Question

Consider the following areas of a job description below and explain how these components contribute to an effective performance management system: Tasks Tools and technology Knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) Education requirements

Answer 1

For any business organization to be successful, it needs to have an efficient workforce behind it working hard to take the company further into success. Therefore, it is essential that the company needs to treat its employees fairly and value their efforts in running the company. One way to acknowledge their efforts is to give them salary packages and benefits that are in accordance with their performance in the company.

For this purpose, an efficient performance management system is necessary to evaluate the performance of the employees and the following components not only help employees in performing better but also helps the company in evaluating their performance.

Task tools and technology knowledge - This refers to the knowledge of individuals regarding the equipment they use to perform their job. It can be machinery, computer or any other equipment which helps in doing their job better and faster. An employee must know how to use the tools which will help him in doing his job properly.

This component helps in understanding the knowledge base of the employee regarding the tools he uses every day and how much work he accomplishes efficiently by using them. For eg - a new freshly graduated employee will not have much knowledge about the computer systems and other technologies compared to an employee working for 2-3 years. This helps in evaluating their performance based on their knowledge of tools and technology for their performance evaluation.

This kind of component can be learned by working in a working environment only.

Skills and abilities - This are the traits of an employee which are inherent in them and which will help them in working better and in an efficient manner. for eg - a person who can work under challenging conditions and under time constraint projects will not get stressed out if given a time-sensitive task. But if a person is a free will and likes to take his own sweet time to complete the tasks, he might not be the right person to be given the responsibility to complete a time-sensitive project.

This component is inherent in a person and can also be developed by giving challenging work tasks for their skills enhancement.

Educational requirements - This is the knowledge of the employee about their job which they acquire by undergoing courses in their colleges. This helps them in learning about the intricate and technical details regarding what their work would entail. For eg- a marketing student will know how to create marketing and promotional campaigns for a product and will be the right choice to be given a marketing project than an engineering student. It helps the management while recruiting the employees as well as evaluating the performance of the employees comparing it to the knowledge acquired by them in the college.

This component is learned by undergoing various courses which help in teaching the fundamentals of any subject in great detail.