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Performance Management
Throughout the history of employment there has been the struggle of how to evaluate the level of effort put forth by those who are doing the work. The questions range from who should do the evaluations to how often should they be done? The answers are varied but the common conclusion is that it is never an easy task for management to perform and it can be even more difficult for the employee receiving the evaluation.
Performance Management vs. Performance Appraisals
“Performance management is the systematic process by which an agency involves its employees, as individuals and members of a group, in improving organizational effectiveness in the accomplishment of agency mission and goals” (OPM, 2008). In a nutshell, Performance Management doesn’t depend on any one entity to make decisions and evaluations; it takes a team effort to reach the common goals.
Some organizations still use a Performance Appraisal system of evaluation that allows management to make the decisions of the employees who are doing to bulk of the labor. “The human inclination to judge can create serious motivational, ethical and legal problems in the workplace” (Performance appraisal, 2006). Basically this means that personalities can come into play and therefore put the organization at risk.
Steps to an Effective Performance Management System
In order to implement an effective Performance Management System certain steps must be followed. In Figure 1 below, those steps are diagramed.

Figure 1: Performance Management Process (OPM, 2008)
Each of the steps gives credence to the step that follows and support for the step that preceded it. Therefore, the system flows in support for each step of an effective Performance Management system.
Planning on how the work will be done and setting goals. Effective organizations plan ahead for the work they will perform. This allows for proper staffing and...