arrow electronics
a competitor that year. Kaufman noticed that there was disparity among the overall branches as well. Some managers evaluated on a more stringent basis than others, often leading to more successful branches having lower performance ratings than less successful branches. Favoritism is another example found at Arrow. Some managers gave employees that worked closely with them higher ratings than those that did not.
There are also many concerns regarding the actual performance appraisal form itself. Issues of particular concern include: the appraisal function is only performed once a year; performance competencies are not clearly aligned with the companies goals; the form appears to be trait based and subjective; employees receive their rating from their immediate boss (who may not be involved with the employee on day to day basis); the form uses the same criteria to address all jobs (very generic and shallow); the form at times does not take into account all aspects of an employees job functions; employees have not been allowed to give feed back on criterion; and there is not an evaluation system in place to identify whether the form and performance appraisal system as a whole are effective. Managers were also concerned that Kaufman was setting a percentage amount on how many employees should be in each rating category and was demanding that each person receive a rating of at least a two on at least one of the seven criteria for evaluation.
Arrow has grown significantly, changed its organizational focus, and acquired several companies since its inception. Senior management at Arrow must rely on the validity of the performance appraisals in determining who to keep on board when integrating new companies into the fold. To meet these goals, Arrow must reanalyze its existing PA system in order to build a more effective PA system. Arrow must begin by determining the purpose of the performance appraisal. The purposes of the PA at Arrow are to provide an accurate uniform system for performance, identify areas for improvement, identify those who should be promoted or those who have the greatest future potential, and to develop existing teams into better, more dynamic groups of people.
After determining the purpose of the PA system, the next step is to conduct a needs assessment for the organization, including position appraisals (i.e. job analysis), and individual/person analysis (these analyses can be captured by employee surveys, interviews, and focus groups). This will provide the feedback and information necessary to developing the measurements and content of the performance appraisal form. When determining the measurements and content, Arrow should determine the dimensions to be appraised, while using objective criteria based on standards set for performance utilizing the job analysis and/or judgmental criteria based on knowledge, skills, abilities and other criteria(KSAO’s – provided in job analysis), behaviors and performance. The recommended solution is a mix of both to fully assess all aspects of an individual or team performance.
In addition to the content, one must consider the rating [next page]