Performance Appraisals

Performance Appraisals

Reuben Cramer

BYU Idaho

Nursing

450

Kim Van Wagoner

March 12, 2013

Performance Appraisals

I currently work in a Neuro Shock Trauma ICU. Our client population is an even mix of head surgeries and traumas treated by neurosurgeons, general trauma victims treated by trauma specialists, and patients in septic shock or respiratory failure treated by pulmonologists. It is an exciting environment to work in, but there is stress involved because of the critical conditions of the patients. Performance appraisals are an important part of my development as a nurse. I need to be knowledgeable, skillful and effective in order to meet the needs of the patients I care for and appraisals help me to achieve that end.

Performance appraisal is a process whereby an employee’s job performance is evaluated and goals can be set for improvement. The performance and goal setting are usually in relation to an organization’s established objectives and mission statement. Appraisals are usually conducted annually and can also be used for counseling and developing employees. “How performance is managed in an organization determines to a large extent the success or failure of the organization. Therefore, improving performance appraisals for everyone should be among the highest priorities of … organizations (Muczyk & Gable, 1987, p. 41).”

While it is clear that performance appraisal is vital to the success of organizations, conducting appraisals can be a difficult task for managers to accomplish. There are many challenges that managers may face with respect to performance appraisals and one in particular is personality conflict. It is important that during an appraisal the manager maintain objectivity, because it is the individual’s performance that is being judged and not their personality. Staff relations can be negatively affected when objectivity cannot be maintained. To help prevent the loss of objectivity, managers should make clear the...