prepare a Narrated PowerPoint presentation of at least 8 slides, which highlights the major points of your summary. The narration should be about 3-5 minutes long. Paste the summary into the message area and attach your PowerPoint presentation to the message.
Article Summary Format- The purpose of this assignment is to increase awareness of problems and issues facing managers and businesses in today’s environments. The summary should be at least 2 Double space pages. Paste the summary into a discussion window and attach your PowerPoint slides to the same message thread. You can also attach your summary, too, since sometimes there are formatting issues, but I would like to have the summary pasted into the message window for easy reading.
2 pages(Double Spaced) Written summary should include the following:
1. APA Citation-I have shown how you can access the proper citation in the video overview of the online library posted in the assignment area article assignment folder.
2. State the major points made in the article.
3. What was the author attempting to convey? Provide in your analysis how well the author accomplished his/her goal.
4. What major concepts from this course did this article address?
5. Did the article provide you with additional insight concerning this topic? Explain.
8 PowerPoint slides with Narration:
1. The first slide should include APA Citation bibliographical information on the article you chose.
2. The next slides should highlight the major points of the article.
3. The last slide should summarize the main point that you learned from this summary.
Follow These Instructions to Narrate you PowerPoint Presentation-The narration should only be 3-5 minutes, since we do not want the file to be too long.
1. Ensure you have the microphone plugged into your soundcard and that the recording volume is correctly adjusted. You may need to go to Start/Control Panel/Sounds and Audio Devices to adjust the recording volume.
2. Complete all of your slides
3. Return to your starting slide. On the PowerPoint Drop Down Menu, select the Slide Show/Record Narration/OK. At this point you may elect to Select Microphone Level and test your system. Once you select OK, your presentation will automatically go to the ‘Presentation Mode’.
4. Once the ‘Presentation Mode’ begins, start recording your presentation. Press the ‘Enter’ key to advance to the next slide and continue your narration. Press the ‘Escape’ key to end the Slide Show which will automatically terminate the Narration. You should save the timing when you are prompted after you have hit the escape button.
5. To hear your Narration open up your PowerPoint Presentation. Once the presentation is in the Slide Show mode, the Narration will automatically start. The Narration is slide specific and will continue when a new slide is selected.
Yourworkforce is the enginethat drives your company for-
ward. Like any engine, however,
your workforce needs to receive
proper attention and ongoing ser-
vice to continue operating effective-
ly. In the garage, this concept is
known as preventive maintenance,
but in the business world it’s known
as performance management. In
both instances, the businesses that
do it best are the ones that see their
engines firing on all cylinders.
The Evolution of Performance
Management
The concept of performance man-
agement is nothing new. In fact, its
roots can be traced back as far as
the Third Century when Chinese
emperors established a perfor-
mance review system for the offi-
cial family. In the mid-16th Centu-
ry, Saint Ignatius of Loyola
established a formal rating system
for members of the Jesuit Society.
Finally, in the early part of the 20th
Century, performance appraisals
began to take hold as a common
practice in corporate America with
managers developing annual
appraisal systems for their subordi-
nates, typically blue-collar workers.
Clearly, the principles of perfor-
mance management have contin-
ued to evolve. Today, many orga-
nizations are still using that once-
a-year, top-down approach to
performance management, though
it’s in serious need of a refresh.
Instead, they need to think of per-
formance appraisal as a dynamic
assessment that flows in all direc-
tions at all times.
Unfortunately, if your organiza-
tion’s performance management
approach needs to be brought up
to date, it can be a significant chal-
lenge. To help, here are some prac-
tical suggestions you can use in
your office.
Start with Alignment: Before
implementing a performance
management approach or estab-
lishing benchmarks for success, it’s
important that you assess your
strategic organizational goals.
Work with your senior leadership
and executive teams to get a clear
understanding of your organiza-
tion’s plans, both short-term and
long-term. Only after you have
this knowledge can you begin to
tailor your performance manage-
ment approach to meet your
enterprise-wide objectives regard-
ing performance, timelines, deliv-
erables, and responsibilities.
Involve Your Employees Up
Front: Your employees should be
actively involved in the design and
ongoing maintenance of the per-
formance management program,
if possible. Consider forming a
steering committee or task force of
representatives from different
departments. Ideally, in order to
gain the most comprehensive per-
spective possible, this group would
consist of employees with different
experience levels and tenures
within your company. They can
help translate the organizational
goals into day-to-day language
that the workforce will understand
and appreciate. The group can
also provide feedback on what’s
working and what isn’t in order to
continually refine your perfor-
mance management system.
Measure What Matters: When
developing the physical perfor-
mance management tool—
whether it’s a hard-copy form or
an online evaluation—make sure
you are only including the metrics
and evaluation categories that can
help assess an employee’s contribu-
tions to the goals established in the
alignment phase. Anything extra or
unnecessary will only slow down
the process and inspire frustration
among
your employees.
Measurements can be broken
down into major subcategories,
such as quality, quantity, timeli-
Does Your Performance
Management Need
a Tune-Up?Here are some strategies thatwill help you keep your work-
force firing on all cylinders.
1 8 S T R AT E G I C F I N A N C E I N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 1
By Laurie Chamberlain
CAREERS
2 0 S T R AT E G I C F I N A N C E I N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 1
ness, innovation, cost effective-
ness, and customer satisfaction.
It’s also important that the tool be
balanced and not emphasize one
category over another equally
important category.
Take a 360-degree View: In the
past, the performance management
process was limited to managers
reviewing their subordinates. But
today the better approach is the
360-degree review whereby all indi-
viduals, regardless of their seniority
or position, are evaluated by those
with whom they interact. The eval-
uators can be an individual’s boss,
peers, subordinates, customers, etc.
The person being evaluated also
typically does a self-assessment to
complete the circle. The goal is to
provide more feedback, more
insight, and more opportunities for
improved performance.
The effectiveness of this ap-
proach is reflected in its growing
popularity. According to human
resources consultant William M.
Mercer, 40% of American compa-
nies used 360-degree feedback in
1995; by 2000, this number had
jumped to 65%. In 2002, 90% of
Fortune 500 companies were using
a 360-degree performance review
process. (For more information,
see Diane Alexander, How Do 360
Degree Performance Reviews Affect
Employee Attitudes, Effectiveness
and Performance? University of
Rhode Island, 2006, www.uri.edu/
research.)
There are many 360-degree
feedback tools and organizations
available in the marketplace. When
deciding whether to work with a
company or develop a tool in-
house, make sure to evaluate all
options and determine how they
can help you achieve the objectives
uncovered during the alignment
phase.
Set the Stakes and Clear
Expectations: Armed with an
understanding of the organiza-
tion’s goals and the workforce’s
perspective, and with the evalua-
tion mechanism set, it’s time to
start delivering the message to
your employees.
Clearly delineate the responsi-
bilities and performance expecta-
tions of each individual. If bonus-
es, compensation, and other
rewards programs are going to be
tied directly to the new system,
spell out the guidelines clearly and
explicitly. Let employees know
why the performance manage-
ment system was refreshed, and
demonstrate how the new system
will allow for a more fair and
accurate assessment so that those
employees who deserve to be
rewarded receive their due.
Not setting clear expectations is
often the biggest misstep compa-
nies make when rolling out a new
perfor
mance management system
and approach. If your employees
don’t believe the new system
works—or if they feel you just
made a change for the sake of
change—chances are they won’t
embrace the process and won’t
benefit from the changes.
Make Manager Training
Mandatory: An effective perfor-
mance management system
requires that executives and man-
agers are educated about the pro-
gram and are able to use it proper-
ly. Unfortunately, some managers
often will go into an appraisal ses-
sion blindly, putting the employee
at a significant disadvantage vs. his
or her peers in other departments
and doing a great disservice to the
organization as a whole.
That’s why formal training pro-
grams should be compulsory and
comprehensive—in order to ensure
that everyone is on the same page.
In addition, the task force or per-
son in charge of the program must
make continuing guidance avail-
able, and these individuals must be
accessible at all times.
Evaluate Performance Every
Day: Successful organizations
monitor employees’ performance
continually and provide regular
feedback. Evaluations can be both
formal and informal, and they can
even be complemented by perfor-
mance management software that
aggregates data and makes it sim-
ple to review the information.
Likewise, discussions with
employees can take the shape of
formal annual or quarterly reviews
or can be conducted in an infor-
mal setting, such as a passing con-
versation or monthly lunches.
Anytime your managers and
employees engage in a conversa-
tion provides an opportunity for
an exchange of suggestions and
feedback while bolstering commu-
nication and improving employee
engagement.
Make Performance Manage-
ment a Social Skill: New employee
evaluation methodologies and
products continue to enter the mar-
ket every day. One of the exciting
innovations is Rypple, a Facebook-
like application where managers
can “like” tasks, reward employees
with badges, solicit feedback via a
wall post or private message, and
monitor progress through a living,
changing interface. It’s a great way
to improve manager-employee
communications and deliver feed-
CAREERS
c o n t i n u e d o n p a g e 6 1
back in real-time.
The workforce is the most
important part of any organiza-
tion. Therefore, companies must
look for ways to simultaneously
retain their highest performers and
promote productivity among all
employees. Updating and upgrad-
ing ineffective performance man-
agement policies is a practical and
often simple way to accomplish
this goal. When implemented and
developed correctly, a performance
management system can drive
engagement, morale, and, ulti-
mately, profitability. In short, it can
mean the difference between oper-
ating like a well-oiled machine and
getting stuck in gear. SF
Laurie Chamberlain is senior vice
president of Accounting Principals.
You can reach her at
Laurie.Chamberlain@accounting
principals.com.
N o v e m b e r 2 0 1 1 I S T R AT E G I C F I N A N C E 6 1
Careers
c o n t i n u e d f r o m p a g e 2 0
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
