4. Appraisal, Rewards and Promotion

In the most simplistic way, appraisal is not for the purposes of saying ‘thank you’ to an employee but to say ‘what else’ can we do to make you a better employee? On the other hand, rewards and promotion which identifies its elements from the appraisal systems is envisioned to say, ‘thank you and well done’. One HR function that is greatly contested in several developing countries is the outcome from appraisal, rewards and promotions. On the one hand, it is believed people are favoured by their managers as a reward for loyalty or patronage and on the other hand, a reflection of the connection (meaning closeness) to ‘important’ people in the organisation. This extends to political patronage and nepotism. Whilst it may be difficult to eliminate this assertion, every organisation should aspire to put in place undoubtably established tasks and targets, and these should be made observable. Obviously, it is nice to promote but there should be a need for this. Many organisations fall for this as if motivation only comes through promotion.