How Does Performance Management Affect Workers? Beyond Human Resource Management and Its Critique

Abstract

While performance management (PM) is pervasive across contemporary workplaces, extant research into how performance management affects workers is often indirect or scattered across disciplinary silos. This paper reviews and synthesizes this research, identifies key gaps and explores ‘recognition theory’ as a nascent framework that can further develop this important body of knowledge. The paper develops in three main stages. The first stage reviews ‘mainstream’ human resource management (HRM) research. While this research analyses workers’ reactions to performance management in some depth, its focus on serving organizational goals marginalizes extra‐organizational impacts. The second stage reviews more critical HRM research, which interprets performance management as a disciplinary, coercive or inequitable management device. While this literature adds an important focus on organizational power, there is scope to analyse further how PM affects workers’ well‐being. To develop this strand of PM research, the third stage turns to the emerging field of recognition theory independently developed by Axel Honneth and Christophe Dejours. The authors focus especially on recognition theory's exploration of how (in)adequate acknowledgement of workers’ contributions can significantly affect their well‐being at the level of self‐conception. Although recognition theory is inherently critical, the paper argues that it can advance both mainstream and critical performance management research, and also inform broader inquiry into recognition and identity at work.

Introducing the French Psychodynamics of Work Perspective to Critical Management Education: Why Do the Work Task and the Organization of Work Matter?

“…We therefore suggest that FPW provides students with an alternative to the managerialist view on why the organization of work should be a significant object of consideration. (Dashtipour, 2014;Dashtipour & Vidaillet, 2017;Guénin-Paracini, Malsch & Paillé, 2014;Tweedie & Holley, 2016;Tweedie et al, 2019).…”

“…The extent to which workers are able to develop this kind of health depends on the organization of work and, crucially, on whether the worker is integrated into a work collective, an important source of social bonding. FPW clearly explains the working conditions required for workers' health and, as such, it is not a "performative instrumental" approach (Tweedie, Wild, Rhodes & Martinov-Bennie, 2019). The consideration of the work task and the organization of work is thus important not in terms of making workers more productive in the interest of business, but to allow them to experience their "power of acting" (potentia agendi) (Spinoza, 2010), which lies in the interest of themselves and society.…”

Managing performance in quality management

“…Parker (2003) and Carter et al (2011) argued that performance management in Lean intensifies work. Recently, from a human resource management perspective, Tweedie et al (2019) explained that most of the criticism concerning performance management follows from Labour Process Theory, where performance management is viewed as a tool for dominating employees. Accordingly, Verbeeten and Speklé (2015) depicted a results-oriented culture, where goals that can be difficult to measure result in dysfunctional behaviour, rather than better performance.…”

The Strategy of Constructing Enterprise Human Resource Performance Management System

“…The "wheel" model shown in Figure 1 below can be effectively reflecting the development process of the company: Figure 1 The "wheel" model of enterprise performance management in the loop As shown in the "wheel" model shown in Figure 1 above, in the development of the enterprise, excellent employees are constantly developing, and employees with poor performance are gradually losing. This will not only enable the company to evaluate the employee's work efficiency, but more importantly, the company can use the corresponding reward and punishment standards in the performance appraisal to ensure that its tasks are completed on time and in a timely manner [2] . .…”