Name: Darpan Choudhary

Roll no. PGPGC202100112

Section: B
Mr Mehta’s Dilemma : Performance Appraisal Politics
Following are my learnings from the Mr. Mehta’s case study discussion in class.
Issues in performance appraisal and management
In the case, it was observed that there were several external and internal factors responsible for
the sticky situation that came to the forefront about the appraisal of Rajesh. Firstly, the merger
led to a clash of contrasting appraisal policies of HR systems. Rajesh's old organization followed
an absolute scale, whereas the other followed a forced distribution method as the primary
appraisal tool. Rajesh was not able to settle in the relative system of appraisal. Therefore, the HR
office could have avoided the ordeal by organizing an induction process post-merger for
familiarising the incoming employees regarding the HR practices and policies. Secondly, there
was a considerable lack of Emotional Intelligence from both sides, i.e., Mr. Desai and Rajesh.
Rajesh showed a lack of Self-regulation as he lashed out at his manager in one of the meetings
held for resolution. Additionally, Mr. Desai did not handle the situation well and provided an
unsatisfactory answer(Lack of empathy) that unnerved Rajesh. Finally, Mr. Desai displayed
clear signs of bias in his appraisal process, which is not expected from an individual in a position
of responsibility. Such problems could have been avoided if Mr. Mehta had adopted a
standardized performance review process for the employees and training the supervisors for
potential faults in their appraisal process(halo effect, recency bias, etc.).

Potential Solutions
The company’s HR policy should include a robust “Performance Management System”. Without
delving deep into the topic of PMS, it has six primary attributes, namely Direction sharing, Goal
Alignment, Ongoing performance monitoring, Ongoing feedback, Coaching and developmental
support, and Recognition and rewards. In a nutshell, PMS allows the organization to identify,
measure, and develop teams' performance and align them with the organization's goals. The
goals set by the company should follow the SMART criteria of being specific, measurable,
attainable, relevant, and timely. The appraisal process should be standardized for all employees
in a particular department and allow employees input regarding the performance review.
Additionally, 360-Degree feedback can be employed for a holistic feedback process of the
employees by considering all possible stakeholders impacted through the actions of the worker
in concern.

Issues with Mr. Mehta’s Decision

The problems associated with Mr Mehta’s decision were manifold:
1. There was no guarantee as to whether the corporate climate and circumstances would
remain constant through the course of the educational endeavour of Rajesh.
2. New projects were coming in and would require Rajesh's niche expertise to provide
satisfactory deliverables to the clientele.
3. There was a possibility that Rajesh might not return to the organization after the
completion of his PhD.
4. These consequences were setting the table for similar situations to crop up in the future.
Mr Mehta was in a precarious situation as he had to weigh these downsides against the benefits
of retaining Rajesh as an employee, which provides us with fascinating insights into the
employee-manager dynamic in a post-merger organization.