As organisations exist to achieve goals or objectives, the degree of success that individual employees achieve in reaching their personal goals is crucial for ensuring organisational effectiveness. Performance analysis, evaluation or appraisal is the process through which the organisation assesses the quality and quantity of work output of the employees. It provides direction for improving organisational performance. Through performance appraisal, employees learn what the bosses think of their work and get the necessary feedback regarding their strengths and weaknesses. This in turn shows them the ways and means of undertaking performance, enhancing measures by building on their strengths or positive attributes and minimising their weaknesses or negative traits. 

Through performance appraisal, the management is also provided with the necessary feedback regarding the measures that can be taken with regard to human resources for better teamwork and greater output. Performance appraisal is basically a problem-solving process based on behavioural approach. Previously, it used to detect whether an individual’s performance deficiency is due to lack of training. Later, it has been used to train supervisors, and for analysis of situations whereby an employee’s performance problem was identified through systematic evaluation. 

Performance appraisal methodology provides an employee with suggestions for subsequent and appropriate future actions. The main thing is to identify the problem and decide whether the problem is worth solving. The most important criterion is to pinpoint whether the problem is due to internal factors like lack of skill, or external factors that are beyond the control of the individual. 

The process of performance appraisal mainly depends on a series of queries and questions. Sometimes, actual performance is compared to a role-model. This helps performance evaluation of the personnel in comparison with the best performer. This analysis clarifies whether the problem is due to deficiency in skill or knowledge, or lack of feedback that prevents a person from performing at desired level. 

Performance appraisal can be used as a basis for reward allocation. Decisions such as salary increase, promotion and other intrinsic or extrinsic rewards can be determined or fixed on the basis of performance evaluation. These appraisals can also be used for identifying areas where improvements are required and as a criterion against which selection tools and organisational development programmes are validated. There should always be some benchmark standard of satisfactory performance in any organisation. The development of a valid, reliable and bias-free performance appraisal system can help establish such standards. 

Performance appraisal system can motivate or demotivate an employee. So, the emphasis should be on the motivational aspect of performance appraisal. As the management is interested in getting the jobs done by workers, this can be profitably used for positively motivating workers towards higher performance and greater productivity.

Performance is a vital component of the expectancy theory. The management should always remain concerned about the linkage between work effort and performance, and between performance and rewards. To conceptualise the effort leading to rewards, the employee has to know what is expected of him and how his performance would be measured. He must feel confident that if he exerts himself within his capability, it would result in a performance that is satisfactory with regard to the criteria of performance measurement. He must also feel confident that if his performance conforms to the desired level, it should lead to extraction of valued rewards.

Performance analysis serves the following purposes: (a) career development; (b) personal development; (c) feedback; (d) recognition and self-esteem; and (e) goal-setting. All these purposes are better served through two-way discussions between the management and the employee. Performance appraisal interview is an integral part of the appraisal process. Communication is a two-way traffic; it is completed only when the transfer of information has taken place from the management to the employee. Similarly, feedback is needed from the subordinate to the manager. Satisfactory feedback indicates that the information communicated by the manager has been received and understood in the manner it was intended. 

The appraisal process involves the measurement of performance. To determine actual performance, it is necessary to acquire as much information about it as possible. The management should be concerned about what is measured and how it is measured. While measuring performance, the following criteria are quite important: (a) relevance; (b) validity; (c) practicality and (d) fairness. These are the standards of measurement for any performance appraisal procedure. For enhancing the output of individual employees, and thereby raising the output of an organisation as a whole, the performance appraisal method can serve as a highly useful managerial tool if it is properly applied. 

As against performance analysis, appraisal or evaluation, as well as human resource management in the private sector, performance measurement in public administration is a continuous process whereby the quality and success of a government programme is ascertained. It entails continuous collection of data on progress achieved towards realising the set objectives of any organisation. Performance indicators are developed for the purpose to measure or assess the extent to which organisational objectives have been met. Performance measurement can, therefore, bring considerable benefits in public management by ensuring greater efficiency, effectiveness and accountability. 
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The writer is a former Editor of Bangladesh Quarterly. 
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