SUMMER INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

Project Proposal

I. Project Proposed : Performance Management System of Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd

II. Description of the project in brief :

The concept of Performance Appraisal has been one of the most important and effective
developments in the circle of Human Resource Management, in the recent years. The
difference between Performance and Performance Appraisal must be clarified because,
unless Performance is defined, appraisal cannot be done properly and eventually
Performance Management System cannot be successfully implemented. Performance
Management System involves creating a work environment for employees success rather
than setting a tight control system, as many managers would believe. The word Appraisal
means a process that provides an analysis of a persons overall capabilities and potential.

In Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd, the whole Performance Management System has been
categorized into different stages on the basis of the roles played by each authorities
concerned or the committees formed. The employees, to be appraised are divided in two
sections, namely Executive and Officer. The grades in the Officer category includes S1
and S2 whereas, the Executive grade includes E0 to E7. Different procedure is carried out
for these categories mentioned above. A separate method is followed for E8 category
Executives.

For the Officers, the assessment process is carried out by three authorities namely,
Reporting Authority, Functional Authority (if applicable) and Reviewing Authority. The
Reporting Authority initiates the assessment process on completion of the financial year.
This authority is expected to objectively assess the performance of the Appraisee against
each identified Attribute in a scale of 1 to 5 and tick the appropriate box (as per the format
given in the Appraisal Form) which best reflects the performance. Any extreme grade, for
each attribute must be justified with relevant observations in support thereof.

The Reporting Authority briefly records the area of responsibility and lists all the KPTs (Key
Performance Target) assigned, if any, to the Appraisee, during the financial year. He/she
also records his/her comments on the overall performance and potential of the Appraisee in
the space provided in the Appraisal form. He/ she may also comment on the factors that
may have either facilitated or hindered the performance of the Appraisee, thereby records
about the Developmental Training Needs, if required by the employee appraised.
The process is forwarded to the Functional Authority (if any), who checks the overall score
against each attribute and verifies whether the score allotted does not exceed the
Maximum Overall Score. He too can record his/her comments on the overall performance of
the Appraisee for that particular year. Then comes the function of the Reviewing Authority
who does the same job as the Functional authority (if any). He/ she must ensure that all
relevant sections have been properly filled up and signed, thereafter the forms should be
forwarded to the concerned HR Resource. The score given by the Reviewer is considered as
the final score which will be taken into account in the Moderation Process.

Next step is the Moderation Process, where the Moderation committee examines the
assessment of all the concerned officers and in joint consultation decides the relevant
ranking of the Appraisees. Once the ranking list is agreed upon by the members of the
Committee, the moderated rating of the Appraisees shall be determined, followed by a bell
curve approach, that is, all the employees have to be given either an A+/ A / B / C / D. After
the Moderation is completed, Feedback Discussions comes in. It is a very critical step in the
appraisal process. During the feedback/ counselling session, the moderated performance
ratings are shared with the Appraisee besides the qualitative comments made by various
Authorities and the Development Needs of the Appraisee.

The same process discussed above, is followed for the Executives grade (E0-E7). The only
difference is, at the beginning of the process, all the Executives are given with a Self
Assessment Form, which needs to be filled up by the Appraisee himself/ herself. The
Appraisee can record the performance achieved by him/ her vis--vis the targets set and can
indicate the scores against each target linked to the degree of achievement. Then the same
form is forwarded to the Reporting Authority, Functional Authority (if any), and Reviewing
Authority, followed by the Moderation Committee and Feedback Sessions. They too play
the same roles/ functions as discussed above. E8 category Executives, follow the same
instructions mentioned above. Further, they have to submit their Annual property return
and Annual Health Check-up Report for the particular year.

Thus, it can be said that Performance Management System of Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd
ends, by providing the high rated employees, the appreciation and necessary motivation for
their work, whereas, the low rated employees are given adequate training and
Developmental Needs Program, so that they can achieve their targets more effectively and
efficiently. Apart from this, the Performance System practiced here are followed by many
Provisions given to the employees appraised and guidelines, which are strictly followed.

My work includes the analysis of the above mentioned process and creating and sorting
data for all the employees who are to be appraised. A comparative study of how
Performance Management System is carried out in two Private Sector companies and two
Public Sector companies, should also be analyzed and interpreted.
III. Objective of the project :

The main objectives behind this project are as follows:

To study the relevance of Performance Management System in Balmer Lawrie & Co.
Ltd.
To determine that Performance Management System implemented in various
organization, varies according to the need and suitability.
Organizational benefit of Performance Management.

IV. Methodology :

Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd follows a Bell curve approach for its rating method in the
Performance Management System. Thus, knowing the process, a Research methodology is
proposed. The Research process includes the research design, which tells the nature of my
study. It comprises of defining and redefining the problems and suggested solutions,
organizing and collection of data.

Research Methodology Adopted categorized as follows:

The data source : Secondary.

Sample Unit : Employees( Executives and Officers)
Secondary Data : Journals, Booklets, Company Data (Previous records)
Analysis and Interpretaion : Study on the Performance Management System of
Balmer Lawrie & Co. Ltd and a comparison of it with 2 other PSU Companies and 2
private companies
Conclusion
Suggestions and recommendations.

This research is an exploratory research.

V. Schedule: The project mentioned above is to be carried out in the following schedule:

1-15th April, Self assessment by the employees(Applicable to Executives only)

Till 30th April , report by Reporting authority
Till 5th May, report by Functional Authority(If Any)
Till 15th May, report by Reviewing authority
By 31st May, Moderation Process by the Moderating Committee
Till 10th June, feedback to the employees appraised.
VI. Limitations of the study :

The limitations of my study are discussed below:

I can judge how well the company carries out its Performance Management
System, but officially I cannot be a part of the process, because I am not an
employee of the company. Thus, it will lead to a difficult situation for me, to
understand the in-depth of the concerned process.
Though works are allotted on the basis of my project, I would be unaware of many
important things about the Performance System, since the process is a highly
confidential matter in the organization and particular works are handled by the
concerned authorities.
Since the Performance Management System is handled only by the Superior
Authority, It becomes difficult to find out information about the process which
though would have proved valuable for my project.

VII. References :

The following are the materials taken from Online journals , web pages and print materials.

Business improvement Architects [Online], Total Performance Management

Available from: http://www.bia.ca/creating-performance-management-system.htm
[Accessed on 1st April, 2013]

IQBAL. J, NAZ. S and ASLAM. M, July, 2012, Performance Management ,

INTERDISCIPLINARY JOURNAL OF CONTEMPORARY RESEARCH IN BUSINESS Journal.
[Online]Vol. 4(3), Pakistan: International Islamic University Islamabad
Available from: http://journal-archieves20.webs.com/709-728.pdf [Accessed on 29th March,
2013]
Armstrong and Baron, A. (1998), Out of the tick box, People Management, 23 July,
Volume: 4 Issue: 15 pp.38-41 (3 pages)
Hastings, R.R, Sept 2007, Customize Performance Management to fit global cultures.
SHRM Journal, pp. 1-4.

Faculty Guide: Prof. Siply Gupta

Company Guide: Ms. Neha Natani By: Asmita Chowdhury

Date: 8th April, 2013 12BSP0252