Perceptions of organizational justice in the application of performance management systems in the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition in the public sector in South Africa

Abstract

Concerns about the Performance Management and Development System's (also known as the PMDS) implementation are prevalent throughout the South African public service. In certain cases, the distribution of the PMDS bonuses has led to discontent, low staff morale, and outright fighting. Due to the loss of knowledgeable and talented workers, the institutional memory of the Department of Trade, Industry, and Competition (hereinafter referred to as the DTIC) is also lost. A human resource gap results from the staff attrition that follows. The study's goal was to discover how DTIC staff members felt about the way the PMDS is conducted in the department. Three senior managers, six middle managers, three junior managers and four team assistants participated in the study. A total of sixteen DTIC staff members participated in semi-structured one-on-one interviews with the purpose of gathering qualitative data. A purposive sampling approach was used to choose the respondents. Twelve categories, nineteen subcategories, and five key themes were discovered and addressed. The results of this study show that the way in which PMDS evaluations are carried out is inconsistent and does not conform to the DPSA's PMDS policy. However, it was discovered that the DTIC's annual performance evaluations continued to be based on the PMDS Policy Framework.