The performance management and development system (PMDS) is a tool that is used by government to measure the performance of individuals in the organisation. PMDS was developmental in its nature in identifying the development of employees and training in case of poor performance. The main aim of the PMDS is to motivate officials in the organisation by rewarding a performance bonus at the end of the financial year. There are challenges that affect the PMDS: officials felt that the system did not motivate them; it is perceived as a 14th cheque and some of them felt the system should be terminated. The main aim of the study is to evaluate the performance management and development system at the Department of Safety and Liaison in the Eastern Cape. Quantitative and qualitative data was collected through questionnaires and interviews. Questionnaires were distributed to officials from levels 1 - 8 and interviews were conducted with assistant managers, managers and senior managers. Descriptive statistics were used to analyse the questionnaires and transcriptions were used to interpret the interviews. The results of the study reflect that most officials in the Department are young and new to the public service. The findings show that the employees of the Department are average in their performance and the Department perceives that the PMDS is not used to identify poor performance and training. The system is not implemented effectively and efficiently. Based on the findings and recommendations made to management to facilitate the training on PMDS and also to allow the processes and procedures to be more efficient. Furthermore allowing performance from all staff to achieve the core objectives of the department.

We are living in a changing world. Performance management is becoming a major challenge for organisations. The aim of this study is to review the current status of the Performance Management and Development System at the Department of the Premier and to look into the reasons why it has become a pain rather than a gain to both the organisation and its employees. This document will also look at the possible causes of the failure of the performance management system and will then propose useful guidelines to overcome obstacles to the benefit of all the affected parties. To achieve this objective a comprehensive literature study was performed to the Department of the Premier to determine the views on performance, and on performance management programmes. The study also included an investigation into the extent to which a performance management programme should be aligned with Provincial Government Western Cape (PGWC) and individual goals. Questionnaires developed from the literature study, were distributed amongst randomly selected respondents, in order to determine the extent to which a specific directorate manages performance, in line with the guidelines provided by the literature study. The information obtained from the questionnaires were compared with the guidelines provided by the literature study in order to identify shortcomings in the influence that the performance management programme has on the achievement of Department and individual goals at the selected Directorates. The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of the current performance management system, in the Department at Provincial Government Western Cape, as a facilitation tool in aiding or assisting management in achieving individual and departmental goals. To achieve this objective a comprehensive literature study was performed to determine the views on performance, and on performance management systems. A questionnaire was designed based on the guidelines in the literature study, in order to establish the extent to which the organisation manages performance. The completed questionnaires were returned and these were processed and analysed using Microsoft Office Excel 2003, running on the Windows XP suite of computer packages. The respondent’s opinion obtained from the questionnaires were compared with the guidelines provided by the literature study in order to identify shortcomings of the influence that the performance management system has on the achievement of individual and departmental goals at the selected organization. The research results indicate that the majority of staff supports and understands the process.

Performance management research in the private and public sector has received much attention in management accounting research; however, empirical studies on performance management in the non-profit sector remain scarce. This study proposes and validates a model that explains the relationships between contingency variables, performance management practices, and organisational effectiveness in the non-profit sector. The study employed a mixed methods research approach, which entailed a field study and a cross-sectional survey in the Kenyan non-profit sector. The field study was undertaken to understand the perceptions of NPO leaders on non-profit sector characteristics, organisational effectiveness, determinants, challenges, and benefits of implementation of performance management systems in the Kenyan non-profit sector. Thereafter, a cross-sectional survey (using mailed questionnaires and an online survey) was used to collect quantitative primary data. Structural equation modelling was used to analyse the quantitative data. The structural equation modelling approach was adopted to test the hypothesised relationships among the contingency factors, performance management practices and organisational effectiveness. The findings indicate that performance management in NPOs can be categorised into three groups: performance planning, performance measurement and performance context. The NPOs emphasise mission statements and core values within the formal PM system. Although a number of private sector measurement frameworks are utilised, the NPOs mostly use logical framework, with emphasis on output and financial measures and team based targets with no clear rewards. The PM systems are resource intensive and they lead to goal displacement and narrow definition and measurement of organisational effectiveness. The results further reveal that among the contingency variables, strategic orientation significantly predicted performance management practices and organisational effectiveness in non-profits. Among the performance management variables, performance planning, performance targets, and performance rewards significantly predict organisational effectiveness domains. Furthermore, performance management practices mediate the relationship between strategic orientations, technology, information technology, leadership and external environment and organisational effectiveness domains. However, organisational size was not significantly related to performance management practices or organisational effectiveness. To successfully implement and benefit from the PM system, non-profit organisations need to address the fit between contextual factors and the performance management system. By employing a pragmatic, embedded, mixed methods approach this study provides empirical evidence of performance management practices that influence organisational effectiveness beyond the rhetoric of performance management theory. At the practice level, the findings will benefit Kenya government, non-profit organisations, donor agencies and performance evaluation practitioners.

Thesis (MTech (Business Management))--Peninsula Technikon, 2003. / This dissertation sets out to develop a Performance Management System for the Greater Stellenbosch Municipality. It is proposed for use as a unit of analysis. The system provides a framework for determining developmental priorities and identifying the appropriate resources. The system monitors progress and simultaneously serves as an instrument that maintains municipal accountability for the delivery of its core developmental functions. Internationally, an infinite number of research projects in the field of performance management and best practices for organisational performance have been undertaken for local authorities. This includes a range of terms extending from the 1950's, known as benchmarking, to the current context where the balance scorecard has been put on the performance agenda. The emphasis for increased and accountable performance of local authorities is currently on the foreground, because local authorities are now responsible for executing duties in the form of developmental outputs.

As argued by authors like Franzen on whose work the greater part of the introduction, the main problem and sub-problem has been based, the objective of this study was to establish the extent to which the performance evaluation system currently in use at the subject Institution conforms to the benchmark performance management systems as espoused in literature. Further, the objective was to establish the differences and commonalities between the performance management systems practiced in the corporate sector and current practice at the subject Institution. Best practice was thus lifted to form part of the recommendation of this study. A questionaire was designed based on the guidelines in the literature study in order to determine how the subject Institution conducts its performance appraisal and how this relates to the four general purposes of performance management mentioned in the study. The respondents' opinion obtained from the questionaire were compared with the guidelines in literature and clustered around the four identifiable general purposes of performance management. The study concludes with a statement of current practice at the subject Institution, and outlines the extent of conformance to benchmark practice on performance management systems. Recommendations are made based on best practice and direction is given to future research into contemporary practices with the express aim of enhancing quality in higher education applying the quality-related procedures of industry and commerce, where quality is crucial to success (Winch, 1996: 9-13). The current performance management system at the subject Institution proves to be largely conforming to the benchmark. However it should require comments made by the respondents that pertain to improvement.

This study focused on exploring and finding the ideal performance management system suitable for the South African Broadcasting Corporation by establishing an understanding of employees’ experiences and perceptions of the previous and a proposed performance management systems and their value to SABC employees. This was done by eliciting how employees see, make sense of and interpret their everyday experiences of performance management systems, in order to develop a more suitable inclusive performance management system. A qualitative study was used to seek answers to the research questions. A focus group interview was selected for data collection. The data was analysed according to guidelines indicated and proposed by Creswell (1998:147-148). The researcher made use of convenience sampling to select 45 participants in 5 groups for the focus groups. One group consisted of managers/supervisors, and the other four groups were employees from four different business units. Participants were guaranteed confidentiality. Credibility, transferability, dependability and conformability were used as the main components in the model, to determine the truth-value of the study. Findings indicated that there was a fair understanding of the previous performance management system but there had been poor implementation of the system. The participants concurred that the previous performance iv management systems in the organisations were not adding any value to their lives. They pointed out that there was no reward in place for high performers and no action taken for non-performers, and this impacted negatively on how implementation was perceived and experienced. The recommendations are that the revised performance management system should have a stronger emphasis on effective management, monitoring, feedback and reward. Furthermore, the system should close the current gaps of reward for high performance and correction of low performance. It was further concluded that for a performance management system to be effective, it should incorporate updated job descriptions, performance measures and standards, as well as evaluator training and guidelines for improvement, employee input, compensation and/or rewards.

Dissertation submitted in the partial fulfillment for the requirements of the Degree of Master of Business Administration, Durban University of Technology, 2011. / Notwithstanding the unsurpassed planning efforts, municipalities nationally seem to be losing their battle in pursuit of sustainable development. South African municipalities find themselves confronted with a harsh reality and that is that after 12 years of legislated Integrated Development Planning (IDP), poverty remains widespread and persists alongside affluence, while inequalities are increasing. The mechanism of service delivery in municipalities is hampered by bureaucratic settings within Local Government and the ambiguity attached to some of the projects. The service and infrastructural developments targeted for the poor, and the involvement of communities in the affairs of the Local Government might be seen as a partial panacea for poverty alleviation in South Africa, however the capacity of Local Governments to effectively carry out this developmental challenge assigned to them might be a new twist in the developmental challenge facing Local Governments in South Africa. The commonly-employed approach to local development to the challenges of co-ordinating and integrating efforts has revealed clear evidence of the usefulness of sustainable local development which helps to promote effective planning methods based on a multi-sectorial approach to poverty reduction and community development for an integrated local development planning process. The literature review contained in this research indicates that in South Africa the implementation of the IDP at Local Government level impacts upon by the Performance Management System (PMS). This research which has been grounded within the positivist paradigm, evaluates the IDP as a performance management system at Ugu District Municipality. Interviews were conducted amongst employees of the Ugu District Municipality and the community served by the municipality to evaluate the extent to which the IDP is used as a tool to deliver sustainable development.

Thesis (MPA)--Stellenbosch University, 2002. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Performance management is an activity of the greatest of importance in any organization, whether that organisation functions within the public or private sector. The importance of performance management has however grown greatly within the public sector due to a renewed focus on efficiency, effectiveness and economy of actions. Within an environment increasingly characterised by a scarcity of resources, the application of performance management has therefore become an essential component. This applied research study hence examines the role of performance management within the public sector. The importance of this essay is due to the fact that very limited research has been done in this field in So~th Africa concerning the modification and application of performance management, which was primarily a private sector initiative, on the more complex public sector. By making use of historical and descriptive research methods, the researcher furthermore analyses the usage of performance management within a particular educational facility. This research study therefore focuses on the formulation and implementation of a performance management instrument for the measurement of the performance of administrative and support personnel employed by the specific educational facility, with the objective to solve existing performance problems within the organisation. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Prestasiebestuur is 'n aktiwiteit wat van allergrootste belang is in enige organisasie, hetsy die organisasie in die private sektor of die openbare sektor funksioneer. Die belangrike rol van prestasiebestuur binne die openbare sektor het egter aansienlik gegroei met die openbare sektor se hernude fokus op effektiwiteit, doeltreffendheid en ekonomie van aktiwiteite. Binne 'n omgewing wat toenemend gekenmerk word deur 'n skaarsheid van hulpbronne, word die toepassing van prestasiebestuur gevolglik 'n ononbeerlike komponent. Vervolgens bestudeer hierdie toegepaste meestersvlak navorsingstuk die rol van prestasiebestuur binne die openbare sektor. Die uiterste belangrikheid van hierdie navorsingstuk spruit uit die beperkte hoeveelheid navorsing wat daar binne hierdie veld gedoen is rakende die aanpassing en toepassing van prestasiebestuur, wat aanvanklik slegs binne die privaat sektor gebruik is, op die meer komplekse openbare sektor. Verder ondersoek die navorser deur middel van historiese en beskrywende navorsingsmetodes ook die gebruik van prestasiebestuur binne 'n spesifieke onderwysinstelling. Die werkstuk fokus gevolglik op die formulering en implementering van 'n prestasie metingsinstrument vir die meting van die prestasie van administratiewe en ondersteuningspersoneel verbonde aan die spesifieke onderwysinstelling, met die oog daarop om bestaande prestasie probleme binne die organisasie op te los.

Thesis (MA)--University of Stellenbosch, 2007. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Today’s competitive and dynamic business world, solicits ever higher levels of performance and productivity. At the core of this drive to higher performance is the enhancement and managing of employees’ performance through a Performance Management system. Performance Management however, is a very complex, multi-dimensional and integrated system with a number of interacting critical prerequisites. Even in ideal circumstances, these fundamental elements would, in all likelihood, not all be satisfied during the initial phases of implementing a Performance Management system. The concern existed, on the basis of the abovementioned probabilities, that the Performance Management system of the Children and Families Division (CAF) of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) of Tasmania, Australia, was not enjoying optimal operational effectiveness. The aim of this study was to identify those factors in the system that are underdeveloped, possibly unsuccessfully implemented or in need of attention as they impact negatively on the effective running of the CAF’s Performance Management system. A suitable tool for this diagnostic purpose already exists in the form of the Performance Management Audit Questionnaire (PMAQ), developed by Spangenberg and Theron (1997). Through administering and analysing the PMAQ results, the CAF could obtain a clear indication of the system’s current effectiveness and would be able to identify where the problem areas are in order to refine the system for greater operational effectiveness. The results successfully identified the underdeveloped or absent areas of the organisation’s current Performance Management system. The results further found a clear difference between managerial and non-managerial perceptions of the effectiveness of the Performance Management system. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of proposed remedial actions that could be implemented to address the problem areas. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: ‘n Konstante strewe na steeds hoër vlakke van prestasie en produktiwiteit is aan die orde van die dag in die huidige hoogs kompeterende en dinamiese besigheidswêreld. Die verbetering en bestuur van werknemers se prestasie deur middel van ‘n Prestasiebestuurstelsel, blyk ‘n sleutel te bied tot hierdie strewe na hoër prestasie. Prestasiebestuur is egter ‘n hoogs komplekse, multidimensionele en geintegreerde stelsel met ‘n aantal interverwante kritieke vereistes. Selfs onder ideale omstandighede, sou dit onwaarskynlik wees dat al hierdie fundamentele elemente aangespreek sou kon word gedurende die anvanklike fases van die implementering van ‘n Prestasiebestuurstelsel. In die lig van die bogenoemde waarskynlikhede, het daar spesifiek twyfel geheers oor die mate waartoe die Prestasiebestuurselsel van die ‘Children and Families’ (CAF) afdeling van die ‘Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) in Tasmanië, Australie, optimale operasionele effektiwiteit weerspieël. Die doel van hierdie studie was om die faktore binne die stelsel te identifiseer wat onderskeidelik onderontwikkeld, onsuksesvol geimplementeer, of aandag benodig het ten einde hulle negatiewe impak op die effektiewe bedryf van die CAF se Prestasiebestuurstelsel aan te spreek. ‘n Geskikte hulpmiddel vir so ‘n diagnostiese doelwit het reeds bestaan in die vorm van die Performance Management Audit Questionnaire (PMAQ) wat deur Spangenberg en Theron (1997) ontwikkel is. Deur middel van die administrasie van die PMAQ en die analise van die resultate, sou die CAF ‘n duidelike aanduiding kon verkry van die stelsel se effektiwiteit en sou hulle die probleemareas kon identifiseer ten einde die stelsel tot groter operasionele effektiwiteit te verfyn. Die resultate het die leemtes en onder-ontwikkelde areas binne die organisasie se huidige Presasiebestuurselsel suksesvol geidentifiseer. Die resultate het verder gedui op ‘n duidelike verskil tussen die persepsies van bestuurders en nie-bestuurders oor die effektiwiteit van die Prestasiebestuurstelsel. Die implikasies van hierdie bevindings word ten slotte bespreek in terme van die voorgestelde remediëringsaksies wat geimplementeer sou kon word om die probleemareas aan te spreek.

Thesis (M.B.A.)-Business Studies Unit, Durban University of Technology, 2006 x, 113, [6] leaves / This study is aimed at understanding the potential organisational performance management systems that could be used by municipalities and hence the topic "Selecting an appropriate organisational performance management system for South African municipalities" / M