Human resource management practice I also available by michael armstrong

Part 

1

  The Practice of Human Resource Management

62

Performance management

Performance  management  can  contribute  to  the  

development  of  a  high-performance  culture  in  an 

organization by delivering the message that high per-

formance is important. The management of organ-

izational performance is the continuing responsibility 

of top management who, with the help and advice of 

HR, plan, organize, monitor and control activities 

and  provide  leadership  to  achieve  strategic  objec-

tives  and  satisfy  the  needs  and  requirements  of 

stakeholders.  Individual  and  team  performance 

management  systems  play  an  important  part,  but 

they function within the context of what is done to 

manage organizational performance and to develop 

effective work systems.

The  strategic  approach  adopted  by  Johnson  & 

Johnson  was  described  by  Wortzel-Hoffman  and 

Boltizar (2007) as follows:

As we embarked on developing an integrated 

performance and development process into the 

organization, we knew that driving change and 

an enhanced process requires a cultural shift 

within an organization. The best performance 

management becomes a continuous process and is 

not a one time event; it takes time and effort and 

a dedication to developing people. We also knew 

that from a business standpoint it was critical 

to build and develop the talent pipeline of the 

organization to meet the aggressive business goals 

and dynamically changing marketplace.

Performance  management  at  organizational,  team 

and individual level defines what high performance 

is and how managers and their teams should achieve 

it. It explains how performance should be measured 

and the steps that should be taken to monitor results 

in  comparison  with  expectations.  The  means  of 

achieving high performance are provided by defining 

the performance expectations implicit in the psycho-

logical contract, creating high levels of engagement, 

motivating  people  and  enhancing  skills  and  com-

petencies through feedback, coaching and personal 

development  planning.  Performance  management 

systems are described more fully in Chapter 25.