The Performance Appraisal

After spending several weeks on the job, Jennifer was surprised to discover that her father had not formally evaluated any employees performance for all the years that he had owned the business. Jacks position was that he had a hundred higher-priority things to attend to, such as boosting sales and lowering costs, and, in any case, many employees didnt stick around long enough to be appraisable anyway. Furthermore, contended Jack, manual workers such as those doing the pressing and the cleaning did periodically get positive feedback in terms of praise from Jack for a job well done, or criticism, also from Jack, if things did not look right during one of his swings through the stores. Similarly, Jack was never shy about telling his managers about store problems so that they, too, got some feedback on where they stood.

This informal feedback notwithstanding, Jennifer believes that a more formal appraisal approach is required. She believes that there are criteria such as quality, quantity, attendance, and punctuality that should be evaluated periodically even if a worker is paid on piece rate. Furthermore, she feels quite strongly that the managers need to have a list of quality standards for matters such as store cleanliness, efficiency, safety, and adherence to budget on which they know they are to be formally evaluated.

Questions

1. Is Jennifer right about the need to evaluate the workers formally? The managers? Why or why not?

2. Assuming Jack agrees with Jennifers contention that Carter Cleaning Company should establish a more formal practice of assessing employee performance, how would you recommend that Jennifer go about developing a performance appraisal program for the workers and managers in each store. As you consider your response to this question, consider:

a. The need to identify performance factors to be measured

b. The need to establish quality, efficiency, and safety standards

c. The need to ensure that any resulting performance appraisal system supports Jacks overarching organizational financial goals