Deck 8: Appraising and Managing Performance

Question 1

Performance management provides a strategic link by:

A) involving the HR manager in the senior management strategic planning process.
B) giving management feedback on the strategic alignment of employee behaviours.
C) showing how employee performance can be measured in different ways for different employees.
D) comparing performance appraisals with employee and organisational expectations.

Answer 1

giving management feedback on the strategic alignment of employee behaviours.

Question 2

Unions are critical of pay for performance systems and performance appraisals on the grounds that:

A) performance can never be accurately measured and therefore difficult to reward objectively.
B) such systems discriminate and create inequities amongst the lowest paid and poorly organised employees.
C) the industrial relations tribunals cannot intervene in these new forms of wage setting systems.
D) this promotes a competitive culture, coerces higher output and promotes management by control.

Answer 2

this promotes a competitive culture, coerces higher output and promotes management by control.

Question 3

One of the major weaknesses of the team approach to appraising performance is:

A) social loafing.
B) subordinate evaluations.
C) rater errors.
D) the halo effect.

Answer 3

social loafing.

Question 4

Before conducting a performance review discussion the manager should:

A) review the employee's attendance record and note absences.
B) list all key points to be discussed in the interview.
C) discuss the employee's performance with their peers.
D) not review past appraisals as they may bias their current ratings.

Question 5

Research by Jawahar and Williams found that managers who know they are rating employees for administrative purposes only:

A) are likely to be more lenient than when evaluating employment for research, feedback or employment development purposes.
B) are likely to be more severe than when evaluating employment for research, feedback or employment development purposes.
C) will rely more on the advice of the HR department than that of peers.
D) will rely less on the advice of the HR department than that of peers.

Question 6

In appraisal the problem that occurs when a supervisor's rating of a subordinate on one factor biases the supervisor on all other factors is known as:

A) the recency effect.
B) supervisor prejudice.
C) the halo effect.
D) strictness bias.

Question 7

To satisfy EEO requirements, performance appraisals must be:

A) job-related and non-discriminatory.
B) designed to take into account diversity issues.
C) used to promote and encourage employees from minority groups.
D) conducted at least twice a year.

Question 8

Appraisal which involves an individual being evaluated by his/her superiors, peers, subordinates and others is known as:

A) peer appraisal.
B) probationary review.
C) 360-degree feedback.
D) subordinate evaluation.

Question 9

When performance appraisal is seen by managers as something imposed on them by the HR department, this is probably an example of which source of error in performance appraisal?

A) Rater errors
B) Prejudice
C) Poor management attitude
D) Leniency/strictness bias

Question 10

When managers give everyone an average or acceptable rating in performance evaluations, this is known as:

A) central tendency.
B) rater errors.
C) leniency/strictness bias.
D) relationship effect.

Question 11

The major types of performance appraisal include all of the following except:

A) ranking.
B) grading.
C) critical incidents.
D) sliding scales.

Question 12

Subordinate evaluations are seen as a powerful indicator of:

A) the collective presence and power of teams in an organisation.
B) how well the organisation's managers are managing others.
C) how willing employees are to openly evaluate their superiors.
D) the emotions that will emerge during any formal evaluation process.

Question 13

When a manager records occurrences or incidents of employee job behaviour which highlight good or bad job performance they are using which method of performance appraisal?

A) Critical incidents
B) Behaviourally anchored rating scales
C) Assessment centres
D) Essay descriptions

Question 14

Behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS) are designed to:

A) determine employee attitude towards work and the organisation.
B) evaluate behaviour demonstrated in performing a job.
C) evaluate and compare the performance of employees with that of their peers.
D) determine the appropriateness of employee performance and behaviour.

Question 15

A performance appraisal system which uses critical incidents to develop a list of desired behaviours needed to successfully perform a specific job is:

A) behaviour observation scale (BOS).
B) behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS).
C) management by objectives.
D) critical incidents system.

Question 16

When managers are asked to describe in their own words the employees' performance, covering the quantity and quality of work performed, job know-how, human relations skills, etc., they are engaging in a type of appraisal system known as:

A) grading.
B) essay description.
C) critical incidents.
D) assessment centres.

Question 17

When a manager and subordinate mutually identify common goals, define the subordinate's major areas of responsibility in terms of expected results, and use these measures in assessing the subordinate's performance, they are most likely engaging in:

A) behavioural anchored rating scale.
B) an assessment centre.
C) critical incident.
D) management by objectives.

Question 18

A survey of US managers found that one of the major managerial stressors was:

A) a lack of top managerial support for the decisions being made lower in the organisation.
B) poor attitudes by senior managers to occupational health and safety concerns.
C) the inability to reward individuals who had performed outstanding service for the organisation.
D) the need for evaluating their staff members' performance.

Question 19

A study by the Australian Institute of Management in Western Australia found that the major disincentive to productivity was attributable to:

A) employers clearly discriminating between superior and poor performers in the application of rewards.
B) everyone getting the same pay rise regardless of how hard they work.
C) employers linking rewards to the achievement or non-achievement of performance appraisal objectives.
D) only outstanding performers receiving pay increases.

Question 20

In which of the following countries, in the matter of performance appraisal, do employees prefer a greater degree of ambiguity, do not want their weaknesses discussed and want appraisal results kept secret?

A) China
B) North America
C) Australia
D) Japan

Question 21

Who is most commonly responsible for performance appraisals?

A) Teams
B) Colleagues
C) A group consisting of the supervisor, peers, subordinates and customers
D) The immediate supervisor.

Question 22

Which of the following is a problem associated with using self-evaluation in performance appraisals?

A) Strictness
B) Central tendency
C) Commonality between self-ratings and ratings by the supervisor
D) Leniency.

Question 23

The forced distribution scheme is a refinement of which performance appraisal system?

A) Grading
B) Critical incidents
C) Graphic scales
D) Behaviourally anchored rating scales.

Question 24

For evaluating employees, those organisations employing total quality management (TQM) concepts are increasingly using:

A) subordinate evaluation.
B) supervisor evaluation.
C) peer evaluation.
D) self-evaluation.

Question 25

The performance management technique that evaluates organisational performance in the four key areas of people, internal operations, customer satisfaction and financial is known as:

A) management by objectives.
B) SMART objectives.
C) balanced scorecard.
D) behaviour observation scales.

Question 26

SMART is an acronym for:

A) smart/stretching, measurable, agreed/achievable, reviewable, team-based.
B) specific/smart, mutual, agreed, realistic, time-bounded.
C) specific/stretching, measurable, agreed/achievable, realistic, time-bounded.
D) specific/stretching, mutual, autonomous, reviewable, team-based.

Question 27

Rapid change, tighter budgets, downsizing and restructuring, and pressures for greater accountability are placing greater emphasis on:

A) employee selection.
B) performance management.
C) participative management.
D) employee empowerment.

Question 28

The evaluation of organisational and employee performance permits managers to:

A) monitor the skills of employees and ensure they are regularly updated.
B) determine the need for organisational restructuring and process re-engineering.
C) check that strategic business objectives are valid, are being successfully communicated throughout the organisation and are being achieved.
D) ensure that rewards and benefits provided for employees are appropriate and equitable.

Question 29

An essential factor in determining the overall value of 360-degree feedback is:

A) the willingness of employees to give an open and honest assessment of their supervisors.
B) the extent to which HR managers are permitted to conduct the necessary interviews with all staff.
C) the follow up on the required training and development activities identified by the feedback.
D) how the results compare with benchmarks established in international studies of 360-degree feedback.

Question 30

While research suggests that managers can discriminate between performing and non-performing employees, the managers' ratings will not necessarily reflect their actual judgements because:

A) the time and effort taken to complete the reviews causes managers to make mistakes in assessment.
B) employees will put pressure onto managers to give them favourable appraisals.
C) they are keen to protect their own reputations with senior management levels.
D) they often distort their evaluations when completing performance appraisal forms.

Question 31

All of the following except _________ should be primary objectives of performance appraisal.

A) development
B) judgement
C) feedback
D) reward.

Question 32

Which of the following would be considered a membership based reward?

A) Seniority payments
B) Piecework payments
C) Commissions
D) Merit payment

Question 33

A benefit of upward appraisal is:

A) information may be limited.
B) the authority of some managers might be undermined.
C) enhanced employee job satisfaction.
D) more accurate feedback is provided.

Question 34

When using an upward performance appraisal it is important to:

A) ensure that employees are not subject to peer pressure to not participate.
B) provide constructive and timely feedback to those employees who have taken part.
C) allow employees plenty of time to complete the evaluation and to make amendments if necessary.
D) ensure that everyone clearly understands who will see the results and what will be done with the information.

Question 35

Which of the following statements is NOT an advantage of 360-degree feedback systems?

A) Supports team initiatives
B) Simplifies the performance review system
C) Assesses developmental needs
D) Increases the credibility of the performance review process.

Question 36

One of the major problems with the ranking system for evaluating performance is that it:

A) it is far too complex and time-consuming.
B) managers have to provide detailed justifications for their ranking decisions.
C) it is only suitable for organisations with a large number of employees.
D) involves considerable difficulty in discriminating between employees in the middle ranks.

Question 37

A disadvantage of multisource evaluations is that:

A) they discourage employee self-development and motivation.
B) they do not ensure follow-up on development plans.
C) they do not support team initiatives.
D) they promote hierarchical relationships.

Question 38

Performance review discussions can be stressful and unpleasant because managers:

A) do not undertake sufficient preparation.
B) give objective feedback.
C) listen to the needs of the employee.
D) focus on development needs.

Question 39

Just before appraisal time an employee submits an outstanding piece of work. If the supervisor is heavily influenced by this piece of work it is known as:

A) halo effect.
B) prejudice.
C) leniency/strictness bias.
D) recency effect.

Question 40

Many traditional performance appraisal systems place emphasis on subjective criteria such as:

A) personality, loyalty and initiative.
B) initiative, sales volume, costs incurred.
C) attendance record, enthusiasm for the job, number of clients.
D) leadership ability, attendance record, work attitude.

Question 41

The performance criteria against which performance is measured is determined by:

A) market and competitor performance.
B) the nature of the job and the purposes of the assessment.
C) the work processes and importance of the job.
D) the type of performance appraisal to be used.

Question 42

The main characteristic of a static appraisal program is:

A) its focus on the past.
B) that it is concerned with maintaining the status quo.
C) its focus on developmental issues.
D) the use of traditional forms of performance review.

Question 43

Which of the following statements about the role of goal-setting in performance appraisal is LEAST likely to be correct?

A) The setting of specific goals is more likely to lead to higher performance than simply telling an employee to 'do your best'.
B) Goals that are perceived to be easy to achieve tend to result in better performance than goals that are perceived as difficult.
C) Employee participation in goal-setting tends to lead to higher goals being set than when the manager unilaterally sets the goals.
D) Frequent performance feedback results in higher performance.

Question 44

The effectiveness of performance appraisal schemes can be restricted by:

A) inconsistency in reward allocation.
B) utilising objective criteria for evaluation of performance.
C) too much focus on employee development plans.
D) adopting a multi-source evaluation system.

Question 45

Recent research suggests that when managers are required to account for their performance appraisal ratings in person (as opposed to in writing):

A) the appraisal ratings are less accurate.
B) the appraisal ratings tend to be the same for each of the supervisor's employees.
C) the appraisal ratings are more accurate.
D) their subordinates are less willing to accept the ratings given.

Question 46

Which characteristic is NOT a characteristic of the subjective performance criteria?

A) Attendance
B) Attitude
C) Cooperation
D) Dependability

Question 47

Which is an advantage of using the subjective performance appraisal method?

A) Apparent universal application to all jobs
B) Quantifiable and measureable
C) Can be clearly defined
D) Can be tied to specific targets

Question 48

In a 360-degree performance appraisal, identify an 'external customer' that the HR manager seeks information from.

A) Union shop stewards
B) Employees
C) CEO
D) Trade union officials

Question 49

In a 360-degree performance appraisal, identify an 'internal customer' that the HR manager seeks information from.

A) University representatives
B) Suppliers of services
C) CEO
D) Industrial tribunal representatives

Question 50

Numeric feedback is perceived as:

A) more specific, easy to read.
B) confusing to most employees.
C) not concise and somewhat demanding.
D) limiting as it only identifies faults and weaknesses.

Question 51

Critically discuss the role that job analysis has in the design of an effective performance appraisal process.

Question 52

Identify the characteristics of performance management and examine how this approach differs from performance appraisal.

Question 53

Critically discuss the role of constructive feedback in the performance review discussion.

Question 54

Discuss the importance of goal setting in employee motivation and performance improvement.

Question 55

Outline the main objectives of a performance appraisal system.

Question 56

Identify and discuss rater errors that arise in performance appraisal.