INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC PROGRESS AND RESEARCH (IJSPR) ISSN: 2349 - 4689 Volume-14, Number - 02, 2015 www.ijspr.com IJSPR | 95 Performance Appraisal -A Step to Performance Management (Merchandisers in Indian Apparel Industry) Dr. Archana Gandhi, Dr. Suruchi Mittar Abstract - Business environment is perpetually undergoing changes at such a pace that organizations are bound to be affected by this plethora of rapid technological innovations, fluctuations in consumer demands, latest state of the art machinery, and evolving Human Resource (HR). The responses that this dynamic competitive environment elicits are equally dynamic. Dependence of apparel export organisations depend on the merchandisers is fairly large and the jobs undertaken by merchandisers are too many. To ensure that tasks are performed in accordance with expectations, list of activities to be undertaken must be specified to each merchandiser. Indian apparel export organizations need to exploit all available resources to survive and retain their share in the global market. The apparel export occupies a prominent place in Indian Economy and is a labour intensive industry. The human resource environment is very complicated with lack of experienced and trained people, lack of sources of employment and little focus on human resource planning, performance measurement and working conditions. In addition to this, absence of appropriate measures to assess the performance and link those to overall competitiveness. Keywords: performance, management, measurement, merchandisers . I. INTRODUCTION Performance Measurement Performance measurement analyses the success of a work group, program, or organization's efforts by comparing data on what actually happened to what was planned or intended (Pratt, et al. 1997). Performance measurement asks “Is progress being made toward desired goals? Are appropriate activities being undertaken to promote achieving those goals? Are there problem areas that need attention? Successful efforts that can serve as a model for others?” (Perrin et. al, 1999) Performance measurement is the regular collection and reporting of data to track work produced and results achieved (Perrin et. al, 1999). A Performance Measure is the specific quantitative representation of a capacity, process, or outcome deemed relevant to the assessment of performance. Key Attributes of a Performance Measure (Lichiello and Turncock, 1999) a) Validity-that captures the essence of what it professes to measure. b) Reliability- high likelihood of yielding the same results in repeated trials, so there are low levels of random error in measurement. c) Responsiveness -should be able to detect change. d) Functionality- directly related to objectives. e) Credibility- supported by stakeholders. f) Understand ability- easily understood by all, with minimal explanation. g) Availability- readily available through Performance measurement is an aspect of performance management Performance management is based on the information developed from measuring performance. Performance managing means using performance measurement information to manage people and processes: for example, to review services and programs; assess and revise goals and objectives; assess progress against targets; conduct employee evaluations; and formulate and justify budgets. Performance management is the use of performance measurement information to help set agreed-upon performance goals, allocate and prioritize resources, inform managers to either confirm or change current policy or program directions to meet those goals, and report on the success in meeting those goals. (The National Performance Review, 1997) Beischel and Smith (1991) also provide a framework for measuring manufacturing performance and it stems from two principal ideas. Firstly, “manufacturing performance can and should, be linked to company financial performance”. Secondly, “all manufacturing measures, at all organizational levels, should be linked to ensure constancy of purpose among organizational levels and to point to cause-and effect relationships”. The rationale is that if these