A study of the performance management system in practice in the Civil Service of Lesotho.

Abstract

For most organisations the decision to implement performance management is not about introducing a completely new process. Most organisations start with annual appraisals and learn from them what goes well or bad. Because of being under the rule of Britain, Lesotho inherited some of the systems mostly followed by many Commonwealth countries in the public service; some of which were confidential reporting systems for appraising employees. Investigations were made about the existing system at that time and the findings indicated that most of the people did not like it. They said it was subjective, and that it contributed to low morale, and weakened supervision/employee relations. It was realised that a new system was urgently needed. The new system was introduced which was for an open appraisal. Several attempts were made, but they failed because of lack of resources and poor communication and teamwork in the organization. This report sets out the observations and comments on the new system and the findings are discussed together with the implications of the system. The aim of this research is to investigate all the measures concerning the system whether they are being applied correctly, whether all measurements are effectively implemented and if the system is acceptable in the civil service. Finally, whether it fits the culture of the organization. If its not working the way it was expected to, what are the problems and how can such problems be solved?.