APPRAISAL IN MANAGING HUMAN RESOURCES IN MANUFACTURING ORGANISATIONS IN NIGERIA

CHAPTER ONE/INTRODUCTION

1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Human Resources is crucial to organizational survival and it has been acclaimed as the most important resource available to any organization. In discussing human resources in any culture or environment, human resources are the major wealth of any nation. People are the greatest asset of any organization we live in a people’s world. People are the backbone of any organization.
According to Banjoko (1996: 142), every organization advocates effective results and maximum individual employee as crucial to the organization growth and survival Performance standards or goals are established and all employees are enjoined to strive individually and collectively towards corporate goal attainment.
Obisi (1996:114) opines that in our today’s competitive economy characterized by risk taking organization must survive and the key to such survival is a revitalized human resources. Neither billions of naira nor the state of art, technology and machine can do the miracle if human resource is neglected and forgotten. This can be achieved if an organization nurtures, nourishes and develops its human resources through performance appraisal. More than anything else, competition, global trends and other issues have brought up human Resources Management and especially performance as the surest way of coping with competition. Thus, such activities as recruitment, selection, placement, rewards are all strategies of improving performance in order to cope with world happenings and megatrends.
Ovadje (1998:3 1) is also of the opinion, that is today’s highly competitive and chaotic environment, if organizations are to survive, they must attract and retain people who are able and willing to perform and even go beyond what is required. He went further to say that people are key in organizations, they are precious, problematic, unpredictable and productive. Nothing can be done in organization without people.
However, human beings are the most frustrating out of all the production elements for managers since they constitute the most difficult variable to control and predict. Performance appraisal is difficult to objectively and effectively implement because of the human element involved, yet it is crucial to individual and organizational growth.
Also on the part of Managers, there exists that reluctance to objectively appraise the work of those who report to them. In an activity important as managing, there should be no reluctance in measuring performance as effectively as we can, nor in having superior managers appraise the work of those who report to them.
However, the problem of “Praying God” also exists in a culture where individual performance has been rated, from the time the person enters kindergarten and though his school and university life. In almost forms of groups, performance has been rated in some way.
According to Walks (1989:210), “the guarantee of all organization measured by performance.” That is why emphasis is placed performance in most organization. To make performance appraisal effective in organizations, performance standards or goals must established and employee performance should be evaluated against such established goals or specific sets of expected behaviour.
The modern human resource system is divided into four parts acquisition of human resources (recruitment and selection), training and development, motivation and compensation. Performance appraisal involved in all four parts and services to tie them together by providing feedback information for all of the other parts. Performance appraisal has been called one of the most important tools for managing human resources in an organization.
According to Yodor and Staudohar (1982:101), the importance of performance appraisal seems from the importance of performance itself. Performance is the umbilical cord linking partners in the industrial relation system, that is the employers and the employees.
According to Moorhead and Griffin (1989:604), performance appraisal or evaluation is the process by which a manager:

1. Evaluates an employee’s work behaviours by measurement and comparison with previously established standards;
2. Records the results;
3. Communicates them to the employee.

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

According to Kellogy (1969:21), it is difficult for many managers to make their judgment explicit. It takes a rare combination of courage and tact to come right out and say what we feel especially when personal judgment and interpretation to influence our decisions in areas of crucial importance to an employee.
Performance appraisal system in most conglomerates are thought to be subjective, and favoritism is prevalent.
According to Banjoko (1996:142), some superior officers strongly believe in the “Coker is my cousin” syndrome, ie. There is an element of godfatherism. In view of these criticism, there is a need to put in place performance appraisal system that is objective as humanly possible. Performance appraisal system that is dynamic that produces continuous advances progress. Forward movement both for the organization and its people. The belief or contention is that if the performance appraisal systems are objective, they will enhance employee’s performance and ultimately aid the attainment of organization goals and objectives.

1.3   OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The main objective of this study is to find out the role of the performance appraisal system in Human Resources Management and how it is utilized.
The study also attempts to look at sub- objectives :

• To ascertain the extent to which performance appraisal systems are utilized in improving job performance of employees.
• To  Identity the features of the appraisal system that makes it effective and acceptable by the staff.
• To Find out the criteria used by employers in appraisal employees performance.
• To Examine the extent to which a performance appraisal system assist the organization in making general decisions or personnel decisions relating to promotions, staff transfers, career development, succession plan etc.

1.4    RESEARCH  QUESTIONS

The study will focus on the following relevant  research squestions:

• To what extent does performance appraisal systems are utilized in improving job performance of employees.
• What are the features that make appraisal system to be effective and acceptable by staff
• Is there criteria used by employers to appraise employee’s performance?
• Does the performance evaluation system assist management in making major decisions in their organisations  ?

1. 5 RESEARCH  HYPOTHESES

(i)   performance appraisal  systems  are not effectively utilized in improving job performance of employees
(ii)   There is no features of appraisal system that it effective and acceptable by staff
(iii)   The criteria used by employers are  ineffective in appraisal employees performance

• performance appraisal system does not assist the organisation in making general decision or personal decision relating to promotion of staff transfer, career development and succession plan.

1.6    SIGNIFICANCE  OF THE STUDY

The result of this study should be of interest to organizations and human resource practitioners of the selected organisations and other sectors of the economy.

1. This study will try to create awareness to all cadres of staff on the role of effective performance appraisal in managing human capital.
2. It will try to unfold the different performance appraisal systems and the essentials of dynamics of performance appraisal
3. The study will identify the short-comings of performance appraisal and proffer recommendations to make performance appraisal objective as humanly possible and acceptable.

4     This study will also aim at enriching the job knowledge    of the appraisee, establish a cordial relationship between subordinates and their supervisors and improve communications in the organization. This will be achieved by the creation of a clear understanding of what is expected and what needs to be done to meet
(5)    Also, academic community will not be left out, because this work will serve as a fertile ground for researchers who wish to carry 1.7       SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The study will cover the appraisal in managing human resources in manufacturing organisations in Nigeria, researcher intends to use the  staff of the manufacturing   of darling yaki and expression brands of weavon to carry out this research work. The staff  the  manufacturing companies  will provide the researcher with useful information that will be required to effectively carryout this research work.
 

1.8       LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

          
The major constraints of the study include:
Time Constraint: Due to the limited time available for the study, the researcher could not go to places to source for information on the study.
Attitude of Respondents: Some respondents are indifferent to the study because they feel they have nothing to benefit from the study, financially or otherwise.
Finance: Due to the lack of financial resources of the researcher, he could not visits  some  place to gather more information about the work