 When we are talking about performance appraisal of international employees, we are talking about how the performance of an international employee is going to be measured. In this topic, we are going to talk about how to set the performance criteria for or what are the aspects which need to be taken into account while setting the performance criteria in order to conduct the performance appraisal. We are talking about international employees over here. So we are talking about setting the performance criteria for all types of international employees. And in previous topics, we have discussed the type of international employees. So those could be expatriates or non standard assignment holders or the non expatriates. Mostly we are concerned about how to measure the performance of expatriates. But similarly, the same type of structures and functions need to be performed in order to set the criteria for other international employees as well. So the performance criteria, the challenge of setting the performance criteria in the international scenario is much more complicated. So the global firm's ability to measure an employee's individual contribution to performance and to assess the aggregate contribution of human capital to strategic progress is a complex and timely topic in organizational studies. So to determine the performance appraisal process has to determine how much is the person's individual contribution to the organization and how much is the contribution of a particular unit of the organization to the strategic objectives as well as the operational objectives of that organization. So it is something which is complex and which requires a lot of strategic thinking. The performance criteria therefore have to be specific in order to make them objective. And then the performance criteria they have to be measurable. So they have to be defined in terms which are measurable terms in which an objective assessment can be made with regards to the goals which are set for the individual as well as for a particular unit. But setting the goals is something which is a complicated process because of the various types of goals. There are three types of goals and the type of goal it affects how specific and measurable the performance criteria can be set according to that particular goal. Now the types of goals number one are the hard goals. Hard goals are objective, quantifiable and can be directly measured. So how many hours worked, how many products produced, how many contracts signed, how much sales made, how much production of the manufacturing unit. So the number is something which is objective and quantifiable. Then hard goals are not the only goals which are given to a person or to an individual. There are then soft goals as well and soft goals are a lot more important than the hard goals. So the performance of a person may be top notch. The person may be a very good performer, a high performer, but the person may be dysfunctional because of his or her negative nature and because of its toxic nature. So it is said that a person, a high performer with a toxic nature is detrimental to the organization rather than a less achiever but with a with a pleasant nature, with a more congenial nature. So the soft goals are also important. What are soft goals? They tend to be relationship or create based. So the leadership skills of a person, the communication skills of a person, the convincing negotiation skills, all these are the soft goals of a particular job. And then there are contextual goals. Contextual goals are the goals which are related with the environment in which the task or the job is being performed. So contextual goals attempt to take into consideration factors that result from the situation in which the performance occurs. So contextual goals may be managing the culture of the particular subsidiary unit. Contextual goals may be developing the network of people in that subsidiary unit. Contextual goals could be pacifying the demands of the collective bargaining agents or the trade unions working in that particular subsidiary country. So contextual goals are related with performance in that particular situation in which the person is performing that particular task. So those goals are, again, they are very much subjective. So hard goals are objective, quantifiable, measurable. You can easily determine how much productivity has been there. Then soft goals, they become more subjective. It's not very easy to measure subjective rates or person related rates. And then finally, contextual goals, they become even more subjective because they are affected by the environment in which the person is performing. And therefore, it must be taken into account how the environment is affecting that person and how much that person has got discretion to perform in that particular situation. If the environment becomes extremely hostile, volatile, if there is uncertainty, therefore, a person will not be able to perform even if he has the knowledge, skills, abilities, attitudes, motivation, everything in place. But if the environment is not continual or is not providing the opportunity, the person will not be able to perform. So the contextual goals, they become even more subjective. But these are the goals which are most important to achieve rather than the hard goals. So defining the criteria needs to take into account what types of goals are given to a person and how much subjectivity and objectivity is there in that particular type of assignment.