CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

A generation ago, appraisal systems tended to emphasize employee traits, deficiencies and

abilities. With the development of the employee/organization relations modern appraisal

philosophy emphasizes on the present performance and future goals. Modern philosophy also

stresses on employee participation in mutually set goals with the supervisor. The underlying

philosophy behind mutual setting of goals is that people will work harder for goals or objectives

that they have participated in setting. The assumption is that people want to satisfy some of their

needs through performing work activities that provide them with a supportive environment. They

also need to perform meaningful tasks, share the objectives setting, share the rewards of their

efforts and continued personal growth (Dechev, 2010).

Management writers have written on the outcome of employee performance and its usefulness to

business organization and so performance appraisal as an important personnel management

function. Personnel management is concerned with the systematic requirement of a competent

working force whose human resources are effectively used through the control of occupational

environment in a manner that develop employee's potential and enable them to contribute their

services to the organization of which they are integral part (Ahmad, 2020).

Thus, it is necessary that the performance of the employees are monitored, evaluated and control

within the organization so that they can contribute their best to the attainment of the organization

objectives as well as developing themselves (Taiwo, 2021). Performance appraisal is defined as

the process of reviewing individual's performance and progress in a job assessing his potential
for future promotion. It is a systematic method of obtaining, analyzing and recording information

about a person that is needed for the followings:

1. For better running of the business.

2. To help the manager improve the jobholder's performance and plan his career.

3. To assist the jobholders to evaluate his own performance and develop himself.

The usefulness of performance appraisal outcome includes promotion of employees, transfer,

demotion and placement of employee on the job in which they are best suited. They study, as a

whole tends to link employee development to their performance and establish the fact that there

is a correlation between the two.

In recent years researchers focus on the on the performance appraisal of employees and its

impact on their job satisfaction and motivation has increased significantly. However, most of the

recent studies Saeed, Lodhi, Naeem, Rehman, Mahmood and Ahmed (2019) exploring the effect

of employees performance on job retention have not adequately consider the factors such as

performance appraisal, empowerment, reward system, rating system, feedback, career

development, motivation and empathy. Segal (2020); Khana and Sharma (2021) state that some

of researchers are of the opinion that performance appraisal lacks in validity and reliability and

hence may not improve employees’ motivation and retention. While others are of the opinion

that performance plays a critical role in Human Resource Development.

Globally performance appraisal is the process by which a manager, or a consultant examines and

evaluates an employee‟s work behavior by comparing it with preset standards, documents the

results of the comparison, and uses the results to provide feedback to show where improvements

are needed and why. Performance appraisals are employed to determine who needs what training

and also will be promoted, demoted, retained, or fired. To a large extent, it is a strategic tool for
improving organizational effectiveness. It is a means not only for evaluating performance but

also for achieving performance improvement among staff of an organization. As an

administrative activity which improves the chances of attaining organizational goals,

performance appraisal makes it mandatory for members of an organization to know what is

expected of them, and the indicators by which their productivity will be measured in order to

ensure organizational growth, staff progress, and goal attainment. It is often used

interchangeably with performance assessment, evaluation and performance review of employee

appraisal. The success of any organization is dependent on how well the performance of every

employee is effectively appraised and managed (Ali, H.A et al. 2018).

1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

There has constantly been the issue of the relationship between performance and appraising such

performance objectively. Some employees have seen appraisal as just a mere routine practice

that has no relevance to their promotion, placement jobs and planning for their training needs

thus having little impact on their development process.

A central problem of appraisal is subjectively on the part of those that conduct the appraisal.

Other problems that the study will provide ways of solving them are: -

1. Errors of appraisal: - type and means of solving them to make appraisal programme

valid.

2. In appropriate use of appraisal methods.

3. Perhaps the most glaring of all the problems is the failure of organization to use

appraisal result as a basis for employee promotion, training and placement, when this

occurs. It could be seen that the whole appraisal programme is a waste of effort and to

make it meaningful and worthwhile the study will highlight the benefits of the use of
 appraisal system and it will also attempt to identify the way operational problem with a

view to providing appropriate solutions.

1.2 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

Essentially, the study has its central aim of examining the level of performance appraisal in

Nigeria business organization and its contribution to the employee development. Other

objectives of the study are: -

1. To examine the impact of performance appraisal programme of FRSC Kano command.

2. To examine the extent at which the appraisal result will meet the aspiration of the

organization.

3. To make necessary recommendations based on the findings and these will serve as a

guide to the FRSC Kano command.

1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

As pointed above, the objectives of this study is to find out the relevance of performance

appraised to employee's productivity in Kano State FRSC command. In doing this, the questions

to be asked are

1. Of what uses is performance appraisal outcome to the FRSC Kano command?

2. Do employees actually need performance appraised in the said organization?

3. Does the organization use the result of the appraisal programme for the development of

the employee by using it to plan for their training, placement of the job and promoting

then?

4. Does your management believe in performance appraisal system?

1.4 RESEARCH HYPOTHESES

The following hypotheses are formulated.

H1 – Prompt payment of salary improves performance

H2 – Employee training enhances organizational performance

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The significance of the study will -be in two folds: Firstly, the study will provide a good base for

general knowledge of the concept, as past work on the subject matter will be reviled. More also,

it will be useful empirically practical use of performance appraisal in business organization. All

problems associate with the use of the programmed will be ex-rayed and necessary solution

provided.

Lastly, the study will be useful to the organization in that the recommendation from the finding

of this research can be use as a means of improving the efficiency of employees in the

organization. And lastly, the findings can be used in designing and effective appraisal system.

1.6 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this research is to examine the impact of performance appraisal on employee's

productivity in FRSC Kano State command. The management and employees of FRSC Kano

command will be used to carry out these researchers.

1.7 LIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Also, this research faces a lot of problems among this are the problem of time factor which is

grossly, money to execute this research work on the schedule problem of getting necessary on for

the respondents and above all, the un co-operative attitude of the workers of the brewery in

attending to my request.

1.8 Methodology
The method employed in the research is the survey method. Survey method means gathering

information about a large number of people by administration of questionnaire, the questionnaire

would be distributed to the samples. This survey research therefore is very good for attitudinal

and behavioral research. Survey research therefore involves sampling and questionnaire.

The source of data are; the primary source of data that would be used for this study is

questionnaire, so as to get information required for the research work. While the secondary

source of data constitutes the use of libraries from which text books, magazines journals, internet

source, annual reports and official documents would be obtain and read.

1.9 DEF1NITION OF TERMS

Some of the terms used in this study are defined as follows:

APPRAISAL: It is the evaluation of an individual with respect to his performance on his job.

PERFORMANANCE

It is defined from two perspectives:

- It is the result` that people get on the job.

- It is whatever they do that affects the results.

PRODUCTIVITY: Refer to being productive or production of goods; it is also regarded as an

output.

EMPLOYEE: Workers in an organization who performed functions as given or directed.

DEVELOPMENT: It aims at adding to the skills of employees, improving their general

knowledge and altering their attitudes.

DEMOTION: A shift to a lower position in the hierarchy.

PLACEMENT: Assigning employees to their different jobs that they are best suited.
PROMOTION: A shift to higher position in the hierarchy, usually with added salary, statues

and authority.

RECRUITMENT: This is the process of attracting or hiring candidates among the qualified

ones.