Essay

Learning outcomes - the following will be fully or partially achieved.

1 Systematically decide and communicate strategic performance aims, objectives, priorities and targets.

2 Devise and sustain arguments for using appropriate performance management techniques, rewards and sanctions to improve performance.

3 Demonstrate the communication skills required when managing achievement and underachievement.

TASK

A recent CIPD survey, Outlook: Views of the profession, Winter 2016-17 asked HR professionals about their organisation's priorities, both now and in three years' time, and in particular how aligned they considered their HR activities were in achieving them.

The top three priorities identified were:

1. Talent Management

2. Increasing Organisational agility and productivity the above priorities and

(1) Critically evaluate the extent to which your organisation's performance management system (PMS) contributes their achievement.

(2) Identify and justify recommendations to improve greater alignment between the two selected business priorities and the performance management system.

Word count: 3000 (excluding references and bibliography)

Journal Articles/Surveys (see earlier articles recommendations for Assignment One as well)

1. Biron, M. Farndae, E. & Paauwe, J. (2011) Performance management effectiveness: lessons from world leading firms, International Journal of Human Resource Management, Vol. 22, No. 6, March 2011, 1294-1311

2. Cappelli, P. & Tavis, A. (2016) The Performance Management Revolution¸ Harvard Business Review, October 2016

3. Employee Outlook: Focus on Managers, CIPD, Winter 2014/15

4. Haines III, V. Y. and t-Onge, S. (2012) Performance management effectiveness: practices or context?, International Journal of Human Resource Management,

5. HR Outlook, CIPD, Winter 2016/17 Vol. 23, No. 6, March 2012, 1158-1175

Assignment Structure

The assessment criteria provide an outline of the structure you should adopt, i.e.

Introduction - in this section you identify the key elements of your assignment.

Review of academic literature - in this part of your assignment you will be expected to define the objectives of PMS and explore the relationship between the business priorities identified earlier and PMS. Furthermore, there will discussion around the role of HRM in identifying particular initiatives that facilitate the PMS's contribution towards business objectives and priorities.

Analysis and discussion - here you have the opportunity, in the light of the literature review, to provide a discussion focusing on the PMS and priorities.

Conclusions and recommendations - enable you to draw together the key conclusions derived from the preceding sections to inform your recommendations.