Performance Management For Firm-Level Performance

IT expert good performance

Discuss about the Performance Management for Firm-Level Performance.

It is crucial for every organization to perform performance management and appraisal for their employees. Effective performance appraisal ensures growth and success of employees and the organization. However, appraisal systems have been misunderstood and mismanaged by various organizations which affect the operations of the organization (DeNisi & Smith, 2014). The International labor organization is concerned with different activities globally and hence has several departments. Technology Department is one critical department for the organization which deals with the technical matters. As such, it is vital for the department to perform well as it impacts directly or indirectly to the success of the whole organization. This paper, therefore, discusses performance expectations of an Information Technology (IT) expert, environmental factors contributing to the performance, and aspects that would be considered as poor performance.

IT department forms the backbone of various organizations. We are in the 21^st century where the world is evolving so fast regarding technology. Therefore, an employee working as an IT expert in an organization much is required from him/her. These expectations could be attributed to various factors.

Technology has revolutionized the world making it become a global language. Innovation and invention are very vital for growth and success of the business. If an IT expert cannot come up with new ideas concerning business performance, there are high chances of the business collapsing and becoming extinct. A sluggish IT department, therefore, slows the growth of a company by limiting its ability to adapt swiftly to ever-shifting market demands. It as well affects innovation and invention process (Padilla-Pérez & Gaudin, 2014) and thereby, the release of new products or services may never occur or take a long time. Customer satisfaction and the organization-customer relationship is also destroyed that makes the organization lose market to its competitors. Therefore, organizations need to reorganize their IT department and reap the best of it.

IT expert has a huge role to play in ensuring the operations of the organization run effectively and efficiently. A well experienced IT expert can provide high-quality job which positively affects the final result of a company. Efficient IT performance, in turn, enhances the performance of other employees and their productivity (Wu et al., 2015). It’s through IT department that employees can connect and interact comfortability with each other and the customers. As such, an IT expert is expected to work smart, effectively, and align all the operations of the company in order.

Environmental factors contributing to the performance requirements

An IT expert is expected to make information available for all other staff of the organization. The information should be relevant, consistent, and of high quality. In turn, this will translate to quality service and product delivery, user satisfaction, and benefit both the organization and individual employee (Peppard & Ward, 2016). The smooth flow of information is vital to smooth business operation. By coordinating with the Human Resource management team, an IT expert is expected to ensure all activities of an organization runs smoothly.

IT department focuses mostly on the most important and crucial matters of business. They deal with data analysis, disruptive technologies in business operations, cloud computing, and ever-changing consumer preference. Despite the fact that IT has been shown to enhance the performance of an organization, several environmental factors are involved as well.

The environment determines the performance of the IT department. Hostility, for instance, leads to poor performance by weakening the business process agility while environment complexity strengthens (Chen et al., 2014) it hence good performance.

Due to the rapidly changing business environment, an IT expert is required to possess excellent skills to adapt to the changing environment. Unseen or unanticipated environmental changes may have an adverse impact on the overall performance of an organization (Rezaee, 2017). Therefore, IT experts are expected to be ready to handle any disaster or economic shift that may occur.

Customers expect good quality products and services. No one wants to spend money on products that do not match their value. Therefore, expectations by consumers make the expectations of IT experts to be high. Due to such factors, they are required to produce high-quality products; otherwise, they risk losing the market.

The market in the world today is changing drastically. One of the reasons is the growing use of technology in business operations. Numerous organizations have embraced technology, and therefore, it is essential for an organization to remain at per with new technologies. New and modern technologies can help an organization keep with speed of the growing market and hence remain effective and at play (Chen et al., 2014). This can only be achieved by proficient IT experts who are conversant with all aspects of information technology.

International Labor Organization (ILO), is a global organization that aims in ensuring that human and labor rights are protected throughout the world. Therefore, it has numerous offices worldwide, and data emission (from the headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland) and information sharing is crucial amongst the stations. Information technology, therefore, is critical for smooth organization operations. As such, it calls for well-equipped IT experts who can coordinate ad virtualize the systems in the entire organization. Technology plays a significant role in the realization of its strategic objectives. The goals of the ILO are; promoting better standards at places of work, creating employment opportunities for men and women, social protection for all people, and tripartism strengthening (Helfer, 2006). All these are possible through proper IT coordination. IT experts have a huge role in ensuring all organization projects are coordinated in all the centers globally and ensure data integrity while liaising with other managerial teams.

What makes an IT expert a bad performer

IT department controls all aspects of work in an organization virtually. Every eye, therefore, is directed towards IT experts and in case the productivity of a company goes down, the blame is put on the IT department. Various factors contribute to poor performance of an IT expert. First and foremost, these people are under a lot of pressure as every other department looks up to them. Due to the high expectations from their colleagues, employers, and the society, an individual may fail to handle the pressure and hence underperform (Tuten & Neidermeyer, 2004). Altitude also plays a chief role in enhancing performance. The wrong attitude towards technology can make an IT expert a bad performer.

Performance appraisal is also very vital in ensuring the workers are motivated and hence become more productive (DeNisi & Smith, 2014). It is clear that motivated employees perform better as compared to unmotivated workers. As such, performing performance appraisal in the organization will ensure employees give their best and remain committed to the operations of the company.

Motivating of the IT experts and other staff through rewards and incentives. It is important to undertake performance appraisal for the employees as it increases their commitment. Giving rewards and incentives motivates employees and thereby enhancing their performance and hence the success of the entire organization.

Training of IT experts is also important in ensuring they are at per with the ever-changing technology. Qualified employees are in a position of experiencing less pressure since they are equipped to handle their job perfectly. It’s through such training forums and seminars that an IT expert can be taught on the importance of their jobs and thereby have a positive attitude.

Conclusion

Employees working in the IT department determine either the success or failure of an organization. Well trained and experienced IT experts, who can handle ever-changing technological advancement, will lead to the productivity of the organization. It is crucial, however, to motivate the employees through rewards and incentives to enhance their performance.

References

Chen, Y., Wang, Y., Nevo, S., Jin, J., Wang, L., & Chow, W. S. (2014). IT capability and organizational performance: the roles of business process agility and environmental factors. European Journal of Information Systems, 23(3), 326-342.

DeNisi, A., & Smith, C. E. (2014). Performance appraisal, performance management, and firm-level performance: a review, a proposed model, and new directions for future research. Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 127-179.

DeNisi, A., & Smith, C. E. (2014). Performance appraisal, performance management, and firm-level performance: a review, a proposed model, and new directions for future research. Academy of Management Annals, 8(1), 127-179.

Helfer, L. R. (2006). Understanding change in international organizations: Globalization and innovation in the ILO. Vand. L. Rev., 59, 649.

Murali, S., Pugazhendhi, S., & Muralidharan, C. (2016). Modelling and Investigating the relationship of after sales service quality with customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty–a case study of home appliances business. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 30, 67-83.

Padilla-Pérez, R., & Gaudin, Y. (2014). Science, technology and innovation policies in small and developing economies: The case of Central America. Research Policy, 43(4), 749-759.

Peppard, J., & Ward, J. (2016). The strategic management of information systems: Building a digital strategy. John Wiley & Sons.

Rezaee, Z. (2017). Business sustainability: Performance, compliance, accountability and integrated reporting. Routledge.

Tuten, T. L., & Neidermeyer, P. E. (2004). Performance, satisfaction, and turnover in call centers: The effects of stress and optimism. Journal of Business Research, 57(1), 26-34.

Wu, S. P. J., Straub, D. W., & Liang, T. P. (2015). How information technology governance mechanisms and strategic alignment influence organizational performance: Insights from a matched survey of business and it managers. Mis Quarterly, 39(2), 497-518.