ABSTRACT

The study is designed to investigate the impact of performance appraisal on staff productivity, for an organization to survive in any business, the performance of its employees and the entire organization has to be controlled and appraised periodically. 
However, this study was necessitated by the need to investigate by the performance appraisal techniques employed by ACB Company Owerri as the case study, it was discovered that the techniques used by this company are:
1. Ranking and
2. Forced distribution.
It is necessary to appraise the performance of the workers objectively because without this appraisal, it can affect the productive level of companies greatly. 

CHAPTER ONE

1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
In the education of the conditions necessary for growth and survival of any organization, the role of performance appraisal is a strategic factor that cannot be over emphasized it is believed that both the individual and the organization need to know how well their performances is contributing to the accomplishment of the job plan to the starting plan and ultimately the overall strategic grand plan of the organization. In addition, the individual employee requires feed back related to his or her own goals development as well as that related management expectation. Performance appraisal is also a developmental process. Since it seeks to identify the strengths and weakness of the employee as a guide to his further development. It is usually made in prescribed manners at specific intervals such as quarterly, biannually or assesses his or her job performances and where necessary, gives his guidelines and advice for improving efficiency and effectiveness.
Also, the researcher discovered that no good communication of performance appraisal result to the employer.
Lack of communication or inadequate communication; the information kept by ABC transport on their staff performance appraisal is very poor and most of the data are out dated and of little or no recusant to drawing conclusion on their methods of performance appraisal. An effective performance appraisal review serves these general purposes. In other words, the essence of performance appraisal is to give information for promotional emotive, pay increase, training and development and discharge of employee.
Secondly, it provided employee with constructive feedback on how they by their managers, thus leading to increased productivity.
Flipo (1980-2004) identified the following:
Three appraisals as follows:
1. A casual and unsystematic approach.
2. the traditional and higher systematic measurement of;
(a) Employee characteristics
(b) Employee contribution
(c) Both
3. Mutual goal setting through management by objective programme (MBO) that effective performance appraisal system have the potential to provide opportunity for managers and employees to communicate and agree upon what is expected to each and plan to performance based on the overall objectives of the organization. Legal implication often dictates the need for jobs to be defined explicitly for objectives to be set and agreed upon by manager and employee and performance to be based on criteria that include more than just judgment of the managers to be able to relate to the individual as possible.

1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The primary aim of every establishment including ABC Transport id the maximization of profit, which could easily be attained through staff productivity. ABC transport management does not have adequate appraisal system which leads to promotion, pay increase, training and development. Thus affects employee’s performance adversely leading to low moral and low productivity.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objective of writing this project is to investigate how performance appraisals on staff productivity in ABC transport organizations in general.
This study will among other things:
(a) To identify and examine various performance appraisal techniques used by organization and the impact on productivity.
(b) To examine some common performance appraisal problems of the organization and how it could be solved.
(c) To evaluate if performance appraisal leads to promotion, training and development.

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
It is the belief of the researcher that at the end of this study, by discovering the techniques which appraised staff and encourage them towards achievement and greater productivity, the organization will have its goals fully realized.
1. The study is important to mangers and management of organization as it reveals a means of improving the entire work situation of the organization and all that would enhance the realization of organization goals.
2. However, the product of this study stands as a reference source or guild to scholars and future researchers who may be interested in performance appraisal as a result of the subject of interest to enhance the productivity of staff.
3. Above all, the study would as well improve the researcher’s knowledge about enhancing the productivity of the staff through adequate appraisal techniques as this would give her avenue to contribute to the problem under study.

1.5 RESEARCH QUESTION
The following research questions will help in achieving the objectives of the study; 
(a) What is the relationship between performance appraisal and employees productivity?
(b) What are the techniques used in performance appraisal?
(c) How effective are techniques in ensuring increased productivity?
(d) What are the problems of performance appraisal?

1.6 STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESIS
The following hypothesis will form the basis for the study.
1. Ho: There is no significant relationship between performance appraisal and staff productivity.
Hi: There is significant relationship between performance appraisal and staff productivity.
2. Ho: well designed performance appraisal does not have significant relationship with increase in employee morale. 
Hi: well designed performance appraisal has significant relationship with increase in employee morale.

1.7 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of the work covers all the sectors of the economy or the impact of performance appraisal on staff productivity but to ensure adequate research, the work is focused mainly on the private sector of the economy using ABC transport as a case study in Owerri.
Nevertheless, the findings of the research can be generalized to both private and public sector of the economy in the country and also the world as a whole.

1.8 LIMITATION OF THE STUDY
In an attempt to carryout a meaningful researcher, certain factors seems to affect the researcher’s efforts and among these factors are:
1. TIME CONSTRAINTS: The time given for this research work is too short to generate enough data that would help in testing the hypothesis.
2. LACK OF FUND: These factors really affect the research process as I couldn’t travel to other organizations to discover similar experience and draw a conclusion analysis.
3. INADEQUATE SOURCE OF INFORMATION: The information kept by the ABC transport on their staff performance appraisal is very poor and must of the data are out dated and of little or no recusant to drawing performance appraisal.

1.9 DEFINITION OF TERMS
Definition of terms serves as the dictionary of this research. The terms are defined to enable the reader understand the research more clearly.
 PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL: It can be seen as a systematic evaluation of an individual with respect to his performance on the job and his potentials for development.
 MANAGER: A person who undertakes the activities of planning, organizing materials, machines and money in such a manner that leads to effective and efficient achievements of organizational goal(s).
 PRODUCTIVITY: Productivity is the quality or volume of products of services an organization provides.
 EFFICIENCY: This is the ratio of actual output to input.
 PLAN: This is described as any detailed set of actions formulated in advance on how to achieve organizational goals.
 MANAGEMENT BY OBJECTIVE (MBO): This is a process whereby superior manager and subordinate manger of an organization jointly identify its common goals, define each individual’s major responsibility in terms of he results expected of him and use these measures as a guild for operating the unit and assessing the contribution of each of its members.
 STAFF: This is the group of workers who carry on a job or do the work of an organization.
 TRAINING: This is an organized procedure by which people gain knowledge and or skill for doing a particular job.
 DEVELOPMENT: This is the progress a person actually makes; it may include conceptual or intellectual growth with practical performance.