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Unit 5: Appraising and Evaluating People in the Organization

Following are some of the important features of BARS method: Notes

• Performance areas of the employees that need to be assessed are determined and
described by the individuals who will use the scales.
• The scales are attached with the explanations of the actual job behaviour to represent
particular levels of performance.
• All the areas of performance that need to be examined are based on the observable
behaviours and are significant to the job, which is being evaluated because BARS are
customised for the job.
• As the raters who will use the scales actively participate in the development process,
as they are more dedicated to the final product.
The BARS were introduced to present results to improve the performance of the employees
of a company. The BARS also help in overcoming rating errors.

Result-Oriented Appraisal or MBO Technique
The result-oriented appraisals are based on the concrete performance targets, which are
usually established by superiors and subordinates jointly. This procedure is known as
Management By Objectives (MBO).

Drucker first described MBO in 1954 in the Practice of Management. Drucker pointed to the
importance of managers having clear objectives that support the purposes of those in higher
positions in the organization. McGregor argues that establishing performance goals for
employees after reaching agreement with superiors, the problems of appraisal of performance
are minimised. MBO in essence involves nothing but clearly defined goals of an employee
in agreement with his superior. Refinements brought out by George Odione, Valentine,
Humble and others have enriched the concept and made it more acceptable as an appraisal
technique.
The MBO process has the following four steps:
• The first step is to establish the objectives by the superiors that should be attained, each
employee. These objectives are used to evaluate the performance of each employee in
the organization.

• The second step is to set the standards for evaluating the performance of the employees.
As employees perform, they know fairly well the standards against which their
performance is to be judged.
• The third step is to compare the actual level of attained objectives with the objectives
set by the organization. The evaluator depicts the reasons for the objectives that were
not met. This step helps in determining the needs to provide training to the employees
of the organization.

• The final step is to establish new strategies for the objectives that were not met. This
step involves active participation of superiors and subordinates in setting objectives.
• This process is most useful at the managerial and subordinate level. MBO does not
apply to the assembly line workers whose jobs have less flexibility and their performance
standards are already defined.

Assessment Centre Method
This method of appraising was first applied in the German Army in 1930. Later, business
organization also started using this method. This is not a technique of performance appraisal
by itself. In fact, it is a system, where assessment of several individuals is done by various
experts by using various techniques.

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