The Extent to which the Performance Management Process used by Sony Europe can be Considered Strategic

Answer

Sony Europe- Performance Management                                     

The Extent to which the Performance Management Process used by Sony Europe can be Considered Strategic

                The performance management process used by Sony Europe can be considered highly strategic for a number of reasons. Performance management is considered strategic when it is concerned with broader issues challenging a business that affect its effective function in the environment (Bento, Bento& Ferreira White, 2014). It should also feature a direction in which the business intends to follow so as to achieve even longer-term goals. Sony Europe’s performance management process can be considered strategic since in its preparation, the management considered the issues that were affecting performance despite the fact that there was already a performance management process in place (Barrick, Thurgood, Smith & Courtright, 2015). Employee feedback was considered in this preparation to help with the identification of these issues. Examples of issues discussed include; employees not feeling comfortable with the process, it was not fully addressing underperformance, and also the focus was always on immediate objectives and not on developing employees for the future. These are what the new performance management process was designed on. Aside from addressing these issues, it also focuses on long term goals. The new performance management process requires employees to create objectives basing on the SMART guideline. This guideline is effective in the creation of objectives that are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and timely (Bento, Bento& Ferreira White, 2014).

                A strategic performance management should clearly define how managers and their followers can best work together to achieve the required results. This involves future performance planning and improvement, and not simply the retrospective performance appraisal (Bento, Bento& Ferreira White, 2014). The process being used by Sony Europe features all these factors as the managers are supposed to work with employees to create objectives. The objectives involve future planning as some are reviewed on a quarterly basis, while others have two reviews. Therefore, employees are supposed to create objectives for the whole year, and not only for the coming review period.

Key Components and Techniques of the Approach taken to Performance Management

                Considering the new approach taken to performance management, it is clear that there are certain key components and techniques that have been used. The initial approach used by Sony Europe featured a traditional performance management process which majorly focused on evaluation (Armitage & Parrey, 2013).

                The first key component of the process is that the manager and employees must work together to design meaningful goals and objectives. This ensures that both parties come to an agreement on what to expect without making the each other uncomfortable, and feeling like prisoners (Trosten-Bloom, Deines & Carsten, 2014). The employees can state when they feel an objective is way too much for them to manage, while the manager can speak up when the employees want something that will not trigger increased efforts on their part. The second key component in this performance management approach is the fact that it features on-going feedback (Armitage& Parrey, 2013). The manager can approach an employee at any time to give feedback on a noted area, even before the review period is due. This is important as it ensures that the review process is simple and attracts better results.

                The first technique of this approach is that it fosters relationship between managers and employees. This is beneficial as the two groups will no longer face obstacles when approaching each other(Armitage & Parrey, 2013). They will become close and learn to work together so as to achieve a universal goal. The second technique of the new approach is that it encourages on-going feedback that is important for the continuous development and improvement of employee performance even before the review date.

Has the Organisation taken an Ethical Approach to Performance Management?

                When considering an ethical approach to performance management, four main ethical principles must be considered. These include; respect for the employees, mutual respect, procedural fairness and transparency in decision making (Patrick, 2013). From the new performance management process being used by Sony Europe, it is clear that an ethical approach to performance management has been used. First respect for employees is being considered. The process is designed in such a way that they do not end up feeling like prisoners due to it being overly complicated. They have been given an opportunity to contribute by creating objectives. This makes them feel respected by the company. Second, the rating used in the review process is not designed to be embarrassing for employees. Managers are expected to use a rating scale that has been altered to include C- (minus), while eliminating the B (plus). This is because most employees fall under the C category, but the point is to communicate effectively without affecting their levels of respect. The plus and minus sign will help to differentiate between the two groups of better performers and those who need to work harder.

                The performance management process is also ethical owing to the fact that it is aimed towards fostering mutual respect between the manager and his employees (Patrick, 2013). This is because it is designed in such a way that makes them partners. They are supposed to work together towards achieving the goal. Procedural fairness is also present as employee feedback has been used to create the new process. Also, there is a universal scale that is intended for grading employees; hence no manager will act selfishly towards some while favouring others. The decision making process is transparent as managers are expected to record consequences associated with any rating given (Patrick, 2013). Therefore, their decision will be known to all including the HR group.

In-Depth Recommendations to Improve the Performance Management Process

                Although the organisation has already made significant changes by introducing the new performance management process, there are still other recommendations that could prove effective in improving it further. First, fostering a positive relationship between employees and managers may not be effective immediately, as the two were already used to working separately. This new change may trigger resistance among employees who may feel like getting close and exposing their weaknesses to the management would only hurt their careers (Deneen & Boud, 2014). Therefore, the recommendation is to get this moving by holding weekly coaching conversations between the managers and the employees. The main agenda should be to discuss how employees can improve their weak points and use their strengths effectively. This will act as a basis for dealing with resistance to change that would occur within the first few months of using the new process.

                The second recommendation is based on the free use of structured or unstructured appraisal forms. Uniformity is a key contributor to transparency in decision making. The HR needs to have a clear idea of what is going on between employees and the management. Not having a universal form to use may create confusion when conducting reviews thus triggering conflict. Similarly, letting the employees and managers decide on the form to use may also trigger conflict between the two parties as both will want to use the type that they feel will be in their advantage. Therefore, doing away with such factors that create an opportunity for conflict will save time and resources for the company, thus improving performance (Huang, 2012).

How the Performance Management Process May need to be Reviewed in a Recession

                There are many reasons why Sony Europe decided to switch from its old process to this new process. It is clear that some changes have been made to make the process more effective. However, in case of a recession, this performance management process may be reviewed basing on various factors. A recession will mean that productivity has been affected negatively. Therefore, the first step will be to determine why productivity is on the decline (Karuhanga, 2015). There are many factors that may cause this, judging from the factors involved in the new performance management process. For example, employee motivation may be under attack. This process encourages managers to play an active role in giving employee feedbacks even before review dates. It also encourages the fast and swift action of managers whenever they notice underperformance. As a result, some may feel like they are not being given the chance to make improvements, while others may feel like others are being favoured.

                Another possible area of review is the rewards section. The process needs to be reviewed to ensure that the rewards are only offered to staff members who really deserve them. Otherwise, the company will be spending extra while getting nothing in return (Karuhanga, 2015). Lastly, the skills area needs to be evaluated. Maybe the employees are not being offered a comprehensive and effective training and development program. Hence, the company may simply be wasting its resources, whereas no major impacts are taking place in the skills and knowledge of employees.