ABSTRACT

Performance management systems (PMS) are critical to any organization’s ability to measure and monitor individual performance, to ensure that all employees are working at optimal levels in supporting organizational strategy (Varma, Budhwar, & DeNisi, 2008). It is through the effective implementation of PMS that organizations can assign tasks, set individual performance goals, and appraise and reward performance (Fletcher, 2001). As such, it is critical that both scholars and practitioners make efforts to understand the antecedents and consequences of performance through the lens of PMS. As Peretz and Fried have noted, “performance appraisal is a central human resource activity … critical in enhancing both employee and organizational performance” (2012). Given the contextual nature of individual human performance, it is essential that we recognize that the same systems and processes cannot work across the world, without necessary adaptation. Indeed, as DeNisi, Budhwar, and Varma noted, “these systems should not be adopted uncritically” (2008). Of course, multinational corporations often find it easy to implement the same systems in all their locations, for purposes of consistency and, where necessary, comparisons. However, what is needed is a careful consideration of the cultural context where the work is being performed by the individual.