This study is for reviewing the trend of performance-based human resources management which is implemented at business organization, and the legitimacy of firing low performers in view of the principle of firing limitation at the fair labor standard a...
This study is for reviewing the trend of performance-based human resources management which is implemented at business organization, and the legitimacy of firing low performers in view of the principle of firing limitation at the fair labor standard act. Particularly, this study is focusing to the employee who is low performer, bad employment attitude holder, dysfunctional person. In addition, this study is aimed at providing some limitations and rational and fair rule about firing of low performers, which is raised around legislative view and interpretative view of labor law.
Overall contents are current state and approaching methods related with management perspective of performance-based human resources management. Specifically how the fairness of the performance appraisal and personnel appraisal is evaluated. And I evaluate firing of low performer is legal in light of ?the principle of firing limitation?of the Article 23 of Labor Standard Act. Therefore chapter 2 explain the conflicting views of performance-based human resources management and low performers, chapter 3 explains legitimacy of firing low performer, and chapter 4 provide final conclusion dealing with legislative view and interpretative view of labor law.
Performance-based human resources management which was expanded rapidly after IMF situation is closely related with flexibility of labor forces. The flexibility of labor forces is composed by firing low performer and expanding non-regular employees, and ?employment flexibility? by means of cooperation and outsourcing, and ?payment flexibility? by performance based pay, differentiated pay by evaluation.
And company fire employee as final approach such as mandatory discharge (honorary discharge, recommended discharge, and firing, etc.)when it is impossible to improve capability, employee committed to harm company, and disregard employee?s fundamental norms.
However, the flexibility of employment and payment accompany automatically ?employment uncertainty?, and performance-based human resources management which was adopted for the company survival threat the very existence of employee who is counterpart company. In other words, if company adopt performance-based human resources management and firing employee forcefully based on performance appraisal contradict the basic goal of labor law which is protection of employee. These conflicts are consequentally contradict management right, personnel decision making right of business owner with the existence right of employee, and basic right of labor. Also it become contradicting point between ?the efficiency?of economics and management and the ?protection of employee?who is socially under powered person, which is the purpose of labor law.
The concept of performance-based human resources management which was interpreted in this study is opposite one to the traditional human resource management based on seniority. That is emphasizing the performance of individual and group, and compensation is closely connected to performance evaluation. Performance principle provide high pay to high performance, and the philosophy thinking high pay can motivate employee. It is based on the strategy of compensating high performer high payment will result in strong motivation of employee, improving individual performance, and in all effective in respect of increasing total company performance. Also performance principle can be effective because it prevent payment increase pressure by the employment seniority and employee?s age.
The definition of low performer( C class employee) in management is as follows : ?performance is below his requirement, and below his current capability or potential capability?. The low performer in narrow concept produce low quality performance( under 50% to his peer group), or significantly produce low outputs for certain period of time. However the low performer in macro concept is the person who disregard organization rule and order, bad attitude holder and doing false report , who have no willingness to do his job, have ?no suitability to organization?. About bottom 5%~10% employees are fall in this category.
There are dual characteristics to the low performer, dysfunctional person to organization in view of disobedience of employment contract and disobedience of company rule. Therefore it is possible to fire employee because of low performance and mal-adaptation to organization. Also it is possible to discharge the employee disciplinary discharge. It appear to be rational to fire on the concept of general discharge because low performance and mal adaptation to organization is caused by no fulfillment of main labor provision obligation. However most company use disciplinary discharge even if it is more rational to be general discharge. The reason is as follows; It is difficult to get legitimacy approval by court, and in many cases low performance and mal adaptation to organization is caused by responsibility of individual.
There are many reasons of legal fairness of the condition of disciplinary discharge compared to the fairness of legality such as the rational validity of selection criteria of low performer(Job relationship), fairness of low performer evaluation(opportunity fairness), company?s effort to improve low performer capability(fulfillment of consideration effort), existence of legal provision in law, collective bargaining, employment contract(legal provision), sincere negotiation. If those 5 conditions are existing in firing low performer and collectively and holistically agreeable, then the discharge can be approved as ?objectively rational? and ?socially appropriateness?.
Therefore the low performer selection criteria must be established rationally, fairness of evaluation system. Also there need to stipulate regulation to regulate low performer, and fulfill consideration obligation for performance improvement. And because the discharge of employee must be the ?last resort?, the preemptive discharge of low performer lack the legitimacy condition.