Writing Assignment 6 source

Employee Performance

Kyle B. Amstead

University of Maryland University College

April 18, 2019

Hi, Kyle,

This is a fine start for your Six Source Essay that brings together six totally new sources on your topic on employee performance. You clearly identify four elements of discussion and provide a definitive thesis. You also synthesize your sources well in some areas.

Note that you could have used the same four sources from your Four Source Essay, and in fact, some of those sources may have worked better here. Consider this when moving on to your Literature Review (WA #4); instead of researching new articles, you might use the ones you’ve already located and reviewed to save yourself some time and effort.

When you revise, I’d like for you to focus on your organization and on providing more detailed information on the studies themselves. Please consider the following:

(1) Work on paragraph coherence and unity. This means that your paragraphs focus on one main idea and develop that idea, and it moves from sentence to sentence in a seamless manner. I think the lack of unity in your paragraphs tends to stem from your efforts to cover the element of employee performance and then how it should be combined with other elements. It might work better to either split your paper into subsections (as you did with WA #2), based on the individual element (e.g., coaching), and then include two paragraphs within each subsection, where one paragraph focuses solely on one element (e.g., coaching) and the other on that element combined with others (e.g., coaching and training). OR you might define all the elements individually, and then include one single paragraph (or two) on how the elements might be combined for a multi-faceted approach to improve performance.

(2) Include study details, and not just summaries. Your discussion should provide some details from the studies themselves, either in the form of direct quotes or specific references to the studies. Your references tend to be very general, so it’s difficult for the reader to distinguish between the different studies. Some details might include the fact Inuwa surveyed non-academic staff at one university in Nigeria or that Mwangi et al. looked specifically at state corporations in Kenya. In short, provide more context for these studies.

Follow the rubric below and the annotations when you revise.

rubric_SixSource_Essay_2018_2019

(not graded yet)

Transfer rubric feedback to general feedback for the assignment submission.

Employee performance is the measure of how well an employee achieves the job-related aspects expected of them by their employer. Employee performance is an issue that has been of much focus for many organizations and researchers, as employee performance [it] has been directly linked to the productivity of an organization. [Avoid repetitiveness in language and use pronouns or synonyms.] Therefore, companies are always at a loss on how to best improve this performance in order to guarantee company performance [their success?]. Several theories such as coaching, training, motivation and employee engagement have been advanced [that have identified] [coaching, training, motivation and employee engagement ] as the major elements in improving employee performance. [Sentence structure error] However, other theories expose the level of emphasis played on these theories [elements] in their individuality. [Do you mean that they expose the drawbacks to the level of emphasis?] Instead, a multi-faceted approach to the assessment of factors that inform employee performance is encouraged. [Clear thesis.]

Coaching is a process that allows individual needs to be aligned with those of the organization, through the help of a coach. Mwangi et al[.] (2018) [list all authors’ surnames if they number five or less on first mention; thereafter, use “et al.”] noted that successful coaching heavily relies on the existence of a trusting relationship between the coach and the employee. A coach needs to understand the true nature of the employee, by assessing the different factors that inform this [? Vague pronoun reference] such as religion, race, belief system and cultural background. Coaching has significant effects on employee performance, for example, increased job satisfaction, clearer job direction and boosted morale. Mwangi et al (2018) opened that while training is crucial for every organization, the benefits are more evident when mixed with those of coaching because coaching has practices that surpass basic training[,] such as individual development plans, feedback systems, and personal action planning. Training has also been linked to motivation and performance by Robescu & Iancu (2016), who argued that motivation is irrelevant in regards to performance if it does not go hand in hand with the necessary skills for the job. The assumption, therefore, would be that the right employees are hired, which require only a bit of training, coaching, and motivation to improve performance. Sendawula et al (2018) also noted that training is crucial for employee performance as it builds on the skills the employees have. As a result, it helps employees in areas such as creativity, problem-solving and critical thinking. However, the emphasis is placed on the long-term nature of skill building because the results not only in personal development, but also improve organizational performance. [Paragraph coherence and unity. The paragraph begins clearly with a focus on coaching, but then jumps around at the end to include training. It might work better to split the paragraphs into two: one specifically on coaching, the other on coaching combined with other elements.]

[Transition needed.] Job satisfaction has been linked to superior employee performance by numerous studies. Job satisfaction is defined by Inuwa (2016), as a situation where an employee can admit in all honesty that they find gratification in the kind of work that they do. As a result, measures of job satisfaction determine how much attached an employee is to their current job and what feelings do they have towards it, for example, [whether] positive or negative. Factors that determine the level of job satisfaction include opportunities for growth, salaries and benefits and working conditions. Inuwa (2016) further argued that when discussing job satisfaction, it is imperative that job dissatisfaction is discussed as well because of the detrimental effect it has on organizations. While dissatisfied employees may not leave the organization, they may carry around an attitude that affects how they perform their work, and their colleagues. [New paragraph?] There exists an intertwined relationship between coaching, job satisfaction, and improved performance. Coaching in itself helps the employee come to several realizations that boost performance. Alternatively, it leads to job satisfaction which in itself improves employee performance. According to Pradhan & Jena (2017), the management of an organization needs to set effective systems to monitor employee’s performance. Organizations that are often hailed as good employers have systems in place that track how employees are performing and reward those employees. This often serves as motivation for better performance which leads to job satisfaction. The research, however, reiterates the view that incentives do not work the same for all employees (Robescu & Iancu, 2016). Performance should, therefore, be looked at from an employee's perspective and not from an activity perspective. As a result, the management will focus on employee needs and these needs when aligned with organizational goals will subsequently lead to improved performance. [Paragraph coherence and unity. Also, adding some details on the actual studies would provide some much needed context, which would help a reader evaluate the research you’re presenting and its relevance. For example, when first referencing the Inuwa study, you might mention that it involved non-academic staff at a Nigerian university, or that the Mwangi et al. study focused on state corporations in Kenya.]

Employers have always struggled with how to motivate their employees so that they can improve employee performance. Employee performance can be measured in terms of training and improvement thus training should lead to an improvement in performance, and it is only then that performance can be held to have improved (Inuwa, 2016). Performance improvement can be measured in terms of factors such as innovativeness (Mwangi et al., 2018). [Unclear how these two references are relevant to the discussion.] According to Robescu & Iancu (2016), while motivation has often resulted in improved employee performance, it should not be hailed as the only contributing factor towards performance. Other factors may significantly impact performance irrespective of whether the employee is motivated or not. Instead, the argument that skills are parallel to motivation is advanced. If the workers do not have the necessary skills to perform at their jobs, then motivation will not do much to improve performance. If a task is difficult, and the employee is not well equipped to handle it, even the greatest case of motivation may do very little to improve the outcome. The paper also makes an argument for long-term programs to be used to enhance performance as opposed to short term incentives. Short term incentives may have a sudden impact but may wear off just as fast. Additionally, incentives are meant to inspire rather than force workers to do something (Robescu & Iancu, 2016). Management should therefore always aim to get employees reinvested in the work they do and this should be done by understanding the different types of motivation. Extrinsically motivated employees are usually interested in outside job factors, for example, the status the job accords them, or financial incentives. As such, they will only be motivated by aspects such as an increase in wages and benefits or a promotion that accords them a high societal status than the one they have. Intrinsically motivated employees, on the other hand, are motivated by factors such as self- satisfaction, or identifying with organizational goals. Those that believe in the organizational goals and values are happy that their organization shares the same values as them, and if that changes they may become demotivated. Alternatively, those who are satisfied by their jobs because it meets their personal goals may also not be motivated by money or flexible work hours; hence organizations should understand individual employees before trying to motivate them. Muda et al., (2014), also reiterated that employee motivation may be the single most crucial factor for performance. Therefore, employers should determine whether their employees are intrinsically or extrinsically motivated. There exists a positive relationship between performance and motivation, since a well-motivated person will require minimum supervision which results in increased confidence and performance. Employee engagement is another facet of performance (Sendawula et al., 2018).If employees are highly engaged they will have vigor and energy dedicated towards their job which in turn results in improved performance.

Employee performance is a function of several factors such as job satisfaction, employee engagement, motivation, coaching, and training. Each of these factors has been proven to have a significant impact on the performance of an employee. However, several studies have suggested that several of these factors could be used together for maximum performance. For example, training of employees is important in developing skills[;] nevertheless;[,] it does not result in improvement if it is not paired with coaching, which ensures a more personal focus than training does. Additionally, the motivation of employees does not work if employees do not have the necessary skills to accomplish their duties. As a result, motivation could be paired with training so that the employee has the necessary skills to handle difficult tasks and as such will not be easily demotivated. It is therefore imperative that organizations focus on several factors and not just a one-faceted approach to employee performance.

References

[Include DOIs or URLs for all references.]

Inuwa, M. (2016). Job satisfaction and employee performance: An empirical approach. The Millennium University Journal, 1(1), 90.

Muda, I., Rafiki, A., & Harahap, M. R. (2014). Factors influencing employees' performance: a study on the Islamic Banks in Indonesia. International Journal of Business and Social Science, 5(2).

Mwangi, Z., Wario, G., Odhiambo, R., & Nzulwa, j. (2018). Effect of Coaching on Employee Performance of State Corporations in Kenya. The Strategic Journal Of Business And Change Management, 5(1), 193-209.

Pradhan, R. K., & Jena, L. K. (2017). Employee performance at the workplace: a conceptual model and empirical validation. Business Perspectives and Research, 5(1), 69-85.

Robescu, O., & Iancu, A. G. (2016). The Effects of Motivation on Employees Performance in Organizations. Valahian Journal of Economic Studies, 7(2), 49-56.

Sendawula, K., Nakyejwe Kimuli, S., Bananuka, J., & Najjemba Muganga, G. (2018). Training, employee engagement and employee performance: Evidence from Uganda’s health sector. Cogent Business & Management, 5(1), 1470891.