Function of Business Enterprise

Individual Assignment ( 20%)

January 22, 2021

Date of Submission: February 05, 2021

General Direction: This assignment has two parts. Part I is a case study and Part II is article
review. Read instructions for each part before you attempt them. Deadline is highly respected.

PART I: Case Study

Building Performance Management through Employee Participation

A process of performance management is developed in companies to better shape how
employees with this process, believing that the communication occurring between managers and
workers facilitates the completion of important workplace goals. Unfortunately, many employees
become dissatisfied with how their organizations encourage goal-directed behavior, which can
result in poor job attitudes, decreased motivation, and reduced effort on the job. These negative
factors lead some companies to seek alternative ways to design and implement performance
management systems so that employees are encouraged to work hard in their jobs.
Jewelers Mutual Insurance Company (JMI) is one such company that has actively
improved its performance management approach, and the results have been very encouraging.
Employees were initially dissatisfied with the feedback and goal-setting approaches that were
being utilized to manage job performance, so company leaders decided to involve employees in
the redesign efforts to create a more viable program that would be satisfactory for all the parties
involved. An outside consultant started the process by interviewing top leaders in the company,
and focus groups were used to solicit feedback from various other members of the organization.
By utilizing a more participative and inclusive approach, the company was able to identify the
problems with the current performance management system and generate greater support for the
proposed changes that would ultimately fix these issues. This case illustrates how important
employee participation is in the effective management of human resources, particularly when
developing a viable performance management system.

Several key changes were made to the performance management system based on the
feedback received from managers and employees. In particular, inconsistencies in the
administration of the performance management system, problems with the rating techniques and
forms, and various challenges linking pay to performance were specifically targeted as part of
the redesign effort. Such reflection and self-assessment prompted a number of specific
improvements to management of job performance within the company. Evaluations are now
based on narratives, various metrics of accountability, and job goals. Further, feedback is
provided to employees on a quarterly basis, compensation is more strongly linked to individual
effort, and the performance management system functions in concert with the other elements of
human resource management. The changes made to the performance management processes at
JMI Company demonstrate how human resource professionals can work with other staff
members to create a system that excites employees and, ultimately, yields greater job
performance.

Your task: Address the following questions:

1. Discuss how this case illustrates on how a performance management system can be developed.
2. How does performance management in your organization or an organization you are familiar
with differ from experience at JMI?
3. Based on the course concepts identify some of the ways that performance management
systems can be improved in your organization / an organization you are familiar.
Your answers to all questions above shouldn’t exceed 700 words. Try to be as brief as possible.
Consult reliable sources and provide full information of the sources you have used to deal each
question. Use proper citation for books, articles, Internet, and company manual sources.

Part II: Article review assignment

Instruction: In this part of the assignment you are to find an article entitled ‘Rethinking
project management – Did we miss marketing management?’ You are required to summarize
and evaluate it in 2 pages or less, using your own words, by addressing the following:

1. Citation of the article: State the full bibliographic reference of the article you are reviewing
(authors, title, journal name, volume, issue, year, page numbers) in Harvard style format.

2. Introduction: Including identification sentences, the objective of the article (goals or

purpose), the central themes of the article and the arguments and claims of the author.

3. Brief summary of the article: Express the main points, arguments, and findings of the article
in your own words. What is the problem being addressed? Which solution is being proposed?
Show how the article supports its claims, theoretical background, and contribution of the study
and indication of future area of investigation.

4. General Critique: What are your own reactions and considered opinions regarding the work?
What exactly does the work contribute and relate to the overall topic of your course and/or
assignment? You need to explain and critique, the relevance of the study, substance of article
and focus. What are the article’s shortcomings and limitations? Are all important aspects and
issues of its domain covered? Support your critique with evidence from the article or other
material.

Note: Article review is not addressing the above issues. However, they should be used just as a
guideline. When you write your evaluation be brief and concise. This is not meant to be an essay
but an objective evaluation that one can read very easily and quickly. It should contain both
positive and negative comments with justification.