Case Study on New Performance Appraisal

On the System at Xerox.

1) What type of performance appraisal is central to new system at Xerox? Which, if

Ans: - From the study we have come to know that Xerox has introduced a new performance
appraisal system termed as Stage based performance Appraisal System. This new Performance
appraisal system has 3 stages, mentioned below:

(i) The 1st stage implies that Manager-employee discussion based on written document agreement
which includes employees goal objectives, plans, task etc. throughout the year.

(ii) The 2nd stage is the Feedback stage based on the progress of employed to meet employee
objectives & performance and hence both the manager of employee have to sign the objective sheet
which indicates that the meeting has been executed

(iii) The final of the 3rd Stage is formal performance review stage where both manager of
employee, have prepared a written document that states how well the employee met the present
performance target.

Criteria for a successful appraisal in the New System:-

Successful appraisal system contains a number of common characteristics or criteria.

(i) Clear objectives: An effective appraisal system should be built around clear objectives. The
purpose should be unbiased for everyone.

(ii)Management & employee support: Appraisal system should be supported by the entire
workforce which includes support for expenses such as training, employee-meets, staff time etc.

(iii) Predictability: The timing of the appraisal should be predictable for the employee.
For example, some organization has annual appraisal system clear to the hiring anniversary date of
the employee. This helps the individual employee to prepare for the evaluation.

(iv) Performance discussions: Performance discussion between the rater and the employee is the
most critical component of a successful appraisal system. So, it can be concluded from the above
points, that, New Performance Appraisal System or stage based performance system can be
executed successfully within an organization.
2) Given the emphasis on employee development, what implication does this have
for hiring and promotions?

Ans: - The new Performance Appraisal System emphasizes the employees for their improvement
and better performance based on the rater's feedback. Employees will give more effort in their
work to perform in a more effective way because through the feedback they will receive
appreciation from the manager. Efforts are being made to stress the positive and negative aspects
of employee performance. For the employee developmental purpose there should be a develop-
mental session in which training, grooming, betterment etc. to the employees should be provided.
The employees who undertook the training have to go through an assessment programmed where
the employees have to take a technical survey, completely based on their training. The survey will
be then judged by the respective managers and a rating will be provided to each and every of the
participants, based on which it will be easier for the management to appraise, also it will help the
management to enhance the overall skill set of the employees.
The positive feedbacks from the managers will also help in boosting the morale of the team, as a
result of which performance graph can also peak. These types of assessments also mechanize the
management to make decisions against those who are not willing to take the survey; performance is
downgraded, unwilling to upgrade themselves on newer technologies, reluctant in knowing the
new etc. So, management can easily take decisions in replacing those employees, citing the
mentioned reasons. On the contrary, those who follow these assessments, regularly upgrade
themselves on technologies hence increasing their performance constantly, they can easily find
themselves under the good book of management for a pay hike & promotions.

3. How do you think, management feels about the new performance appraisal
system? Why?
Ans: - Management has felt the new system from the following results:

(i) 80% of the employees have a better understanding of work group objectives.
(ii) 84% considered the new appraisal process fair from the older one.
(iii) 72 % of the employees have come to know about their merit & how it was determined &
evaluated.
(iv) 70% have thought that they have met their personal objectives along with work objectives.
(v) 77% considered the system as a step in the right direction.

Not only that, management also feels that due to the introduction of the New Appraisal system,
productivity of the employees has increased which makes the organization profitable.
The new appraisal system has made the management equipped with various options to evaluate &
make the decision making process easier. It has also made the promotion & appraisal process
unbiased, and totally based on the skill set, knowledge, performance and the endurance level of an
individual. An unbiased management always earns praise from the employees both existing & new
joinee. It has also set a positive effect for the organization which in return helps in hiring the best
talent thus taking the future of the organization to newer heights.
The above discussions on the New Appraisal system sets its introduction on a positive tone, it has
its negative aspects too as per the standard nature, but on overall, New Performance Appraisal
System is helpful to maintain an unbiased environment within an organization.
4) Are there any potential negative aspects of the new performance appraisal
system?
Ans: - As we know that a Performance Appraisal System is an appraisal system done on the job
performance of an employee over a specific period, it is nothing but the report card of the
employee. Unfortunately some evaluations are done so poorly that they are not only designed to fail
but also to create a negative experience for both the manager as well as the employee. Companies
and managers use a lot of general evaluation method to evaluate employee performance. Each
method has good & bad effects so there are some negative aspects of this system as well. These are
as follows:-

(i) Personal bias of the appraiser:-

(ii)Halo effect: While judging an employee, the appraiser evaluates an employee on the strength of
a specific (traits) and does not base his inference on the overall performance of that employee.
For example - if the appraiser possesses a high impression about a particular employee because of
his well mannerism and punctuality in attendance, there would be a halo effect in his appraisal of
that particular employee.

(iii) Average rating tendency: In most occasions it is seen that appraiser follows a safe policy in
evaluating all the employees as average for certain reasons. It happens when the evaluator or rater
does not have proper knowledge about the job of the concerned employee or he has least interest in
the evaluating process.

(iv) Variable rating tendency like Strictness & Leniency: In some cases it is seen that rater rates
the employees leniently & assigns them higher rates. On the other hand it is also found that the
rater rates then strictly & assigns lower rates. In effect, both the tendencies spoil the system.
So it is concluded that, if not done the right way, they can create a negative experience, as they are
based on human assessment & are subject to rater error & biases. It can be a waste of time if not
done properly. They can create a very stressful environment for everyone involved