General Essence of Electronic Performance Management Systems
Electronic performance management systems (E-PMS) are a new generation of business process analytics. Such mechanisms allow distributing all necessary information among employees and integrating essential indicators into long-term goals. E-PMS creates an efficient feedback loop, which contributes to optimizing all structural units and a real-time report (Holland, Cooper & Hecker 2015, p. 162). It means that these systems make it possible to identify the problem and eliminate it at the initial stage of development.
For productive work, any enterprise needs to look for solutions that fully meet its needs and in no way imply a change in the production process. According to Jeske and Santuzza (2015, p. 64), in this case, there is a high necessity to use electronic resources that can systematize the information available to the company, efficiently distribute responsibilities among employees, and describe all the prospects and goals to be pursued. Therefore, the use of such systems in modern large and small organizations is many current business technologists’ object of study.
Advantages of Electronic Performance Management Systems
It is not a secret that any organization, large or small, tries to work efficiently. Thus, all the companies are looking for ways to increase profits and strategically position itself for the future. As Onnasch et al. (2014, p. 479) remark, the use of E-PMS allows an enterprise to make business decisions in advance and implement business strategies based on reliable information. Electronic performance management systems include data about revenues, purchases, attracted customers, client profitability by demographic characteristics, customer accounts balance, analysis of sales channels, and online promotion. It means that these systems combine complete internal and external information about work processes. Thus, at all the levels of any enterprise, it is possible to trace the role of each group on the way to achieve a specific goal, thereby saving time and resources. E-PMS optimize corporate activities; they determine a winning strategy and the best ways to implement it.
The functioning of automated financial management systems makes it possible to reduce the amount of counting work significantly, work on processing documents, and calculate deviations of actual data from planned objectives when performing in-depth analysis. Modern information systems offer great opportunities, but the benefits can be lost because of inefficient and expensive management of the deployment and support of such resources (Jeske & Santuzzi 2015, p. 73). Integrated management systems, due to their high efficiency, pay off quickly, save money that is spent on managing operations, and open up opportunities for more productive management of the enterprise as a whole. What concerns approval, for example, Al-Raisi, Amin, and Tahir (2011, p. 25) note that the prevailing number of surveyed UAE residents working in large companies confirm the effectiveness of these systems. According to the authors, young people aged from 23 to 28 (20.8% of respondents) more actively support such technologies than older employees (Al-Raisi, Amin & Tahir 2011, p. 25).
Thus, the creation and implementation of various information networks should be organized on a single database with the application of the general principles of support and operation.
Disadvantages of Electronic Performance Management Systems
One of the drawbacks may be an irrational use of resources, as well as a lack of interaction with the user. The degree of centralization or decentralization depends on the number and importance of decisions made at the lower level (Jeske & Santuzzi 2015, p. 75). The disadvantages of electronic performance management systems can be weak mobility and modifiability and significant expenditure of processing time. Accordingly, decentralization ensures the priority and simplification of decisions, as well as the stimulation of workers’ initiative.
In the process of introducing electronic performance management systems, there are also some financial risks since the cost of creating E-PMS is rather high. According to Holland, Cooper, and Hecker (2015, p. 170), quite often, outside consultants are involved in optimizing new networks and, as a rule, do not know the features of a particular enterprise and need time to study them. Also, the employees of a specific industry participating in the process of creating electronic systems are compelled to combine their current duties and responsibilities in developing an information base. The consequence of involving third-party specialists can be dependent on the developer.
However, even if a particular system is produced by the staff of one enterprise, there is a risk for potential shortcomings. The development of the system usually takes a long time. Moreover, with the appearance of new business lines and changes in accounting, new development and introduction of new technologies are needed (Onnasch et al. 2014, p. 485). It is necessary to keep programmers, task managers, and analysts in the state of the enterprise. The system is supported by the developers, and if chief specialists leave the company, there may be problems with the support and operation of the system.
General Evaluation of Perspectives
The introduction of electronic performance management systems has some specific advantages and disadvantages that are extremely important to consider. Managers of a particular company must take into account the distinct characteristics of an enterprise; otherwise, the use of new technologies can bring more problems than good. If all employees understand the importance and functionality of such resources, their use will probably be more rational and successful. The increasing demand for innovative technologies development is quite an understandable and logical phenomenon in the current conditions of computerization of production.
Reference List
Al-Raisi, A, Amin, S & Tahir, S 2011, ‘Evaluation of e-performance analysis and assessment in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Organizations’, Journal of Internet and Information System, vol. 2, no. 2, pp. 20-27.
Holland, PJ, Cooper, B & Hecker, R 2015, ‘Electronic monitoring and surveillance in the workplace: the effects on trust in management, and the moderating role of occupational type’, Personnel Review, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 161-175.
Jeske, D & Santuzzi, AM 2015, ‘Monitoring what and how: psychological implications of electronic performance monitoring’, New Technology, Work and Employment, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 62-78.
Onnasch, L, Wickens, CD, Li, H & Manzey, D 2014, ‘Human performance consequences of stages and levels of automation: an integrated meta-analysis’, Human Factors, vol. 56, no. 3, pp. 476-488.
