Performance Management System General Motors

Performance Management System

General Motors was founded in Michigan in the early 19th century. It is among the leading car and truck manufacturing companies in the globe. It has been in existence for over a century, and thus has managed to establish roots in many countries across the world. Its scope of operations is quite vast, incorporating several industrial activities. However, the main focus of the General Motors is based on the engineering and manufacturing of motorized transportation. Over the period it has been in existence, General Motors has widened its production process to cover several types and designs of vehicles. The company has banked a number of honors and recognitions from its exclusive brands in the period it has been in existence. However, it is still imperative to develop a performance system that will detail the performance of the operations of the company (Josiane, 2009).

Background

The industry

The United States automobile industry has continued to grow at a remarkably fast rate as compared to the other motor industries around the world. The growth is attributed to the fascinating expansion of the American car industry, which demands the local production over the imported cars. This has seen the trends in the market shift from the high to higher sales (Josiane, 2009). However, as this aspect of the market continues to grow, more companies continue creeping in to tap the potential in the industry. This influx of companies and other motor part dealers has faced out several companies, and caused others to be redundant since they could not cope with the competition.

For instance, in the period between 2007 and 2009, the giant motor manufactures in the U.S., General Motor and the Chrysler company experienced a massive blow on its sales, with the sales declining due to the factors in the industry, including competition from the competitors considered minor in the industry. However, the two 'giants' in the industry, reported increased sales in the 2010-2012 period. This clearly indicates that the motor industry is truly competitive and; therefore, it is essential for a company to ensure quality performance in delivering services to its customers. The motors industry is extremely dynamic, requiring regular upgrading and branding of the companies that operate within the industry.

Company objectives

The General Motor company, from its time of formation, it had the core objective of producing vehicles that diversify the transport industry; while transforming the lives of the American citizen and the economies of the world. With time, most of the initial starting objectives have been achieved, however; the company continues to rebrand and upgrade while setting new objectives. Some of the mark that the business has set include, that the company to manage the operating budget, which has been rising alarmingly, and working on a way to bring the total annual expenses of operation to as low as the $9, 409, 400 mark; over which it has been operating. Another objective of the General Motors is that it intends to identify and implement measures and practical ways of ensuring sustainable use of gas and electricity. In a simple statement, the goal is to work on the energy strain, so that the operations do not increase the already pilling pressure on the energy industry. Additionally, the company has set the objective to introduce new distinctive and innovative products, focusing on the expansion of products sales in multiple geographical locations; which will ensure a diversified product service to the markets in which they venture. This goal also has the aspect of ensuring they achieve and maintain satisfaction of their customers. Lastly, the fourth and final objective the company has out-rolled is to work with the city officials to ensure they gain a better illumination of the main roads.

Target job for which the evaluation is intended

The performance evaluation focuses on the third objective which focuses on the composing of new designs; that will diversify the market as well as ensure customer satisfaction in the market (Flynn, 2010). This objective is much achievable as the General Motors is a company with quality and effective working staff. The company, much as they have produced and released various exclusive designs in the past which have earned them millions of returns; it is vital to evaluate the brands, and how they perform, so that the company can develop its new products; and follow through the objective knowing the expectations of the market and thus make the right decisions as pertains the operations.

Measurement

The performance management system is for the section that deals with design and manufacturing of the vehicles and the other products that General Motors is involved in manufacturing. This department is what drives and significantly determines the existence of the company. Without this section, the company simply ceases from being in existence. In evaluating this job department, the information that should be evaluated bases on the designing team, the design implementation team and the customer satisfaction. The design team is the one that designs the models of the cars to be manufactured; hence, the information is solicited to establish their competitiveness and skills in innovation. Their qualifications in innovative and quality design will be measured to determine if the quality of deigns they produce is viable for the market. The manufacturing and assembling team determine if the design produced by the innovation team is executed accordingly, or they make their own unwarranted changes into the design. The trust that this department is given by the company is what determines the final satisfaction of the customer. They execute the plans that have been authorized by the other teams. Therefore, the information from this department will enable us to realize the quality of the designs produced by General Motors and thus the analysis into the returns of the business. The company will institute its achievements in the industry through evaluating its execution team, the team that determines the customer satisfaction mostly. The last information that will be measured is that on the customer reports. All these products and objectives of the company can only bring the desired returns if the customer is happy with the products that they get (Dickson, 2011). Therefore, information from the customer themselves is a significant determinant in the evaluation of the design and the manufacturing/assembling departments of the General Motors company.

These competences are the most appropriate to measure with this performance system as they hold the company from its core objective. All the operations and departments of the company culminate in the department of design and production. These competences are the ones that identify the company in the market. The final product is what the customer sees, not the other departments embodied in the company (Flynn, 2010). This is not to say that the other departments that support these two sections are not significant; but that they carry the company and its entire image. Therefore, it is necessary to design a competence evaluation model that caters specifically for this department of the company.

Format

The method that the proposed performance management system will use is the behavioral anchored rating scale. It is the best suited in establishing the competitiveness and qualification of the departments of design and innovations, and that of the manufacturing and assembling. This scale is a combination of the critical incident techniques and the graphic rating. Moreover, it focuses on making the final ratings from the observation of the behaviors of the individuals (Dickson, 2011). It also gathers on indicators from the outcome of their work that shows their effectiveness or ineffectiveness in the job performance. In view of the departments and the work description, this method is effective since it will provide a vast source of information that will enable the evaluator to determine a well founded conclusion. The scale of evaluation is based on a wide source of information; thus the room for making a misjudgment is minimized completely; if not eliminated. Additionally, the performance appraisal also determines the effectiveness of the employees directly and thus the impact of their presence in the company.

Raters

The criterion of appraisal and measuring the performance of the employees is based on a vast source of information. The sources of data to be used in rating the department and its functioning elements will come from the information given by the supervisors, the co-workers and customers in the market. These are the sections from which the feedback for the final rating of the performance system will solicit the feedback (Dickson, 2011). The supervisors and the co-workers will provide a firsthand feedback from the observations of the persons being evaluated. The information in this source will be useful and much credible, since it shows the personal attributes and conduct of the persons while performing their duty. The other source, which is the feedback from customers, will also be useful since it comes from the person intended for the product. Their experience with the product, therefore, will show the quality of work output from the workers, and thus indicate their effectiveness and efficiency in applying their skills. Furthermore, the customer is most likely not to be biased hence the credibility of the feedback. The sources of information will be integrated by analyzing the data and comparing the feedbacks to determine if they show consistency; before drafting the final report.

Development

The performance appraisal method of evaluating the behavior for rating has a critical technique of analyzing information incorporated. Therefore, in developing the tool, the first approach is to establish the information that is required (Flynn, 2010). Once determined, the questioned are phrased and documented into questionnaires and interviews, which will then be administered to the supervisors, the co-workers and customers for feedback purposes. Additionally, the previous reports on the company's trends will be incorporated to show how the behavioral changes in the department affect the returns of the company. The information gathered is then consolidated into a report for the final scaling which is the report of the performance management system team. The appraisal tool is complete when the whole procedure, from gathering information to the final report production is established and outlined completely.