Fifth Theme: Performance Evaluation

The fifth theme comprises six statements that were grouped together to explore the attitudes of the respondents regarding the steps of MBO application relating to performance evaluation in the General Secretariat to the Cabinet in Oman. The results showed that there is strong agreement among the respondents concerning the application of the six steps in this theme. This means that there is a stong possibility of success in applying the model of MBO in the General Secretariat to the Cabinet. The researcher will fill out these statements (steps) as follows:

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1. “The employees should participate with management in their performance evaluation, The management should care about employees‟ satisfaction regarding the work outcomes, and Performance evaluation is to be linked only to the completion of objectives.” These steps received the highest and high rankings. The results clearly illustrated the point of view of the participants that the objectives and evaluation results depend on completion of the objectives. Furthermore, they agreed that the management should be involved with staff in the process of assessing the achieved goals and evaluating performance and results. It is essential that the management seeks to employee satisfaction over the results of their work and the extent to which they have reached their goals. The results could further be attributed to participants experiencing a problem of less participation in the evaluation performance. Therefore, MBO may help them to identify problems such as a lack of participation in evaluating their objectives and results. It is also possible that this finding could be due to participants‟ awareness of the importance of these steps in the implementation of performance evaluation, in contributing to informing management and employees about their responsibilities in achieving the goals in the General Secretariat to the Cabinet in Oman.

This result has been established by many researchers who agreed that another critical success factor for MBO is the implementation of a sound performance measurement system (Robbins, 1984; Smith et al., 2003; Cook and Hunsaker, 2001; Abdul Wahab, 1984). As agreed by Dinesh and Palmer (1998), MBO requires employees to participate in the goal-setting process and thereby to influence the objectives they are to achieve. This encourages them to perform well, and at the same time it develops their capacity in decision making, not only in setting the goals but in determining how to meet and evaluate them. Tosi and Carroll (1968) similarly identified improved performance evaluation as an advantage to be gained from MBO because the approach focuses on results. This is a benefit confirmed by Akrani (2010) who observes that MBO facilitates objective appraisal, with both managers and employees participating in the process.

Al Hawari (1999), Thomson (1998) and Drucker (1954) revealed that the establishment of an evaluation system in organisations that apply MBO is necessary in order to measure results. They reported that this system helped to establish fixed rules for measuring performance, and such a system also contributes to the extent to which the

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objectives are actually achieved, since it enables the feedback upon which behaviour can be sustained, or changed to realise better outcomes. Hence, performance evaluation is a fundamental principle in the MBO process. Akrani (2010) and Thomson (1998) argued that MBO is a systematic and rational technique, allowing management to attain maximum results from the resources that are available by focusing on attainable goals. It is evident from this result that the management and employees in the General Secretariat believe that employees should participate with management in their performance evaluation, and that performance evaluation is correlated with the completion of objectives.

2. “The management reward employees according to their achievements, The management acknowledge and appreciate the employees‟ new ideas that help to improve performance and The performance evaluation leads to determine the needs of training for the employees.” These steps all achieved high rankings. Clearly, from the respondents‟ views that individuals work towards goals, there must be some notion of reward for their achievement. MBO is most effective when the rewards are of various types and amounts, ranging from the good feeling associated with achievement, to monetary gains. This finding could be attributed to the importance of using goals to motivate employees rather than to control them. It also reflects that the participants suffer if they are not rewarded according to their achievements. Participants are also aware that there are shortcomings in the management‟s failure to acknowledge and appreciate employees‟ new ideas.

The results confirmed that the participants believed that it is necessary to make creative decisions; this improves motivation, hence encouraging good performance. This result has been established by several researchers. Also, from the results, it is also important for senior management to appreciate that all new management techniques are useless without skilled people to implement them, and hence there is another very important justification for investing in the general development of all stakeholders, and not just in the skills required for MBO. The point is made by Hahn (2007) that as part of such general development, managers need to be taught how to use advanced methods of performance appraisal. Consequently, it can be said that MBO could help the

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management in the General Secretariat to the Cabinet in Oman to appreciate their employees‟ new ideas, to improve performance, determine the needs of training and provide rewards. It was noted by Al Rehaily (2009) that this is not a new idea, having originally been proposed 50 years ago‟ it is a means of using goals and rewards to motivate people rather than to control them. Similarly, Robbins (2001) and Weihrich (2000) noted that in MBO, the manager has an important tool in setting and achieving forward-looking goals, namely people; in order to achieve results with this human resource, the manager must consider workers‟ needs and behaviour. Thus, it is manifest from this result that the management and employees in the General Secretariat of the Cabinet in Oman confirmed that employees should provide rewards and training courses.

7.3 Investigating challenges that prevent the application of MBO in the