We explain what performance is in the personal, academic, work and organizational spheres. Also, how it is evaluated.
What is performance?
With the word performance we mean the action of performing an assigned task, fulfilling an obligation, or tackling a job.
It is a very broad term that we can use in numerous contexts. However, it always has a sense of the task accomplished: “Our soccer team has had a mediocre performance in the World Cup” or “The company's performance last year was optimal,” for example.
The origin of this word goes back to Latin repignerarewhich meant “to recover a given pledge,” that is, to rescue something that was pledged, that is, that was left as collateral for one's word. In Romance language, this verb became I will despingerarewith a meaning similar to the current one: we usually say that we have “pawned our word” when we commit to doing something.
Consequently, complying with what was agreed means carrying out the word: recovering it, removing the commitment. Over time, the meaning of this expression changed from “paying a debt” to “doing a job,” but retaining its original meaning of fulfilling what is expected of one.
In general, the performance It is of interest when measuring and controlling the way in which processes are carried out.whatever they are. To do this, you need to measure and compare performance, either with others or with the same person in previous moments, in order to check if things are being done well or not.
They are synonymous with performance, therefore, the words performance, occupation, fulfillment, function or exercise, but also rescue or recovery, since this word is still used with its original meaning of “recovering from the effort”, although this meaning is today less frequent.
Personal performance
Personal performance refers to how a person carries out a task entrusted to himwhatever type it is. The personal performance of a soccer player refers to his participation in the team, just as the personal performance of a worker refers to his way of working. It would be the opposite of group performancelogically.
Academic performance
When we refer to academic performance, we are talking about the performance that that person or that group of people have within an educational institution or committed to the generation of knowledge.
In this sense, academic performance can be synonymous with school performance, but only when it refers to the performance of the students: how much and how well they learn the knowledge taught, how well they do in their exams and evaluations. Good school performance is indicative of better learning.
However, we can also talk about the academic performance of teachers, researchers or professors, to refer to their work within the institution: how much and how well they teach classes, how much and how well they publish articles and books, etc. .
Job performance
Job or professional performance is that which refers to the areas of work, whatever they may be. Good job performance means that the work of a person or a group of them meets the expectations set by their supervisors or their evaluators, and this can translate into job improvements, such as a salary increase.
On the other hand, poor job performance is generally an indicator that something is not working in the work environment, either that some important element is missing, or that the available human resource is not ideal for the tasks to be performed.
Job performance It is an area of study of human resources (HR). It can be indicative of many things, not just a bad disposition on the part of the worker.
For example, a group of excellent workers who do not have the appropriate tools to do their jobs, or who are poorly organized to do so, will surely perform poorly at work, even though they are putting all their effort and interest into it.
Organizational performance
Organizational performance refers to the way in which an organization fulfills its stated purpose. In other words, it is about the performance not of individuals, but of entire organizations: companies, institutions, even States and government entities. An organization is a human collective structured around a goal.
Organizational performance covers the analysis of internal and external variables of the organizationwhich allow us to better understand the way the system operates and therefore make better and more informed decisions.
Organizational performance is an important area of study in business administration. Its specialists study the qualitative and quantitative variables of the organization to carry out a diagnosis and determine if it correctly fulfills its goals and tasks, to what extent it does so or how it could do so.
Performance evaluation
Performance evaluation or performance evaluation is, in itself, an integral part of the study of performance, both personal and group, whether work-related, academic or organizational. It consists of the design of methodological strategies, that is, methods, procedures, which allow you to get an objective idea of how well things are going.
There are different ways to evaluate the performance of a worker or a group or an organization, depending on who performs it or what instruments are used. In that sense, you can do:
- Self-assessment: The person or group evaluates their own work.
- Co-evaluation: Coworkers evaluate each other.
- Joint evaluation: Both the person or group and their supervisors evaluate the work done.
- Evaluation from the superior: Managers or bosses carry out the evaluation.
- Customer evaluation.
Whatever the case, the objective of the evaluation must always be to diagnose existing problems, detect weaknesses and provide key information to optimize work and make better management decisions.
Continue with: Objectives and types of strategies
References
- “Performance” in the Language Dictionary of the Royal Spanish Academy.
- “Etymology of Perform” in the Online Spanish Etymological Dictionary.
- “Performance evaluation” on Wikipedia.
- “What is job performance and how to measure it” in Bizneo Blog.
- “Human capital and its relationship with organizational performance” in Espacios Magazine.
