One of the central doctrines of performance management system (PMS) is the generation of performance appraisal results or information required for decision making in the organization. Based on the implementation of performance management system, it is expected that performance appraisal results in the organizations are categorically reported and critically analyzed making the management team better informed on its ultimate use for decisions making to improve performance and service delivery. The concern of this study is how performance appraisal results are used in the day to day management practices in public organizations. Do the top management officials in public organizations produce performance appraisal results, and at the time of decisions making use, for example in the resources allocations, appointment of employees to higher positions in the organizations and accountabilities? Using interview and questionnaires, a study was carried out in six public organizations. During the study process, top management officials responsible for PMS implementation and senior staff members were subjected to face-to-face interviews on generating and using performance appraisal results and its contribution to organizational performances. Additionally, self-administered questionnaires were given to 300 informants. The analysis of data reveals critical weakness in utilizing performance appraisal results for decision making. Moreover, the critical analysis confirms that public organizations are more inclined towards employing performance appraisal results or information for when there are promotions and other salary adjustments as compared to punitive measures for work underperformances. The study recommends that it is worthwhile for public organizations to pursue implementation of performance management system that generates performance appraisal results as contributes to improvement of performance and service delivery.
Keywords: Performance Management System, performance appraisal results use, public organizations and organizational performances
