Abstract:
Performance appraisal is one of the key management tools which identifies employees’
strengths and weaknesses. Usually, this is the major mechanism of gathering information for
rewarding/training employees based on their performance, and hence a key to achieve organisational
goals by creating a satisfied workforce. Therefore, this study was aimed at examining the effects of the
Performance Appraisal Process on job satisfaction of the university academic staff. The information
collected within one of the largest universities in the UK via questionnaires and semi-structured
interviews showed that the existing appraisal process majorly aligned with the requirements of
the research-excellence-framework of the UK, which is greatly concerned with research rather than
teaching. Furthermore, it was found that there is no clear link between promotions, salary increments,
and rewards, etc. with staff performance within the current appraisal process. Eventually, it was
realised that the majority of the academic staff of the source university were dissatisfied with the
current performance appraisal process, and this could be the situation in the majority of universities
in the UK. Therefore, further research in this area is highly recommended to explore extensive
information to create a favourable work/study environment for both staff and students within
the universities.
