PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL FIRMS IN SRI-LANKA
Introduction
Many academics and practicing managers regard performance appraisal as one of the most valuable human resource tools. It is a vital component in recruiting and hiring employees, where it is used to validate selection tests, and in staffing, where transfer, layoff, termination, or promotion decisions are made on the basis of management results. In compensation administration, performance appraisal forms the basis for the administration of merit pay systems (Deshpande & Schoderbek, 1993). Most important, performance appraisal can be used as a motivational tool for communicating performance expectations to employees and providing them with feedback. Finally, performance appraisal is indispensable in training and development activities to assess potential and identify training needs (Farh, Earley & Lin, 1997).
Performance appraisal is an important process for influencing both the extrinsic and intrinsic motivations of employees, that is, increasing employees' perceptions and understanding of job tasks and subsequently their job satisfaction (Latham, & Wexley, 1994). For example, elements of performance appraisal may provide the employee with a more accurate understanding of job tasks (task identity and task significance) through objective setting, leading to a clear sense of direction. Performance appraisal also serves to focus employee efforts and attention on critical tasks through the use of performance feedback, which therefore assists employees in reducing job errors and minimizing the risks of learning through trial and error. In addition, where employees desire jobs that allow them to make good use of their skills and talents, performance appraisal increases job task "fit" (skill variety) through the identification of training and development needs that are consistent with individual and organizational goals (Farh, Earley & Lin, 1997).
There are several enduring issues relative to performance appraisal system implementation. They include the controversy over combining developmental and administrative purposes, the absence of rater training, the lack of organizational commitment and top-level support, ubiquitous rating errors, employee dissatisfaction with the amount of performance feedback received, and the absence of specific performance documentation, among others (Farh, Earley & Lin, 1997). Included are several emerging implementation issues related to the need for increasing the sources of performance information and problems raised by inadequate literacy levels.
Hypothesis
The study would like to test the following null hypothesis:
Ø The level of effectiveness of performance appraisal of cross-cultural managers significantly affects the general efficiency of the organization.
Scope and Limitations
The study intends to investigate the level of effectiveness of the performance appraisal of cross-cultural managers. For this study, primary research and secondary research will be used. Primary research will be conducted using anonymous questionnaires that will be sent to selected managers of multinational corporations based in the Sri-Lanka. The questionnaires will be used to collect quantitative data and the interviews will be used to provide qualitative insights into the data collected.
The data will be analyzed and compiled for the correlation of the hypothesis. The data will then be presented by means of graphical representations and illustration and the difference would be highlighted. A negative correlation between the variables would suggest that the hypothesis is null, that is, the level of effectiveness of performance appraisal of cross-cultural managers significantly affects the general efficiency of the organization.
Research Methodology
Research requires an organized data gathering in order to pinpoint the research philosophies and theories that will be included in the research, the methodology of the research and the instruments of data interpretation. In this study, the Research Process “Onion” will be utilized so that the findings of the study can be thoroughly established. The inner part of the onion describes the methodology portion whereas the outer part discusses the strategies that can be utilized in interpreting the results of the findings.
The descriptive research method uses observation and surveys. In this method, it is possible that the study would be cheap and quick. It could also suggest unanticipated hypotheses. Nonetheless, it would be very hard to rule out alternative explanations and especially infer causations. Thus, this study will use the descriptive approach. This descriptive type of research will utilize observations in the study. To illustrate the descriptive type of research, Creswell (1994) will guide the researcher when he stated: Descriptive method of research is to gather information about the present existing condition. The purpose of employing this method is to describe the nature of a situation, as it exists at the time of the study and to explore the cause/s of particular phenomena. The researcher opted to use this kind of research considering the desire of the researcher to obtain first hand data from the respondents so as to formulate rational and sound conclusions and recommendations for the study.
The research described in this document is partly based on quantitative research methods. This permits a flexible and iterative approach. During data gathering the choice and design of methods are constantly modified, based on ongoing analysis. This allows investigation of important new issues and questions as they arise, and allows the investigators to drop unproductive areas of research from the original research plan.
This study also employs qualitative research method, since this research intends to find and build theories that would explain the relationship of one variable with another variable through qualitative elements in research. These qualitative elements does not have standard measures, rather they are behavior, attitudes, opinions, and beliefs.
Furthermore, as we define the qualitative research it is multimethod in focus, involving an interpretative, naturalistic approach to its subject matter. This means that qualitative researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of, or interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them. Accordingly, qualitative researchers deploy a wide range of interconnected methods, hoping always to get a better fix on the subject matter at hand.
The primary source of data will come from interviews and anonymous questionnaires from multinational managers in the Caribbean. The primary data frequently gives the detailed definitions of terms and statistical units used in the study. These are usually broken down into finer classifications.
The secondary sources of data will come from published articles from social science journals, theses and related studies on personnel management. Acquiring secondary data are more convenient to use because they are already condensed and organized. Moreover, analysis and interpretation are done more easily.
References:
Creswell, JW (1994) Research design. Qualitative and quantitative approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage.
Deshpande SP & Schoderbek PP (1993). Pay-allocations by managers: A policy-capturing approach. Human Relations, 46, 465-479.
Farh JL, Earley PC & Lin SC (1997). Impetus for action: A cultural analysis of justice and organizational citizenship behavior in Chinese society. Administrative Science Quarterly, 42, 421-444.
Latham, GP & Wexley KN (1994). Increasing Productivity Through Performance Appraisal. London: Addison Wesley.
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