An Exploratory Study of Appraisal Techniques from Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL

Arabian Journal of Business and Management Review (OMAN Chapter)
Vol. 1, No.7; February 2012
An Exploratory study of Appraisal Techniques from Pakistan

Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL).
Amir Shafique Khan
Comsats Institute of Information Technology, Abbottabad.
Farooq Anwar*
(Corresponding Author.)
Asst. Professor.
Azra Naheed Center for Research and Development.
Superior University, Lahore.
Abstract.
Performance Appraisal has drawn an unparalleled and unprecedented attention of researchers over more
than last three decades. Selection of an appropriate and suitable performance appraisal technique has all the
times been a point of concern for most of academicians as well as managers. The idea to do this study is to
find the most effective and appropriate performance appraisal method from manual/traditional and computer
based appraisal technique. Numerous Secondary data sources were explored and reviewed from different
sources. The results showed that the employees consider online based performance appraisal system to be
more beneficial and accurate. Moreover, the study revealed that employee job satisfaction and retention can
also be enhanced by applying the right kind of appraisal method from the two above mentioned techniques.
Moreover software based performance appraisal system supports management and employee participation,
and brings greater consistency and accuracy thus ensuring equity within the organization among its
employees. By abandoning ineffective, paper-based processes, the company can ensure tighter links
between employee and organizational goals thus producing stronger performance evaluations that integrate
more closely with compensation, employment planning, retention, and more.
Key Words.
Paper Based Appraisal Technique, Computer Based Appraisal Technique. Retention
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INTRODUCTION
Performance appraisal is a significant element of performance management. Performance appraisals are
form of providing feedback, deciding promotions or termination, determining compensation, identifying
strength and weakness or areas for change and identifying development needs that can help with career
planning. It is a tool that both the appraiser and the appraisee can use to enhance performance of employee
and the organization. However, the type of appraisal used must be in line and congruent with the
requirements and structure of the organization in order to reap the benefits (Appelbaum et-al, 2011).
It has been felt as an enhancement for decades. From previous different researches (Jafri, 2009; Murray,
2009; Payne, 2009; Dominic, 2008; Shrestha, 2007; Bilgin, 2007; Raymond, 2006; Dessler, 2005, Turban,
2005; Brumback, 2003, Gail, 2001 and Gioia, 1994), it is evident that measuring efficiency and
effectiveness of an employee is the primary issue for the growth and productivity of any organization. An
efficient and effective employee especially in telecommunication industry must ensure the quality work in
order to increase the productivity level of its organization. In the light of above discussion, the current study
will utilize a comparison of Traditional paper pencil based Performance appraisal system with Computer
Software based Performance appraisal in Pakistani context. Organizations have not, however, always
constructed the ability for measurement that can underline both evolution and the need for significant
investments to a variety of stake holders (Nyhan, 1995). Performance appraisal can be defined as a periodic
evaluation of the output of an individual measured against certain expectations (Yong, 1996).
Additionally, the issue of the applicability of performance appraisal in the organizations exists. On the other
hand, in quest of an answer to this problem, one should prefer to extend lucid performance-enhancing
policies in communal supervision (Hatry, 1992) because those tactics are largely ashore in healthy
developed literature on performance measurement. Furthermore, the most inventive and dynamic
organizations, as supported by the cases portrayed afterward, do not only carry out one superior agenda.
Somewhat, they incorporate sophisticated administration procedures into an inclusive approach to yield
advancement.
There are numerous ways for performance appraisal which are appropriate for special organizations
uniqueness in unusual circumstances, the foremost focal point of enquiry for many authors (i.e Freeman
2002; Seddon 2001; Western 2000; Randell 1994; Segall 1989; Long 1986) has been exploratory why, in
such a capricious environment, performance appraisal techniques lean not to slot in goals and the trend or
strategic needs of the business, or the personal ambitions of the employees. Employee performance is also
affected from the appraisal system of that particular organization as if the appraisal system process is not
exactly according to the expectations of the employee, employee satisfaction and productivity will definitely
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be low and vice versa (Sonne, 1998). Through the participation from the top management, it is extremely
simple to craft understanding amongst the employees on the subject that the triumph of the employees lies
in the success of the firm and this can only be done through implementation of best performance appraisal
system (Ikezawa, 1993; Dale, 1999).
Employee involvement and empowerment is a way to make your own employees feel good about working
with you as an employee. This can be achieved through keeping the employees inside the decision making
process and providing them autonomy to make on the spot decisions for certain critical process as well as
day to day routine process (Besterfield, 2004). This is one way to improve the quality of the products or
services offered. Negative feedbacks and bad remarks or bad comments can sometimes lead to losing of
interest by the employee (Dale, 1999; Bergman, 1994; Juran, 1993).
The commitment of the employees can be gained through treating all the employees equally and with justice
(Kolarik, 1995; Bergman, 1994). The employees can be made committed to their work by the assigning
responsibility to them and letting them feel they are an asset and are really important to the organization
(Ikezawa, 1993).
There is a very need of the recognition and reward system to be put in place in the organizations. It is also a
very critical component of the concept. This component should be in line performance appraisal with the
organizational goals and settings. By recognizing the efforts of the employees organizations can better
motivate the employees and also keep them committed to their work. This system should be specific and
should target objectivity and measurability. If this is not the case then it would be very difficult to measure
the performance and eventually give rewards and recognize the employees. (Ishikawa, 1985; Burril and
Ledolter, 1999; Cherrington, 1995; Kolarik, 1995).
Managing an organization without performance measures is like a pilot of a plane flying without navigation
instruments. Performance measures are basically the performance management of the organization in a 360
i.e. determining the overall performance of an organization working (Besterfield, 2004). The performance
appraisal is a communication tool, for full time and part time employees, which is designed to support each
individuals contribution to the organization. It is about helping people become better at what they do. It
provides a way to measure skills and accomplishments with reasonable accuracy and uniformity. The
appraisal process provides the manager with a tool to help identify barriers to top performance and promotes
a mechanism for dialogue. (Maths, 2004)
History of Performance Appraisal

Performance appraisal roots in the early 20th century traced to (Gilbreth, 1994); pioneering Time and
Motion studies. Appraisal, it seems, is both inevitable and universal. It is also an important management tool
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to assess employees efficiency in the workplace (Armstrong, 1998). If an employee's performance was
found to be less than ideal, a cut in pay would follow. Little consideration, if any, was given to the
developmental possibilities of appraisal. The general model of performance appraisal, as it is known today,
began from that time. With the passage of time technology has great influence on our business environment.
In the past many organizations used manual based performance appraisal techniques and now with a
revolutionization and for the best results many organizations are switching towards online performance
appraisal techniques. The history of performance appraisal roots in the early 20th century traced to Taylor's
pioneering Time and Motion studies. Appraisal, it seems, is both inevitable and universal. Performance
appraisal techniques began as simple methods of income justification. The process was firmly linked to
material outcomes. If an employee's performance was found to be less than ideal, a cut in pay would follow.
Little consideration, if any, was given to the developmental possibilities of appraisal. The general model of
performance appraisal, as it is known today, began from that time. With the passage of time technology has
great influence on our business environment. In the past many organizations used manual based
performance appraisal techniques and now with a revolutionization and for the best results many
organizations are switching towards Software based performance appraisal techniques.
Points out that some of the researchers have mentioned that employee performance appraisal is a subject of
great interest in most organizations. To deal with this performance appraisal business process, the authors
proposed a Decision Support System (DSS) which consists of a mathematical model to evaluate the
performance appraisal for individual and for departments in an organization.
According to Beverly (1983), Performance appraisal is to ensure that an organization is able to provide
high quality service to meet the service needs of the customers. This is achieved by promoting employee
competence and development. It should ensure that all new employees are competent to perform the basic
responsibilities of the job, held accountable for job expectations and that all current employees continue to
learn new information and develop new skills. Employee performance are linked with the Performance
appraisal system, if the system are up to the standards defiantly the employee will have positive attitude
towards his organization and if not defiantly his intentions will be negative for his organization. This
examines the role of appraisal system a way of improving productivity and effectiveness within an
organization. Computer software is one of the ways in which performance appraisals can be dealt with more
proficiently. This article evaluates the three leading software programs available currently and provides a
comparison of the features. It concludes that the products do not solve all the problems encountered in
performance appraisals, but do give structure to the process and make this sort of appraisal easier to
conduct (Spinks et al, 1999). The purpose of next research paper which we relate to our research
was based on the key Performance Indicator showing, a method adopted by an organization to
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measure the performance of the organization and its staff. Automated Performance Review and
Information System (A-PRAISe) is a web application which was developed using Java and JSP for
the purpose of monitoring staff performance for University Technology Patrons (UTP). The paper
explains how the developer designed and implemented the application by combining the generic
three-tier logical architecture with the Model-View-Controller architecture and Command Design
Pattern. Then, the paper proposes two design improvements for the system and ends with the
conclusion of all the works that had been done (Rahim, 2007). The next related topic to my research is
about the software base performance appraisal system adopted by telecommunication industry to increase
their productivity and efficiency in their techniques. The progress towards online performance organization
persists to picking up the pace. Through online performance administration, hundreds of firms have
radically enlarged the efficacy of their present performance supervision development devoid of taking on an
exclusively fresh viewpoint. General reception fixed by means of escalating appreciation of whole
performance administration and growth as a vital feature in attaining companys goals; craft it obvious with
the intention of online performance running is now to settle. In addition toward the inquiry of performance
stressed companies is not if, but when, they will put into practice this authorizing (Dulewicz, 1989).
Purposes of performance appraisal.

Taylor and Wherry (1951) projected that ratings composed for directorial purposes would be extra lenient
than ratings collected for study or developmental reasons. Over the preceding years, there are no new
experimental facilities which have been carried out (Greguras et al, 2003; Harris et al, 1995) but a functional
analysis of it has been printed (Jawahar, 1997). While the mass of the research on performance appraisal
function has focused on the rater, some work has also been done on rater effects (Boswell & Boudreau,
2000, 2002). There are several schemes to assess employees performance appraisal but a few of these ways
are not appropriate in some cases. Effective appraisal techniques are supposed to address simplicity,
integrity and equality; identify efficiency through rewards; and be aware of evaluator management traits
(Winston, 1997). According to Cash (1983), the basic purpose of his research was related to illuminate that
how performance appraisal system evaluates employee performance and increase productivity of the
organization. In this study evaluation system is found to be affected mainly by standards set by organization,
where as cultural value is influenced by tangible indication of software performance appraisal system. This
system provides a new shape of structural relationship among five software appraisal system cues and five
types of organizational effectiveness.
Effective performance appraisal techniques contain two basic techniques operating in conjunction: an
evaluation system and a feedback system. The main aim of the evaluation system is to identify the
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performance gap (if any). This gap is the shortfall that occurs when performance does not meet the standard
set by the organization as acceptable. The main aim of the feedback system is to inform the employee about
the quality of his or her performance. (However, the information flow is not exclusively one way. The
appraisers also receive feedback from the employee about job problems, etc). Performance appraisal system,
being practiced in organizations in Pakistan is commonly known as Annual Confidential Report (ACR) and
is kept confidential from the appraisee. Appraisals of all employees are conducted once a year and mostly in
December (Ahmed et-al, 2010). In Pakistan, there has been immense realization of the impact of strategic
use of performance appraisal practices and visionary companies are setting the performance appraisals to
leverage this aspect for competitive advantage (Khan, 2010).
No empirical research has so far been undertaken to investigate the effects of HRM practices on firms
performance in this industry. Thus a gap exists in the research in this area of strategic importance. The
present study is an attempt to address this gap. The present study will offer valuable insight to the
management of these organizations about the strategic importance of HRM practices for superior and
sustainable organizational performance.
Telecommunication Sector of Pakistan.

For years, Pakistan's telecom sector has plodded along seemingly jammed in the mid-20th century. From 2.1
phones per 100 Pakistanis in 1999, the number of fixed lines has increased to just 2.9 per 100 today. While,
cellular has been more vivacious, Just about 5% of Pakistanis have cell phones. The future of Pakistan
telecom is being considered seriously by the government, in order to free it from regulations. As a
consequence, scores of new rivals is gearing up. Since June, 2010 cellular subscriptions have amplified to
fifty six percent, raising revenue of seven million, making Pakistan one of the fastest-growing cellular
markets, more over in coming 18 months the number of phone lines (both fixed and mobile) is expected to
boost. The Pakistan telecommunication industry as a whole, coupled with its public policies went through
numerous changes. Recapitulating just the last time period, once a sophisticated commodity, the mobile
phone is now practically with in the reach of every segment of the society; and is believed to be a basic
communication requisite tool. In 2003 the key phase of transformation, sustained the de-regulation Policy.
This was followed by the sector liberalization in the subsequent years; through efficient and transparent
processes. The consequence of market liberalization was manifold, as it brought cheap and reliable
communication channels for the citizens, contributing heavily in the economic development and opening
plenty of job opportunities within Pakistan. The countrys mobile market today is the 10th biggest in the
world, penetration in South Asia.
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The telecommunication sector is contributing approximately 2% to GDP and is viewed as a major growth
engine for the country. Telecom sector is also a major contributor to national exchequer, depositing USD
1.3 billion during fiscal year 2008-09 and USD 0.5 billion during first half of fiscal year 2009-2010.
According to United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) latest report on
Information Economy. Pakistan is among the five dynamic economies of developing Asia in terms of
increased penetration of mobile phones, internet and broadband. The following bar chart highlights the tele
density situation over last five years with respect to different telecom segments.
Figure 1.
Teledensity growth of Pakistan
58.22
60
59.9
54.7
50
40.9
40
Wireless Local Loop
30
Cellular Mobile
Local Loop
22.2
20
10
8.3
3.43
0.17
3.37
0.66
1.08
3.04
1.4
2.7
1.6
2.17
1.7
0
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
Source: PTA (2011)

Research and Development activities are measured as significant carry towards telecommunication
development in an economy. Conversely in Pakistan such telecommunication activities are insignificant.
There is a need for the development of the research and development culture for better groundwork
regarding upcoming telecommunication convergence arena. National ICT & Fund is expected to play an
important role; a faster approach may be adopted for establishment of national telecommunication &
laboratories. Cellular mobile handsets have rapidly changed the cultural barriers and have become a quick
selling commodity in the market. At present mobile handsets are being imported from all across the world.
The research and development labs would bring a positive sign for manufacturing of telecom handsets in the
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country to enhance employment and to restrict outflow of foreign currency. In view of a global trend
towards usage of mobile networks, offer various financial services. It is suggested that mutual efforts from
related
stakeholders
like
State
Bank
of Pakistan,
Mobile
Operators,
Financial Institutions,
Telecommunication Regulator and application providers may be instigated for promotion of mobile
commerce throughout the country. Future converged services will necessitate high speed connectivity at the
end-user locations. Broadband will play a pivotal role in upcoming ICT access and usage. It is suggested
that broadband may be kept as a top priority for future telecommunication roadmap. Telecommuting will
become more widespread, especially for knowledge workers who need to securely connect to information
sources on the move. To further push the growth of broadband, there is a dire need to develop local contents
for the better understanding and to cater needs of the majority. The most important proposition to continue
this telecom escalation is a continuous coordination among stakeholders from industry, government,
academia and the end-users. In order to achieve the target for coming era necessary suggestions and
recommendations from industry experts be gathered. Since July, 2003, regulators have handed out more
than 200 fixed, mobile, and long-distance licenses to some 50 companies. There will be a sure shakeout with
so many new entrants, officials believe operators will dispense as much as $8 billion into networks and
equipment over the next five years, compared with just $1.5 billion since 1999; .I.e. Karachi-based Tele
Card Ltd., in January launched a $200 million fixed-wireless network, and expects to have 2 million
subscribers within three years. Adding to the competition will be a privatized Pakistan Telecommunications
Co., the state-controlled carrier that had a monopoly until last year. After four years of often rancorous
discussion, Islamabad in November finally settled on a plan to sell off a controlling 26% stake to investors
by mid-2005. Current management is already gearing up to take on the new rivals. The company plans to
add 2.4 million lines by June, increasing its capacity by 50%. And over the past year, PTCL has cut rates
twice, though new entrants have proposed prices that are even lower.
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Figure 2.
Telecom Revenues of Pakistan
400,000
352,010
333,182
350,000
Rs. Million
300,000
250,000
278,509
235,613
200,000
150,000
100,000
50,000
0
2007-08
2008-09
2009-10
2010-11
Year
Source: PTA (2011)
The telecommunication industry of Pakistan has shown a enormous growth; now it calls for the attention of
decision makers on affairs that may well lead to further progress of the sector. An important factor combines
to present taxation on the telecom services and equipment, plummeting could help the telecom operators in
minimizing the cost of the service ultimately encouraging more telecom usage, benefiting the Government
to earn more taxes on these services. Telecom operators may be given tax subsidies and waiver in rural
areas to make investment in rural areas of the country which eventually would help in bridging the digital
divide.
Additionally, the present electricity crises necessitates some Government tax subsidy on import of alternate
energy resource like solar energy and wind turbines to assist telecom operators in business continuity. Rural
areas are generally neglected, by the investors. As a return, investment is near to the ground as compared to
urban areas. Though general provision of mobile service is adequate in rural areas, nevertheless efforts are
required to fill in the basic telephony and Internet gap in such geographies. To achieve it, Universal Service
Fund utilization for provision of access in un-served areas may be stretched and made prompt. Furthermore,
Public-private initiatives for establishing Internet KIOSK, ICT community centers, may also assist to
improve the situation.
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Figure 3.
PTCL
Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) is the leading telecommunication corporation
in Pakistan. Telecommunication companies have the most up to date and advanced Online Performance
appraisal techniques used to evaluate their employees.
This co-operation delivers telephony services to the state and still grasps the grade of pillar for country's
telecommunication setup, in spite of appearance of a dozen other telcos including telecom hulks like
Telenor and China Mobile (Zong). The company entails about two thousand telephone exchanges all over
the country providing largest permanent network. GSM, CDMA and Internet are added means of PTCL,
making it an immense organization. The Government of Pakistan sold 26% shares and control of the
company to Etisalat in 2006. The Government of Pakistan reserved sixty two percent of the shares whereas
the remaining twelve percent are owned by the general public. PTCL is also part of the group of three
main Submarine communication cable networks: SEA-ME-WE 3, SEA-ME-WE 4 and I-ME-WE. On the
mobile communications side, the second main cellular provider in Pakistan, Ufone, is also a solely
possessed subsidiary of PTCL.
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Comparative Analysis of both Ways to conduct Performance Appraisal

There are two specific ways using which an organization can conduct the performance appraisal process.
These two ways are as follows:
1. Manual Performance Appraisal System

A performance appraisal is an evaluation of an employee's performance of allocated tasks and jobs. The
appraisal relied on outcomes gained by the employee in his/her work, not on the employee's character
distinctiveness (Levy and Williams, 2004). The appraisal assessed abilities and activities with rational
precision and consistency. It presents an approach to help recognize areas for performance improvement and
to facilitate in professional development. It should not be considered the managers only communication
device. Unwrapping the modes of communication all through the year assist to build useful functioning
associations.
Every employee is unconstrained to a considerate and vigilant appraisal. The triumph of the procedure
depends on the supervisor's enthusiasm to complete a positive and purposed assessment and on the
employee's eagerness to retort to constructive propositions and to toil with the supervisor to achieve future
goals.
Literature revealed following features that can damage the effectiveness of performance appraisal: immunity
to the highly noticeable employees, carrying out performance appraisal to penalize the low performers,
rewards on good performance, uncertainties in the psyche of performers about appraisals results,
organizations affairs that lead to agitate performance of targeted employee (Deluca, 1993); use of primarily
defective appraisals, focus on cheering individual, which automatically depresses teamwork/collaboration,
contradictions in setting and pertaining appraisal criteria, spotlighting on edges (exceptionally good or poor
performance), appraisals hub on accomplishment of short-term goals, propping up the autocrat supervisors,
biasness of appraisal results and formation of emotional agony in employees (Segal, 2000); use of hazy
qualities and unrelated measurement criterion, use of futile checklists for assessment, monologues as a
replacement of dialogues in feedback meetings, lack of enthusiasm of appraisers to proffer feedback,
supervisors misguidance to evaluator (Nurse, 2005); wrongness at supervisor/organizations end (Horvath
and Andrews, 2007).
2. Computer Software based performance appraisal system: Modern Approach

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With the introduction of new IT techniques for managing information allow the organizations to
development of online organizational techniques that can play an important role in the advancement of an
organization (Alexouda, 2005). One of the most modern human resource technologies is the implementation
of a Human Resources Information System (HRIS); this incorporated system is premeditated to help give
information used in HR decision making such as management, selection, pay roll, training, and performance
analysis.
Kavanagh, (2008) define HRIS as the system used to acquire, store, manipulate, analyze,
retrieve, and distribute information regarding an organizations human resources. According to Strauss,
(2006) in his article related to HRIS execution in organizations is a fundamental requirement in todays
competitor market.
Human Resource Information System (HRIS) is the combination of human resource management with
information technology to not only simplify the decision making process, but also aid in complex
negotiations that fall under the human resource umbrella. The four principle areas of HR that are affected by
the Human Resource Information System (HRIS) include; pay roll, time and labor management, employee
benefits and HR management. A Human Resources Information System (HRIS) thus allows a user to see
online a chronological history of an employee from his /her position data, to personal details, pay roll and
benefits information.
With online performance appraisals, hundreds of firms have spectacularly improved the usefulness of their
accessible performance supervision procedure with no adaptation of totally latest idea. Extensive reception
joined with the growing acknowledgment of entirety performance supervision along with expansion as
major feature in attaining business objectives; formulate it obvious that online performance assessment is
now to reside. In addition to the issue for performance-focused organizations is not if, but when, they will
implement this empowering (Dulewicz, 1989). A modern technique of using online related methods which
assists in solving a lot of the queries and questions of manual assessing methods, and maintains finest
observations which effects in greater productivity and worker agreement. Companys at present with
automatic evaluation methods account almost hundred percent of managers absolute analysis on precisely.
According to Gail, (2001) Online Performance appraisal rationalizes the evaluation process, lessens paper
work, promote objectivity and decrease the communication fissure between the supervisor and employee.
Performance Appraisal describes a social-psychological form of the appraisal process that lay stress on the
goals pursued by raters, ratees, and variety of users of performance appraisal. The author applies this goaloriented viewpoint in mounting, executing, and calculating performance appraisal techniques (Murphy,
1995).
An online performance appraisal system is software program that smoothes the progress of the completion
of performance evaluation online. It can be a managerial self service tool such that just managers have
access to this system or it can be a combination of managerial self service or employee self service, in which
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employees also have access and can endow with information into the system. An online performance
appraisal system can be more than the traditional paper and pencil form sited on the web in that it may be
incorporated with an employee position description component, allowing managers to pull data from the
employees position description and put in this information into the evaluation (Admin, 2006). Further, it
can act as historical annals, storing past evaluations and permitting comparisons between evaluations
overtime. The prime advantage of these techniques is the ease of access of the data any time from any
computer with internet access as well the ease and speed with which they can generate correct HR-related
reports (Kavanagh, 2008). Such techniques also offer HR managers the chance to readily observe the level
to which supervisors complete their employees performance appraisals on time, in addition to making it
easier for them to look at trend in performance ratings. The aim of using online performance appraisal
system is to prevent favoritism, corruption and bribery, and to give added importance to equality,
impartiality, merit, career and efficiency. If the managers are provided with online Human Resource skills
and up to date tools it will really help in assessing the performance of the employees, the computerized
performance evaluation structure eliminates a lot of the hurdles which have conventionally destabilized the
performance appraisal procedures. Information technology is expected to drive Human resources transition
from a focus on Human Resource Management to Electronic Human Resource Management (eHRM).
Determinants of Computer based performance appraisal system

Online based performance appraisal system determinants differ from employee to employee. Some
employees are satisfied by the quality and competence of the system and some are satisfied by the feedback
response from the organization. As previous researches we all cannot limit our research by pointing out a
statement or attribute which represents the employees performance. Although some of the determinants
have a strong affect on employee as well as organizational effectiveness.
In the literature there has been some confusion over the relationship between Web-base performance
appraisal system and organizational effectiveness. Some researchers state that web-based appraisal measures
the same under lying concept and therefore are the same as mentioned above, there are no specific terms
defined as the determinants of organizational effectiveness but we can say that the five dimensions of
software based appraisal system which was proposed by (Smith, 1998).
Decision Support System.

Intense competition is forcing companies to develop innovative strategies to capture customer needs and
improve customer satisfaction in the external business environment. A lot of efforts have been made to
fabricate appropriate Performance appraisal software tools, which can act as consultants for managers. The
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developments in computer technology and computer based procedures for handling information permit the
development of decision support techniques that can play a critical part in the development of an
organization. (Alexouda, 2005). Decision support techniques are specific category of computer based
information techniques those sustain business and organizational decision making activities. An effectively
planned decision support system is an interactive software based system projected to assist decision makers
accumulates helpful information from raw data, documents, personal knowledge and business models to
classify and resolve complexities and make decisions. It is an enormously extensive with various forms and
can be used in several ways (Power, 2007). It is an interactive, supple, and adjustable computer based
information system, especially developed for sustaining the answer of a non-structured management
difficulty for enhanced decision making. A decision support system (DSS) is a computer-based information
system that supports business or organizational decision making activities. Decision Support Techniques do
help in gathering data, investigate and figure out the data that is collected, and helps in making bold and
useful decisions (Neubert, 2009). DSS serves the management, operations, and planning levels of an
organization and help to make decisions, which may be rapidly changing and not easily specified in
advance. A properly designed DSS is an interactive software-based system intended to help decision makers
compile useful information from a combination of raw data, documents, personal knowledge, or business
models to identify and solve problems and make decisions.
According to Keen (1978), the concept of decision support has evolved from two main areas of research: the
theoretical studies of organizational decision making and the technical work on interactive computer
techniques.
Conclusion
A software based performance appraisal system can ensure that your organizations performance
management is built around world class best practices, encourages management and employee participation,
operates more efficiently, and brings greater consistency to the entire review process. By abandoning
ineffective, paper-based processes, a company can establish tighter links between employee and
organizational goals and produce stronger performance evaluations that integrate more closely with
compensation, employment planning, retention, and more. Furthermore, the satisfaction level of the
employees with the computer usage can also be seen from the literature. Their ease to cope up with the
technology tools will be a great source in changing the trends of the appraisal. The results reveal that this
is thing is important for a company to monitor the appraisal process and there should be a check
on the raters evaluation. The quality of online based performance appraisal system is better than
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the quality of the manual based performance appraisal system. It can also be seen that employees
feel more satisfied with the new online based performance appraisal system instead of manual
based performance appraisal system.
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An Exploratory Study of Appraisal Techniques from Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL

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Vol. 1, No.7; February 2012