The effect of performance appraisal system on rewards and self-efficacy beliefs in a South African utility company

Abstract

The research study was conducted to investigate the effects of a performance appraisal system, rewards and self-efficacy beliefs in a utility company in South Africa. The study was motivated by the incessant challenges raised by employees against the way performance appraisal and rewards are conducted and awarded in the utility company. The scholarship that was consulted for this study included research articles, magazines, newspapers, company reports, books, citations from reputable sources and the Internet. These sources provided the arguments for and against the areas of a performance appraisal system, rewards and self-efficacy beliefs in the knowledge economy. A quantitative research methodology was used in this study where the questionnaire was the main data collection instrument. The quantitative research methodology was motivated by the nature and type of data collected, data collection instrument and the research paradigm. Data were collected from geographically dispersed locations and this would not have been possible to collect large volumes of data had an interview been used. The findings from the study were analysed and presented with the use of statistical packages. The findings were discussed and presented in chapter four of the study, where it was shown that performance appraisal systems were important in organisations as they create opportunities for the supervisor to know the weaknesses or strengths of his/her subordinates. Rewards were used as part of incentives to motivate employees to perform better. The study established that employees possessing high self-efficacy were bound to perform higher than those with low self-efficacy. The study established that there was a relationship between performance appraisals, rewards and self-efficacy.