Performance Management systems Essay Example for Free

Performance Management systems Essay 1. What is the main goal of a Performance Management System? Performance management systems are designed to improve both individual and organisational performance by identifying what skills are needed to perform a role, providing regular feedback and assisting the employees in their career development. The overall aim is to equip staff with the competencies and commitment to deliver on shared organisational goals . 2. Why is it necessary to develop and implement a Performance Management System? A well developed performance management system assist to develop staff and can result in significantly improved output and performance, which ultimately leads to improved results for the organisation. Without a well developed and implemented performance management system, an organisation can risk poor staff performance and a high turnover of staff due to lack of support. 3. What are the three stages of Performance Management? †¢ planning for performance – setting performance goals, establishing performance standards and setting performance expectations, identifying developmental goals in work (action) plans †¢ performance appraisal – observing, documenting and assessing performance †¢ performance improvement – providing regular feedback, review performance appraisal, rewarding excellent performance 4. List the four groups who are involved in Performance Management? †¢ your team †¢ you, as a supervisor †¢ human resource professional †¢ union representatives. 5. Why is it necessary to ensure that performance management and review processes are consistent with business objectives and policies? Staff performance plans must be based on the overall aims and objectives of the organisation so as to ensure that each staff member is working cohesively towards the same goal. They must also adhere to organisational policies so as to ensure that they are fair and consistent across the organisation. This also assures that they comply with legislation (that is, presuming that the policies set out stipulate this). 6. Write a paragraph explaining why you think performance evaluations are necessary and the method/s that you consider best to be utilized. I think the importance of performance evaluations is twofold. In my experience, working in an extremely under-resourced organisation, it has been very difficult for me in the past to gain feedback from my supervisors about my performance. One to one time with a manager is rare. This has at times resulted in frustration because I have felt as though I have not been able to gain direction in my work. I fear that at times this may be the case for the staff that I supervise also. Therefore, I believe that on one level performance management systems are extremely important as a method of support for staff. On a more obvious note, performance management systems can also lead to improved output and performance of individuals, which ultimately leads to improved results for the organisation. In terms of what method I believe to be most effective, I believe that there are some core principles that must be followed. The plans should be developed with staff so as to ensure owndership, implementation must be consistent and timely (3 month reviews shouldn’t be undertaken at 7 months! ). 7. Why is it important that both managers and employees receive suitable training in how to handle performance review interviews? Without training about how to handle performance review interviews, there is a very big risk that the appraisal will not be effective and even more concerning is that it could prove counterproductive and damage the supervisor/employee relationship. Training equips managers and team leaders with skills to conduct positive appraisals. It assist employees to understand the new relationships and how performance issues are openly discussed and resolved. Training sessions also can assist employee to see how their work links to the goals of the organisation. 8. Explain why and how often you think performance appraisals should be held? I believe performance appraisals should be held after 3 months in a role and then every 6 months following this. I write this in the context of the organisation for which I work. One to one time with your manager is difficult in our organisation and I believe that in the past this has led to staff feeling very unsupported. There has been quite a high turnover of staff in some programs and I believe that this could be addressed by stronger support systems in place from management. While some may argue that appraisals at such regular intervals can be difficult for managers to implement due to time constraints, I believe firmly that this investment will be returned in increased staff output. 9. Why is it important to recognize the contribution of your work group members and why should you do this? Recognising the contribution of group members is an important method of motivating staff. It reinforces positive contributions and shows their importance to the organisation. If the contribution of staff members is not recognised, it risks losing the motivation of a team who may feel that their work is for no purpose and is not appreciated. We all need a thanks! 10. List three pieces of legislation that are related to performance management †¢ Fair Work Act (2009) †¢ Workplace Health and Safety Act (1995) †¢ Awards/Enterprise Bargaining Agreements/Union Collective Agreements. 11. How would you devise a training plan incorporating both monitoring and coaching for individuals with poor performance? It is important to spend time to time to try and understand why a staff member may have poor performance. This is important in determining what action to take – be that formal training or coaching. The following points – from the course book – I would certainly include in any coaching I was to undertake: †¢Good coaches challenge employees and ask questions that help the employee to discover how to improve. †¢Coach when you wish to focus attention on any specific aspect of the employee’s performance. †¢A coaching meeting should focus on just one or two aspects of performance. †¢Any more than that and employees won’t remember the main impact of your meeting. †¢Keep coaching conversations brief and between 5 to 10 minutes long. †¢Being an effective coach requires understanding what motivates the members of your team. Remember that people are motivated in different ways. Be sensitive to the things that drive your people to perform. †¢When things are performing well, take the time to understand what is working and why. †¢Good coaching is guiding, not telling or doing. †¢Allow the employee to own the problem and its solutions. Ask them: ‘How finally feels as though she is getting somewhere. In terms of monitoring, I would plan more regular catch ups with the staff member (perhaps monthly) to discuss progress. I would continue to implement reviews at the times stipulated by organisational policy. I would also ask for regular feedback from the staff member. 12. How can you provide support services if required? †¢Provide details of union representatives †¢HR representative details †¢Training options †¢Set up future one-to-one meetings †¢Work manuals †¢Ã¢â‚¬Å"buddy† system in which staff member is teed up with competent staff member 13. If the individual continues to perform below expectations what process would be necessary to implement? If the poor performance continues, it may be necessary to give a written warning to the staff member. This is discussed further in question 20. 14. Why is it necessary to document and record performance? Documenting and recording performance can lower the risk if a person chooses to challenge a negative appraisal. Holding records of poor performance may assist to cover an organisation legally if the employee raises an unfair dismissal claim Documenting good performance is also important so as to avoid claims of favouritism for example of undeserving staff members. Documenting performance also makes it much easier when the time for appraisals comes around, particularly for managers who are managing a large number of staff. 15. Explain the term â€Å"interpersonal conflict† Interpersonal conflict is the most apparent form of conflict for workplace participants. It is a disagreement or differing views between two or more people over a particular idea, thought, or action.. Also language and personality styles often clash, which can create conflict in the workplace. ref http://www. mediate. com/articles/donaisB2. cfm 16. How does interpersonal conflict affect the workplace? Interpersonal conflict is is easy enough to observe in the form of office politics, gossip, and rumours. It can lead to a negative work environment, with groups forming within the workplace. Unless these conflicts are resolved, they can lead to a very challenging and unfriendly workplace. In more extreme cases, interpersonal conflict can lead to charges of harassment and discrimination or at least the feeling that such things exist.

Medicine During the Elizabethan Era Essay -- Alchemy History Historica

Medicine During the Elizabethan Era The medicinal practices and problems of the Elizabethan Era were very important to the people, although they are very different from those of today. There were many different beliefs and diseases, like the Plague. Medicine was not an exact science and was related to Alchemy (Chemistry). Here, some of the many practices and beliefs of the Elizabethan Era will be discussed. One of the most widely known and important of the beliefs was the humours. It was believed that every living creature was composed of four elements, the humours. They were blood, phlegm, choler (or yellow bile), and melancholy (or black bile). It was believed that the overall total combination of these four elements determined the person’s characteristics. For example, a person with more blood than other humours was hot and wet in their nature, a person with more phlegm was cold and wet, a person with more choler was hot and dry, and a person with melancholy being the dominant humour was cold and dry. It was also believed that too much of a certain humour caused disease. That meant the removing or avoiding the dominant humour could cure any disease. Removal could be done by eating corresponding foods. For example, if a person was phlegmatic in nature, that meant that he was cold and wet, he could be cured if he ate hot and dry foods. Medicines like pepper, sugar, ginger, cinnamon, watercress, and mustard would be useful to such a person. A fever, which was believed to have been caused by excess blood, could have been cured in two ways. One way was to eat cold and dry food, and the other was to have excess blood sucked out by leeches. Another of the many popular beliefs was that every living thing put on Earth by god was for human use. He gave humans control over his creatures. All of them had certain roles, as food, medicine, etc. For example, cows were put on Earth to supply people with meat and milk, and wheat was there to supply bread. Everything on Earth was useful to humans. Medicine in the Elizabethan Era was associated with many sciences. One of these includes Astrology. It was believed that all living creatures were associated with the stars. It was possible to read a persons past, present and future by the positions of the stars and planets. Therefore, if you were to go to a physician, one of the first things he would ask you wa... ...help. They could go to any of those and get help and people used all of these choices, but the amount of money they could spend limited their choices, as some practitioners charged for their help. But if a person didn’t have a lot of money, he still had many choices available. Almost every community had at least one of each type of practitioner. Medicine was very important to Elizabethan England and was used widely. It played a major part in the life expectancy of people and was widely studied. It was one of the most important sciences of that era and still is today. Bibliography Ramsey, Lia. â€Å"Medical Beliefs and Practices.† Elizabethan England. Springfield Public School District. . McLean, Adam. â€Å"Articles.† The Alchemy Website. 1995. . Chamberlin, E.R. Everyday Life in Renaissance Times. London: B.T. Batsford LTD, 1967. Andrews, John F. William Shakespeare: His World, His Work, His Influence. Canada: Collier MacMillian, 1985. â€Å"Alchemy.† The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2001–04. . Trimble, Russell, "Alchemy," in The Encyclopedia of the Paranormal edited by Gordon Stein (Buffalo, N.Y.: Prometheus Books, 1996), pp. 1-8.

Importance of Reading Essay

Reading has at all times and in all ages been a source of knowledge, of happiness, of pleasure and even moral courage. In today’s world with so much more to know and to learn and also the need for a conscious effort to conquer the divisive forces, the importance of reading has increased. In the olden days if reading was not cultivated or encouraged, there was a substitute for it in the religious sermon and in the oral tradition. The practice of telling stories at bed time compensated to some extent for the lack of reading. In the nineteenth century Victorian households used to get together for an hour or so in the evenings and listen to books being read aloud. But today we not only read, we also want to read more and more and catch up with the events taking place around us. The various courses and classes being conducted in rapid reading support this belief. The amount of reading one should get through is of course nobody’s business. There is no end to it for there is a variety of subjects to read about. The daily newspaper or the popular magazine while it discusses topical issues and raised controversies, it also provokes thought and throws light on human nature. It brings the news of wars, rebellions, organizations, political stances, heroic deeds etc. , together and helps knit a world of some sort. There is then the serious reading undertaken for research and for satisfying one’s longing for knowledge. It may be a subject of scientific significance, or a subject of historic or philosophic importance – varying according to the taste of the person. This kind of reading disciplines the mind and trains one for critical and original thinking. There is yet another kind of reading -reading for pleasure. Though serious reading is also a source of pleasure, reading which is devoted mainly to it differs in one respect. It grows upon one, it gives before demanding and it soothes and relieves tension and loneliness. The only kind of reading which neither stimulates thought nor provides knowledge is one which is approached negatively, with the simple motive of escape and of â€Å"killing† time. A person who is widely read is able to mix with others: he is a better conversationalist than those who do not read. He can stand his ground. Reading broadens the vision. it is in a way a substitute for travel. It is not possible to travel as much as one would like to and reading can fill in the gap created by the lack of travel. â€Å"Reading†, as Bacon wrote in his essay. ‘Of Studies’. â€Å"maketh a full man: conference a ready man: and writing an exact man†. Thus a widely-read man is a better conversationalist and is able to see the other point of view. Literature is a form of art which can cross barriers and if one does not know the language in which a piece of literature is written, one is willing sometimes to learn the language. Even if one does not learn a language one reads the literary work in translation. This contributes to the growth of understanding and tolerance amongst people. Reading also helps one to see the present in relation to the past and the future, and thus develop a historical perspective. Care is needed to ensure that reading does not become a substitute for real life. The moment one ceases to enjoy the ordinary pleasures and happiness of life and is content to enjoy them vicariously through fictional and historical representations, one loses all the benefits of reading and loses contact with life. With the cinema and television taking up a great deal of attention of children, teenagers and even adults, the habit of serious reading is dying out. People are content to read abridged versions. see films, go through illustrated comics and be content. But just as reading should not become a substitute for the joy of living or drive out the other forms of entertainment, other substitutes should not be accepted for the pleasure of reading which lies in the act itself. One may be selective, may be discriminating but no one can afford to shut himself off from this rich and ever-growing world of literature.

Swot Analysis Table. Strengthsweaknesses. •Quality Teachers

SWOT ANALYSIS TABLE Strengths Weaknesses †¢ Quality teachers and school leaders †¢ High expectations for students †¢ Teacher motivation †¢ Rigorous teaching †¢ Strong relationship with central office †¢ Flexible †¢ Anticipating and preparing for future challenges †¢ Technology †¢ Communication †¢ Parental involvement †¢ Achievement gaps among student sub-groups. †¢ Lack of instructional programs beyond the academic opportunities for non†college bound students †¢ Reading and math scores needs improvement Opportunities Threats †¢ Availability of timely assessment data for teacher use. †¢ Quality instruction through standards†based classrooms. †¢ Diverse community †¢ Lack of state and local funding for school and district operations. †¢ Businesses Closed †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦show more content†¦Employees have expressed understanding of the mission of the school and are involved in the school and how it should operate. Weakness Assessment Communications and Parental Involvement Communication problems were expressed by stakeholders as an area of weakness at the school. Internal communications gaps are impacting trust. External stakeholders were not made aware of opportunities to engage or volunteer at the school or what is going on at the school. Parental involvement is somewhat scarce due to age, inconvenient times for meetings, and parents are not having access to childcare while parents are attending the meeting and school functions. Opportunities Assessment Diversity of Entering Students The school has a diverse student campus which has changed over the last 5 to 10 years. The school serves a more racial and ethnically diverse student body. Whereas the school consisted of Blacks and Caucasians, an influx of Hispanics and other ethnic groups are now enrolled. Data-Informed Success Since the school’s needs focus on its data, the data itself is readily available for stakeholders on the school’s website, in the school’s media center, and in the central office. Stakeholders are well informed about the state of the school. Threats Assessments State Funding and other Threats The State of Alabama is facing major reductions due to budget deficits (AL State School Foundation program, 2014). Our school must accept