2nd SEMESTER 2024/25

Individual Assignment

BA Human Resource Management

SMO202

Performance Management

Submission Date: 23:59 18th  May, 2025

INSTRUCTIONS

In this assignment, you are expected to submit a 1800-word personal performance 

management report with an appendix detailing how you used AI in the whole performance  management process. In your report, you should explain how you set a learning goal and managed the process to achieve it. This assignment will help you learn how to set goals, manage your progress within 2 months, track and monitor your performance, collect and analyse data, suggest ways to improve, and turn all this into a clear written report. Importantly, you are encouraged to use generative AI as a collaborative partner to improve the effectiveness of your performance management. For example, generative AI can be used to brainstorm the learning  goal, set up appropriate indicators, device monitoring strategies, design measurement tools,  and provide critical insights into the data collection, data analysis and future improvement  plan. However, you are not allowed to use AI to write or draft the report itself.

This assignment has three main purposes:

1.   To give you hands-on experience managing your performance and writing about it.

2.   To help you build self-reflection and critical thinking skills by analysing your performance data and suggesting improvements.

3.   To teach you how to work with generative AI in an ethical and transparent way, a skill that will be valuable in your future career.

GUIDELINES FOR THE ASSIGNMENT:

In accordance with the assignment objectives, below is a general guideline of what sections to include in the report.

•    Performance Goals and Indicators (approx. 180 words)

In this section, you need to choose and explain a performance goal which you want to achieve this semester. The performance goal should be a learning goal aiming to improve your employability. It could be an important skill, ability, or capability that will improve your competitiveness in future labour market (e.g., interpersonal and communication skills, data analysis and HR analytics, digital and technology skills, cultural competence, adaptability and resilience, leadership, time management, project management, etc.). You can decide your goal by reflecting on your current employability or by using generative AI to identify the most important skills for the future. Whatever method you use, you must select ONE learning goal  and explain why it is important and how it could impact your future career or aspirations. Once you have chosen your performance goal, you need to create 3-5 indicators to measure your progress in this semester. These indicators should follow the SMART framework, meaning   they must be Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound (refer to Week 2:

Performance Goals – KPIs and OKRs). It’s essential to ensure that your indicators align with your goal – in other words, achieving the indicators should lead to achieving the goal. You are encouraged to use tables, charts, figures, or other visual methods to show the connection between your goal and indicators clearly.

•    Performance Management Process (approx. 450 words)

In this section, you are required to create a personalized performance management system  (refer to Week 3: Performance Management Systems). Start by developing a clear, step-by-step plan to achieve your goal and its indicators. Your plan should include milestones and realistic timelines, with specific deadlines for each milestone (e.g., you can use a Gantt chart to visualise the entire process). Identify all the resources you will need, such as tools, mentors, apps, learning platforms, or AI, in this section. Next, outline how you will monitor the progress—this could involve weekly self-reviews, digital trackers, or journals to record challenges and achievements. You may also integrate a feedback mechanism, such as monthly self-assessments or input from peers/mentors, to evaluate what is working and adjust your approach throughout the process. Including a reward system to maintain motivation (e.g., treating yourself to a break after hitting a milestone) is also helpful in your performance management process. You are also encouraged to use generative AI to support and refine your performance management system. Particularly, you can use generative AI to  provide feedback, offer critical insights to improve your plan, or suggest strategies to overcome potential obstacles (e.g., “How can I stay motivated if progress stalls?”). However, it is essential to adapt the AI’s suggestions to your specific context, making them practical and actionable.

•    Performance Measurement and Data Analysis (approx. 450 words)

In this section, you need to explain how you will measure progress toward your goal using  quantitative data (numbers, e.g., hours studied, tasks completed) or/and qualitative  data (descriptions, e.g., journal entries, peer feedback). You are expected to design  measurement tools that suit your specific context. For instance, you could create a ranking scale (e.g., rate daily productivity from1-5), use BARS (Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales) to assess skill improvement, or write narrative assessments to reflect on challenges and achievements (refer to Week 5: Performance Measurement). Once you collect the data, analyse it to track trends and measure progress. Use visual tools to present your findings clearly—for example, graphs, charts (e.g., line, bar, pie, radar charts) for quantitative data, or tables, word clouds, figures, and mind maps for qualitative data. Tools like Excel, SPSS, or generative AI can help you develop data analysis strategies. However, you must interpret the data yourself:  explain what the results reveal about your progress (e.g., “Declining hours suggest burnout, so I need to adjust my schedule”). While AI can assist by summarising raw data or suggesting ways to visualise it, the final analysis and interpretation must be your original work.

•    Performance improvement plan (approx. 360 words)

In this section, you need to reflect deeply on your entire performance management process.

You are expected to provide self-reflections, specific recommendations, and a clear action  plan for future improvement. Critically evaluate the shortcomings of your original performance management system. For example, think about whether unrealistic timelines, poor feedback loops, insufficient rewards affected your progress. Importantly, you need to link your findings from previous section to your improvement plan in this section, showing how data-driven insights lead to practical solutions. Your plan could include strategies for modifying, sustaining, or enhancing your performance. Ensure the improvement plan is realistic, specific, and actionable. To conclude this section, connect your improvement plan to your long-term growth as a student and individual. You are encouraged to include a comparative table to highlight the differences between your original plan and your updated improvement plan.

•    Critical Reflection on AI Collaboration (approx. 360 words)

In this section, you are required to critically analyse your experience using generative AI  during this assignment. Have a profound reflection on how AI tools supported or limited your performance. Particularly, did AI help you brainstorm goals more efficiently, or did its generic suggestions result in rigid plans? Provide specific examples of when AI was useful (e.g., quickly summarising data) and when it fell short (e.g., suggesting unrealistic strategies     that ignored your personal situation). You should also reflect on the broader strengths and   weaknesses of using AI in performance management. On a personal level, consider whether AI may reduce self-awareness by focusing too much on data and not enough on human intuition. On an organisational level, explore risks like over-reliance on AI-driven metrics, which may dehumanize the performance management process and erode employee trust. Try  to describe how your understanding of using AI in the performance management has evolved. This reflection must be entirely your original analysis—no AI-generated content is permitted in this section. Focus on what you learned in the process, not superficial praise  or criticism.

THE REQUIREMENT & MARKING:

1.    Assignments should be 1,800 words (± 10%) in length (excluding appendices, tables, figures, table of contents, and bibliography). Please state the word count on the title  page of your report.

2.    You need to submit an appendix that lists AI contributions to this assignment. In this appendix, you need to provide a transparent record of every instance where you used  generative AI during the assignment.  This documentation is essential for maintaining academic integrity and demonstrating your ability to use AI thoughtfully and responsibly. Failure to disclose AI contributions may result in penalties. You can download the AI contribution template from the Learning Mall page.

3.    The   assignment   should   be  a  double-spaced  report  in  English   (1-inch/2.54cm margins, Times New Roman font, size 12). A reference list with all sources you cited in your report  should be  generated. Please use the APA  of referencing  and citation.

4.    This individual assignment is worth 40% of your final grade. They will be graded

according to the marking descriptors, with the specific percentage in each section shown as below:

• Performance Goal and Indicators: 10%

• Performance Management Process: 25%

• Measurement Tools and Data Analysis: 25%

• Performance Improvement Plan: 20%

• Critical Reflection on AI collaboration: 20%