Abstract

In every business organisation, the performance of the employees is important in achieving Organisational goals. The study set out to examine the impact of performance appraisals on the growth of the Buea Regional Hospital. The specific objectives of the study were: to examine the effect of management by objective on employees, 360-degree method, and ranking method and what effect they all have on the growth of the Buea Regional Hospital.

The study adopted a survey research design to sample 100 staffs and employees at the Buea Regional Hospital, through a purposive sampling technique using a structured-questionnaire. Data was analyzed using SPSS (25.0) where descriptive statistics and regression test were conducted.

Result of the findings revealed that employees are involved in the process of setting objectives, a reward mechanism exists to reward achievement of objectives, there exist the right tools and environment to assist individuals in achieving the objectives set, and work is properly distributed among team members and performance appraisal system helps to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the employee.

To ensure there is smooth operations in the firm, the Buea Regional Hospital receives accurate and specific feedback from the performance manager, and customers on past performance and work is fairly distributed among team members and evidence of performance is well documented and available for reference if needed.

The hospital ranks its employees based on how much they are doing and on number of hours spend at work. Based on the findings, it was concluded that, there a significant relationship between performance appraisal methods (management by objectives, 360-degree and ranking methods) and Organisational growth. Based on the study finding, it was recommended that the Buea Regional Hospital should increase on its frequency of appraisals so as to help employees improve on their performance and productivity.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

The performance of employees is important in every business organization to achieve their organizational goals. Its roots can be traced in the early 20th century to Taylor’s pioneering Time and motion studies. The performance appraisal system started in practice mainly in the 1940s and with the help of this system, merit rating was used for the second time near the second world war as a method of justifying an employee’s wage (Iqbal et al., 1913). According to Asamoah (2012), performance appraisal was introduced by Lord and Taylor (1914). As a result, many companies were influenced by Frederick Taylor’s “scientific management” efforts of the early 20s Century.

It is therefore believed that the continued success of each organization depends on its performance appraisal process. The success of every business organization, therefore, be attributed to performance appraisal. (Gichuhi et al., 2012). Performance appraisal is one of the basic tools that make workers very effective and active at work. A critical assessment of this may reveal the need for motivation, reward, development, training and good human relationship in an organization.

The role of performance appraisal has gone beyond a tool of assessing employees to one which is used to reinforce the desired behaviour and competent performance of employees (Gichuhi et al., 2012). Performance appraisal instruments for mobilizing employees in a sophisticated and well manage an organization to achieve strategic goals (Singh et al., 2010). It is a universal phenomenon that serves as a basic element of effective work performance which is essential for the effective management and evaluation of staff. It aims at improving organizational performance as well as individual development. The performance appraisal process is necessary to increase the performance of the employees and the organization check the progress toward desired goals.

The fundamental objective of the performance appraisal process is an organization’s increase in employees’ productivity. Therefore, performance evaluation provides adequate feedback on how employees are performing by dividing them into knowledge and the result of their work avenues for participating in the setting of tasks and goals. Clear and attainable goals of an organization (Mullins, 1999). By undertaking these activities, it will lead to the improvement of employee’s performance and thus higher productivity I’m the organization.

Performance Appraisal (PA) is one of the most important functions of Human Resource managers. It is concerned with identifying, measuring, influencing and developing job performance of employees in the organization about the set norms and standards for a particular period to achieve various purposes. Employees are required to generate a total commitment to desired standards of job performance and improved job productivity for sustaining profitable growth for the organization and long-term value creation for the customers (Singh et al., 2010).

The results of the performance appraisal are used in setting the direction for the individual productivity development by bringing out both performance strengths and weaknesses and subsequently developing an action plan to facilitate the desired development (Education Insight documents, 2007). The role of performance appraisal has gone beyond a tool for assessing employees to one that is used to reinforce the desired behaviour and competent performance of the employees.

Performance criteria form the basis of evaluating the employees’ performance and their contribution to the organization’s goal. It consists of the desired outputs expected of employees. Performance criteria should be aligned with goals, relevant to given roles, specific and measurable, under employees’ control and understood and accepted by participants (Dattner, 2010).

It is also important to provide clear, performance-based feedback to employees (Caroll & Schneier, 1982). Providing employees with feedback is widely recognized as a crucial activity that may encourage and enable self-development and thus may be instrumental for the organization as a whole (Baruch, 1996). According to Levy and William (2004), if participants in appraisal perceive the system to be unfair, the feedback to be inaccurate or the sources to be incredible, they are likely to ignore the feedback they receive. Feedback is least useful when it is inaccurate or untrue, biased due to favouritism or politics.

Performance appraisals are often linked to incentives such as raises and promotion for a worker whose performance is reviewed as high, and job cuts for a Worker whose performance is reviewed as low (Joison, 2001). According to Ishaq et al (2009), appraisal results are used in many organisations, either directly or indirectly, to help identify the better-performing employees who should get the majority of the available merit pay increases, bonuses and promotions.

The output of every organisation depends on how well and how much the performance of an employee is appraised and evaluated. Productivity can, therefore, be defined as “quality or volume of the major product or services that an organization provides”. In short, productivity is what comes out of production. Managers of every business organisation are charged with the responsibility to motivate their employees to achieve organizational goals. Dzinkowski (2000) utilized employee productivity to be one of evaluating items for human capital.

Healthcare organizations and especially hospitals are compound associations that are liable to work movements and high employees turnover. As per past investigations (Aiken et al., 2002; Jones, 2004; Mouro, 2012), the nature of hospitals can be contrarily impacted by the lack, turnover and poor performance of workers. Hence, it is fundamental to play out an effective performance appraisal to keep the certified workers and do essential preparing for the unqualified individuals.

According to Donegan (2002), success will to a larger extent depend on the organization’s ability to evaluate progress and hold accountable those charged with executing certain tasks. Thus, performance appraisals seek to evaluate the performance of an employee against standards or goals set by the organization and even take corrective actions if need be. (Fatma, 2017). Bennet (2002), added that employees of an organization are vital to the growth and success of the organization and in many cases, employees reflect their organizations. He further explains that people working for an organization, are the most valuable, the costliest, and the most volatile of all the resources that it can use to accomplish its work (Chaponda, 2014).

In business studies, organizational growth is manifested through an increase in the number of employees, income, profit, or market share. These are the measures of externally visible quantifiable changes of the organization. Business development is more difficult to define. It is associated with the process of organizational learning and transformation which are qualitative. “To grow is to increase in size or number. To develop is to increase one’s ability and desire to satisfy one’s own needs and legitimate desires and those of others (Ackoff, 1999). Organizations grow for a variety of causes and as motivators vary from firm to firm it is often difficult to assess the true motivations for it. Whereas, increasing organizational size is valued as the symbol of achievement and as a reason for admiration and prestige. Proper appraisal systems or techniques can affect how firms or institutions grow especially in the health sector.

1.2 Statement of the Study

The main challenge that faces managers in all types of organizations is how to get maximum performance from their employees. Performance appraisal, therefore, seems to be inevitable in the absence of a carefully structured system of appraisal, people will tend to judge the work performance of others including subordinates, naturally, informally and arbitrarily. The human inclination to judge without a structured appraisal system can create serious motivational, ethical and legal problems in the workplace. Without a structured appraisal system, there is little chance of ensuring that judgments made will be lawful, fair, defensible and accurate.

The Buea Regional Hospital (BRH) is faced with the problem of limited staff as compared to the work to be done (Nkengafac et al., 2019). This makes the few staff overwork themselves so much so that it may even be difficult for them to go to work the following day because of not having enough rest from the previous night. This is seen when workers work two shifts per day as a result of the low availability of workers caused by the absence of sick workers.

Moreover, there is also a problem of dishonesty that is some workers pretend to be sick and stay back home. Other issues faced by workers include the hospital incorporating unacceptable pay rates and benefits, unsatisfactory shifts and working hours, better opportunities abroad, the remaining task at hand, marriage and the geographical location of the hospital. Some of the workers live in the city centre while others live far from the office for example workers live mile 17 to Razel Street. There is also congestion which makes the workers end up coming late to work. At times getting commercial transport also delays workers.

Some workers are inefficient in their duties because of a lack of equipment materials. This is because the one distributed to them gets bad easily, as a result, most of them do not cover their task for the day or perform very poor in the handling of their day-to-day duties. Thus, appraising workers is very important. Lastly because of the recent crises in Cameroon the hospital has experienced a shortage of labour forces as most of its workers do not show up to work on Monday’s ghost towns. All these have posed a very big problem to the proper functioning of the health facilities. Year after year, employees are subjected to a 360-degree evaluation and given feedback accordingly. Its impact on employees as well as on the hospital’s performance has not been evaluated and therefore itis not proven as the best and most reliable technique of performance appraisal.

Many health institutions also appear not to reap the potentials of MBO to transform their administrative, and staffs’ productivity. One is therefore worried that the management of Buea Regional Hospital appear to be far from realizing the potentials of MBO and might not have made efforts to promote MBO adoption in these institutions.

Over the past decades, ranking method of appraisal is often not employed in assessing workers outcome, as most superiors do not have a proper assessment method that can help different hard-working staffs from less efficient once. The ambiguity in evaluation and how it will be used causes subordinate staff to feel judged, unappreciated, and unsupported, especially because teachers often lack the power to challenge or reject the claims made about them and their practice, which often leads to contentious relationships between employees-employees and between employees and supervisor. In line with the above-mentioned problems, this study seeks to examine the effect of performance appraisal on the growth of the Buea Regional Hospital. This study is conducted to solve the following research questions:

1.3 Research Questions

1.3.1 Main Research Question

What is the impact of performance appraisal on the growth of the Buea Regional Hospital (BRH)?

1.3.2 Specific Research Questions

1. How does the 360-degree method affect the growth of the BRH?
2. To what extent does the management by objectives method affect the growth of the BRH?
3. What are the effects of the ranking method on the growth of the BRH?

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