Perceptions of organisational readiness for the performance management system: A case study of a University of technology

Abstract

The absence of a single performance management system (PMS) aligned to institutional strategy and business processes often results in failure to deliver anticipated benefits as it is not cascaded down to all departments, teams or individuals. This study aims to determine employees’ expectations for the proposed PMS and their perceptions of the system’s impact on effectiveness within the university concerned. This study adopted a quantitative research design and a survey method was used, whereby, a structured questionnaire was administered by the researcher to a selected population size of 150 of which 108 completed questionnaires, generating a response rate of 72%. The study reflects a disproportionately high percentage of 34% of the respondents who disagreed and 21.3% who were undecided as to whether PMS is needed at the university concerned where the majority of these respondents being academics and those with matriculation. The university concerned should develop a PMS which is aligned to the university strategic plan and to other university policies coupled with structured change management interventions focusing on academics and semi-skilled employees.