The impact of performance appraisal on employees productivity: a study of santana security agency limited,uyo

Thesis Overview

<p> <b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b><b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></b></p><p><b><b><b><b>INTRODUCTION</b></b></b></b></p><p><b><b><b></b></b></b></p><b><b><b><p><b>1.1 Background<br>of Study</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p>In every<br>business organization, the performance of the employees is important in achieving<br>organizational goals. The success of every business organization can therefore<br>be attributed to performance appraisal. Performance appraisal is one of the<br>basic tools that make workers to be very effective and active at work. A<br>critical look out on this may bring about the need for motivation, allowances, development,<br>training and good human relationship in an organization.</p><p>The output of<br>every organization depends on how well and how much the performance of the<br>employee is appraised and evaluated. Productivity can therefore be defined as<br>“quality or volume of the major product or services that an organization<br>provides”. In short, productivity is what comes out of production.</p><p>Managers of<br>every business organization are charged with the responsibility to motivate<br>their employees to achieve organizational goals. The efficiency and effectiveness<br>of any work place whether the private or the public sector, largely depend on<br>the caliber of the workforce. The availability of competent and effective<br>labour force does not just happen by chance or accident but through an articulated<br>recruitment exercise (Peretomode and Peretomode, 2001) and performance<br>appraisal.</p><p>The whole<br>essence of the management activities of an organization culminates into the<br>system of performance appraisal adopted in that organization. This, in turn,<br>reflects the extent of the individual contributions and commitment of the employees<br>in different hierarchical levels toward the achievement of organizational<br>objectives. It goes without saying that an effective performance appraisal<br>system can lead an organization to take strides towards success and growth by<br>leaps and bounds. Conversely, an ineffective performance appraisal system can<br>seal the fate of an organization by creating chaos and confusion from top to<br>bottom in the administrative hierarchy. As a consequence the chances of success<br>and growth of that organization are doomed.</p><p>The Nigerian<br>economy has been plunged into a state of economic decline since the early<br>1980’s, following the introduction of Structural Adjustment Programme (SAP), by<br>Babangida’s Administration. Since then, productivity improvement has become a<br>major challenge facing all work and business organizations and the Nigerian<br>economy as whole. It has therefore become imperative for government and all<br>stakeholders to evolve adequate measures that would improve productivity in<br>Nigeria. It is on account of this, that most, if not all of the past leaders,<br>have tried in one way or the other to carry out at least one reform measure in<br>the public sector in order to enhance employee performance and productivity.</p><p>The nonchalant<br>attitudes of public sector workers towards their duties and responsibilities<br>have become a matter of great concern to the government at all levels and other<br>well meaning Nigerians. There has been a persistent public outcry in the mass<br>media indicting public sector employees for their negative attitude to work<br>which has lead to low productivity and declining revenue.</p><p>Igbokwe-Ibeto<br>(2011) observed that “people do not take their work seriously in many instances<br>because people do not like what they are doing”. This nonchalant attitude to<br>work is independent of geo-political zones, rural-urban residence, religious<br>affiliation, sex or age. This opinion if properly examined suggest that in many<br>cases, they see themselves as birds of passage, such notion and feeling is even<br>worsened by the fact that performance appraisal and productivity management is<br>not taken serious in most organizations.</p><p>A segment of<br>Nigerian scholars such as, Okoro (2003), Oko (2004) and Arhuidese</p><p>(2006) well<br>tutored in Nigerian history have traced the genesis of the negative attitude to<br>work prevalent among Nigerian to the event of colonial era. They argued that<br>during the struggle and fight against colonialism, many nationalist using<br>various approaches and strategies tended to give the impression that government<br>as an institution and its agencies should be impoverished and vandalized. The<br>public sector for example, was seen as a “white man’s job” and anything done to<br>frustrate its operations is well intended. The notion, they argued have spread<br>into all spheres of work in the present day Nigeria.</p><p>Some Nigerian<br>scholars such as, , Mustafa (2006), Nwachukwu (2008) and Fatile (2010),<br>emphasized the issue of poor performance appraisal and motivation at work as<br>the some of the causes of this national slide. They argued that poor performance<br>and low productivity is a direct consequence of inadequate motivation and<br>performance appraisal. In line with this proposition, Enyinta, (2001) noted<br>that, “there is general apathy on the side of the employers of labour to reward<br>a worker who is conscientious and dedicated to his duties”. Workers more often<br>than not go on strike resulting to loss of man-hours before they get their due<br>rights.</p><p>Afam (2003)<br>contributing to the above subject matter, believes that the Nigerian worker has<br>become a pawn in the hands of exploitative capitalist. He went further to<br>observe that workers are subjected to all kinds of ill treatments like<br>reduction in ranks, removal of fringe benefits, pay cuts, late payment of<br>salaries and wages and the prevalent retrenchment with or without benefits. He<br>concluded by saying that a situation where a worker is not adequately rewarded<br>for the cake he has painstakingly toiled to bake, is disheartening and left<br>much to be desired, as it amounts to killing the goose that lays the golden<br>egg.</p><p><b>1.2 Statement<br>of the Problem</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p>For a research<br>work to get underway, some difficulties must be felt in a practical and<br>theoretical situation. In other words, there must be a felt difficulty<br>succeeded by efforts to find solutions to the problem. Efficiency and<br>effectiveness in the Nigerian public sector has been a subject of controversy<br>and debate by all and sundry. Inefficiency, ineffectiveness, red-tapism and low<br>productivity are all common features of public sector. It is in line with this<br>that Umo (2003), after examining the attitude to work of Nigerians concluded<br>that Nigeria’s ambition for rapid industrialization, economic prosperity,<br>social and political stability will singularly and collectively be frustrated<br>if the current poor work attitude of Nigerian public sector is not urgently and<br>positively improved”. The above opinion if properly analyzed, shows that<br>improved or positive attitude to work in the Nigerian is an antidote for<br>industrialization and economic stability and development in Nigeria.<br>Performance appraisal as an important human resource (HR) strategy for<br>achieving better employee performance and productivity is hardly taken serious<br>by many organizations’ and most especially the Nigerian public sector. In fact,<br>public sectors Managers see performance appraisal as a ritual and an academic<br>exercise.</p><p>This<br>prevailing anomaly in the public sector has provoked a series of studies</p><p>geared towards<br>ameliorating the ugly situation which scholars have attributed to the familiar<br>challenges of the Nigerian federation. These problems according to Mukoro<br>(2005) citing Fajemirokun, Briggs (2007) Igbokwe-Ibeto (2011), and Tonwe and<br>Oghator (2009) comprises ethnicity, religious strife, corruption, colonial<br>history, governance/leadership style, the military involvement in politics, dishonest<br>performance appraisal and federal character principles. A number of reasons<br>have been identified as being responsible for this ugly situation and a number<br>of solutions have also been suggested, but the problem remained endemic and<br>persistent in the Nigerian public sector. Their performances are still below expectation,<br>their productivity is far below average, efficiency and effectiveness is virtually<br>nil.</p><p>This study<br>therefore, aims to further interrogate this catalogue of problems by having a<br>look at performance appraisal in the Nigerian private sector so as to determine<br>its effectiveness or otherwise using the Santana Security Agency Limited, Uyo<br>branch as a case study.</p><p><b>1.3 Objectives<br>of Study</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p>The main<br>objective of this study is to determine the extent to which performance appraisal<br>can enhance employee performance and productivity. Other specific objectives<br>include:</p><p>1. To examine<br>the extent to which public sector managers utilize performance appraisal<br>strategies to improve employees’ performance and productivity.</p><p>2. To examine<br>whether there is a relationship between performance appraisal and employees<br>productivity in the Nigerian private sector.</p><p>3. To<br>determine how individuals objectives and corporate objectives can be</p><p>integrated to<br>achieve better employee performance and productivity</p><p>enhancement in<br>Santana Security Agency Limited.</p><p>4. To<br>determine the extent to which organisational climate can influence</p><p>workers<br>behaviour towards better performance or otherwise.</p><p>5. To suggest on how to<br>overcome identified problems in the system, thereby proffering strategies for<br>performance appraisal to become more effective and efficient while embarking on<br>performance appraisal excise.</p><p><b>1.4 Research<br>Questions</b></p><p><b></b></p><b><p>To investigate<br>the problem of performance appraisal in Nigerian private sector, effort will be<br>made to beam our search light on the following research questions.</p><p>1. Do private sector<br>managers use performance appraisal in improving workers performance and<br>productivity?</p><p>2. Is there<br>any relationship between performance appraisal and employees’ performance and<br>productivity in Nigerian private sector?</p><p>3. Is there<br>any correlation between performance appraisal and attitude to work by employees<br>of Santana Security Agency Limited?</p><p>4. Can<br>organizational climate influence workers satisfaction, performance and productivity?</p></b></b></b></b></b></b></b> <br><p></p>