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Performance management refers to measures put in place so as to efficiently achieve the company?s set goals. It involves motivation schemes, regulations and follow-up of work progress. It can focus on the employee or the company as a whole, and is vital for efficiency and transparency in a work place. The human resource department is mainly responsible for performance management.
A financial company is one which heavily relies on referral business so as to obtain satisfactory results. In Ernst & Young, there is much care taken in recruiting employees. This is because they realize that for a company to look good and have a solid reputation, the employees have to be exceptional and so they should be well treated. When applying for a job at Ernst & Young, several qualities are needed; these include neatness, eloquence and composure. This company has corporate clients that are very particular about how they should be treated. These clients are in a contract with the company, so they use their services daily. Many similar companies have employees that have all the above qualities. Ernst & Young go the extra mile and hold training for employees in different departments. With this training, the performance of the employee is bound to improve; they have more confidence and they feel as if they are part of the company (Ernst & Young, 1996).
Apple Inc.?s performance depends on its sales. They are one of the largest companies today and they are the top-valued technology company in the world. For thirty one years, Apple used to specialize in computers, and was known as Apple computers. In 2007, they changed their name to Apple Inc. as they were expanding to satisfy the electronic market. Apple Inc.’s innovative and strategic management makes it well-known. The human resource is particularly keen when hiring: they focus on highly talented people. They also have training for their employees in order to improve their performance. This is one of the major reasons for their excellent work force.
Ernst & Young give their employees contracts of employment. This is one of the human resource?s strongest points in this company. A contract of employment determines
? Job description
? Responsibilities of the employee and employer
? Working hours of the employee
? The duration the employee has been contracted to work in the company.
A contract offers the employee job security for the stated duration and this helps the employee to get organized. It also helps employees to take loans like mortgages from a banking institution. A contract defines the working hours of the employee, leading to compensation in case of overtime and sick days. The employee is aware of what is expected of him at work and so goals are set so as to meet targets. The employer gives the contract expecting loyalty from the employee. That is why Ernst & Young invests so much in the employees, even training them for free. A contract also gives the job description to the employee, and so one is able to work towards improving his skills. The contract also helps the employee to understand his rights at the work place.
Apple Inc. has a similar approach in this area. The sales department has employees that are paid according to the sales they make in a defined duration of time. This way, the employees? working hours are flexible, and it is preferable to most of them in this sector. It is most advantageous to those who have excellent sales experience and persuasive skills. Once they have set a goal on the number of sales to make in a day and achieve it, they can then work only a few hours a day. This enables the human resources to have a lot of employees. If an employee decides to quit, giving a short or no notice at all, there is easy replacement and this enables continuity at the work place.
Motivating employees is one of the key strategies to improve performance in a company. The employees are the most valuable people in a company; the employee determines whether one will or will not achieve the set goals. With this in mind, an employer becomes obligated to make sure that the employee is well motivated and is at par with the company?s goals and expectations (Khurana, 2011). Motivation significantly affects employee performance and affects the company?s overall performance. Motivated employees make the work flow smoother, and there are fewer hurdles for the management to sort out. Motivation gives people reasons to do what one needs them to do. The idea is to make them want to do so. This can only be done by realizing the needs of the employee and coming up with a way to satisfy them with a primary goal of benefiting from it.
Ernst & Young provides services that rely on, among other things, focus and meeting deadlines. The company has rewards for several things. One of them is giving bonuses to the departments that achieve their goals. They also have generous compensation for those who work overtime. This makes the employee more determined; it also creates a healthy competitive spirit at work. The company has recurring clients and these clients offer their observations on the company?s performances. A company gets a good reputation from this and thus, more potential clients.
One of Apple Inc.?s strongest motivator is the rate of interest paid to the employees when the target sales are reached. The more an employee sells in a short period, the higher the interest paid to him. There are other benefits in the organization:
? Medical cover to all permanent employees ? this is one of the main reasons why employees are loyal to this employer. The employer covers a lot of their medical emergencies (O’Grady, 2009). This shows an aspect of thoughtfulness and caring on the employer?s part.
? Apple Inc. also gives a bonus to the department with the best feedback.
? They recognize an excellent employee ? this is a key motivator.
Without a doubt, motivation is determined by the employee?s attitude to his or her work, working conditions in the company, payments and promotion opportunities, and also how they feel about the management. Human resource department in a company should ensure there is an environment that motivates all employees.
One of the determinants of success in a company is how disputes among employees are handled. The management in the company views this as a sensitive area. Depending on the company policy, it might lead to a demotion and thus, a down sized salary and loss of respect in the workplace. It might create enmity if not handled well by the management. In Ernst & Young, there are strong regulations pertaining to disrespectful attitudes at the place of work. There are measures taken like sitting down with both parties and determining the source of the dispute. If there is found to be deliberate wrong doing, an employee is given mandatory leave with no pay. After the leave, he writes a letter of apology which is put in his file. In case the wrong doing extended to the disturbance of a client, an employee is put on probation and closely monitored for a month. The colleague or colleagues involved are given a warning accordingly. Any disrespect of the leaders in the company is also taken seriously. Employees have learned to calmly state their problems to find a way forward. This has enabled the company to have a healthy relationship between its employees and its management.
Ernst & Young and Apple Inc. are among the largest companies in countries all over the world. As these companies are well known, they have a number of high profile employees that include CEO and managers in respective departments. One of the biggest challenges of these two companies is settling disputes that involve these high profile employees. There are two aspects to this and the first is the image of the company. Sometimes the disputes are difficult; they may even end up inviting a law suit, thereby attracting the media (Treven, 2004). In the case of Apple Inc., although the media are much welcome when it comes to marketing its products, it is not the same when it comes to disputes. They end up settling and thus emerges the second aspect which is financial. A lot of money is used to settle disputes and differences in these high profile companies.
In Apple Inc., they are careful not to lose employees in this way as they focus on talent while hiring and so replacement is not easy (O’Grady, 2009). Most of the employees have significantly contributed to the company inform of ideas, thus there is giving of large sums of money in the form of settlements if they are to leave the company.
Ernst & Young uses appraisals as one of the ways to evaluate the performance of the employees. The appraisals are given to team leaders by heads of departments. The members of a team also appraise their team leader. This helps in determining those who have skills and in what particular area. The data is from many people, if there happens to be a preference of one employee by several people in a particular area, then that means he or she is skilled at it. This allows the employee to improve his or her skills in that area (Hesketh & Fleetwood, 2006). Apple Inc. also uses this approach; employees are asked what area of work they think they are good at. The management is keen to observe the employee on duty to work in their area of preference as it emphasizes on talent. If it turns out that he is skilled at it, more assignments in that area are given to him. This improves the skills and raises the self-esteem of the employee. In such a company, when an employee has high enough self-esteem, it becomes an advantage of the employer. This is where the management should recognize such employees and show them as an example to the others, reward them and give them more responsibilities.
The human resources office also evaluates their department. They should constantly be aware of what the employees think of their work. Ernst & Young have a website that seeks to view the people suggestions. All employees can write and give ideas on what to improve in the company. This is usually helpful as the department gets information on all areas of operation from the primary source. With the management being in a position to find out what is preferred by its work force, improving their relationship is easy and this leads to improved performances. The main determinant of improvement in a company is success in customer service. People who have qualifications and might not be employed in this company are also able to criticize the company?s management and even offer advice. Apple Inc. also applies a similar strategy: it relies heavily on consumer feedback to determine if they and / or their products are working well (Khurana, 2011). When the feedback from the customers is positive, it gives the company an outstanding reputation and this leads to more clients and customers. In this competitive market, new ways to bring in more clients are highly welcomed by a company.
Both of these companies strive to achieve their goals by using these performance management strategies. They both aim to set higher goals that are more challenging than the last so as to increase their profits and contribute to the society. Performance management strategies are vital in a company. It determines whether a company is achieving its objectives in an efficient manner. These strategies vary with the companies. Once a company realizes how to implement a strategy that works for them, it becomes much easier for the management to get satisfactory results.
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