Deck 10: Evaluating Individuals

Question 1

As a supervisor you are required to put 10 percent of your employees into the highest category and 10 percent into the lowest category.What type of performance appraisal method is your company using?

A) graphic rating scale
B) paired comparison method
C) forced distribution
D) field review

Answer 1

A

Question 2

From your perspective as a compensation officer,which of the following is the most important category of reasons for doing performance appraisals?

A) supervisory
B) administrative
C) developmental
D) symbolic

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Allowing your secretary's weak data processing skills to influence your rating of her other job-related skills is an example of which type of perceptual error?

A) central tendency error
B) similarity effect
C) halo effect
D) harshness effect

Answer 3

C

Question 4

A major reason why performance appraisals may not work effectively is that they are applied in circumstances which are not appropriate.

Question 5

Which of the following best explains why you consistently rate the employees in your department worse than they really deserve because one of your employees is an exceptional performer?

A) halo error
B) recency effect
C) harshness effect
D) contrast effect

Question 6

Used because of its ease,low cost,and "face" validity,which absolute system of performance appraisal is generally considered to be one of the least reliable or valid approaches to performance evaluation?

A) behaviourally anchored rating scales
B) graphic rating scale
C) behavioural observation scale
D) ranking

Question 7

Which of the following is an administrative reason for conducting performance appraisals?

A) keep managers focused on their accountabilities
B) identify training requirements
C) identify employees not performing to or exceeding required performance standards
D) enhance two way constructive dialogue

Question 8

The majority of medium to large Canadian firms use performance appraisal.

Question 9

This method of performance appraisal simplifies the ranking process by comparing each employee with every other employee,one at a time.

A) forced distribution
B) paired comparison
C) behaviourally anchored rating scales
D) field review

Question 10

As a supervisor you have a tendency to rate all employees as "average" in everything. You are guilty of using what perceptual error?

A) halo error
B) contrast effect
C) central tendency error
D) recency effect

Question 11

One advantage of tying pay to appraisals is that this increases the likelihood that appraisals will be taken seriously by all parties involved.

Question 12

This perceptual error occurs when one highly favourable or unfavourable employee characteristic influences the evaluation of other characteristics of that employee.

A) central tendency error
B) halo error
C) leniency effect
D) contrast effect

Question 13

A problem with performance appraisal is that most employees tend to believe that they are "above average."

Question 14

The actual performance of the employee being evaluated has a greater impact on performance appraisal ratings than rater bias.

Question 15

Peer appraisals are more accurate than supervisory appraisals.

Question 16

A common practice is for employees in the first and second quartiles of their pay range to receive no merit increase for simply doing satisfactory work.

Question 17

One hindrance to generating accurate performance appraisals is that raters often believe that it is more important to achieve their intended result than to produce accurate ratings.

Question 18

Which of the following appraisal methods provides specific descriptors for each point on a rating scale?

A) behavioural observation scales
B) management by objectives
C) behaviourally anchored rating scales
D) forced distribution

Question 19

BOS is generally considered to be one of the least reliable approaches to performance evaluation.

Question 20

Work teams can be highly effective without the use of individual performance pay.

Question 21

What key factor determines the effectiveness of the appraisal process?

A) the validity of the appraisal method
B) the quality of the relationship between the supervisor and subordinates
C) the performance score
D) employee satisfaction

Question 22

As a peer appraiser,why might you be tempted to give your colleagues a low rating?

A) rating errors can be balanced out
B) a limited amount of merit pay is available
C) conflict and ill will among peers is reduced
D) you all can benefit if you rate each other low

Question 23

Which source uses many different rating groups to evaluate the employee's performance?

A) professional raters
B) tiered supervisors
C) 360-degree feedback
D) field review

Question 24

Which of the following methods has appraisers rate the frequency of occurrence of different employee behaviours?

A) graphic rating scale
B) management by objectives
C) behaviourally anchored rating scales
D) behavioural observation scales

Question 25

In general,research suggests which source of appraisals is more lenient in making their ratings?

A) supervisors
B) customers
C) peers
D) professional raters

Question 26

Which source of appraisals works better for feedback purposes than as a basis for merit pay?

A) peer
B) self
C) subordinate
D) supervisor

Question 27

Which of the following conditions is more likely to create the need to evaluate individuals in teams?

A) temporary project teams with part-time members
B) strong positive group work norms exist
C) team members have strong intrinsic motivation
D) member commitment to overall team goals is evident

Question 28

Which of the following is not a key element of performance management?

A) goal setting
B) encouragement and support
C) feedback
D) multi-source input

Question 29

Which of the following is not a source of performance appraisals?

A) supervisors
B) board of directors
C) subordinates
D) professional raters

Question 30

What major advantage does BOS have over BARS?

A) Frequency of a given behaviour is easy to judge.
B) Once an item is selected their is no need to develop detailed definitions for each scale point.
C) BOS may actually be more subjective.
D) BOS specifically identifies the behaviour that will be rated.

Question 31

Which source is much less accurate in assessing the performance of managers?

A) peers
B) professional raters
C) subordinates
D) supervisors

Question 32

You have decided to set a maximum amount of money available for merit pay and then allocate it across your departments. Which of the following approaches have you used to determine the total amount of money available for merit pay?

A) "top-down"
B) "across the board"
C) organizational performance indicators
D) "bottom-up"

Question 33

The concept of "performance management" incorporates what central feature?

A) continuous improvement
B) quality control
C) goal-setting
D) engagement

Question 34

According to the author's research,which of the following sources is used by the majority of Canadian employers?

A) supervisory and self-appraisals
B) only supervisory appraisals
C) 360-degree feedback
D) supervisory, self and peer appraisals

Question 35

Which of the following methods provides the supervisor with a "second opinion" of the employee's performance,and may reduce bias?

A) behavioural observations scales
B) performance management
C) field review
D) critical incident reports

Question 36

Which of the following is not a characteristics of effective goals?

A) measurable
B) broad
C) time-based
D) achievable

Question 37

Which source of appraisals can be expected to work well only in high-involvement organizations?

A) peers
B) supervisors
C) self
D) subordinates

Question 38

What advantage does traditional superior-only ratings have over 360-degree systems?

A) They are fair.
B) They are more accurate.
C) They work better for determining merit pay.
D) They are more credible to the recipient.

Question 39

You have designed your merit pay grid so that employees with a "satisfactory" performance rating receive no merit increase if they are in the third and fourth quartiles,and a 3 or 4 percent merit increase if they are in the first or second quartile. What is the logic behind your decision?

A) You believe employees paid above the midpoint have already been rewarded for "satisfactory" work.
B) You believe this practice ensures procedural justice.
C) You believe it is important to maintain a compa-ratio of less than 1.
D) You believe pay raises should constitute a "just noticeable difference".

Question 40

What two key elements make management by objectives a highly effective approach to employee motivation?

A) goals and feedback
B) trust and open communication
C) core competencies and engagement
D) involvement and business strategy

Question 41

Define and describe the key elements of performance management.

Question 42

Identify the key characteristics and advantages of 360-degree feedback appraisal system.

Question 43

Identify and describe the various perceptual errors that can affect appraisal accuracy.

Question 44

Identify and briefly explain the main categories of reasons for doing appraisals.

Question 45

Describe the conditions under which recognizing individual contributions levels may be essential.