Page 7 - DMGT517_PERFORMANCE_MANAGEMENT_SYSTEM

Performance Management System

Notes Performance Defi ned

The Oxford English Dictionary defines ‘performance’ as behaviour—the way in which

organizations, teams and individuals get work done. Campbell (1990) believes that “Performance
is behavior and should be distinguished from the outcomes because they can be contaminated
by systems factors”.

A more comprehensive view of performance is achieved if it is defined as embracing both behavior
and outcomes. This is well put by Brumbrach (1988): “Performance means both behaviors and
results. Behaviors emanate from the performer and transform performance from abstraction to
action. Not just the instruments for results, behaviors are also outcomes in their own right—the
product or mental and physical effort applied to tasks—and can be judged apart from results.”
Performance could, therefore, be regarded as behaviour—the way in which organizations, teams
and individuals get work done. Campbell believes that ‘Performance is behavior and should be
distinguished from the outcomes because they can be contaminated by systems factors.’
Performance = (Skill to do + Will to do)
Creating skill to do: It means resources and infrastructure required for performance. They are
mainly:
1. Machine,

2. Money,
3. Material, and
4. Men.
They determine the capacity of an organization.
Better performance cannot be thought of without state-of-the-art machinery—superior to or
equal to the competitors.

Paucity or inferiority of money or material will definitely hamper the performance. Hence, their
strategic availability is must.
Men, the most critical and scares of all the resources are not only most important as also most
strategic. Sourcing, attracting, developing, retaining and motivating talent are most crucial jobs
of a performing organization.

The Pillars of Human Performance

Work performance of an individual may be observed and appraised along three dimensions as
follows:

1. An understanding of the context of work, or work situation, in terms of its purpose, nature,
conditions, requirements, metrics of appraisals, and so on;
2. The ability to carry out the work effectively in terms of the requisite knowledge, skills and
capabilities required for performance excellence; and
3. Motivation to carry out the work in terms of one’s commitment and best efforts towards
excelling in performance.
These three dimensions may be viewed as three pillars of human performance, viz., understanding
the context, the ability to be effective, and motivational to excel. These three axes of human
performance may be logically applied and instantiated to explicate the nature, norms, and
attributes of the human capital as follows:

The first pillar, i.e., understanding the context, implies employees’ reflective and critical
understanding of the dynamic business environment of their enterprise. It also implies

2 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY