ABSTRACT

This is a project that has been undertaken by the writer in partial fulfillment of the academicrequirements for the award of Masters of Public Administration MPA.

It has been presented with due regard to the present as well as the future need of business in working practice.

The topic related to staff appraisal and productivity.

The project work is pragmatic information gleaned from Animal Care Services Konsult(Nig.) Ltd. The company is a model in the Nigerian Agricultural Industry throughquestionnaire only.

A copy of thequestionnaire is included at the back of the write-up.

The questionnaire is included at the back of the write-up.

The questionnaire was however based upon a thorough conceptual knowledge of the principles involved, which was acquired from various publications.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1    BACKGROUND STUDY

Staff appraisal is the process whereby current performance in a job is observed and discussed for the purpose of adding to that level of performance. It involves the collection of information from and about the staff of an organization for decision making purposes.

Experienced managers general1y agree that in the past there has been a lack of precision about efforts to make the optimum use of staff and labour resources, compared with the much more meticulous attention paid to material and financial resources of an organization.

Clearly, most firms are anxious to find good supervisors and managers and most of them would acknowledge that it is more important to their own ranks rather than being recruited from outside. Apart from general techniques and practices, there is, too, the fundamental concern of personnel management for getting the best out of each individual working in an organization.

The formal observation of an individual's performance at work by an appointed member of an organization and the communication of this observation to the individual for the purpose of improving his or her performance probably began in Scotland in the early 1800s.

Robert Owen hung over employees' machines in his New Lanark textiles mills, a multicoloured block of wood, the front colour of which indicated the superintendent's assessment of the previous day's conduct, from white for excellence through yellow, blue and then black for bad. As Cole (1925) reports, Owen believed that letting employees know what was thought of them through his 'silent monitors', would have the effect of recognizing the worthy, and encouraging the less good to improve.

1.2    STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Many people wonder whether staff appraisal gives true picture of employees' performance and whether it helps to improve the staff productivity.

1.3    OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

At the end of this study:

i.        It would be discovered whether or not Staff appraisal would increase employee's productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

ii.       The impact of Staff appraisal on staff performance in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

iii.     The extent at which Staff appraisal has contributed to productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd. would also be established.

iv.      It would be discovered whether there is significant relationship between staff and top management in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

v.       It would be discovered whether communication flow would enhance morale and productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

1.4    RESEARCH QUESTIONS

The relevant questions that this study seeks to find answers to include

i.        What contribution has staff appraisal made on the performance of the employees productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult Nig. Ltd?

ii.       Has staff appraisal helped the company to appropriately remunerate the employees?

iii.      What contributions has staff appraisal made towards productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult Nig. Ltd.?

iv.      Is there any relationship between staff appraisal and staff promotions?

1.5     RESEARCH HYPOTHESIS

The following research hypotheses were tested:

Hypothesis 1

Ho:    Staff appraisal would not have significant contribution on staff productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

Hi:    Staff appraisal will have significant contribution towards staff productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

Hypothesis 2

Ho:   There is no relationship between performance and staff productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

Hi:     There is a relationship between performance and staff productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig) Ltd.

Hypothesis 3

Ho:   There would be no significant relationship between Staff and top management in Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

Hi:    There would be significant relationship between Staff and top management ir. Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

Hypothesis 4

Ho: Communication flow would not enhance morale and productivity Animal Care Services Konsult Nigeria Ltd.

Hi:     Communication flow would enhance morale and productivity in Animal Care Services Konsult Nigeria Ltd.

1.6    SIGNIFICANCE OF STUDY

The study shows the importance of staff appraisal. That appraising subordinates is not an easy task, as it puts the supervisor in an unenviable position of judging his subordinates. The need for every manager to acquire the necessary skills for performance appraisal.

1.7     DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

The scope o. the study entails:

-        Only one company - Animal Care Services Konsult (Nig.) Ltd.

-         Only two States in Southwest Nigeria (Ogun & Lagos) are considered.