Attempt all the problems.

Section-A

problem1)i) describe reward in the context of performance management.

ii) How is it different from a reward system that is not performance centric?   

problem2)i) What is the importance of teamwork in enhancing performance?

ii) How could team-based performance management be nurtured in the organization?

problem3)i) How change management could be operationalized through performance management?

ii) How does conflict among members of a team impact team performance?

problem4)i) What do you mean by “360-degree feedback”?

ii) What advantage may it have over more traditional performance appraisal systems which use only downward feedback?

iii) What are some of the potential problems which can occur in using a 360-degree feedback system?       

Section-B

Case Study:

“Consultant for a Day”

Changing culture of a company is a task which has captured hearts and minds of thousands of business professionals around world, primarily because most fail at it in long term. Proper performance evaluations lay at the heart of any meaningful change in any organization. To use the American football analogy, performance evaluations and feedback make up “blocking and tackling” basics which allow companies to consistently beat the competition.

Assume that you have been hired as the consultant for WidgetCo, the largest widget manufacturer in the region. WIDGETCO® manufactures and distributes precision engineered metal, plastic, cork, rubber and wood products to companies and private individuals worldwide. (Company web url is http://www.widgetco.com). WidgetCo is composed of about 1000 employees, 100 of whom serve in management capacity. Your job would be to analyze performance evaluation system currently in place at WidgetCo. You would then prepare a plan to improve the system. At last you will implement it.

Case problems:

problem5)(i) What are the  top five things you will like to find out about evaluation system at WidgetCo? What are the five vital issues which you will like to uncover at WidgetCo? What will some of the symptoms of those issues be? For ex, one major issue can be lack of common evaluation standards.

(ii) Create a problemnaire or survey of ten  to twenty  problems to send out to employees and managers to learn about the effectiveness of the WidgetCo performance management evaluation process

(ii) Assume that your problemnaire uncovered that, indeed, WidgetCo is deficient in all five categories you  are  investigating. Create an action  plan  for you to help WidgetCo become a top-tier company in performing evaluations and providing useful feedback to employees. Your action plan must answer the following  problems:

a) What should be done specifically (activities, training, materials, communication, etc) ?

b) Who would do what needs to be done?

c) How much management time and employee time would it take?

d) How much of your time would it take to help them implement this plan? Would you need to hire employees to help you? How much would you charge?