The Effects of Gadgetpro Enterprises Performance Appraisal System on Employees

Performance appraisal is one of the most common methods used by human resources to determine rewards, promotions, and area where employees can improve. The purpose of the performance appraisal is to motivate employees by the promise of a reward for a job well-done. However, performance appraisal has also been one of the most controversial topics in human resource management. The main controversies stems from whether it achieves its goals in improving employee motivation, or whether it does more harm than good. This research will explore the topic of performance appraisal in terms of its overall effects on job satisfaction.

Background of Study

Job satisfaction has an impact on organizational performance. Performance appraisals have been found to increase employee motivation and have a significant impact on positive job performance. They provide employees recognition and rewards for a job well-done. One of the most important factors in the assessment of employees is finding metrics that accurately reflect the performance. There is always the potential that performance metrics will reward low performers and penalize high performers. Errors in appraisals was found to have differing effects on the employee depending on their level in the organization and their income. One of the most important studies on performance appraisal was conducted by Brown and Heywood in 2005. It used a study population of workers from Australia. The findings of this study indicate that workers with longer tenures are less likely to be subjected to performance appraisals. The study found that those of shorter tenure and females were more likely to be monitored using a performance appraisal system. It was found that the results obtained in Australia do not hold true for Great Britain regarding work characteristics.

Performance appraisal is one of the most critical functions of human resource management. The desired outcome of a performance appraisal systems if job satisfaction. The quality of the performance appraisal system has a significant impact on the job satisfaction outcome for the employee. One of the main difficulties that human resources departments face is that they often do not have the resources to dedicate to providing a quality performance appraisal for all employees. Having definable and achievable goals at the beginning of the performance period is an important factor in the success of the appraisal period. Ndirangi and Ngari support the need for clarity in the performance appraisal goals and objectives for the individual employee.

Communication was also found to be an important component of the appraisal process, as this provided employees with a means to exercise control of their results. Employee perceptions of fairness with the process were found to be important in the success of the performance appraisal process to promote higher levels of performance in the future. It was found that the implementation process, interpersonal relationships, rater accuracy, informational factors, and employee attitudes all had a significant affect on the ability of the performance appraisal system to have a positive impact on the business.

Strategic human resource management (SHRM) is concerned with how human resource activities contribute to organizational strategies. Human resources now recognizes the value of taking a behavioral approach to achieving high organizational performance. Several employee behaviors were found to contribute to high levels of job performance. These were diligence, being aware of the potential for the unexpected, the quality and quantity of communication, flexibility in the face of unexpected events, the ability to initiate appropriate action to rectify unexpected events, and the ability to switch tasks and deploy people rapidly. The ability to adjust to changing circumstances means the ability to be flexible and responsive to the changing circumstances.

As one can see, performance appraisals can be an effective way to motivate employees and to provide a way to reward them for good performance. However, there are also come caveats and other factors that can influence their effectiveness. Finding a method for measuring employee performance that is equitable and accurate is the most important factor to make certain that the system results in higher performance levels.

Problem Statement

This study will explore the effects of feelings of safety and security, rewards and benefits, and the level of trust between staff and management at Gadgetpro Enterprises. It will help to determine which of these factors has the greatest influence on improving employee motivation and higher levels of job achievement through increased job satisfaction among the employees. This understanding will help managers to design programs that result in the highest level of performance among employees in the organization will lead to increased profits and outcomes in the future.

Research Objectives of the Study

The objectives of this research study are to explore the effects of several factors associated with appraisal process on employee job satisfaction and its associated benefits. The objective of the research are as follows.

1. To examine the effects of employee perceptions of job safety on job satisfaction.
2. To examine the effects of employee perceptions of job security on job satisfaction.
3. To examine the effects of employee perceptions of rewards on job satisfaction.
4. To examine the effects of employee perceptions of benefits on job satisfaction.
5. To examine the effects of employee perceptions of trust between the staff and management on job satisfaction.

Research Questions and Hypothesis

Exploration of the following research questions will lead to an understanding of the research topic and achievement of the research objectives.

1. What are the effects of employee perceptions of job safety on job satisfaction?
2. What are the effects of employee perceptions of job security on job satisfaction?
3. What are the effects of employee perceptions of rewards on job satisfaction?
4. What are the effects of employee perceptions of benefits on job satisfaction?
5. What are the effects of employee perceptions of trust between the staff and management on job satisfaction?

From these research questions the following research hypotheses will be derived.

• H1: Positive employee perceptions of job safety will increase job satisfaction?
• H2: Positive employee perceptions of positive job security will increase job satisfaction?
• H3: Positive employee perceptions of rewards systems will increase job satisfaction?
• H4: Positive employee perceptions of job benefits will increase job satisfaction?
• H5: Positive employee perceptions of trust between the staff and management will increase job satisfaction?

Significance of the Study

This study will have a significant impact on the ability of human resources departments to develop programs to increase job satisfaction among their employees. It will result in a positive outcome for the employees, as their organizations will take measures that lead to greater job satisfaction. This will improve the quality of their life. The organization will benefit from this study as it will then have definitive actions that it can take to increase job satisfaction and reap the benefits that go along with it.

The study will contribute to the field of human resource as a whole by contributing to the body of knowledge on the appraisal process and factors that influence job satisfaction. It will contribute to knowledge on how other factors, such as perceptions of safety, job security, and relationships between staff and managers influence the effects of the appraisal process on job satisfaction.

The study will contribute to future researchers as it will identify confounding variables that could effect the results of studies on job performance appraisals in the future. The factors studied in this research are expected to have an effect on job satisfaction. Previous studies on the effect of the performance appraisal process and job satisfaction focused only on the performance appraisal process. However, certain confounding variables might have been present that effected the results achieved. This study will examine potential confounding variables that might have effected previous studies.

Scope of the Study

The study will use 150 survey respondents who are employees of Gadgetpro Enterprises. It will involve a single organization, which might limit the applicability of the results to other organization that are dissimilar to Gadgetpro. Evidence from the literature suggests that results cannot be applied across country and cultural boundaries. This limits the applicability of the results to country in which the study was conducted.

This study will examine six factors and their effect on job satisfaction. The rewards and benefits package is included in this study. It is possible that these five factors could have an effect on the results obtained for the appraisal process. For example, if the appraisal process results in job satisfaction, then poor employee perceptions about job safety could have a moderating effect. This study will examine factors that could have a moderating effect on the results of the performance appraisal process. It will not be able to determine the degree of this effect, only that a certain factor has a measureable effect on job satisfaction and could serve as a confounding variable in studies on performance appraisal and job satisfaction.