Investigation of Performance Management System and its Effectiveness with Special Reference to Garment Factories in Katunayake Export Processing Zone in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Performance management deals with identifying, measuring and developing performance of individuals, groups and teams and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization with the ultimate objective of improving organizational performance. This research was conducted with special reference to large scale garment factories in the Katunayake Export Processing Zone in Sri Lanka. The main objective of the study was to investigate the effectiveness of the performance management system with the implications of a systematic process of managing employee performance. Data were collected from managerial and executive level employees of the selected garment sector organizations. A structured questionnaire developed by the researcher was used to collect data the sample was selected using convenient sampling method. Hypotheses testing was used to complete the research study and Sixty seven participants have responded with a forty two percent response rate. Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 21) was utilised as the statistical tool to analyse data. Findings of the research suggested that the effectiveness of the performance management system is at an effective level and the components of the performance management system; planning performance, monitoring performance, reviewing performance, improving performance and managing unsatisfactory performance are positively related with the effectiveness of the performance management system. Furthermore, it was found that monitoring and reviewing performance are the most critical variables which determine the effectiveness of performance management system. In addition to these findings, slight variations between managers and executive employees were found in terms of perception on the same performance management system.