CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background to the Study

In every business organization, the performance of the employees is important in achieving organizational goals. The success of every business organization is attributed to performance appraisal. A critical assessment of this may reveal the need for motivation, rewards, development, training and good human relationship in an organization.

Performance Appraisal (PA) is one of the most important functions of Human Resource managers. It is concerned with identifying, measuring, influencing and developing job performance of employees in the organization about the set norms and standards for a particular period to achieve various purposes.

Employees are required to generate a total commitment to desired standards of job performance and improved job productivity for sustaining profitable growth for the organization and long-term value creation for the customers (Singh et al., 2010).

The results of the performance appraisal are used in setting the direction for the individual productivity development by bringing out both performance strengths and weaknesses and subsequently developing an action plan to facilitate the desired development (Education Insight documents, 2007).

The role of performance appraisal has gone beyond a tool for assessing employees to one that is used to reinforce the desired behaviour and competent performance of the employees.

Performance criteria form the basis of evaluating the employees’ performance and their contribution to the organization goal. 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).

It is also important to provide clear, performance-based feedback to employees (Caroll and Schneier, 1982). Providing employees with feedback is widely recognized as a crucial activity that may encourage and enable self-development and thus may be instrumental for the organization as a whole (Baruch, 1996).

According to Levy and William (2004), if participants in appraisal perceive the system to be unfair, the feedback to be inaccurate or the sources to be incredible, they are likely to ignore the feedback they receive. Feedback is least useful when it is inaccurate or untrue, biased due to favoritism or politics.

Performance appraisals are often linked to incentives such as raises and promotion for a worker whose performance is reviewed as high, and job cuts for a Worker whose performance is reviewed as low (Joison, 2001).

According to Ishaq et al (2009), appraisal results are used in many organizations, either directly or indirectly, to help identify the better-performing employees who should get the majority of the available merit pay increases, bonuses and promotions.

The output of every organization depends on how well and how much the performance of an employee is appraised and evaluated. Productivity can, therefore, be defined as “quality or volume of the major product or services that an organization provides”.

In short, productivity is what comes out of production. Managers of every business organization are charged with the responsibility to motivate their employees to achieve organizational goals. Dzinkowski (2000) utilized employee productivity to be one of evaluating items for human capital.

In this study, we are concerned with the effect of performance appraisal on the productivity of employees in Hysacam company Buea. Hysacam is an organization which is based on providing hygiene and sanitation in Cameroon and has several employees working in various departments.

Periodically, performance appraisal is done to assess the employee’s contribution to the organization and determine what remedies the employer takes. Hysacam is a unique entity in that employees work daily for many hours and have no holidays.

The training given to the employees is not very specific apart from some departments and it is on the job training. They have developed performance appraisal systems to manage employee productivity. It is not clear how effective the different aspects of performance appraisal in this organization are in enhancing employee productivity. This is the gap that this study wants to fill.

1.2 Statement of Problem

The Hysacam Company is faced with the problem of limited staffs as compared to the work to be done. This makes the few staffs to overwork themselves so much so that it may even be difficult for them to go to work the following day because of not having enough rest from the previous night.

This is seen when workers work two shifts per day as a result of the low availability of workers caused by the absence of sick workers.

Moreover, there is also a problem of dishonesty that is some workers pretend to be sick and stay back home.

This reduces the tonnage expected at the end of the month. Some even prefer to be sacked rather than to come to work during the rainy season but if the workers are well appraised, workers will put in their best behaviour to Work.

Also, some of the workers live in the city centre while others live far from the office for example workers live mile 17 to Razel Street. There is also congestion which makes the workers end up coming late to work. At times getting commercial transport also delays workers.

The company should appeal to the Buea council for a 15-30 seater bus for the transportation of workers in the morning and put in place a clock-in-time system so that workers can sign in go for break and when they close.

Some workers are inefficient this is because of lack of materials. This is because the one distributed to them gets bad easily, this makes most of them not cover their task for the day this is a very big problem for the company. Thus appraising workers is very important.

Lastly because of the recent crises in Cameroon the company has lost of workers and vehicles we have greatly reduced the work done coupled with the Monday ghost towns all these have posed a very big problem to the proper functioning of the company.

This is while performance appraisal is very important especially for a few workers remaining. In line with the above mentioned problems, that this study seeks to examined the effect of performance appraisal on employees’ productivity at Hysacam Company, Cameroon.

1.3. Research Question

1.3.1 Main Research Question

What is the effect of performance appraisal on employee productivity in Hysacam Company?

1.3 Research Questions

1. How does the 360-degree method affectemployees’ productivity in Hysacam Company?
2. To what extent does management by objectives method affects employee’s productivity in Hysacam Company?
3. What are the effects of the ranking method on employees’ productivity in Hysacam Company?

1.4 Research Objectives

1.4.1 Main Objectives

To analyze the effect of performance appraisal on employee’s productivity in Hysacam Company

1.4.2 Specific objectives

1. To examine the effect of management by objective on employees’ productivity in Hysacam.
2. To evaluate the effect of the 360-degree method on employees’ productivity in Hysacam.
3. To determine the ranking method on employees’ productivity in Hysacam.

1.5 Hypothesis

Ho1: management by objectives has no significant effect on employees’ productivity in Hysacam

H02:360-degree method has no significant effect on employees’ productivity in Hysacam

Ho3: ranking rewards have no significant effect on employee’s productivity in Hysacam

Further reading:Effects of Organisational Culture On Employees performance: A Case of selected MTN service centres in Littoral and Southwest Regions of Cameroon