Deck 8: Performance Management

Question 1

Performance appraisals are used for compensation adjustments,training needs,and placement decisions.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Key elements of a performance appraisal system include BOTH performance measures and performance-related criteria.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The major problem with employee appraisals for human resource departments is that they tend to make compensation decisions and employee career planning more difficult and less efficient.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

One dimension of performance measures is whether they are objective or subjective.

Question 5

Performance objectives transform organizational objectives into measurable outcomes to be used for internal management purposes.

Question 6

One of the objectives of a performance management system is to include measures of employee satisfaction,motivation,and customer service.

Question 7

Most human resource departments dislike employee appraisals because while they create work,they offer little if any specific information of use to the department itself.

Question 8

Indirect subjective performance measures are usually the most effective as they tend to minimize the personal biases of the evaluator.

Question 9

Performance standards are the benchmarks against which performance is measured.

Question 10

The ideal performance management system provides incentives for employees to concentrate on improving things that contribute the most to value creation.

Question 11

Objective performance measures are usually less reliable than subjective ones because of the risk of rater biases.

Question 12

In performance appraisal systems,it is important for human resource managers to know that while valid criteria tend to be reliable,reliable criteria are not necessarily valid.

Question 13

Many human resource specialists set performance standards arbitrarily in order that employees cannot take advantage of them to artificially improve their performance evaluations.

Question 14

Performance appraisals can alert the human resource department to problems in staffing procedures.

Question 15

Business strategy,performance management,and compensation systems should be carefully linked.

Question 16

Accurate performance appraisals can indicate to employees where they are deficient in their work.

Question 17

Sound performance management programs make a clear connection between employee goals and compensation objectives.

Question 18

Performance appraisals include several variables including corporate culture,organizational benchmarks,and performance management.

Question 19

An organization cannot set performance standards if it has not first set performance measures.

Question 20

Performance measures are the benchmarks against which performance is measured.

Question 21

Maintaining reliability in performance evaluation is highly desirable and easy to achieve,particularly if sufficiently different raters and different appraisal instruments are employed.

Question 22

The recency effect is NOT a performance evaluation bias that occurs in employee performance appraisals.

Question 23

The problem-solving approach to an employee evaluation interview allows the employee to explain reasons,excuses,and defensive feelings about why performance is deficient.

Question 24

Future-oriented performance appraisal methods include the management-by-objectives and assessment centre approaches.

Question 25

A more recent model of performance appraisal divides the appraisal process into three cognitive steps on the part of the rater.

Question 26

Human resource departments can unintentionally encourage the error of central tendency by requiring supervisors to justify extremely high or low employee performance ratings.

Question 27

A recent method of employee appraisal involving evaluations made by the employee as well as by his or her peers,supervisors,and subordinates is called the 360-degree performance appraisal.

Question 28

Performance appraisals that carry or enforce consequences tend to lose their effectiveness quite quickly.

Question 29

Leniency and strictness biases in performance evaluation more commonly occur when performance standards are too detailed or explicit.

Question 30

Validity in performance appraisals means that the criteria for appraising are directly job-related.

Question 31

A good method for overcoming the biases of leniency,strictness,and central tendency in performance appraisal is the forced distributions method.

Question 32

The ability of performance evaluators to make valid judgments on complex information is referred to as the cognitive aspect of the rating process.

Question 33

The appraisal method for employee performance that requires a supervisor to record statements that describe extremely effective of ineffective behaviour related to job performance is called the behaviourally anchored rating scales method.

Question 34

The halo effect is a rater bias that occurs when an evaluator tends to think everyone is good and evaluates all employees as "satisfactory" or "average" regardless of their actual performance

Question 35

The tell-and-listen approach to an employee appraisal interview allows the employee to explain reasons,excuses,and defensive feelings about performance.

Question 36

Comparative performance evaluation methods include the ranking method and forced distributions.

Question 37

The leniency and strictness biases occur when raters are either consistently too easy or too harsh in evaluating performance.

Question 38

Studies show that when supervisors set general goals for employees,performance can improve as much as twice over what it is when more specific goals are set.

Question 39

Behaviourally anchored rating scales and critical incident methods are both future-oriented performance evaluation approaches.

Question 40

One feature of behaviourally anchored rating scales is that they attempt to reduce the subjectivity and biases of subjective performance measures.

Question 41

A future-oriented performance appraisal allows the human resource department to provide feedback to the employees as to the status of their career progression.

Question 42

Subjective performance measures:

A)are so called because they involve specific employees as subjects
B)are not verifiable by others
C)are usually observed directly and don't involve opinions
D)are designed to evaluate employees' subjective opinions on performance
E)can be highly accurate when done indirectly

Question 43

The management-by-objectives performance evaluation approach is based upon the premise that

A)employees will achieve the objectives set for them by management
B)achieving objectives will produce satisfied employees
C)each employee and superior jointly establish goals for a future period
D)there is little connection between performance and objectives
E)employees will always manage to have difficulty with performance appraisals

Question 44

In order to be effective,performance standards must always be designed so as to be:

A)in accordance with each employee's specific abilities rather than to desired results of the job
B)equally balanced between an employee's performance abilities and the organization's desired results
C)concerned with the desired results wanted on each job,but with employee abilities considered
D)concerned with what is required of each job without individual employee abilities considered
E)so challenging as to be impossible to completely achieve successfully

Question 45

Rater guidelines for effective performance evaluation interviews include all the following EXCEPT:

A)emphasize positive aspects
B)make any criticisms specific rather than general and vague
C)conduct feedback in private
D)argue if it is necessary to make the point with the employee
E)identify specific performance improvement actions that can be taken

Question 46

Evaluation interviews:

A)are done during the selection process
B)do not involve performance feedback
C)can involve feedback approaches such as tell and sell,tell and listen,and problem-solving
D)are the final step in the dismissal process
E)are not done if a performance appraisal is done instead

Question 47

Past-oriented performance appraisal approaches include which of the following?

A)rating scale
B)performance test and observation
C)behavioural observation scale
D)behaviourally anchored rating scales
E)all of the choices

Question 48

Comparative evaluation methods for performance appraisals can include:

A)rating scales
B)forced distributions
C)assessment centres
D)management by objectives
E)behaviourally anchored rating scales

Question 49

While the 360-degree appraisal method is gaining popularity,it requires at the least __________ in order to have a chance to work

A)a suitable corporate culture
B)professional evaluators
C)cost-effective management
D)a minimum 500 person employee base
E)a decent employee benefit plan

Question 50

Effective performance appraisals can make up for poor staffing or job design procedures.

Question 51

Some managers,for various reasons,do not like to evaluate employees as either "effective" or "ineffective" and so tend to rate everyone as "average." This is referred to as the:

A)recency effect
B)leniency bias
C)error of central tendency
D)strictness bias
E)halo effect

Question 52

The one thing performance appraisals cannot do regardless of how well they are designed,is avoid discrimination under employment equity.

Question 53

To provide an accurate picture of an individual's job performance,appraisal systems should do all the below EXCEPT:

A)evaluate behaviours that constitute job success
B)minimize unfavourable feedback at all times
C)be practical and understood (not overly complicated)
D)have standards that relate to desired results
E)employ dependable measures that are reliable and reasonably easy to use

Question 54

Performance management includes all of the following EXCEPT:

A)data to effectively organize culture,systems,and processes
B)setting goals and allocating resources
C)affecting policies and programs
D)sharing results
E)all of the choices

Question 55

The performance appraisal process is NOT an effective tool to measure the value of the human resource management function.

Question 56

A poor performance appraisal system can cause:

A)HR departments to miss their objectives
B)corporate goals to be met more easily
C)employee-related decisions to be based on trial and error
D)better hiring decisions
E)more efficient and satisfactory compensation systems

Question 57

It is generally agreed that normally the best person to evaluate employee performance is:

A)the immediate supervisor
B)a specialist from the human resource department
C)an outside HR evaluation professional
D)a supervisor from another (but similar)department
E)a group consisting of various management personnel

Question 58

Which of the following characteristics of an effective performance management process,can be considered to be of the utmost importance?

A)reliability
B)rater training
C)employee input into appraisal system
D)validity
E)employee acceptance of goals

Question 59

When it has been proven that rater training was not provided for performance appraisals,judges have tended to rule in favour of the company.

Question 60

Though of importance within the organization,a performance appraisal form serves little use or legal purpose outside of the organization.

Question 61

One employee evaluation method that attempts to appraise future potential by using multiple types of evaluation and multiple raters is:

A)critical incident method
B)assessment centre technique
C)management-by-objectives
D)self-evaluation
E)behaviourally anchored rating scales

Question 62

Which of the following is NOT one of the six steps for creating a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)?

A)develop an action plan
B)bring in other members of the employee's team to coach the employee
C)review the performance improvement plan
D)follow up
E)conclusion

Question 63

The most used form of performance appraisal (though not necessarily the most effective)that requires a rater to provide a subjective evaluation of an individual's performance is called:

A)checklist
B)rating scale
C)self-assessment scale
D)forced-choice method
E)paired-comparisons method

Question 64

The __________________ happens when a supervisor's personal opinion of an employee sways the supervisor's measurement of the employee's performance.

A)halo effect
B)error of central tendency
C)leniency bias
D)fundamental attribution error
E)disproportionate influence bias

Question 65

Performance management systems should be:

A)simple and practical
B)complex and practical
C)proactive and complex
D)simple and proactive
E)complicated and valued

Question 66

Performance management (performance appraisal)serves a number of uses including all of the following EXCEPT:

A)compensation adjustments
B)career development
C)performance level
D)training programs
E)judging the competition

Question 67

A completed performance appraisal form:

A)must be kept in the employees files for a maximum of one year
B)is a legal document
C)is an internal document that has no importance outside of the organization itself
D)must be done in duplicate with one copy submitted to the provincial labour relations board
E)must be done in duplicate with one copy given to the employee as required by labour legislation

Question 68

Performance appraisal is the process by which organizations:

A)select the best applicants to hire
B)review applications for employment
C)evaluate employee job performance
D)determine individual health and safety benefits
E)attempt to decertify unions

Question 69

Which of the following are characteristics of an effective performance management process?

A)employee participation in performance goals
B)training employees on how to take a performance appraisal
C)frequent feedback
D)reliability
E)all of the choices

Question 70

One serious problem with all subjective measures of employee evaluation is the problem of:

A)rater bias
B)employee misunderstandings
C)impersonal objectivity that ignores character traits
D)evaluator exhaustion
E)excessive expenditures

Question 71

The best way to describe an effective performance appraisal system is that it is a __________ process.

A)promotion
B)participatory
C)quality control check
D)disciplinary
E)management

Question 72

Non-comparative performance evaluation methods can include:

A)360-degree performance appraisals
B)ranking method
C)job analysis
D)forced distributions
E)forced checklist

Question 73

The Behaviour Observation Scale (BOS)method of performance appraisal:

A)is another name for the rating scale method
B)is easily standardized and reduces rater bias
C)is disliked by both raters and employees because it provides little useful feedback
D)is easy for supervisors to maintain an interest in and carry out
E)has a drawback in that supervisors tend to lose interest in recording incidents

Question 74

Performance appraisals can be applied to a variety of employee decision making situations including all the following EXCEPT:

A)performance improvement
B)employee career development plans
C)job offers
D)training needs
E)promotions

Question 75

Direct observation occurs when a rater actually sees the employee's __________.

A)employment records
B)assessments
C)rating scale
D)performance
E)balanced scorecard

Question 76

The halo effect as a rater bias,is most severe when:

A)a rater is too harsh in their evaluations
B)the extremes of "excellent" or "very poor" are used more than necessary
C)raters choose to remain emotionally detached
D)a rater must evaluate their friends
E)only the most recent employee performance is considered

Question 77

Which of the following is TRUE of the cascading goals approach to setting performance goals?

A)it may produce more meaningful and clearer goals
B)there is a risk being distorted down the chain until the individual goal no longer contributes to the organization goal
C)it is faster than the linking up approach
D)it allows for a direct line of sight between the individual goals and the organization's objectives
E)it does not show how the employee's contributions affect the overall functioning of the organization

Question 78

The key elements in a performance appraisal system include all of the following EXCEPT:

A)the appraisal interview
B)performance measures
C)performance-related criteria
D)feedback
E)job analysis

Question 79

Rater biases in personnel evaluation can include all of the following EXCEPT the:

A)halo effect
B)recency effect
C)glass-ceiling bias
D)strictness bias
E)central tendency error

Question 80

A performance management system attempts to achieve which of the following objectives?

A)has a strategic partnership between customers and employees
B)transforms organizational objectives into measurable success outcomes
C)provides measuring instruments that are general in nature to measure the success of a manager
D)communicates and share results with internal stakeholders only
E)makes a connection between employee objectives and their career goals