Introduction
Performance management is one of the problems that many organisational managers face today. Aguinis (2009) argues that performance management is used to ensure that the organisational goals and activities are achieved with the required human resource competencies to achieve the strategic goals, aims, and objectives of the organisations. Many organisations use different tools to ensure that they are able to achieve high quality process outputs when pursuing the organisational goals, aims, and objectives. Studies show that performance systems can be impended by consistently, efficiently and effectively pursuing the goals and objectives. Typically, the quality of process outputs that define the performance of the organisational workforce starting from the top level executives, the middle level managers and the operational level employees are always evaluated to determine their effectiveness in achieving the aims, objectives, and goals, organisations using the 360 performance management systems to achieve the desired process quality outputs (Bouckaert & Peters, 2002). The 360 performance management systems include appraisal and feedback mechanisms that are used for employee development. However, to be effective and to achieve the process quality outputs, many organisations still remain with the question on how the 360 performance systems are implemented on organization. To address the research question, this study was designed to investigate the performance management of organisations by focusing on addressing the question on: how are the 360 performance systems implemented on organization?
It has been demonstrated that having the performance management tools is not the problem, but implementing the tools is the most challenging part of the process. In addition, the seriousness of the management in implementing the tools matters a significant deal. Different studies show that several approaches of implementing the 360 degree performance management exist (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004). However, the implementation process raises questions that need to be answered.
Research questions
- Why is it important for an organisation to implement a 360 performance management systems?
- What are the factors that an organisation should consider when implementing a 360 performance management system?
- How should the human resource systems be aligned with the 360 performance management systems?
- How should the new 360 performance management system be clarified and explained to the organisational workers?
- What tools and techniques should be used to implement the performance management system?
- What problems should the management anticipate in implementing the performance management system?
Literature Review
Performance management systems
Studies show that performance management systems are crucial for effective performance of employees that enables an organisation to obtain high quality outputs from the employees. Performance management system provides organisational management with the ability to direct employees to achieve the business goals and objectives of the organisation (Bowen & Ostroff, 2004). Performance management brings together what the business intends to achieve, what the people intend to achieve, and how those strategic objectives can be achieved. In addition, performance management is implemented to provide the organisation with the best strategies for managers and workers to use to set targets that are to be achieved by using communication channels that are used to provide feedback on employee progress and the best methods to execute their allotted tasks, the necessary resources that might be required to achieve high quality performance, the training and development needs of the organisational employees, the aspirations of the employees, and the level of satisfaction of the employees (Kaplan, 2001). The overall goal is to improve the satisfaction of employees and customers and to ensure that the performance outcomes of the organisation measures up to the desired level of quality. Different approaches are used by different organisations to implement the 360 degree performance management systems as reviewed in the subsequent sections. Among the strategies used to implement performance management system include the ensuring that alignment with other HR systems are implemented within the organisation, ensure employee and management commitment to the implementation program, putting in place a communication plan to ensure effective communication feedback mechanisms are in place, automating the performance management to reduce the time required to execute performance relate activities, providing the training and development services to the managers and employees on various performance management topics, implement a program to evaluate continuous performance improvements, and ensure that the legal considerations are accounted for when implementing the performance management systems (DeNisi, 2000).
Performance management process
It is important to understand the performance management process to ensure that organisation intending to implement the 360 performance management system need to understand the performance management process to ensure high degree of success. In addition to that, performance management systems are based on the performance management processes that are uniquely identified by the organisations and that provide the basis for implementing the performance management systems. Studies show that performance of an organisation is easily determined when the core issues that define the performance of employees are clearly defined. One of the key elements that define performance of an organisation is the outcomes because the outcomes are based on the goals and actions that are achieved. Among the tools that are used to determine the performance of an organisation are the behavioral outcomes criteria. The behavioral outcomes are used to provide clear outcomes on the best approach to use to improve the performance of an organisation, the ability to understand and controls the workers, and provide the employee with the required feedback to enhance and manage the performance of the organisation.
It has been established that the emphasis on behavior is used to determine how the employees are aligned with work they are assigned to do and the quality of the work that is done by the management and the employees. In addition, the emphasis on behavioral outcomes is that it provides the assurance that workers are engaged in pursuing the organisational goals and objectives to achieve important business results. Studies show that performance management processes and outcomes are very important in determining the performance of an organisation although some organisations provide precedence on one approach over the other.
Organisational goals and strategies
Organisational goals and strategies provide the ground on which the performance management systems are implemented. Typically, the market and business needs where a company is established provide the basis upon which to determine the core success factors that affect the performance of the operating units within the organisation. That is facilitated by a careful review of the mission and vision statements of the organisation and the critical success factors that are vital for the successful implementation of the performance management system. The sources of data that can be used for the identification of the strategic objectives and the mission and vision statements include customer requirements, the vision and mission statements, and the compensation and reward systems that the company uses to pay the workers for their efforts towards the execution of takes that they are assigned for the organisation.
The importance of the vision statement is that it provides the strategic direction of the company and enables the management to isolate existing and other new opportunities that the company can exploit to its strategic advantage. The vision statement provides the strategic direction or communication and coordination activities of the organisation, the reason for the existence of the organisation, and the performance requirements for value creation. On the other hand, the strategic objectives enable the management to identify the critical success factors of the organisation that address the people, customers, quality product requirements, performance levels that should be achieved, products and operations management strategies. The strategic objectives should be consistent with the strategic business model that defines customer satisfaction, product quality, technical innovation, and shareholder values.
Once the core elements have been defined, it becomes necessary to determine the key performance indicators that are necessary when implementing the 360 performance management system. The purpose of the key performance indicators is to coordinate the strategic categories of elements that are necessary for the performance management of the organisation and include the cost, time, and quality. All the objectives have to be balanced fairly to ensure the organisation avoids dysfunctional behavior.
It is important to determine the drivers of performance within the organisation using different tools. Some organisations use the Pareto analysis diagram to determine the core activities that need to be done to meet the customer needs and expectations. The analysis is based on the knowledge and information that is gained from a review of the existing key performance indicators of the organisation. The existing performance indicators are used to determine who is responsible for current measure, why they exist, how they have been used, and what they have resulted to. Once the existing performance indicators have been determined, the management is able to put in place a system that will move the organisation rapidly towards the achievement of the organisational performance goals.
Clarify objectives
Studies show that the 360 performance management systems are implemented by first establishing and clarifying organisational objectives that the organisation wants to be achieved. The objectives provide measurable outcomes that are to be achieved by incorporating inputs from different employees that are used to define the objectives and to motivate the employees to work towards achieving the objectives (Levy & Williams, 2004). One of the critical issues to consider when clarifying and defining the objectives are the business benefits to be gained by implementing the system. It has also been established by various authors that many performance management system fail because they are made to be complex system that make people unable to use them to enhance and manage the performance of the organisations. To address that issue, it has been suggested that once the system has been implemented and started to deliver the results, the objectives can be added and refined to be consistent with the business goals of the organisations. Here, the organisational values, the worth of employees, and the confidence of the employees has to be won to make them attest to the fact that the performance of the organisation is made to remain on course.
Studies have developed the main objectives that need to be clarified to effectively achieve the performance management requirements that are consistent with the 360 management performance systems. It is important for the organisation to have clear objectives because they provide a reliable framework for pursuing the performance of organisations to make it consistent with its performance requirements. In addition, it makes it easy for employees to better understand their commitments when pursuing the organisational goals. In addition, clear objectives enable the managers to provide direction to the employees on what is expected of them and when employees and the managers set clear objectives, they are able to manage their performance effectively (Armstrong & Baron, 2000). In addition, it allows employees to give feedback on what they have done because the outcomes are measurable. In addition, clear objectives enable the management to establish clear goals that are linked with the objectives and that enables the company to establish a clear management structure that is geared towards the organisational goals and objectives.
The objectives include:
- To enable employees to work towards high quality services delivery and resource optimisation.
- To equip employees with the right skills and knowledge to perform their work related tasks effectively.
- To encourage employee commitment towards the job tasks they are assigned by empowering and motivating them.
- To provide effective communication channel that can be used by the management and the employees to clarify issues and promote common understanding of various issues.
- To provide a framework for strategic planning
- Establish the barriers to the effective implementation of the performance management system
- Provide a framework for personal growth and development for employees working for an organisation.
Aligning Performance with HRM system
Once the objectives have been clarified, it becomes necessary to align the performance of the organisation with its human resource systems. Aligning performance management with organisational goals and objectives is similar to recruitment, staffing and training competencies that organisations use to align the HRM systems. The critical elements to consider are the recruitment and selection procedures that form the fundamental tools of enabling the company to align the performance of the organisation with the human resource systems of the company based on the 360 degree performance management systems. It has been established in the study that when the performance management system is aligned with the human resource systems of the organisation, it is possible for the organisation to achieve effectiveness and efficiency in the execution of various activities that are aligned with the business needs and objectives of an organisation. Usually, the functions of recruitment and selection are left to the human resource personnel manager who is well trained on the subject and is able to identify the right candidates for a job. Recruitment and selection fit into the implementation of the 360 degree performance system because each job function must be done by specialised and skilled personnel to meet the performance requirements of an organisation. In addition to that, the human resource personnel recognize the recruitment and selection to be one of the most important functions of the department to fulfill because the qualified employees are the ones who provide the services that are used to evaluate the performance of an organisation.
The recruitment process provides the fundamental ground that enables the HRM personnel to determine the right candidate with the right skills and knowledge for the appropriate job. In most cases, recruitments are done to fill job vacancies that have arisen because of retirement, termination of services, permanent disability, death, or the rise of a new vacancy that requires specialised skills. The current and future requirements for the job are determined by the human resource personnel as appropriate to ensure the performance of the organisation is maintained or even improved with the new recruited and selected employees. The recruitment and selection process are done based on a comprehensive job analysis. However, different organisations have different recruitment and selection procedures that are done to fill the vacancies that arise in an organisation. The performance of organisations is strongly and closely tied to the recruitment and selection procedures that enable the human resource personnel to determine the right people for the right tasks.
Once the right candidate has been recruited, the selection process from the pool of applicants is done in accordance with the performance requirements of an organisation and the skills required in achieving the required performance goals and objectives.
The selection process is based on the use of different tools that are aligned with the performance requirements of the organisation and the organisational goals and objectives. However, to ensure that the new employees achieve the performance objectives of the organisation, the management provides employee recruitment and selection processes that have been validated and reliable. The recruitment can be from within the organisation or outside of the organisation. It has been established that recruiting from within the organisation provides employees and the organisation with additional advantages that include effective assessment of the recruits, the internal recruits know the weaknesses and strengths very well and do not need to be educated on them, it is easy to motivate employees within the organisation if promotions are done from within, and the process is cheaper and fast. One of the key elements that define an effective recruitment and selection process is job analysis,
Job analysis
The content and skills requirements of a job provide the basis for decision making on the right skills that are required to execute specific jobs to achieve the desired performance outcomes. Job analysis is important because it enables the managers to understand the type of tasks to be done, the specific attributes of the job, the necessary human qualities required to complete the specific tasks, the nature and condition of the job, and the mental requirements of the job that is defined in the job psychograph. Typically, each task that is to be performed is determined and evaluated based on the work responsibilities, duties, and other details that could be necessary to provide a detailed description of the job. It is also important to employ work oriented procedures when conducting the job analysis function. Here, some organisations use the “cognitive (Verbal Abilities; Idea Generation & Reasoning Abilities; Quantitative Abilities; Memory; Perceptual Abilities; Spatial Abilities; and Attentiveness), Psychomotor (Fine Manipulative Abilities; Control Movement Abilities; and Reaction Time and Speed Abilities), and Physical (Physical Strength Abilities; Endurance; Flexibility, Balance, and Coordination; Visual Abilities; and Auditory and Speech Abilities)” because those attributes define the capability of an individual. Here, the most important elements that are considered include the knowledge of an individual, the skills, abilities, and personal characteristics.
Employee commitment
A successful implementation of the 360 performance management system depends on the commitment of employees and the management towards the implementation of the system. Employee and management commitment is achieved by ensuring that the organisational managers they accept to work towards implementing performance management system. In that context, it is important to determine the resistance that might be experienced by the management in implementing performance management system. The reasons that may make organisational managers to resist the implementation of the 360 performance management system is that most of the managers are conversant and used to the traditional performance management systems that have already been implemented in the organisation, the managers might not be sure of the behavioral outcomes of the workers when the new system is integrated, they are not aware on how the new performance management system will affect the relationship between the company and the stakeholders, and some of the existing performance management measures and systems might have provided the management of the organisation with problems that the organisation might not have an appetite for.
Therefore it is important to ensure that the new performance management system is implemented with the top level management buy in and support. On the other hand, when organisations want to implement the new performance management systems successfully, different techniques exist that they can choose from. However, at the implementation phase, the management should use one of the tools to implement the process by determining employee commitment. Employee commitment and level of support can be determined by the use of the ABO continuum tool. The key elements of the continuum include the awareness, ownership, and buy-in. The ownership elements include the assuring the management and the workers that the performance measures that are being implemented and that define the 360 performance management system include initiating the implementation and use of performance measures, teaching the effects of the performance measures to the workers, and recruiting people with the right skills to work for the organisation.
The buy-in elements include committing resources that can be used in the implementation of the 360 performance management system, active support from the employees and the workers on the implementation of the performance management system, and the commitment of time and resources in implementing the performance management system. On the other hand, the awareness element include educating the management and the people on the need for the 360 performance management system, creating time for the organisation to teach workers and other stakeholders on the need for the 360 performance system, and educate employees on the need for performance management systems and measures.
Communication plan
One of the tools that are used to implement the 360 performance management systems is the communication tool. Communication is an important tool because it provides the employees with the ability to clarify ideas and issues between the employee and the managers. In addition, communication is important within an organisation because effective communication enables the managers to establish the good working relationships with the employees, provides workers with easy access to the required information, provides a framework for motivating and praising employees, and promotes employee involvement in decision making to ensure effective performance management is achieved.
Research studies show that a good communication plan enables workers and the management to establish good working relationship that is good for performance management. Good working relationship between the employees and the leaders makes the employees to feel connected with the management and are achieved by organisational managers by individualizing their efforts towards supporting employees to work towards effective organisational performance. In addition, employers implement the performance management of organisations effective based on “helping an employee excels lies in the details: the details of his particular recognition needs, of his relationship needs, of his goals, and of his talents/non-talents” (Cheng, Dainty & Moore, 2006). By being effective managers, the organisational managers are able to “keep talented and productive employees, managers and must clarify expectations, give employees the opportunity to do their best, recognize and praise them, and encourage individuals to develop their skills. These actions help build good working relationships”. One of the approaches that have been used in performance management is the 360 degree feedback.
360 degree feedback
The 360m degree feedback, also referred to as 360 degree appraisal is one of the most effective tools to implement the 360 performance management systems. The 360 degree strategy is used to collect data from customers, the people, employees, the managers, and stakeholders on the performance of an organisation to enable the management and those who are responsible for performance management. The mechanism provides the management with information on the current capabilities of the employees and the skills required to ensure that the performance of the systems is consistent with the goals and objectives of the organisation (DeNisi & Kluger, 2000). It is possible to use the system to collect systematics data that enables the management to evaluate the performance of the organisation based on the 360 performance management system. The data collection procedure involves 10 or more people who are given a questionnaire to fill to assess their performance and the performance of their colleagues. The rational is that when the organisation is large and complex, the manager might not be in a position to understand the performance of each individual working for the organisation (DeNisi & Kluger, 2000). The tool is used to formalize the feedback or responses from the people and any other stakeholders on the different issues and elements that affect the performance of the organisation. In most cases, questionnaires or interviews are the most appropriate tools that are used to collect the data. The feedback enables the stakeholders to provide information about the employee and enables them to be evaluated on their effectiveness in executing job tasks that are aligned to the organisational goals and objectives (Darnall, Henriques & Sadorsky, 2008). The appraisal systems is used to collect information from the top management, the immediate supervisors to who employees are accountable, the customers who receive the products and services offered by the employees of the organisation, the subordinates, peers and self as illustrated in the diagram below.
However, the success of the system depends on the organisational climate, organisational culture, the appropriate framing of the feedbacks that are received from the respondents, the ability to ensure that the feedback is kept confidential, the use of feedback tools that allow for the provision of space for the respondent to make a written feedback, and the effectiveness of the training the employees on the use of the tool to provide feedback (DeNisi & Kluger, 2000).
It has also been established that the 360 degree feedback provides the management and the employees with the ability to evaluate the potential capabilities of the managers and the workers to work towards high quality outputs.
Tools and techniques
It has been established that performance management systems work well when appropriate tools and techniques are used to implement the 360 performance management systems. Studies show that conceptual design is a critical tool that is used for the implementation of the 360 performance management system (Cheng, Dainty & Moore, 2006). Conceptual design is used as an appropriate tool because it provides the basis for determining the key performance indicators that an organisation uses to conduct performance evaluation. In addition to that, the tool provides the management with the ability to determine the drivers and the core activities that drive performance within an organisation that define the organisational processes. In addition, the tool provides the management with the ability to determine the problems and cost drivers of the performance management system to develop appropriate and consistent measures that are strategically oriented towards the performance of the organisation (DeNisi & Kluger, 2000).
Studies show that the conceptual design integrates the senior level management support and the commitment of the employees and the entire organisation. In addition, the conceptual design provides the management with the ability to appropriate create the implementation teams that have the right skills and knowledge geared towards the organisational goals and objectives. In addition, the conceptual design provides the managers with the critical success factors that the performance management system is used to manage.
Problems
The study established that organisations implementing the 360 performance management system need to identify the problems that could be encountered in the process to overcome. The study shows that organisations fail create a proper connection between individual performance objectives and organisational goals, values, and objectives. The results are that they create a conflict between the employee development and growth objectives and the objectives of the performance management systems. In addition, it is difficult for the management to provide appropriate definitions of the desired level of organisational performance and the desire employee behaviors to achieve the desired performance objectives. It is possible for the individual employee to be able to achieve the desired performance because some of the performance controls factors are beyond their ability to achieve (Darnall, Henriques & Sadorsky, 2008).
Another problem is the use of incompetent and inexperienced employees to work on implementing the 360 performance management system. Inexperienced employees make the implementation program expensive and the outcome might increase employee resistance to the implementation of the new program. It has been argued that of too much complexity is allowed into the implementation process, the people might not be able to comprehend their roles properly and that might lead to poor relationships between the implementation teams and the organisational employees. If the workers who are very important in implementing the system do not understand the vision, mission, and objectives, the results could be failure and confusion over the implementation process (Darnall, Henriques & Sadorsky, 2008). In addition, studies show that if the organisation lacks a change management plan and if the time to implement the 360 performance management system, the results could lead to resistance to change. Lack of commitment, resources, reduced effort because employees are already committed with the day to day activities, and lack of an implementation framework contributes to the failure to successfully implement the change management systems.
Research Methodology
Research design
This research study was to determine and answer the question on how the 360 performance management systems are implemented. To answer the research question, the study used the qualitative and quantitative mixed research methods. The qualitative research paradigm provides qualitative data that is obtained from the literature review and the quantitative research paradigm was based on primary data that was obtained from the administration of questionnaires on the respondents (Bernard, 2011). The study was conducted by first developing objectives that provided a guide on the specific academic areas of the literature to review and that provided the source of the qualitative data. On the other hand, the quantitative aspect of the research was conducted by identifying the population and population sample that responded to the questions on the questionnaires that were the source of quantitative data.
The advantage of using a mixed research method is that it provides the ground for integrating both types of data that include quantitative and qualitative. In addition, the research was able to give priority to the use of the questionnaire because it was used as the primary tool to collect facts from the respondents while the qualitative data was based on content analysis of the research questions. In addition, the method was appropriate for use in answering the different research questions that could arise from the title of the study and allowed the use of different procedures and phase to conduct the study. It has been established in academic theory that the mixed research method is appropriate in addressing the philosophical and theoretical world views of the behavior of data and the relationship with the research being conducted.
Questionnaire
The quantitative paradigm will use the questionnaire as a tool for data collection. The questionnaire was identified to be the most appropriate tool to use to answer the research questions on the implementation of the 360 performance management systems. The questionnaire was designed with closed ended questions and the responded were required selecting each item by ticking the most appropriate number on a scale of 1 to 5. The questionnaire was used because it provides practical responses to the questions and provides high levels of data reliability because the data that was collected from the respondents was primary in nature. Another advantage with the questionnaire when it was applied to collect data was it was deemed easy to collect and analyse the data that was collected from the respondents (Bryman, 2012).
Another advantage that was identified with the questionnaire is that it was easy to quantify the data very quickly, and it is possible and easy for the researcher to create new theories and confirm currently existing theories on performance management. In addition, it was established that the questionnaire could be administered by different people irrespective of their research competence.
However, some anticipated weaknesses with the questionnaire were that it could be difficult to explain the behavior of the respondents and the questionnaires sometimes could be difficult for the respondents to address the questions. In addition, it was established that the questionnaire lacked the validity, inability to understand the thought process of the respondent, and different people responding to the different questions might understand the questions differently.
The study used a Likert psychometric scale that was assigned with the study items on an ordinal scale of 1 to 5 for respondents to choose from. The scale will enable each respondent to select a number that correspond to one’s perceptions over the statements contained in the questionnaires where “all items are assumed to be replications of each other or in other words items are considered to be parallel instruments” based on the ordinal scale as expressed below.
- Strongly disagree
- Disagree
- Neither agree nor disagree
- Agree
- Strongly agree
Sampling method and sample size
The appropriate sampling method that was used to determine the sample size to use was based on simple sampling method. The simple sampling methodology was used to ensure that the sample size was representative of the entire population and each subset of the frame was given an equal chance to participate in the study. In addition, the benefit of using the method was to ensure fairness in the sample selection to ensure that the results were accurate. In each case, the sample size was selected from a large population of many companies that have integrated or implemented the 360 performance management systems into their performance management systems.
The sample size that was used in the study consisted of 300 respondents who were defined by different demographic profiles to ensure equal and fair representation of people from different demographic profiles. In addition, the educational status, the job description, previous experience, age, and the position held in the company were considered in the study.
Findings
The findings from the study based on the questionnaire and table 1 below summarises the demographic profile of the respondents:
Discussion
The questionnaire responses were based on the elements of the study that were issued to determine the implementation of the 360 performance management systems. Over 90% of the respondents agreed that they were aware of the 360 performance management systems and 90% of those at the management level agreed that they have worked for organisations that use the performance management system. In addition, more than 90% of the managers that participated in the study agreed that they have worked on implementing the 360 performance systems on organization and had precious experience with the systems. The study revealed that 80 percent of the respondents at the operational level of the organisation were conversant with the implementation of the 360 performance systems on the organization. The overall picture was that over 80% of the respondents were aware of the performance management system and has interacted and worked in organisation that has implemented and uses the performance management systems.
It was established from the questionnaires that the performance management systems are implemented on organisations by first determining the performance management processes that exist within target organisations and the rationale is to determine whether to enhance the existing system or to develop a new performance management system. On the other hand, the study established that organisational mangers need to determine the performance goals and strategies that are consistent with the vision and mission statements of the organisation to ensure that when the 360 performance management system is implemented according to the strategic direction of the company and any new opportunities that need to be exploited to bring financial benefits to the organisation.
The study established that before implementing the performance management system, organisations should establish and clarify the performance objectives that provide the strategic direction for employees to work towards delivering quality expectations when executing assigned tasks. In addition, the strategic performance objectives that is critical in determining the key performance indicators that the system will be evaluated against. In addition, the study shows that key performance indicators provide the standard measures of quality expectations from the employees of an organisation.
The study shows that the 360 performance management system can only be successfully implemented if the strategic objectives of the organisation are clarified to enable the organisational managers to determine appropriate and measurable outcomes of the performance management system. The clarified objectives should provide the framework for implementing the 360 performance management system on the organisation that is consistent with the organisational goals and objectives.
Another area that needs to be focused on is the development and alignment of the performance management system with the human resource system that the organisation uses. The 360 performance management system can be aligned with the human resource systems of the organisation by recruiting and employing people with the right skills, knowledge, and experience to work for the organisation to achieve the desired performance outputs. That implies that the right job analysis has to be conducted to determine the job requirements that are essential for achieving high performance outputs. Job analysis means identifying the job tasks, the relationship between the tasks and the working environment, the context of which the tasks are to be performed, the level of responsibility, the main activities, and the accountability required for the job to be executed appropriately.
The study analysed the effects of employee commitments on implementing the 360 performance management system and established that the employee commitment was crucial for ensuring that the implementation process was successful. Employee commitment can be determined from the behavior that employees show and the resistance to change that they might show towards the performance management implementation team. However, the study shows that resistance to change can be overcome if the employees get involved in the implementation process and that if they are prepared to accept the new changes that the system brings into the organisation. In addition, the expectations from the employees and the management on how the system will help them work and make significant t contributions towards the organisational performance goals and objectives.
The study showed that an effective communication plan was critical in the implementation of the 360 performance management system. The study established that to be successful in implementing the performance management plan, a communication plan was necessary because it consists of the elements are critical in helping employees to understand clear job expectations, performance requirements, and the critical success factors that the organisation needs to integrate into the performance implementation process. To be successful, the study established that it was critical for the organisation to establish a 360 degree feedback system that could allow the management to collect views and perceptions from the employees, the managers, and other stakeholders on the performance requirements and the capability of the employees, the implementation teams, and the managers to successfully implement the performance management system. However, it is clear from the study that the success of the organisation depends on the ability of the implementation team and the managers to align the organisational culture with the performance management system. A wide range of tools are available for evaluating the performance management system that is being integrated into the performance structure of the organisation. However, it is advisable for an organisation to evaluate the tools and choose the most appropriate that fit into the performance structure of the organisation. One of the tools that most organisation find appropriate include the use of conceptual design and teams. The conceptual design provides the managers with the ability to determine the right implementation teams, design the key performance indicators, establish the critical success factors, and create the performance implementation model.
Conclusion and Recommedations
The study shows that different organisations use different methods to implement the 360 performance management systems. However, the key approaches to implementing the 360 performance management system is based on the a clear understanding of performance management systems and processes, establishing and clarifying organisational goals and strategies that are used to clarify the implementation process, the quality expectations, drivers of change, and key performance indictors to provide the organisation with the strategic direction of implementing the 360 performance management systems. In addition, an implementation team has to be constituted to establish and clarify implementation objectives, the type of objectives, and to align the human resource systems with the performance management systems. The study established that job analysis, employee commitment, a communication plan, and 360 degree feedback system, and appropriate tools and techniques. Once the system elements have been put in place, the manager and the implementation team have to determine anticipated implementation problems that the organisation has to address to successfully implement the 360 performance management system. It is recommended that further research should be conducted on different strategies of implementing 360 performance management systems and how to integrate the performance management systems into the existing organisational performance management systems.
References
Aguinis, H. (2009). Performance management. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Armstrong, M., & Baron, A. (2000). Performance management. Human resource management, 1(1), 69-84.
Bouckaert, G., & Peters, B. G. (2002). Performance measurement and management: The Achilles’ heel in administrative modernization. Public performance & management review, 1(1), 359-362.
Bowen, D. E., & Ostroff, C. (2004). Understanding HRM–firm performance linkages: The role of the “strength” of the HRM system. Academy of management review, 29(2), 203-221.
Bernard, H. R. (2011). Research methods in anthropology. Rowman Altamira.
Bryman, A. (2012). Social research methods. Oxford university press.
Cheng, M. I., Dainty, A., & Moore, D. (2006). Implementing a new performance management system within a project-based organization: A case study. International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, 56(1), 60-75.
Darnall, N., Henriques, I., & Sadorsky, P. (2008). Do environmental management systems improve business performance in an international setting?. Journal of International Management, 14(4), 364-376.
DeNisi, A. S., & Kluger, A. N. (2000). Feedback effectiveness: can 360-degree appraisals be improved?. The Academy of Management Executive, 14(1), 129-139.
DeNisi, A. S. (2000). Performance appraisal and performance management. Multilevel Theory, Research, and Methods in Organizations: Foundations, Extensions and New Directions. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1((1),121-156.
Kaplan, R. S. (2001). Strategic performance measurement and management in nonprofit organizations. Nonprofit management and Leadership, 11(3), 353-370.
Levy, P. E., & Williams, J. R. (2004). The social context of performance appraisal: A review and framework for the future. Journal of management, 30(6), 881-905.