Measuring and Managing Performance

 
Project Team

Prof. L.E. van Zyl; Prof. M.W Stander; Dr D. du Toit; Dr E. Botha; Dr E. Stander

Description

Performance measurement and management have become popular topics within both the Industrial/Organisational Psychology and Human Resource Management. Despite laying at the heart of any company, relatively few strides have been made during the last 4 decades on how performance should be conceptualised, measured, or managed.  Traditional approaches stemming from the late 1950s to 1970s seems to dominate the market, yet their effectiveness is constantly being questioned. The fact that performance is seen as different in different sectors and approached differently from various disciplines, does not make matters any easier and results in little to no consensus as to how performance in contemporary contexts should be defined, measured or managed.  Various attempts have been made in recent years to understand performance through positioning such as either an objective (e.g. days absent, organisational outputs, finance) or subjective (e.g. quality of work) construct, and evaluating this through either generic o job-specific frameworks. However, most studies concluded that performance is to abstract or difficult to accurately measure and/or manage.

The purpose of this project is to address these questions. The aim is to develop generic and sector specific performance metrics, measurement instruments and management tools to aid organisations in optimising individuals, and teams’ performance Specifically, the current sub-projects are being worked on:
 

  • The psychometric properties of the Koopman’s Individual Work Performance Scale within the South African context.
  • Work-role Fit, work engagement, psychological capital and individual performance within the South African context.
  • Job characteristics and Individual work performance within selected organisations.
  • Determining the work related antecedents of individual work performance in the telecommunications industry.
  • Leadership behaviours, -styles and individual work performance. 
  • Hope, happiness and individual work performance.