ABSTRACT

This study investigated the Impact of Effective Performance Appraisal on Employee Productivity as practiced in MTN Nigeria PIc. and to examine whether accurate bases of instrument are used in the process of appraising employees with aim to discover whether effective performance appraisal is tied or has positive relationship with productivity.

Descriptive research design survey used to carry out the conduct of the research, sample random technique was used to select the respondents for the interview, with the sample size of (80) eighty respondents. Simple percentages and Chi­-square was employed to analysis the collected day from the respondents.

The researcher was able to find out that:

§  Performance appraisal do exist in the company under study

§  Closed system of yearly performance appraisal

§  Performance appraisal positively affect the attitude of employee toward work but may not necessarily increase productivity

§  That employee performance appraisal does not necessarily lead to organizational productivity.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

The objective of every organization apart from providing goods and services and making profit within the environment that they operate is to also have an efficient and effective manpower or human resources. It is a well developed, efficient and effective manpower that will help in achieving its objectives. The survival of most organization depends on its ability to take stock of its manpower with regards to its present performance, likes, dislikes, strength, failure, expectations of every individual or employee and also his her potential for growth.

According to Obisi (1996), in today's ever competitive economy characterized by risk-taking, organizations, must survive, and the key to such survival is a revitalized human resources. Neither billions of Naira nor the state of the art technology and machines can do the miracle if human resource is neglected and forgotten. Employees who have what it takes, he continued: skills, talents, capabilities, experience, qualification, and genuine work culture, who are problem solvers, are not readily available. It is necessary, that organizations nurture, nourish, and develop its human resources through performance appraisal, performance counseling, potential appraisal and performance review.

According to Koontz et al (1982), knowing how well an employee performs is really the only way to ensure that those occupying the managerial positions are actually managing effectively. For, if an organization is to reach its goals effectively and efficiently, ways of management performance must be found and implanted. Thus, they opined that organizations need to adopt the best method of preference decisions about employees so as to get the maximum benefit from their use that will eventually lead to their achieving their objectives.

Furthermore, Pigors and Myers (1982) advised that systematic performance appraisal should be adopted as a means of helping supervisors to, evaluate the work of each employee. The appraisals, they opined, should be most frequently used as a basis for selecting candidates for promotion to jobs and for making "merit" increases in salaries. They also believe that appraisals are useful as a check on the success of recruitment, selection, placement, and training procedures and generally for employee productivity.

Thus, it is this influence of performance appraisal on the overall employee productivity with emphasis on MTN Nigeria Communications PIc that the present researcher wishes to undertake.

1.2    STATEMENT OF PROBLEM

The performance appraisal system has long been practiced in the company, and has been used as an integral part of managing. It is of course, important to management development because if an employee's strengths and weaknesses are not known, it is only accidental if development efforts were aimed in the right direction.

Thus, the major problems which this research study will seek to resolve are in the following forms.

Firstly, in the recent past most of the employees highly rated have been found to practically perform even disillusionment with respect to employee appraisal, and this has raised doubt on the bases of measuring and evaluation.

Secondly, arising from the above are reported incidences of halo-effect appraisals as supervisors tend to appraise employees on the basis of love or hate. This has not augured well for the company as it discovers to its chagrin the negative impact of this on employee productivity.

Lastly, employees' performances have been found to be evaluated inaccurately or against standards that are inapplicable, inadequate or subjective.

1.3    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

The objectives are follows:

a.   Examine the performance appraisal system as practiced in MTN Nigeria Plc.

b.   Examine whether accurate bases of measurement or evaluations are used in the appraisal of employees.

c.   Examine the impact of performance appraisal on employee productivity.

d.   Examine the effect of employee performance appraisal on organizations profitability

e.   Investigate whether effective performance appraisals are usually tied into the reward system.

1.4    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The following research questions will be answered in the course of the study:

a.       Does performance appraisal system actually exist in the company

b.       Will effective performance appraisal change the work attitude, skill, and knowledge of the employee?

c.       Are performance appraisals of the company usually tied to reward system?

d.       Will effective performance appraisal improve employee productivity?

e.       Will performance appraisal lead to employee and organizational development?

f.          Does the promotion or demotion of most employees depend on performance appraisal administered?

1.5    PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The purpose of the study is to examine the impact of effective preference appraisal on employee productivity.

1.6    SIGNIFICANT OF THE STUDY

This research study will examine and highlight the following:

a.   Show the impact of effective preference appraisal on employee productivity.

b.   Show the various bases upon which employee performances are measured and evaluated

c.   Reveal the various hindrances or handicaps towards effective performance appraisal

d.   Assist the company in assessing whether the current practices or styles is performance appraisal systems are worthwhile.

1.7    STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS

The following hypothesis will be tested in the course of the study in order to prove their validity or otherwise as regards Performance Appraisal.

1. Performance Appraisal will improve the productivity of the employee.

2.   Employee Appraisal will lead to organizational profitability.

1.8    SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The performance appraisal system IS practiced in almost all corporate organizations. Furthermore, the company under study, has its branches nationwide. However, this study will limit itself to the head office of the company in the Lagos State.

It is, therefore, expected that whatever results that are obtained will be relevant to other organizations and branches of MTN Nigeria Communications PIc nationwide.

1.9    HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF MTN

MTN Nigeria is part of the MTN Group, Africa's leading cellular Telecommunications Company. On May 16, 2001, MTN became the first GSM network to make a call following the globally lauded Nigeria GSM auction conducted by the Nigerian Communications Commission earlier in the year. Thereafter the company launched full commercial operation beginning with Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt.

MTN paid $285m for one of four GSM licenses in Nigeria in January 2001. To date, in excess of US$1.8 billion has been invested building mobile telecommunications infrastructure in Nigeria. Since the launch in August 2001, MTN has steadily deployed its services across Nigeria. It now provides services in 223 cities and towns, more than 10,000 villages and communities and a growing number of highways across the country, spanning the 36 states of Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. Many of these villages and communities are being connected to the world of telecommunications for the first time ever.

The company's digital microwave transmission backbone, the 3,400 kilometer Y'ello Bahn was commissioned by President Olusegun Obasanjo in January 2003 and is reputed to be the most extensive digital microwave transmission infrastructure in all of Africa the Y'ello Bahn has significantly helped to enhance all quality on MTN network. The company subsists on the core brand values of leadership, relationship, integrity, innovation and "can-do". It prides itself on its ability to make the impossible possible, connecting people with friends, family and opportunities.

MTN Nigeria also recently expanded its network capacity to include a new numbering range with the prefix' 080-6, making MTN the first and only GSM network in Nigeria to have adopted an additional numbering system, having exhausted its initial subscriber number range 080-3.

In its resolve to enhance quality customer service, MTN Nigeria has also introduced a self-help toll-free 181 customer care line through which subscribers can resolve their frequently asked questions free of charge.

MTN's overriding mission is to be a catalyst for Nigeria's economic growth and development, helping to unleash Nigeria's strong developmental potential not only through the provision of world class communications but also through innovative and sustainable corporate social responsibility initiatives.

1.10  RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

The research is concerned with the Impact of Personnel Appraisal and Employee Productivity with specific focus on MTN Nigeria the largest mobile telecommunication company in Nigeria. For the purpose of this study primary and secondary data collection method would be used. The primary data will be collected with the aid of questionnaires with some senior management, Assistant Management level and ordinary management level to enhance the quality of response to the questionnaire. The secondary data will be collected from literature other documents and also relevant text would be analyzed using statistical tools. In all eighty (80) questionnaires would be administered using the simple random sampling technique. The results were analyzed using Descriptive Statistics and the hypothesis was chi square method.

1.11  DEFINITION OF TERMS

Performance Appraisal: This is the undiluted procedure whereby every organization takes stock of its human resources (manpower) with regard to its present performance, the likes and dipsticks of each individuals, his/her strengths and weaknesses and his/her potential growth.

Halo-Effect: This is a situation when an employee has been appraised based on love or hate.

Incentives this is used to express the encouragement that entices or motivates the employee's effort and performance.

1.12 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This study is limited by some factors such as time, duration and money. Academic material and responses of the Respondents were short of supply. Human error and environmental distraction cannot be excluded. In all it is a worthy exercise and the experience will be long lasting.