An evaluation of a performance management system within a division of a large organisation in the public sector

[摘要] ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Today's competitive and dynamic business world, solicits ever higher levels of performance andproductivity. At the core of this drive to higher performance is the enhancement and managingof employees' performance through a Performance Management system. PerformanceManagement however, is a very complex, multi-dimensional and integrated system with anumber of interacting critical prerequisites. Even in ideal circumstances, these fundamentalelements would, in all likelihood, not all be satisfied during the initial phases of implementing aPerformance Management system.The concern existed, on the basis of the abovementioned probabilities, that the PerformanceManagement system of the Children and Families Division (CAF) of the Department of Healthand Human Services (DHHS) of Tasmania, Australia, was not enjoying optimal operationaleffectiveness. The aim of this study was to identify those factors in the system that areunderdeveloped, possibly unsuccessfully implemented or in need of attention as they impactnegatively on the effective running of the CAF's Performance Management system.A suitable tool for this diagnostic purpose already exists in the form of the PerformanceManagement Audit Questionnaire (PMAQ), developed by Spangenberg and Theron (1997).Through administering and analysing the PMAQ results, the CAF could obtain a clear indicationof the system's current effectiveness and would be able to identify where the problem areas arein order to refine the system for greater operational effectiveness.The results successfully identified the underdeveloped or absent areas of the organisation'scurrent Performance Management system. The results further found a clear difference betweenmanagerial and non-managerial perceptions of the effectiveness of the PerformanceManagement system. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of proposedremedial actions that could be implemented to address the problem areas.

[发布机构] Stellenbosch University