Running Head: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AT NETWORK SOLUTIONS, INC.

Performance Management at Network Solutions, Inc.

Raun Shephard

HRM 520 Managing Performance for Results

CSU - Global Campus

Dr. DeAnn Arnold

Submitted August 20, 2017

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 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AT NETWORK SOLUTIONS, INC.

Performance Management at Network Solutions, Inc.

Network Solutions, Inc. is an organization specializing in hardware, software, and

services critical to computer networking. The company found itself with an ineffective

performance measurement system, actually comprised of 50 different performance measurement

systems. Due to the disparate nature of their system, numerous employees did not receive

reviews, peak performers were not recognized nor rewarded, and ineffective employees remained

on the payroll without having their performance addressed. The competitive nature of their

industry was rising, resulting in the company being punished for their ineffective performance

management system. In an effort to improve the likelihood of achieving organizational goals, the

company decided to align employee goals with those of the organization.

The Ideal Performance Management System

Over time, there has been an evolution in performance management and measurement.

The result of said evolution thus far is what this paper will refer to as the ideal performance

management system. In an ideal performance management system, there are fifteen factors

which must be included. These include strategic and contextual congruence, thoroughness,

practicality, and meaningfulness (Brudan, 2010). Also included are specificity, identification of

effective and ineffective performance, reliability, validity, and inclusiveness (Yadav, Sushil, &

Sagar, 2013). Additionally, acceptability and fairness, openness, correctability, standardization,

and ethicality must be included (Lutwama, Roos, & Dolamo, 2013).

The Actual Versus The Ideal

As with all organizations, there are often points of alignment and differentiation between

the ideal performance management system and that which is experienced in an organization.

Accordingly, Network Solutions, Inc. experienced a similar outcome. Of the fifteen factors in an

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 PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT AT NETWORK SOLUTIONS, INC.

ideal performance management system, Network Solutions, Inc. clearly incorporates seven of the

fifteen. Of the remaining eight factors, there are some factors which may have been discussed

but lack clarity, preventing the organization from receiving credit for the factor. There are also

some factors which received no mention whatsoever, possibly affecting the credibility of the

system.

Specifically, Network Solutions, Inc. incorporated strategic congruence, aligning the the

goals of the organization and the individual (Brudan, 2010). The proposed system includes

specificity, which aids in their identification of effective and ineffective performance. They had

the foresight to include employees in the evaluation of the system, engaging inclusiveness to

ensure the validity of the system. Ultimately, this could aid in employees evaluating the

performance management system to be acceptable and fair (Lutwama, Roos, & Dolamo, 2013).

To further underscore the acceptability and fairness of the system, it was mandated that the

evaluations be standardized and applied consistenly across all divisions inclusiveness (Yadav,

Sushil, & Sagar, 2013).

Positive Implications

Due to the push for a clear standard, employees should be able to accurately assess their

performance. This can lead to positive self-esteem in the areas wherein they perform well. Since

there will be alignment between the individual's goals and the organization's, when employees hit

their goals, they can feel a sense of achievement, knowing that they are directly advancing the

cause of the organization. The feedback that allows employees to know where they stand in

relation to coworkers can motivate them to improve their performance or leave the organization

if they find that they are not a good fit. The system will also allow those who are top performers

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to receive benefits, fully justified by the accurate assessment of their contribution to the

organization.

Negative Implications

Unfortunately, it appears that some components of an ideal performance management

system may be missing. While the problem statement recognizes that their previous performance

management system was ineffective and causing them to be uncompetitive in the industry, there

was no mention of addressing context as it relates to the new performance management system.

Additionally, there was no specific mention of the frequency with which the evaluations would

take place. In the event an employee felt that they were misclassified, there was no appeal

process for employees to challenge their rating. Some of the factors were implied but not

explicitly stated.

As a result, the areas not clearly outlined could cause confusion. In the resulting

confusion, employees could possibly be demoralized. Without an appeal process, the EEOC

could come into play. An employee that felt they were treated unfairly without an opportunity to

address their rating could be a lawsuit waiting to happen. The lack of specificity with regard to a

schedule of evaluations might mean a great deal of time could lapse between evaluations. If an

employee did not have an opportunity to correct their behaviors in a timely manner, the result

could be a low performing employee that verbalizes their treatment, causing fear in their

coworkers.

Conclusion

Problems in an organization's performance management system is likely to result in an

organization that does not achieve it's goals. Any misalignment, can result in employees exerting

a tremendous amount of effort to achieve outcomes which are not critical to the organization's

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success. The misallocation of such a resource shows up as an expense to the company which was

not productive. To avoid such situations, it is critical that organizations become familiar with the

characteristics of an ideal performance management system. Then, it is to their benefit to align

their newly created performance management system with the ideal, so as to create a holistic

environment for their employees and a possible competitive advantage for the organization.

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Reference

Brudan, A. (2010). Rediscovering performance management: Systems, learning and

integration. Measuring Business Excellence, 14(1), 109-123.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/10.1108/13683041011027490

Lutwama, G. W., Roos, J. H., & Dolamo, B. L. (2013). Assessing the implementation of

performance management of health care workers in uganda. BMC Health Services

Research, 13, 355. doi:http://dx.doi.org.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/10.1186/1472-6963-13-

355

Yadav, N., Sushil, & Sagar, M. (2013). Performance measurement and management

frameworks. Business Process Management Journal, 19(6), 947-971.

doi:http://dx.doi.org.csuglobal.idm.oclc.org/10.1108/BPMJ-01-2013-0003

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