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Lesson 79 D3aD3bD7cD7d

Using variances

You'll learn how variances help management evaluate organisational performance and control operations, and why the standards you choose directly affect both accuracy and employee motivation.

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In this lesson

  1. 0:00 Variances and historical performance evaluation
  2. 0:28 Four main types of performance standards
  3. 1:59 How standards influence employee motivation
  4. 3:02 Goal congruence and staff alignment

About this lesson

This lesson covers the four main types of performance standards—ideal, expected attainable, current, and basic—and explains how each influences behaviour differently. Understanding which standard to apply is essential for effective variance analysis, as overly challenging standards can demotivate staff, whilst achievable but realistic targets drive genuine improvement. This is core to Performance Management and feeds directly into your exam preparation for papers like PM and APM.

Duration: 3m

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