ABSTRACT
This study focused on the effect of performance appraisal strategies on employee effectiveness, a study of selected tertiary institutions in Abia State. The specific objectives were to; examine the effect of technological aided performance appraisal strategy on employee performance of the selected tertiary institutions in Abia State, ascertain the impact of employee self-assessment strategy on employee effectiveness of the selected tertiary institutions in Abia State, determine the effect of 360-Degree feedback on employee productivity of the selected tertiary institutions in Abia State and determine the challenges of performance appraisal in the selected tertiary institutions in Abia State. The study was guided by a descriptive survey design because it gives detailed information about issues, problems, events and describes events as they are. Both primary and secondary data were used. The population of the study was 9012 of teaching and non teaching employees and the sample size of 383 respondents was obtained using Taro Yamane technique. The researcher used questionnaire for data collection. The data gathered for the study were analyzed using descriptive analysis. Pearson correlation, independent sample test and Pearson Chi square was used to test hypotheses with the aid of statistical packages for social sciences (SPSS). The study showed that technological aided performance appraisal strategy had significant effect on employee performance. The findings also revealed that there was significant impact of employee self-assessment strategy on employee effectiveness. Thirdly, the study showed that 360-Degree feedback had significant effect on employee productivity. Finally, the result of the study discovered that ineffective performance appraisal system and incompetent leadership were among the challenges of performance appraisal in the selected tertiary institutions in Abia State. The researcher recommended that Nigeria tertiary institutions should improve on their technological aided performance appraisal strategy in order to boost their institutional survival.
TABLE
OF CONTENTS
Title page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table of Contents vi
List of Tables ix
List of Figures x
Abstract xi
CHAPTER
1
1.0
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study 1
1.2
Statement of the Problem 3
1.3
Objectives of the Study 4
1.4
Research Questions 4
1.5
Research Hypotheses 5
1.6
Significance of the Study 5
1.7
Scope of the Study 6
1.8
Limitations of the Study 6
1.9 Operational Definition of Terms 7
1.10 Brief History of Organization under Study 9
CHAPTER
2
2.0 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
2.1 Conceptual Framework 10
2.1.1 Performance Appraisal 12
2.1.2 Overview of Performance Appraisal 12
2.1.3
Purpose of Performance Appraisal 13
2.1.4 Types and Approaches to Performance
Appraisal 15
2.1.4.1 Appraisal Performance Target 16
2.1.5 Performance Appraisal Process 17
2.1.6
The Design of Performance Appraisal
System 20
2.1.7
Effective Performance Appraisal System 22
2.1.8
Performance Appraisal Criteria and
Measurement 23
2.1.9
Performance Appraisal Feedback 25
2.1.10
Factors that Hampers Effectiveness of
Performance Appraisal 26
2.1.11
Benefits and Importance of performance
Appraisal 28
2.1.12
Consequences of Performance Appraisal 28
2.1.13
Challenges of Performance Appraisal 33
2.1.14 Performance Appraisal in Nigeria 34
2.1.15
Performance Appraisal vis-a-vis Employees
Productivity 36
2.1.16
Motivating Employees for Higher
Productivity 38
2.1.17
Building Employee Commitment 40
2.1.18 Performance Appraisal Strategies 42
2.1.19 Employee Effectiveness 47
2.2 Theoretical
Framework 48
2.2.1
Expectancy Theory 48
2.2.3
Equity Theory: 49
2.3
Empirical Review 50
2.4 Summary of the Review Literature 53
2.5 Gap in Literature 54
CHAPTER
3
METHODOLOGY
3.1
Research Design 55
3.2
Sources of Data 55
3.3
Population of the Study 55
3.4
Sample Size Determination 56
3.5
Sampling Technique 56
3.6 Description of the Instrument 57
3.7 Validity of Research Instrument 57
3.8 Reliability of Research Instrument 57
3.9
Method of Data Analysis 57
CHAPTER
4
DATA
PRESENTATION, ANALYSES AND INTERPRETATION
4.1 Return Rate of Questionnaire 59
4.2 Data Presentation 62
4.3 Test of Hypotheses 67
4.4 Discussion of Results 71
CHAPTER
5
SUMMARY
OF FINDINGS, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.1
Summary of Findings 73
5.2 Conclusion 73
5.3 Recommendations 74
5.4 Area for Further Studies 74
References
Appendix
LIST OF TABLES
Table
4.1: Distributed and Return of the
Questionnaire 59
Table
4.2 Distribution of Respondents
According to Gender 59
Table
4.3 Distribution of Respondents
According to Age 60
Table
4.4: Distribution of Respondents
According To years of Working Experience 60
Table
4.5: Distribution of Respondents
According to Academic Qualification 61
Table
4.6: The Effect of Technological
Aided Performance Appraisal Strategy on Organizational
Survival 62
Table
4.7: The Impact of Employee
Self-Assessment Strategy on Organizational Effectiveness
63
Table
4.8: The Effect of 360-Degree Feedback
on Organizational Performance 64
Table 4.9: The
Challenges of Performance Appraisal in the Selected Tertiary Institutions in
Abia State 65
LIST OF FIGURES
Fig 2.1 Performance Appraisal Process 18
Fig. 2.2: 360 Degree Feedback or
Assessment 44
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
In
every business organization, the performance appraisal of the employees is
important in achieving organization goals. People differ in their abilities and
altitudes; there is always some difference between the quality and quantity of
the same work on the same job being done by two different people. Therefore,
performance appraisal is necessary to understand each employee’s abilities,
competencies and relative merit and worth for the organization. Performance
appraisal rates the employee in terms of their performance, one of the basic
and major needs in any organization is to evaluate its employee’s performance
continuously to find out whether they improve or not and know their situation
in organization ( Kavanagh, 1997) .
Performance
appraised is a vital element of the human resource management system. Aside
from the distribution of rewards, developmental guidance given to the employees
is based usually on the performance appraisal and employees can express their
perceptions and stand point regarding their respective jobs, departments,
managers and supervisors and of their organization in general (Erdogen, 2002).
According
to Angelo and Pritchard (2006) ‘‘performance appraisal’’ is a formal,
organizationally sanctioned event, usually not occurring more frequently than
once or twice a year, which has clearly stated performance dimensions and /or
criteria that are used in the evaluation process. Furthermore, it is an
evaluation process, in that scores are often assigned based on the judged level
of the employee’s job performance on the dimensions or criteria used, and the
scores are shared with the employees being evaluated.
The
ideal purpose of performance appraisal is to assess employee’s performance as
objecting as possible. The results of the performance appraisal are used in
setting the direction for the individual performance development by bringing
out both performance strengths and weakness and subsequently developing action
plan to facilitate the desired development (Blau, 1999). It provides a way to
help identify area for performance enhancement and to help promote professional
growth.
Also,
the purpose of performance appraisal is to present employees with worthwhile
feedback that the later can use to improve respective performance. This may
involve encouragement to carry on with their good performance and positive
behaviors and suggestions on what aspects need to be changed. (Walsh and
Fisher, 2005).
However,
at its core, the performance appraisal process allows an organization to
measure and evaluate an individual’s employee’s behavior and accomplishment
over a specific period of time. Performance appraisal system is ideally an
organization’s designed programme involving both the organization and the
personnel and communicating to an employee how he or she is performing the job
and establishing a plan for improvement (Wiese and Buckley, 1998).
The
role of performance appraisal has gone beyond a tool for assessing performance
of the employee to one that is used to reinforce the desired behavior and
competent performance of the employees. Performance appraisal is the single
most powerful instrument for mobilizing employees in an organization in order
to achieve strategic goal. It serves as a basic element of effective work of
performance which is essential for the effective management and evaluation of
staff. Performance is necessary to
increase the performance of the employees and the organization to check the
progress towards desired goals (Singh, Kochar andYuksel, 2010).
A
well designed performance appraisal system should develop criteria for
successful performance, give performance feedback and enable a more equitable
reward system. It consists of the desired outputs expected of employees.
Performance criteria should be aligned with goals, relevant to given roles,
specific and measurable, under employees control and understood and accepted by
participants (Dattner, 2010).
Tertiary
institutions in Abia State is organizations which is profit and non-profit
oriented and has several employee working in various department. Performance
appraisal is done to assess the employee’s contribution to the organization.
The training given to the employee’s not very specific apart from some
department and it is on the job training.
The effective use of performance appraisal report can result in improved
productivity. In addition, the productivity of employees could estimate the
extent of contribution from an employee.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
In
several organizations, performance appraisal are compromised which causes
resentment in many occasion. Some organizations though invest so much in other
factors of production such as machinery, information technology, funds etc. but
unfortunately place little value on manpower (employees). In this regard,
little attention is directed to improving the human capital. Improving manpower
requires that performance appraisal becomes an essential tool to assess the
individual employees which should be based on consistent feedback such that an
appropriate reward system could be done..
Most
organization fails since their workers perform below standard for they are not
encouraged to work harder. If management does not invest much into the welfare
of their workers, problems are bound to arise leading to strike actions, low
commitment to work, low morale and low productivity of goods and services.
Attractive appraisal system is established by some business organizations to
help motivate their employees to strive hard by pooling together skills,
knowledge and efforts to achieve maximum output.
Inadequate
performance appraisal system in an organization can make assessment of
individual employee extremely difficult, the targets may not be achieved hence
lack of direction and low productivity. In the light of this, a number of
problems have been found in the performance appraisal processes and procedures
being followed in the organization. To begin with, due to lack of
accountability, most employees have lazy attitude towards their work. There is
also the unavailability of job description for many employees.
More
so, the lack of complete information on appraisal form, expertise and relevant
training often affect the performance appraisal processes. Since they are not
conducted on a regular basis. Other human resources decisions such as rewards,
training or promotion are not directly linked to the results of the performance
appraisal process. Performance appraisal can be conducted on employees who are
due for one promotion or the other. This altitude has undermined the
credibility of the appraisal system which in the normal circumstances ought to
have been organized periodically on all employees to assess their respective
performances and to improve where their job effectiveness where necessary.
As
a result of this, employee performance has been greatly affected which has in
turn affected productivity and efficiency of the service rendered. Again, there
are lack of seriousness on the part of employees because they assume no
measurement of performance is applied hence they work at their own route. All
these scenario call for this study to investigate the effect of performance
appraisal strategies on employee effectiveness
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The
main objective of this study is to determine the effect of performance appraisal
strategies on employee effectiveness, a study of selected teaching and
non-teaching staff of the tertiary institutions in Abia State. The specific
objectives were to;
i.
examine the effect of technological
aided performance appraisal strategy on employee performance of the selected
tertiary institutions in Abia State.
ii.
ascertain the impact of employee
self-assessment strategy on employee effectiveness of the selected tertiary
institutions in Abia State
iii.
determine the effect of 360-Degree
feedback strategy on employee productivity of the selected tertiary
institutions in Abia State
iv.
determine the challenges
of performance appraisal in the selected tertiary institutions in Abia State
b 1.4 Research Questions
i.
What are the effect of technological
aided performance appraisal strategy on employee performance of the selected
tertiary institutions in Abia State?
ii.
What are the impact of employee
self-assessment strategy on employee effectiveness of the selected tertiary
institutions in Abia State?
iii.
What are the effect of 360-Degree
feedback strategy on employee productivity of the selected tertiary
institutions in Abia State?
iv.
What are the challenges
of performance appraisal in the selected tertiary institutions in Abia State?
1.5 Research Hypotheses
H01:
Technological aided performance
appraisal strategy has no significant effect on employee performance of the selected tertiary institutions in Abia
State
H02:
There is no significant impact of employee
self-assessment strategy on employee effectiveness
of the selected tertiary institutions in Abia State
H03: 360-Degree feedback has no significant
effect on employee productivity of the selected
tertiary institutions in Abia State
H04: Ineffective performance appraisal system and
incompetent leadership are not among the challenges
of performance appraisal in the selected tertiary institutions in Abia State.
1.6 Significance of the Study
This
study will create an awareness of the importance of performance appraisal and
to make them to appreciate the need to maximize its benefit while minimizing
its pitfalls to justify the use of performance appraisal as a yard stick for
determining employees’ performance and reward in tertiary institutions in Abia
State. The findings of the study will not only be beneficial to the personnel
manager and human resource department of the tertiary institutions in Abia
State, but also to the employees. It will also;
Help
the management of tertiary institutions in Abia State in setting goals and
targets for employees to achieve through supervisory control by line managers.
It will also aid in identifying and improving the training and development
needs of employees. The outcome of the study will assist in motivating
employees to contribute effectively to the attainment of organizational goals
and objectives. It will also help directors to know how to appraise the
performance of employees. The study will help employees to know the reasons for
conducting appraisal on them and the need to be productive so as to have a
positive performance appraisal results or reports.
However,
the outcome of this study stands as a reference source or guide to scholars and
future researchers who may be
interested in performance appraisal as a result of the subject of interest to
enhance the productivity of employees. Above all, the study would as well
improve the researcher’s knowledge about enhancing the productivity of the
employees through adequate appraisal techniques.
1.7 Scope of the Study
The
study focuses on the effect of performance appraisal strategies on employee
effectiveness, a study of selected teaching and non-teaching staff of the
tertiary institutions in Abia State.
Unit Scope: The
study is restricted to Abia State University Uturu, Michael Okpara University
of Agriculture, Umudike and Abia State Polytechnic Aba. It means that all the employees ‘of the study
area would be involved in the study as they would constitute the population.
Conceptual Scope:
The conceptual scope of this study was to examine the effect of technological
aided performance appraisal strategy on organizational survival of the selected
tertiary institutions in Abia State, ascertain the impact of employee
self-assessment strategy on organizational effectiveness of the selected
tertiary institutions in Abia State, determine the effect of 360-Degree
feedback on organizational performance of the selected tertiary institutions in
Abia State and determine the challenges of performance appraisal in the
selected tertiary institutions in Abia State. Descriptive survey design was
used in the study.
Geographical Scope:
Questionnaire was distributed to the staff of Abia State University Uturu,
Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike and Abia State Polytechnic
Aba and was retrieved. The data was analysed with Statistical Packages for
Social Sciences (SPSS) version 21.
Time Scope: The
time scope of the study covered a period of 15 years (2003 – 2018).
1.8 Limitations of the Study
In
an attempt to carryout meaningful research, certain factors seem to affect the
researcher’s efforts and among these factors are:
Inadequate orientation
about the study: They employees of the
selected tertiary institutions in Abia State were not adequately oriented and
most of them have little or no knowledge about performance appraisal.
Time constraints: The
time given for this research work is short to generate enough data, as the
researcher combines both the research and other of her academic activities.
Lack of fund: These
factors really affected the research processes, as there was little or no fund
to support the study or research.
Inadequate Information: Respondents
were reluctant to give out all the need information with the fear of being
punished by their Supervisors.
Methodological
constraints: The methodological constraints posit
that several work or researches have adopted panel study and parametric
measures to achieve their result but this study is limited to adaptable methods
accountable to the researcher.
1.9 Brief History of organization under Study
Michael Okpara University
of Agriculture, Umudike
Michael
Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, formerly Federal University of
Agriculture, Umudike, was established as a specialized University by the
Federal Government of Nigeria via Decree No 48 of 2nd November 1992. It began formal activities on May 1993 with
the appointment of the first Council and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Placid C.
Njoku on 27th May, 1993, while other key officials of the University were
appointed later. Prof. Francis Ogbonnaya
Otunta, a distinguished Professor of Mathematics is the 5th and present
Vice-Chancellor of the University. He assumed office on Tuesday, March 1, 2016.
The
Institution is located in the well-known Agricultural Training and Research
town of Umudike, about 9 kilometers from Umuahia town, the capital of Abia
State. The major link road to the University is the Umuahia – Ikot Ekpene
Federal Road, a direct route to the State capitals of Abia, Akwa - Ibom and
Cross River. Being close to Umuahia, the University is linked through a major
North- South Express Road to most parts of the country. It commenced its
activities at the premises of the former Federal College of Agriculture, Umudike
(At present the Federal College of
Agriculture has been moved to Ishiagu,
Ebonyi state). Michael Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, is envisioned
to be a University par excellence and hopes to help the peoples of Nigeria and
beyond through the provision of practical knowledge for agricultural
transformation in order to achieve sustainable food production.
The
first set of students were admitted into the institution during the 1993/94
academic year with a student population of 82. It is the intention of the
University to gradually increase the number of students matching her intake
with her available resources. One of the
responsibilities of a University is to impart understanding of the processes
that govern human experience. Therefore the Michael Okpara University of
Agriculture, Umudike as a specialized tertiary institution, will impart
understanding of the processes that relate to the biophysical, biochemical and
socioeconomic components of the environment, and how these processes can be harnessed
for the production of food and fibre to meet human needs without the
degradation of the natural environment. It is the plan of the University to
serve the people of Nigeria and the world through education, manpower
development and quality research aimed at the development of technologies that
will overcome major constraints to agricultural production. This, the
University does through a range of activities carried out in its undergraduate
and postgraduate programmes.
Abia State University,
Uturu.
As
a foremost state University in Nigeria founded in 1981, Abia State University
has maintained its leadership within and beyond the Eastern heartlands of
Nigeria. It has remained resilient in the acquisition and dissemination of
ICT-driven skills, comparable to graduates anywhere in Africa. Located in the
Igbo heartland where skill acquisition and entrepreneurship constitute the
culture of the people, the University’s academic plan is structured to act as
the backbone in the realization of the entrepreneurship drive of the people;
hence, the University runs a comprehensive entrepreneurship / skill acquisition
programme as to actualize the University’s slogan of One Graduate-Two Skills.
The
University is located in Uturu at Longitude 5o42’N and Latitude 6o48’E on an
average elevation of 450m. It is accessible to three International airports:
The Port Harcourt International Airport with a driving time of about two and
half hours, Akanu Ibiam International Airport, Enugu with about two hours
driving time, and Dr. Sam Mbakwe International Airport, Owerri with about two
hours driving time. The University accepts partnership with institutions,
governments, and private sector in broad areas of science and technology
(including the Geographic Information Systems), Law, Education, Social science
and the Humanities. The serene university environment with surrounding knolls
and irresistible flora presents a micro-climatic condition that allows serious
academic work.
Abia State Polytechnic
Abia
State Polytechnic Aba, is owned by the Abia State Government. The edict
establishing Abia State Polyechnic Aba, stated in section 8 of the 1994 edict
that Abia State Polytechnic should be established in Aba to provide studies,
training, research and development of techniques in the applied arts and
sciences, technology, management, commerce and other fields of learning to
students. Abia State Polytechnic is located in the heart of Aba, in what used
to be Girls Technical College (GTC) along Aba-Owerri road, Aba. It is composed
of different Schools or Faculties such as the School of Science and Industrial
Technology, School of Engineering Technology, School of Environmental
Technology, School of Business and Management Technology etc. The colours of
the institution are yellow and dark red.
Abia
State Polytechnic is located in the heart of Abia State, Aba, Nigeria. It is
composed of different schools, such as the School of Science & Engineering
and the School of Business Administration. Dr. L. C. Odinuko was the founding
Rector while Mr. E. S. Edeh was the first Registrar of the institution. The
National Diploma Programme started in 1994/1995 academic year and the Higher
National Diploma was introduced in 1999/2000 Session.
Abia
State Polytechnic environment gives the perfect ambience to research scholars
willing to share their practical knowledge with the world in particular those
in the academic field. There are also positions for non-academic staff who are
willing to bridge the gap between academic jargons of the classroom and the
administration of a scholarly environment. Annually, students on industrial
attachments are engaged within the school to apply their knowledge on real life
scenarios and learn up to speed working ethics.
1.10 Operational Definition of Terms
Performance
Appraisal: It refers to the process by which
employees are evaluated on the task assigned to them after a given time in
order to find out their strengths and weaknesses.
Employees
Productivity: it refers to the ability of an
employees to produce excellent standards of performance and even beyond the
expectations.
Employee
Performance: Employee performance refers to how
workers behave in the workplace and how well they perform the job duties they
were obligated to them.
Employee
Productivity: Employee productivity (sometimes
referred to as workforce productivity) is an assessment of the efficiency of a
worker or group of workers. Productivity may be evaluated in terms of the
output of an employee in a specific period of time.
Training:
it is a planned program designed to improve the performance of the individuals
or employees.
Development:
It is a state in which employees improving.
Appraisers:
They are managers or supervisors who have employees working directing under
them.
Appraises:
They are employees or subordinates who are appraised.
Under-Performing
Employees: It refers to those employees who perform
below standard or average.
Performance
Management: It refers to the management of
employees’ performance in an organization.
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