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Thesis (MPhil)--Stellenbosch University, 2015. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Giving regular performance feedback for improvement and indicating good performance is essential for individuals to function optimally in the work environment. Managers often avoid the task of giving feedback, especially negative feedback. This avoidant behaviour is manifested in different ways, including delegating the task of giving feedback, suppressing the information which managers believe is negative, avoiding giving feedback or not giving feedback at all. This study was aimed at answering the following questions: What are the factors contributing to the phenomenon of managers’ reluctance to give feedback? What are the factors contributing to the discomfort managers experience when faced with the task of giving feedback? Can coaching, as a development tool, contribute to enhancing managerial skills for executing the task of giving feedback? A qualitative study, using a case study approach, was conducted to determine the experiences, feelings and perceptions of managers when having to engage in giving feedback. The study design comprised individual coaching for participants, followed by semi-structured interviews to evaluate the learnings, changed perceptions and feelings and giving feedback, following the coaching process. The findings provided an in-depth understanding of the managers’ experiences and the contributory factors influencing the manner in which the task of giving feedback was executed. Recommendations were made on how coaching as a development tool can be utilized to enhance managerial skills for the task of giving feedback. Recommendations were made for future studies relating to managers having to engage in giving feedback.

This study focuses on the development of a Performance Management model. However, the concepts of world-class and globalisation is discussed at length as a frame of reference for a best practice studded performance management system. The study further elaborates on the theoretical model of the world-class organisation as well as on the important milestones that organisations may have to go through in their pursuit for world-class status. Training, quality, reward and recognition, and the standardisation of operational procedures are highlighted as issues that inter alia should not be ignored when developing a performance management model. Furthermore, a world-class organisation, which the new institution strives to be associated with, should be strategically led, competitively focused, market orientated, employee driven and operationally sound. It should do what it is good at and adapt quickly to the changes in the market place. It has to benchmark against competition and operate in terms of the team based approach to surpass its competitors. A well thought out performance management model could therefore be an ideal instrument to use to realise the above objectives and for it to be successfully implemented world-class principles and milestones discussed in this study should not be ignored. To move closer to realising the objective of developing a world-class performance management model within the context of a world-class organisation, the study provides a detailed discussion of performance management and its key components, namely the traditional appraisal processes; the 360 „a feedback; the management by objectives and its emphasis on performance outputs. It also outlines the relationship between the required competencies and performance output. Emphasis is also laid on the need to shift from a pure output based appraisal tools to an integrated performance model that incorporates competencies, performance output and continued progress reviews. The need to incorporate grievances and appeal processes in a performance management model is also identified as a very important factor not to be lost sight of when crafting a performance management model. This aspect is useful to consider because it could indicate the extent to which the model will be efficient, fair and legally compliant to the existing labour legislation. The empirical aspect of this study further tested the perception of staff of the former technikons on performance management. Although the response rate was not what one would have expected, it was however encouraging to note that the organisational climate and culture at the technikons that did not have any instrument to measure performance were quite receptive to the introduction of a performance management system. It is assumed that the envisaged model will assist in improving the supervisor employee communication, clarify on a continued basis the organisation's expectations from each employee and assist the organisation to deliver to its expected mandate. / Prof. JA Slabbert

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Leadership development has become a focal area for most organisations today in an attempt to ensure that leaders are able to take them into the future and achieve a competitive advantage. Literature reveals that, among others, one of the most popular initiatives in leadership development includes the use 360-degree feedback. Due to the sensitivity and challenge of giving and receiving 360 degree feedback, it is essential to understand the subjective experience of manager's who have recently undergone the process as well as the factors which influence and are influenced by the process. To achieve this, a grounded theory study was conducted in a large manufacturing organisation. The data was collected through focus group interviews with a voluntary sample of senior managers who had participated in a 360 degree feedback process. The outcomes of the study include a definition of "subjective experience" as well as a substantive theory on the subjective experience of 360-degree feedback as a tool in leadership development. Findings indicate that individual's reactions coupled with the perception of both the accuracy and utility of the process are key contributors which form the essence of "subjective experience". Past experience, present information and context were further identified to be key intervening variables of a manager's subjective experience of 360-degree feedback as a tool in leadership development. A number of limitations within this study are explained and recommendations for future research and organisations are provided. / Industrial and Organisational Psychology / M. Comm. (Industrial Psychology)

Thesis (MA (Public and Development Management))--University of Stellenbosch, 2006. / Since the vogue of the New Public Management, public sector organisations pursue solutions to analyse, measure, plan, and manage performance in order to meet the objective of outcomes-based governance. Performance management is a complex and intensive undertaking that emphasise the value of electronic support to establish and sustain performance standards within modern public organisations. Software based on performance management models, such as the balanced scorecard, is globally used to provide a balanced analysis across the scope of an organisation’s functions and processes. The study explores and provides viable options for utilising performance management with electronic support in a public sector organisation. The Microsoft Business Scorecards Accelerator is applied to compare theoretically the software results with current organisational outputs established without electronic aid. The research provides a summary of the benefits and weaknesses. It also emphasises the advantages of an electronic system over a manual performance management system to reduce errors and benefit business performance in both public and private sector organisations.

Recently, multi-source feedback has been a popular way of providing performance-related feedback to individuals in many organizations. Many who use multi-source feedback consider Rating Convergence, others seeing target individuals as they see themselves, to be a positive outcome of this process. However, the variables that account for Rating Convergence are not known. This study investigated whether the personality factor Extroversion and Behavioral Consistency, acting as a moderator variable, could account for Self-other Rating Convergence, particularly the Convergence between self and peer Ratings. The sample consisted of 235 mid-level managers from a variety of industries who were participants in individual career development workshops. Using structural equation modeling, the results indicated that a model consisting of a single Extroversion factor could account for the convergence of self-peer ratings. This finding calls into question the significance of Rating Convergence when using multi-source rating instruments that provide feedback on trait characteristics since it may be heavily influenced by a single personality factor rather than observers' comprehensive understanding of the ratee's performance.

M. Tech. Business Administration / The Department of Water Affairs has implemented the Performance Management and Development System for more than ten years, but every year the Department of Water Affairs Human Resources department has been dealing with various complaints from both supervisors and supervisees which signals some level of dissatisfaction with the system. The difficulty of measuring performance and the involvement of subjective human judgment makes the design of performance management systems challenging. This study was undertaken as an attempt to ascertain the employee perceptions of the procedural, distributive, and interactional fairness of performance assessments in implementing the Performance Management and Development System within the Department of Water Affairs.