Anandita Singh

C – 34

MMS-II, Sem. III (HR)

LEGAL AND ETHICAL PERSPECTIVES IN PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL

1. Legal Perspectives in Performance Appraisal:

It is important for a manager to realize that performance appraisal becomes a legal issue whenever it is used as the basis for an employment decision, including promotions, pay raises, selection for training programs, etc. Many laws exist to enforce the requirement that the evaluation of work behavior be based on objective, job-related criteria so that an individual’s employment situation is not unjustly affected because of the manager’s stereotypes or biases. Following is the System Model of Performance Appraisal which shows that the legal consideration is one of the most important aspects of Performance Appraisal System.

Following are some of the Legal Aspects of the Performance Appraisal System:

1. Performance appraisals should not be used in a merely punitive or retaliatory fashion. It is grossly unprofessional for a manager or supervisor to use the appraisal process to 'get even' with an employee who has displeased or upset them in some way.

2. Appraisals should not be used to discriminate against employees on the basis of race, religion, age, gender, disability, marital status, pregnancy, or sexual preference.

3. Performance appraisal results should be fair, accurate and supported by evidence and examples. For instance, if an employee has poor interpersonal skills and is harming morale and group performance, the supervisor might keep a log of incidents. Co-workers may be interviewed and their views and reactions recorded. The nature and effects of the employee's behaviour should be documented.

4. An employee should have the opportunity to comment on their appraisal result, to express their agreement or otherwise, and to appeal the result or at least request a review by up line supervisors.

5. Appraisals should be balanced, recording information on both the good and the bad aspects of an employee's performance (as far as possible).

6. Appraisals results should not be used as the sole basis for promotion, remuneration or termination decisions. A broad range of information should be considered, in which the employee's appraisal results may be significant but not necessarily conclusive.

7. Employees who receive a poor performance appraisal result should be given a reasonable chance to improve. Generally speaking, it is a bad idea to dismiss, demote of otherwise penalize an employee because of a single adverse appraisal result (depending of course on the nature and seriousness of the conduct that underlies the poor result).

8. Timely feedback should be provided, especially to marginal or poor performers. It is not fair to offer zero feedback to a poor performer for twelve months and then present them with a bad appraisal. More frequent feedback and guidance should be provided to the Employees. A fair chance should be given to the Employees to correct the problem in a timely manner.

9. Records should be retained. If an employee believes they have been dealt with unfairly, they may have rights to instigate legal action years later. In the case of poor performers, or persons dismissed or demoted, or those who resign or leave in less than

happy circumstances, their appraisal records, together with critical incident logs and other relevant documents, be archived indefinitely.

10. If an appraisal result is poor (or in any way likely to be controversial or provocative), an objective third party should be hired for their views on whether the appraisal result seems fair and reasonable.

11. Appraisals should avoid inflammatory and emotive language. It should be of detached and dispassionate style. The criticisms should relate to actual job requirements and not based on mere personal or other irrelevant issues that have little or no connection with actual job requirements.

12. Managers and supervisors required to conduct staff appraisals should be trained in appraisal principles and techniques. Conducting performance appraisals is one of the most demanding of all supervisory activities. It is a sensitive and sometimes controversial task which, if mishandled, can cause serious damage to employee relations and morale.

13. Appraisal results should be treated as private and confidential information. Record storage should be secure and controlled. Only people with an approved need to know should have access to an employee's performance appraisal information.

2. Ethical Perspective in Performance Appraisal System:

Performance Appraisal lends itself to ethical issues. Assessment of an individual’s performance is based on observation and judgement. HR Managers are expected to observe the performance (or understand the potentials) in order to judge its effectiveness. Yet, some HR Managers assign performance appraisal based on unrelated factors (for example, the employee is not loyal to the rator, or the ratee belongs to a different cast or religion).

Ethics should be the cornerstone of performance evaluation, and the overall objective of high ethical performance reviews should be to provide an honest assessment of the performance and mutually develop a plan to improve the ratee’s effectiveness.

Many managers talk about ethics but do not recognize or act upon ethical issues in their day-to-day managerial responsibilities. Most ethical questions arise from people relationships within the organization. Managers must realize that ethics is the process of deciding and acting. Recent survey results in one large organization indicate that only 26% of managers believe they are recognized and reinforced for their ethical decisions and behaviors. Employees have a big stake in the way managers evaluate and operate. Managers and nonsupervisory employees alike cite concern about "politics and lack of fair treatment, honesty, and truthfulness" in connection with the performance review.

Experience has clearly indicated that the handling of performance review sessions is usually far more critical than the decision made or information conveyed in the session. Frequently, when unsuccessful candidates for promotions are notified of the decision that someone else has been selected they are not told why. Often they are not told anything, usually because the managers or supervisors do not feel equipped or skillful enough to explain the reasons in a systematic and rational way.

Sometimes, major miscommunications occur in performance review sessions due to basic differences in ethical orientation. For example, the reviewer may say, "That report is a requirement, and we need to follow the rules of the organization." The person being reviewed may reply, "I make a significant contribution to this organization, and I don't have time to prepare reports that no one looks at. Judge me on what I accomplish." What is going on here? The reviewer is concerned with decisions and actions that conform to basic principles and rules (adherence). The employee appears to be oriented toward the outcome - the ends justify the means (results). They are talking on two different, nonconnecting planes. Unless the employee and the reviewer are successful in negotiating an ethical balance, each may view the other as taking unfair shots - and the battleground will be the performance review process.

Bibliography And Webliography:

1. Archer North & Associateswww.performance-appraisal.com

2. Human Resource And Personnel Management – By K Ashwathappa,

Publication: Tata McGraw Hill.

3. The ethics of performance appraisal - By Axline, Larry L.

Publication: SAM Advanced Management Journal.

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