• Compare the best practices with the processes currently in place in your organization.
• Determine the “gaps” between your organization’s practices and the identified best
practices.
• Select the best practices you will implement in your organization.
Sample solution
Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell.
In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.
God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.
Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.
To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.
References
Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.
Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.
Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.
1. Compare Best Practices with the Processes Currently in Place at AgriGrow Kenya (Hypothetical):
Identified Best Practices in Performance Management (Based on HR Literature and Best Practices):
- Continuous Performance Management: Ongoing feedback, regular check-ins, and real-time coaching, rather than solely relying on annual reviews.
- Clear and Measurable Goals: Utilizing SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals that are aligned with organizational objectives.
- 360-Degree Feedback: Incorporating feedback from multiple sources, including supervisors, peers, subordinates (if applicable), and even customers, to provide a holistic view of performance.
1. Compare Best Practices with the Processes Currently in Place at AgriGrow Kenya (Hypothetical):
Identified Best Practices in Performance Management (Based on HR Literature and Best Practices):
- Continuous Performance Management: Ongoing feedback, regular check-ins, and real-time coaching, rather than solely relying on annual reviews.
- Clear and Measurable Goals: Utilizing SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) goals that are aligned with organizational objectives.
- 360-Degree Feedback: Incorporating feedback from multiple sources, including supervisors, peers, subordinates (if applicable), and even customers, to provide a holistic view of performance.
- Focus on Development: Performance management is seen as a tool for employee growth and development, with clear links to training and career progression opportunities.
- Fair and Transparent Process: Clearly defined criteria, consistent application, and opportunities for employee input and self-assessment.
- Technology-Enabled Systems: Utilizing HR technology platforms to streamline the process, track goals, provide feedback, and generate performance data.
- Regular Calibration: Managers across different departments meet to discuss and align performance ratings to ensure consistency and fairness across the organization.
- Emphasis on Behaviors and Competencies: Evaluating not just results but also the behaviors and competencies demonstrated in achieving those results.
- Separation of Performance and Compensation Discussions: While linked, these discussions are often held separately to allow for a more focused conversation on development.
AgriGrow Kenya’s Current (Hypothetical) Performance Management Process:
- Annual Performance Appraisals: A formal written appraisal is conducted once a year by the direct supervisor.
- Top-Down Evaluation: Primarily a one-way evaluation from the supervisor to the employee.
- General Performance Categories: Performance is assessed using broad categories like “Job Knowledge,” “Work Quality,” “Attendance,” and “Teamwork,” with limited specific behavioral anchors.
- Goals Set Annually (Often Vague): Goals are usually set at the beginning of the year, often broadly defined and not always directly linked to overarching company objectives or measurable outcomes.
- Limited Feedback Throughout the Year: Formal feedback is primarily given during the annual appraisal, with infrequent informal check-ins.
- No Formal 360-Degree Feedback: Feedback is generally limited to the supervisor’s perspective.
- Weak Link to Development: While development needs might be briefly mentioned, there is no structured process for creating individual development plans or linking performance to specific training opportunities.
- Manual Process (Paper-Based or Basic Spreadsheets): The process relies on paper forms or basic spreadsheets for documentation and tracking.
- No Formal Calibration: Performance ratings are determined independently by each supervisor without a formal process for ensuring consistency across departments.
- Compensation Tied Directly to Annual Rating: Salary increases and bonuses are directly based on the overall annual performance rating.
2. Determine the “Gaps” Between AgriGrow Kenya’s Practices and the Identified Best Practices:
Based on the comparison above, the significant “gaps” between AgriGrow Kenya’s current (hypothetical) performance management process and best practices include:
- Lack of Continuous Performance Management: The current system is heavily reliant on a single annual event, missing opportunities for timely feedback, coaching, and course correction throughout the year.
- Insufficiently Specific and Aligned Goals: Goals are often vague and may not be clearly linked to the company’s strategic objectives or measurable outcomes.
- Limited Feedback Sources: The absence of 360-degree feedback restricts the perspective on an employee’s performance and may miss valuable insights from peers and others.
- Weak Focus on Employee Development: The current system lacks a structured approach to identifying development needs and linking performance to specific training and career growth opportunities.
- Limited Transparency and Employee Input: The top-down nature of the evaluation provides limited opportunities for employee self-reflection and input into the assessment process.
- Inefficient and Less Data-Driven Process: The reliance on manual processes hinders efficiency and limits the ability to collect and analyze performance data for organizational insights.
- Inconsistency in Performance Standards: The absence of formal calibration can lead to inconsistencies in how performance is evaluated across different teams and departments.
- Over-Emphasis on Annual Rating for Compensation: Directly tying compensation solely to the annual rating can create anxiety and potentially overshadow the developmental aspects of performance management.
3. Select the Best Practices I Will Implement in AgriGrow Kenya:
Considering AgriGrow Kenya’s size, resources, and the identified gaps, I will prioritize the implementation of the following best practices:
- Shift Towards Continuous Performance Management: Introduce regular (e.g., monthly or quarterly) informal check-ins between managers and employees to discuss progress on goals, provide feedback, and address any challenges. Implement a simple system for documenting key discussion points and action items. This will foster a culture of ongoing dialogue and support.
- Implement SMART Goal Setting: Roll out training for both managers and employees on how to define clear, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goals that are directly aligned with departmental and organizational objectives. Provide templates and guidance for goal setting.
- Introduce a Simplified Feedback Mechanism: Begin with incorporating peer feedback as a starting point for multi-source feedback. Implement a structured process (e.g., using online surveys or facilitated discussions) for employees to receive anonymous feedback from a select number of peers on key collaborative behaviors and competencies. This will provide a broader perspective on performance.
- Integrate Development Planning: Formalize the process of creating Individual Development Plans (IDPs) as part of the performance management cycle. Encourage managers to work with employees to identify development needs based on performance feedback and career aspirations, and to link these needs to available training resources (internal or external).
- Introduce a Basic HR Technology Platform: Invest in a user-friendly HR technology platform (even a relatively simple one initially) to automate the goal-setting, feedback, and review processes. This will improve efficiency, provide a central repository for performance-related information, and facilitate basic data analysis.
- Implement Initial Calibration Sessions: Conduct regular (e.g., mid-year and year-end) calibration meetings among managers within similar functional areas to discuss their performance ratings and ensure a degree of consistency in standards and evaluations. Start with a focus on understanding the rating scale and discussing examples of different performance levels.
Rationale for Selection:
These selected best practices are chosen because they offer a significant opportunity to address the key gaps identified in AgriGrow Kenya’s current (hypothetical) system while being feasible to implement given the company’s size and likely resource constraints.
- Continuous Performance Management and SMART Goals: These are foundational elements that will drive clarity, accountability, and ongoing improvement without requiring a significant technological overhaul initially.
- Simplified Peer Feedback: Starting with peer feedback is a less complex entry point into multi-source feedback than a full 360-degree system and can provide valuable insights into teamwork and collaboration.
- Integrated Development Planning: This directly addresses the gap in employee growth and demonstrates the organization’s commitment to development.
- Basic HR Technology: Investing in technology will improve efficiency and provide a scalable foundation for future enhancements to the performance management process.
- Initial Calibration: Implementing basic calibration sessions is a crucial step towards ensuring fairness and consistency in performance evaluations.
By focusing on these key areas, AgriGrow Kenya can move towards a more effective, engaging, and development-oriented performance management system that supports both individual and organizational success within the Kenyan business environment. The implementation will be phased, starting with training and clear communication to ensure buy-in and effective adoption by all employees and managers.