Gopane, Onkemetse Macphonia2024-10-022024-10-022021Gopane, Onkemetse Macphonia. (2021). Perceptions of performance appraisals amongst civilian employees of the Department of Defence [Master’s dissertation, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg]. WireDSpace.https://hdl.handle.net/10539/41298https://hdl.handle.net/10539/41298A research report submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Management (in the field of Public and Development Sector Monitoring and Evaluation) to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, Wits School of Governance, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, 2021The purpose of this study was to explore civilian employees’ perceptions of the management of the performance appraisal process in the Department of Defence. To achieve this objective, a qualitative case study was undertaken whereby data were collected by using face-to-face semi-structured interviews. A sample of 15 purposely selected junior and middle management civilian participants from Defence Head Quarters was done whereby participants were interviewed and data collected analysed by using thematic analysis. The themes that emerged indicated how employees perceive and experience performance appraisal. The findings revealed that although employees understand what performance appraisal is, the management of the process remains a challenge. From the analysis, there is a lot of dissatisfaction among employees as they feel that performance appraisal is subjective, and the way performance bonuses are paid is based on favouritism and inconsistency which lead to grievances. The findings also indicated that some managers use performance appraisal to punish employees that they do not like regardless of their performance which often diminishes the morale of high performers. The absence of feedback, lack of training by Human Resource Development and lack of support and commitment by top management were also raised as challenges that impede proper management. It is therefore recommended that the Department of Defence should prioritise offering regular and detailed performance appraisal training and workshops to managers and employees so that they both have a common understanding of the objective of the process. Furthermore, the Department of Defence should benchmark with other state institutions and implement an automated performance appraisal system with the latest technology which might reduce human errors and biasednessen© 2021 University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.Performance appraisalCivilianEmployee perceptionEmployee performanceManagersSupervisorsHuman resourceDepartment of DefenceUCTDSDG-8: Decent work and economic growthDissertationUniversity of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg