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Appraising and Managing Performance: Objective Questions
Appraising and Managing Performance: Objective Questions
Chapter 7
Appraising and Managing Performance
OBJECTIVE QUESTIONS
1.
2.
Page: 222
3.
E--Recall
Emma is thinking through the future evaluation of her employees. Right now she is
determining what specific areas of each employee's work she should evaluate.
Emma is in the process of:
a) measuring performance to make a judgment about how good or bad that
performance is.
b) identifying areas of job performance that should be evaluated.
c) managing the work process.
d) assessing.
e) evaluating performance.
Answer: b
222
4.
5.
7.
Page: 223
6.
E--Recall
M--Recall
Page: 223
223
8.
9.
Page: 224
One of your managers returns from a management seminar all excited about using a
relative judgment system for performance appraisals. He asks you for your opinion
about the value of such systems. You tell him that:
a) it forces supervisors to differentiate between employees.
b) it helps managers to make judgments based on performance criteria.
c) it permits a qualitative evaluation of employee performance.
d) it will help managers to measure things like decisiveness, reliability, etc., all
keys to success.
e) such a system will allow managers to assess the results or outcomes of
performance.
Answer: a
10.
M--Integration
C--Integration
Page: 225
224
11.
Your CEO is considering using a relative judgment system for your company's
performance appraisal program. She asks you about the disadvantages to such a
system, and you tell her that:
a) that it is not uncommon for all employees to receive the same or very similar
evaluations from their manager.
b) that this system is based on subjective, relative judgments that do not
differentiate how good or how bbad each employee's performance is.
c) that it is not uncommon for evaluation criteria or standards to differ among
managers.
d) that this system does not measure job-relevant behavior.
e) that it is a very time- consuming process.
Answer: b
12.
Answer: d
Page: 225
13.
M--Recalloderate
You are discussing changing your performance appraisal system with your
executive management team. The VP of Operations would really like to be able to
compare employees working for different managers in different areas of the plant.
The best appraisal system for this would be a(n):
a) a ranking system.
b) a relative system.
c) an absolute system.
d) a behavior-based system.
e) an outcome-based system.
Answer: c
C--Integration
Page: 225
225
14.
15.
C--Integration
Page: 226
17.
Page: 225-226
16.
C--Integration
M--Recall
Page: 226
An appraisal system that focuses on individuals, rather rather than any other factor
is a(n):
a) an absolute system.
b) a behavioral system.
c) a relative system.
d) a trait-based system.
e) an outcome-based system.
Answer: d
M--Recall
Page: 228
226
18.
19.
Page: 228
The traits that are most often assessed by trait appraisal instruments are:
a) unrecognizable to people who are not trained raters.
b) highly defined so that raters can avoid conscious or unconscious bias.
c) focused on worker characteristics that are only displayed in stressful job
situations.
d) enduring and consistent worker characteristics.
e) often the cause of racial bias in the workplace.
Answer: d
20.
E--Recall
M--Recall
Page: 228
Bob wants to focus this years employee assessment interviews on discussing the
traits each employee displays. You tell him that:
a) though providing feedback to employees on trait-based judgments is often very
encouraging to employees, it should be avoided since it is more expensive than
providing feedback in other performance areas.
b) providing feedback on trait-based judgments is highly personal, and since it is
an evaluation of the employee rather than the employees performance, he
should avoid doing so.
c) trait-based judgments should never be a part of performance appraisal, so there
would be no feedback with which to provide employees with.
d) providing feedback on employees performance outcomes would do essentially
the same thing.
e) providing feedback on trait-based judgments is very important for boosting the
morale of the employees.
Answer: b
227
21.
22.
23.
C--Integration
Page: 229
24.
M--Recall
Page: 229
The critical incident technique can be used to create _______ rating scales.
a) relative-judgment based
b) trait-judgment based
c) outcome- based
d) behavior-based
e) all of the above
Answer: d
E--Recall
Page: 229
228
25.
26.
27.
M--Recall
Page: 230
28.
E--Recall
Page: 231
E--Recall
Page: 230
229
29.
30.
M--Recall
Page: 231
Studies of performance appraisal systems show that the most influential element on
the effectiveness of the system is the:
a) the number of employees for whom the rater is responsible.
b) the intelligence and experience of the rater.
c) the type of tool or system used.
d) the gender and age of the employee being evaluated.
e) the job category for which the performance is being evaluated.
Answer: b
32.
Page: 230
31.
M--Recall
E--Recall
Page: 231-232
E--Recall
Page: 232
230
33.
34.
Page: 232
You are reviewing the performance appraisal conducted by your middle managers.
You notice that Carrie tends to give each employee the same score across all
dimensions of the evaluation. For example, Brians scores all are in the average
range while Karls all tend to be in the excellent range, even though you know that
each man has done very well on some and very poorly on some of the dimensions.
Brian and Karls evaluations exhibit:
a) the impact of liking.
b) a halo error.
c) their awareness of organizational politics.
d) the use of a group evaluation for rating individual performance.
e) restriction of range error.
Answer: e
35.
E--Recall
You are training first- line supervisors on how to give performance appraisals. In
your explanation of the halo error, you tell these managers that they can avoid this
mistake if they:
a) are sensitive to organizational considerations when they evaluate employees.
b) remain current on HRM and EEO laws.
c) they use the proper tool in the correct format for each evaluation.
d) consider each dimension individually, and don't make an overall assessment of
performance and then tailor the evaluation to that assessment.
e) guard against developing personal relationships with their employees.
Answer: d
231
36.
Two line managers, Cameron and Ty, are performing appraisals on their
subordinates.
As they discuss their findings, they realize that they have very similar views on how they
rate performance. The work that Cameron rates as excellent, Ty rates as excellent.
The work that Ty rates as average, Cameron rates as average. This similarity
indicates:
a) a high rate of comparability between the two raters.
b) a restriction of range error.
c) a low rate of comparability between the two raters.
d) central tendency errors between the two raters.
e) the influence of liking.
Answer: a
37.
38.
E--Recall
Page: 232
39.
E--Recallasy
Page: 233
C--Integration
Page: 233
232
40.
41.
M--Integration
Page: 233
Which of the following is true about the impact of the influence of liking on the
performance appraisal process?
a) It is a gender and ethnic origin problem that occurs mostly in older, white male
supervisors and less in younger female Latinao supervisors.
b) A supervisor's feelings toward an employee have a greater impact on the
performance rating than does actual performance.
c) It has little actual impact on an individual's performance evaluation.
d) The impact is greatest in absolute performance appraisal systems.
e) All of the above are true.
Answer: b
43.
Page: 233
42.
M--Integration
C--Integration
Page: 233
_____ is one way managers can counter or minimize the influence of liking on the
performance evaluations they conduct.
a) Frame-of-reference training
b) Experience, simply having conducted many performance evaluations,
c) Keeping a performance diary on each employee they evaluate
d) Developing a sensitivity to the organizational politics involved in the process
e) Conducting group, rather than individual, performance evaluations
Answer: c
E--Recall
Page: 234
233
44.
45.
M--Recall
Page: 234
47.
Page: 234
One way to guard against the impact of liking on a performance appraisal is to keep
a performance diary for each employee. For managers, keeping performance
diaries is often:
a) tedious and time -consuming.
b) a way to vent their frustrations about individual employees.
c) a guarantee against bias due to liking.
d) a relatively speedy process which provides legal justification for the appraising
process.
e) a good alternative to intervening directly when poor employee performance
becomes a concern.
Answer: d
46.
E--Recall
M--Recall
Page: 235
Sheila believes the value of her employees' performance depends on her agenda or
goals, and not on any objective standard. Sheilas perspective is a(/an):
a) rational perspective.
b) absolute perspective.
c) political perspective.
d) relative perspective.
e) trait-based perspective.
Answer: c
234
48.
49.
Page: 235
50.
C--Integration
E--Recall
Page: 236
One could draw which of the following conclusions from your text's explanation
of the political perspective in performance appraisal?
a) Performance appraisals always reward specific behavior.
b) Performance appraisals communicate approval and disapproval, and manage an
employee's behavior.
c) Performance appraisals provide a way to compare different employees working
at the same or similar jobs.
d) Performance appraisals accurately measure performance against clear standards
in order to improve functioning in the organization.
e) Performance appraisals give the employee as much power and discretion as
possible.
Answer: b
235
51.
52.
E--Recall
Page: 236
Automotive, Inc. (A.I.) is an automotive manufacturing company that uses selfmanaged teams to produce large automotive parts. When performing evaluations,
A.I. needs to remember to:
a) appraise both individual and team performance.
b) value individual performance over team performance.
c) value team performance over individual performance.
d) use outcome measures when evaluating the performance of individual team
members.
e) use behavioral measures to assess overall team performance.
Answer: a
54.
Page: 236
Your text argues that the performance appraisal process in most organizations is:
a) an absolute process.
b) a rational exercise.
c) a political exercise.
d) generally a group, rather than individual, process.
e) a trait-based process.
Answer: c
53.
M--Recall
E--Recall
Page: 236
236
55.
56.
M--Recall
Page: 239
58.
Page: 237
The legal requirements that any performance appraisal system must meet are set
forth in:
a) Executive Order 110267.
b) the Civil Rights Act of 1991.
c) an addendum to the Americans with Disabilities Act.
d) Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
e) no single document or federal law.
Answer: d
57.
M--Recall
E--Recall
Page: 239
237
59.
60.
Page: 239
61.
E--Recall
M--Recall
Page: 240
238
62.
Your text argues for which of the following as the best model of performance
management?
a) Separating the performance appraisal and salary review.
b) Incorporating judgment and coaching in the performance review.
c) Separating goal setting and action planning from the formal review.
d) Replacing the formal review with informal day-to-day feedback and
performance management.
e) None of the above.
Answer: b
63.
E--Recall
Page: 240
65.
Page: 240
64.
M--Recall
E--Recall
Page: 241
E-- Recall
Page: 241
239
66.
67.
E--Recall
Page: 243
An inclusive list of factors that affect performance includes: ability, motivation, and
situational factors. Which of the following would be a situational factor?
a) An employee arrives at work late every day.
b) An employee exhibits job knowledge.
c) The employee receives poor supervision.
d) The employee is suffering from burnout.
e) All of the above
Answer: c
69.
Page: 242
More and more companies are adopting an upward performance appraisal process
of:
a) peer reviews.
b) self reviews.
c) team reviews.
d) outcome-based reviews.
e) subordinate reviews.
Answer: e
68.
M--Recall
C--Integration
Page: 242
If supervisors want to help employees gain insight into their performance problems
and have input into the performance appraisal, they should consider using:
a) peer reviews.
b) self reviews.
c) team reviews.
d) outcome-based reviews.
e) subordinate reviews.
Answer: b
E--Recall
Page: 243
240
70.
Ahmad has been a line manager at a large jewelry factory for nearly 10 years. This
year, the factory is letting the employees directly under him contribute to Ahmads
performance appraisal. This is an example of:
a) subordinate review.
b) superior review.
c) self-review.
d) management revision.
e) 360 feedback.
Answer: a
71.
360 feedback:
a) is inherently less time consuming than any performance appraisal process.
b) takes less planning than traditional processes.
c) is rapidly becoming commonplace.
d) is being used less and less and will probably be gone within five5 years.
e) is less expensive than other appraisal processes.
Answer: c
72.
E--Recall
Page: 244
73.
E--Recall
Page: 244
M--Recall
Page: 246
241
74.
A case can be made that the most important element in a manager's coaching of an
employees's work performance is:
a) identifying the cause of the performance problem.
b) directing attention to the problem.
c) empowering the worker to reach a solution.
d) the communication between the manager and the worker about the issue.
e) the accuracy of the performance appraisal.
Answer: c
75.
C--Integration
Page: 247
77.
Page: 247
76.
M--Integration
E--Recall
Page: 246
M--Recall
Page: 248
242
CASE QUESTIONS
Table Case 7.1
Shannon is the CEO of a service firm that provides high- tech service support to other
small businesses. He wants to revise the performance appraisal system to align it more
closely with company goals. Frank has no preconceived ideas, but he wants a tailored
program that is fair, ethical, and that will produce consistent results.
He wants service employees to work together to assist each other while providing
maximum service quality. The sales force for Shannons company has not been
particularly aggressive and sales are lagging. He wants sales people to both sell and assist
in providing service to customers. Happy customers lead to better profits.
In the past, his sales managers have been getting the same raises, regardless of their
effectiveness. He wants to know whom his best-performing managers and executives are,
and he wants to reward them accordingly. He wants to compare managers across
functions so he can identify people ready for greater and different responsibilities.
78.
Refer to Case Table 7.1. Shannons first step in developing the new performance
appraisal system is to:
a) identify the performance dimensions to measure.
b) identify the performance appraisal tool(s) he wants to use.
c) provide training for himself and other managers to avoid rater error.
d) develop the performance management process he will use.
e) communicate the changes in the program to the employees.
Answer: a
79.
Moderate
Page: 223
Refer to CaseTable 7.1. The best appraisal system to enhance cooperation among
service personnel would be:
a) a trait-based appraisal system.
b) a performance appraisal system that focused on the person rather than
performance.
c) the relative judgment process.
d) rank ordering.
e) a behavioral appraisal system.
Answer: e
Challenging
Page: 229
243
80.
Refer to CaseTable 7.1. The best appraisal system for Shannons sales management
team would be:
a) rank order.
b) trait -based.
c) outcome s-based.
d) relative judgment.
e) Bbehavioral -based.
Answer: c
81.
Page: 230
Refer to Case Table 7.1. What perspective do you believe Shannon has when it
comes to the performance appraisal process?
a) A political perspective.
b) An absolute perspective.
c) A relative perspective.
d) A legal perspective.
e) A trait perspective.
Answer: b
82.
Moderate
Challenging
Page: 236
Refer to CaseTable 7.1. If Shannon wanted a system that would help him make
clear distinctions among his managers by job, i.e., all MIS managers would be rated
together, all executives would be rated together, etc., you could recommend that he
use a(/an) ____ appraisal tool.
a) behavioral
b) trait
c) relative judgment
d) outcome
e) absolute judgment
Answer: c
Moderate
Page: 225
244
CaseTable 7.2
You are reviewing performance appraisals from across the company for a report to the
president regarding manager performance. She wants to know not only how employees
are doing, but also how well managers are evaluating their employees.
Reading through Matts evaluations of his MIS team, you note that he tends to rate all of
his people in the middle of the scale. You recall a conversation last week when he told
you that overall his people were okay, but nothing to cheer about. He would like to get
them more training and institute an incentive program to get them motivated.
Madelines employee evaluations look pretty good:. They range from very good to some
weak performers. You are startled to see that Madeline has rated Juan rather low. Pulling
his file, you note that he has always had very high ratings until this time. You remember a
meeting two months ago when Juan vehemently disagreed with Madeline in front of the
president, who sided with Juan (to Madelines embarrassment).
Edwards employee evaluations seem to have no reason to them. Gary, a noted average
performer has a very high rating. Jenny, another average performer whothat Anuar has
been trying to convince to quit, has a very low rating. You remember hearing Edward say
that Gary was the president's son-in-law and that he thought Jenny needed to be
motivated to do more than just get by.
83.
Refer to CaseTable 7.2. Based on what you know, you could draw the conclusion
that Matts evaluations exemplify:
a) a normal manager's evaluations. There is no problem.
b) a halo effect error, where Matt has already made an overall assessment of his
employees and rated them accordingly.
c) the influence of liking.
d) a problem with organizational politics.
e) a frame-of-reference error.
Answer: b
84.
Challenging
Page: 232
Refer to CaseTable 7.2. Madelines overall evaluations tell you that she:
a) is doing a good job of evaluating her people.
b) is subject to the halo effect.
c) tends to make leniency errors.
d) is sensitive to organizational politics.
e) would have difficulty comparing her employees across the board.
Answer: b
Challenging
Page: 232
245
85.
Refer to CaseTable 7.2. Madelines evaluation of Juan may have a/(an) ___ error.
a) central tendency error
b) organizational politics
c) influence of liking
d) frame-of-reference
e) assessment criteria
Answer: c
86.
Page: 233
Refer to Case Table 7.2. Edwards employee evaluations show that Edward:
a) tends to have halo errors.
b) is subject to the influence of liking.
c) takes a rational or absolute perspective on performance appraisals.
d) is not considering situational factors in his appraisals.
e) believes in a political perspective regarding performance appraisals.
Answer: e
87.
Moderate
Moderate
Page: 235
Refer to CaseTable 7.2. Which of these managers might leave the company
vulnerable to a lawsuit because of the way they conduct their performance
appraisals?
a) Matt .
b) Edward.
c) Matt and Edward.
d) Madeline and Edward.
e) Madeline.
Answer: d
Challenging
Page: 239
CaseTable 7.3
In a training session for managers, you mention the fact that the most important part of
the performance appraisal process is performance improvement. Then you move into an
explanation of the improvement of performance process.
During the ensuing discussion, Chris, a middle -manager with 20 direct reports, tells you
that he has a finely tuned ability to discover the causes of performance problems. It is
always that the employee either doesn't want to do the job or he/she doesn't have the
skills and knowledge to do it. For example, no matter how often Sam showed Wilson
what to do and encouraged him, he just couldn't meet production demands.
Another supervisor, Gena, says that once she has discovered the cause of the performance
problem,. aAll she has to do is create a supportive environment and work in partnership
with the employee, and the problem is solved. While she strives to communicate
acceptance, she also likes to use trait-type terms--crabby, argumentative, unimaginative,,
etc., --to help her employees understand where she is coming from. She finds that if she
gives the employee all the time he/she needs and then offers suggestions for
246
Refer to CaseTable 7.3. In this training session you point out to the managers that
to improve performance, they need to begin by:
a) exploring the causes of the performance problem with the employee.
b) directing attention to the causes of the problem.
c) empowering workers to reach their own solutions to performance problems.
d) directing their communication toward performance issues.
e) conducting a formal performance appraisal.
Answer: a
89.
Moderate
Page: 241
Refer to CaseTable 7.3. Genas strategy for solving performance problems skips
what step that an effective manager uses for solving performance problems?
a) Exploring the causes.
b) Directing attention to the cause.
c) Empowering employees to reach a solution.
d) Motivating the employee to solve his/her own problems.
e) Management control of the process.
Answer: b
91.
Page: 240
90.
Easy
Moderate
Page: 236
Moderate
Page: 247
247
92.
Refer to CaseTable 7.3. How does Genas method of giving feedback compare to
the suggestions offered in the Managers Notebook for giving constructive
feedback?
a) Gena is effective and follows all the guidelines.
b) Gena is probably not giving employees sufficient time to vent their feelings.
c) Gena seems to be spending too much time trying to reason the employees into
seeing her perspective.
d) Gena probably communicates acceptance but shouldnt use the trait-type
terms.
e) Gena doesnt seem to offer suggestions for improvement.
Answer: d
Easy
Page: 248
CaseTable. 7.4
Sigerstad, Inc. is preparing for a large-scale performance evaluation of workers in all
departments. You are a member of the HR department and have been asked to join a
committee that will be developing the criteria. The company is very team-centered and
you need to develop appraisal criteria with teams in mind. Management has also asked
the team to prepare a training session for line managers on how to provide appraisal
feedback to employees, as well as how to perform appraisal interviews.
93.
Refer to CaseTable 7.4. The committee begins by discussing how the foci of the
appraisals should be directed. Which of the following would you suggest as the
best direction for the appraisals?
a) Only team performance should be evaluated, since team outcomes are the basis
for the firms success or failure.
b) Only individual performance should be evaluated, since each individuals
performance plays a factor in the teams success.
c) Both individual performance and team performance should be evaluated.
d) Individual performance should be the sole measure of performance for
Sigerstads manufacturing teams.
e) Team performance should be the sole measure of performance for Sigerstads
manufacturing teams.
Answer: c
94.
Moderate
Page: 236
Refer to CaseTable 7.4. Mary Anne suggests that team members individual
performance be based upon outcome measures. You respond that:
a) outcome measures should have no place in measuring performance.
b) using behavioral measures would be a better choice, since they are easier to
observe.
c) using outcome measures would certainly be the best choice for measuring
individual performance.
d) quantity measures should be used when determining individual performance.
e) individual performance should not be measured among team members.
248
Answer: b
95.
Moderate
Page: 237
Refer to CaseTable 7.4. If team members reviewed one another, this would be an
example of:
a) self-review.
b) subordinate review.
c) peer review.
d) bribery.
e) hypocrisy.
Answer: c
97.
Page: 236-237
Refer to Case Table 7.4. Dwayne suggests that team performance be based on
outcome measures. You respond that:
a) outcomes measures should have no place in measuring team-related
performance.
b) using behavioral measures would be a better choice, since they are easier to
observe.
c) using outcome measures would certainly be the best choice for measuring
individual team members performance.
d) measuring the traits that team members exhibits would be a better choice.
e) it would be just as effective to simply measure each individual members
outcome performance.
Answer: c
96.
Challenging
Easy
Page: 243
Refer to CaseTable 7.4. In order for feedback to produce worker improvement, you
suggest emphasizing which of the following to managers who will perform
appraisal interviews?
a) Directing communication at the workers performance rather than at the worker.
b) Developing an action plan and empowering employees to reach a solution in
improving performance.
c) Exploring the causes of performance problems.
d) Directing attention to causes of performance problems.
e) All of the above
Answer: e
Easy
Page: 240
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
98.
Easy
Page: 222
249
99.
The performance appraisal system should both praise or criticize past behavior, and
focus on the future focus in terms of how workers will achieve their potential in the
organization.
Answer: True
Moderate
Page: 223
Moderate
Page: 226
Moderate
Page: 226
102. Absolute rating systems eliminate the common problem of relative systems of all
workers receiving similar ratings by forcing the supervisor to make objective
distinctions.
Answer: False
Challenging
Page: 226
Moderate
Page: 225
104. Trait ratings evaluate worker characteristics that tend to be consistent and enduring.
Consequently, like absolute systems, they eliminate all ambiguity and arbitrariness
in ratings.
Answer: False
Challenging
Page: 228
105. The most common form of behavioral appraisal instrument tends to measure the
value rather than the frequency of rated behaviors.
Answer: True
Challenging
Page: 229
106. Like trait systems, behavioral systems are somewhat relative since the effectiveness
and frequency of an important behavior is subjectively judged by the rater.
Answer: False
Challenging
Page: 229-230
250
Easy
Page: 229
108. Behavioral rating systems are well accepted by managers since the method aligns
with the way they think about their employees on a day-to-day basis.
Answer: False
Moderate
Page: 230
Moderate
Page: 230
110. The choice of which appraisal tool to use should be based on the purpose of the
appraisal.
Answer: True
Easy
Page: 231
111. Sudhir is evaluating Carols performance. Sudhir has a poor opinion of Carol
because she irritates him by asking questions and questioning his judgment in
department meetings. When the HR director reviews Carols performance
evaluation, he notes that Sudhir has consistently rated Sudhir Carol low. The HR
director agrees in areas of judgment and tact but knows that Jane Carol is
considered one of the department's most effective people in other areas. What the
HR director notes in Sudhirs evaluation is the rater bias called the halo effect.
Answer: True
Challenging
Page: 232
112. Yolanda tends to appraise all workers in her department at the high end of the
measuring scale. This may be due to a severity error.
Answer: False
Challenging
Page: 232
Moderate
Page: 233
114. Liking is an emotional and conscious response on the part of employers and is
established over a long period of time.
Answer: False
Moderate
Page: 233
251
115. The use of a performance diary is an excellent, almost foolproof way of guarding
against the performance evaluation error called liking.
Answer: False
Challenging
Page: 234
116. Maximizing benefits over costs is the primary goal of rational performance
appraisal.
Answer: False
Challenging
Page: 236
117. Rational and political perspectives on performance appraisal differ in that the
rational approach seeks as clear a definition of worker performance as possible,
while the political perspective seeks ambiguity.
Answer: True
Easy
Page: 236
Moderate
Page: 236
Moderate
Page: 236-237
120. When assessing the basis of a performance problem, managers should focus on
employee ability and motivation, and largely ignore situational factors, since these
are beyond the employee's control.
Answer: False
Moderate
Page: 242
121. 360 performance appraisal systems require careful planning and consumes far
more time than other appraisal systems, but putting the system on-line can reduce
the time needed for the process.
Answer: True
Easy
Page: 246
252
Page: 222
125. _______ is an appraisal format that asks supervisors to make judgments about an
employees performance based solely on performance standards.
Answer: Absolute judgment Moderate Page: 226
126. An appraisal tool that asks a supervisor to make judgments about worker
characteristics that tend to be consistent and enduring is referred to as a(n)
_______.
Answer: trait appraisal instrument
Moderate Page: 228
127. A(n) _______ is an appraisal tool that asks managers to assess a workers
behaviors.
Answer: behavioral appraisal instrument
Moderate Page: 229
128. A(n) _______ is an appraisal tool that asks managers to assess the results achieved
by workers.
Answer: outcome appraisal instrument
Moderate Page: 230
253
Easy
Page: 232
131. _______ is the degree to which the performance ratings given by various
supervisors in an organization are similar.
Answer: Comparability
132. A type of training that present supervisors with fictitious examples of worker
performance, asks the supervisor to evaluate the workers in the examples, and then
tells them what their ratings should have been is referred to as _______.
Answer: frame-of-reference (FOR) training
Moderate Page: 233
133.
Easy
Page: 243
134. A(n) _______ is a performance appraisal system in which workers at the same level
in the organization rate one another.
Answer: peer review
Easy
Page: 243
135. A performance appraisal system in which workers review their supervisors is called
a(n) _______.
Answer: subordinate review Moderate Page: 243
136. The combination of peer, subordinate, and self-review is referred to as _______.
Answer: 360-degree feedback
Moderate Page: 244
254
ESSAY QUESTIONS
137. Performance appraisal systems may be built on a relative or absolute judgment
basis. Discuss what these two bases are and the relative merits and disadvantages of
each.
Answer:
Summary of suggested answer
Relative judgment-based systems evaluate employee performance by comparing
employees to one another. Ranking is a common tool. The advantage is that it
forces managers to make distinctions. Sometimes supervisors' unwillingness to do
this destroys the effectiveness of the performance appraisal process. Most HR
professionals see several disadvantages with this system, such as: ratings are not
comparable, employees tend to be grouped, and it leads to conflict among
employees.
Absolute judgments simply evaluate employee performance on an individual basis
against specific criteria. Its advantages are: ratings are comparable, standards are
concrete, it avoids creating conflict among employees. But there are some
disadvantages: workers tend to receive the same ratings, interpretation of standards
varies among managers.
Easy
Page: 225-226
138. Some performance appraisal tools focus on what is measured rather than how the
judgment is made. Describe three measurement-focused appraisal tools,
enumerating the advantages and disadvantages of each.
Answer:
Summary of suggested answer
Trait appraisal instruments focus on worker characteristics, which tend to be
consistent and enduring. They have the advantage of providing a shorthand
behavioral system but the disadvantages of being too ambiguous and focusing on
the person, not the behavior.
Behavioral appraisal instruments focus on employee behavior, what type and to
what degree it is exhibited. These instruments have the following advantages:
standards are concrete, focus is behavior/performance. But they also have
disadvantages of: they are time consuming, it is difficult to identify key behaviors.
Outcome-s based instruments measure results achieved. The most common
measurement is MBO. The advantages are: results oriented, measurable.
Disadvantages: -a results-only focus, not all factors are controllable by employee.
Moderate
Page: 228-231
255
139. Discuss how rater errors and personal bias influence the performance appraisal
process and any possible solutions for these influences on the performance appraisal
process.
Summary of suggested answer
Rater error is the consistent bias on the part of the rater. This may take several
forms.
The halo error is the most prominent and occurs, when the supervisor
equalizes an employee's ratings or makes ratings fit his/her overall judgment.
Restriction of range error is another form of rater error. The manager restricts
his/her ratings to a small portion of the rating scale. This may take the form of
leniency, severity, or central tendency error.
Personal bias can be conscious or unconscious and raise legal issues.
Solution--Frame- of-reference training, but it only works for behavioral
systems.
Challenging
Page: 232-233
256
141. Group performance appraisals are becoming more important in the U.S. business
community, since teams are becoming increasingly common in the workplace. At
what two levels should performance be appraised from and how should these be
measured?
Answer:
Team performance should be based upon:
1) the performance of the team as a unit
2) each individuals contribution to the team.
To evaluate team performance, managers must measure the overall performance of
the team as a whole. Measuring the quality or quantity of the teams outcome is the
most applicable way to evaluate the performance. Team members are the best
sources for identifying and developing team level criteria.
In order to evaluate individual contributions, managers must have clear
performance criteria relating to traits, behaviors, or outcomes. Behavioral measures
are the most appropriate for determining the individual members contributions,
since they are be most easily understood by team members and those who interact
with the team.
Challenging
Page: 236-238
Page: 236-238
257