisal and organizational success in some selected gas firms in Rivers State.

1.2 Statement of Problem

This brings us to those problems that are associated with conducting performance appraisals. The process usually starts at the middle management level where it is the job of a middle level manager to apprise his subordinates or employees who are under him.  In fact every successive hierarchical level, the superiors are asked to evaluate the employees who are working under them. This can give rise to many issues that make performance appraisals an unpleasant task. As a result, many managers view the process of appraisal as time consuming and burdensome. To begin with performance appraisals can cause friction, resentment and the consequent low morale. Since appraisals are rather subjective in nature, they can also be disputed in case of negative ones.

The performance appraisal systems tend to have several problems. Raters‟ evaluations are often subjectively biased by their cognitive and motivational states and supervisors   often   apply different   standards   with   different   employees   which   results   in inconsistent, unreliable, and invalid evaluations (Folger, 1992). In order to create better systems, researchers have traditionally focused on validity and reliability (Bretz 1992) by designing newer “forms” of performance appraisals (e.g., behavioral based systems that better define specific essential job functions of employees or 360-degree feedback mechanisms that allow for cross-validation via multiple raters).  However, despite these recent advances in evaluation design, critics continue to argue that performance appraisal systems are not consistently effective (Atkins & Wood, 2002). Given the above scenario, therefore, the study seeks to examine performance appraisal and organizational success of some selected gas firms in Rivers Stateso as to fill the research gap.

1.3 Objective of the Study

The main objective of the study is to examine the relationship between performance appraisal and organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State. The specific objectives are to:

i.              Examine the extent to which rating scale associate with organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State.

ii.             Examine the extent to which ranking associate with organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State.

iii.            Examine the extent to which critical incident method associate with organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions will guide this study;

i.              Does rating scale associate with organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State?

ii.             Does ranking associate with organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State?

iii.            Does critical incident method associate with organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State?

1.5 Research Hypotheses

With the research questions in perspective, the following

H01: There is no significant relationship betweenrating scale and organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State.

H02: There is no significant relationship between ranking and organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State.

H03: There is no significant relationship between critical incident methodand organizational success in selected gas firms in Rivers State.

1.6 Significance of the Study

This study is significant in the following ways;

Firstly, this study will be significant to shareholders of these organizations as the survival of the organization is paramount. It will also assist managers of these firms in their continuedsurvival process. It will be relevant to employees in the organizations. This study will add to existing knowledge on performance appraisal in management sciences.

1.7Scope of the Study

The study limits scope to selected gas firms Rivers State.

The scope of this study is delimited into the followings:

Content Scope:The study empirically examines the relationship between performance appraisal and organizational success. The specific areas of organizational success the study investigated include; profitability and customer satisfaction.  Whereas, the areas of performance appraisal include rating scale ranking and critical incident method.

Geographical scope: This study covers an examination of strategic contributions of performance appraisal and organizational success of gas firms in Rivers State. With reference to two gas firms in Rivers State including Ciscon Nigeria Limited, Thompson and Grace Investment Limited.

Unit of Analysis: the unit of analysis for this study is the employee of the selected gas firmsat the time of the study. Hence, it is a micro level study.

1.8Limitation of the Study

This work was limited by sample size, sector covered and the geographical area. A further limiting factor in this study was prospect of unexpected or extraneous events, occurring at the time of the study which may have affected the obtained response. Inability to access some required offices was also a problem. These limiting factors are expected to affect the generalization made in this study. Nevertheless the knowledge to be gained on the impact of change management and organizational effectiveness hence makes the study worthwhile.

1.9 Definition of Terms

Job Evaluation: It is the rating of jobs in an organization.

Organizational Success: Organizational success is a measure by how well a company meet the individual objectives of its business plan.

Performance Appraisal: It is the assessment of individual’s performance.

Profitability: Profitability means ability to make gain from all the business activities of an organization, company, firm, or an enterprise.  It shows how efficiently the management  can  make  profit  by  using  all  the  resources  available  in  the market.

Rating Method: Rating consists of several numerical scales representing job related performance criterions such as dependability, initiative, output, attendance, attitude etc.

Ranking Method: Ranking method is one of the simplest performance evaluation methods. In this method, employees are ranked from best to worst in a group within an organization

Critical Incident Method: Itis a research method in which the research participant is asked to recall and describe a time when a behavior, action, or occurrence impacted a specified outcome.

Customer satisfaction: It is the measurement that determines how happy customers are with a company’s products, services, and capabilities.

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