Deck 10: Performance Management and Appraisal

Question 1

Define behaviorally anchored rating scales.

Answer 1

Behaviorally anchored rating scales describe specific examples of job behavior which are then measured against a performance scale.
True / False

Question 2

Describe the features required in an effective performance management system.

Answer 2

To be effective, a performance management system, including the performance appraisal processes, should be:
• beneficial as a development tool;
• useful as an administrative tool;
• legal and job related;
• viewed as generally fair by employees;
• effective in documenting employee performance; and
• clear about who are high, average, and low performers.

Question 3

A major concern for managers in performance management is how to emphasize the positive aspects of the employee's performance while still discussing ways to make needed improvements.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Describe subjective and objective measures of performance appraisals.

Question 5

The leniency error occurs when ratings of all employees fall at the high end of the scale.

Question 6

Menu up-selling by a waiter is classified as behavior-based information.

Question 7

With the ranking method, the ratings of employees' performance are distributed along a bell-shaped curve.

Question 8

Define performance management. What should a performance management system do?

Question 9

The developmental function of performance appraisals can identify areas in which the employee might wish to grow.

Question 10

Employee attitude is classified as trait-based information.

Question 11

In the critical incident method, the manager keeps a written record of both highly favorable and unfavorable actions performed by an employee during the entire rating period.

Question 12

Describe the entitlement approach and the performance-driven approach.

Question 13

What is multisource rating?

Question 14

Development of performance standards is typically the first stage of management by objectives.

Question 15

One concern of multisource rating is that those peers who rate poor-performing coworkers tend to inflate the ratings so that the peers themselves can get higher overall evaluation results in return.

Question 16

Discuss supervisory rating of subordinates.

Question 17

What are the common employee performance measures?

Question 18

Define performance standards.

Question 19

The performance management process starts by identifying the strategic goals an organization needs to accomplish to remain competitive and profitable.

Question 20

Discuss the administrative and developmental uses of performance appraisals.

Question 21

The recency effect occurs when a rater gives greater weight to information received first when appraising an individual's performance.

Question 22

When creating a BARS system, identifying important job dimensions, which are the most important performance factors in a job description, is done first.

Question 23

An informal appraisal is used when a system is in place to report managerial impressions and observations on employee performance and feature a regular time interval.

Question 24

Both numerical and nonnumerical performance standards can be established.

Question 25

A supervisor's rating of an employee's attitude is classified as an objective measure of performance.

Question 26

The contrast error occurs when a rater scores an employee high on all job criteria because of performance in one area.

Question 27

The entitlement approach of organizational culture links performance evaluations to employee compensation and development.

Question 28

Firms with maintenance-orientation cultures have more positive performance than those with performance-focused cultures.

Question 29

When a key part of performance management, the performance appraisal, is used to punish employees, performance management is less effective.

Question 30

The number of cars sold by a car salesman is classified as a subjective measure of performance.

Question 31

The administrative role of performance appraisals often creates stress for managers doing the appraisals and the employees being evaluated, because the rater is placed in the role of judge.

Question 32

Performance appraisal is the entire series of activities designed to ensure that the organization gets the performance it needs from its employees.

Question 33

The forced distribution method lists the individuals being rated from highest to lowest based on their performance levels and relative contributions.

Question 34

The major purpose of 360-degree feedback is to increase uniformity by soliciting like-minded views.

Question 35

The halo effect is the tendency to rate people relative to one another rather than against performance standards.

Question 36

In the performance-driven organizational culture, employee rewards vary little from person to person and are not much based on individual performance differences.

Question 37

Peer and team ratings are especially useful only when supervisors have the opportunity to observe each employee's performance.

Question 38

The category scaling method allows the rater to mark an employee's performance on a continuum indicating low to high levels of a particular characteristic.

Question 39

Companies must only use multisource feedback primarily as an administrative tool.

Question 40

A disadvantage of the outsider rating approach is that outsiders may not know the important demands within the work group or organization.

Question 41

The _____ occurs when a manager uses only the lower part of the scale to rate employees.

A) strictness error
B) primacy effect
C) leniency error
D) recency effect

Question 42

The _____ is the tendency to rate people relative to one another rather than against performance standards.

A) horns effect
B) contrast error
C) similar-to-me error
D) halo effect

Question 43

Which of the following statements is true of objective and subjective measures of performance appraisals?

A) Objective measures can be observed and subjective measures require judgment on the part of the evaluator.
B) Subjective measures can be observed and objective measures require judgment on the part of the evaluator.
C) Both subjective and objective measures require judgment on the part of the evaluator and cannot be observed.
D) Both subjective and objective measures can be observed and do not require judgment on the part of an evaluator.

Question 44

_____ can help make a manager more responsive toward employees.

A) Peer rating
B) Rating of supervisors by subordinates
C) Rating of subordinates by supervisors
D) Self-rating

Question 45

When a key part of performance management, the performance appraisal, is used to punish employees, _____.

A) performance appraisal is less effective
B) performance management is more effective
C) performance management is less effective
D) performance appraisal is more effective

Question 46

The _____ occurs when a rater scores an employee high on all job criteria because of performance in one area.

A) halo effect
B) horns effect
C) contrast error
D) similar-to-me error

Question 47

Josh, an HR manager at RoxCom LLC, is responsible for implementing a guided self-appraisal system using management by objectives in his organization. He has reviewed the job description and the key activities that constitute the employee's job. Which of the following is typically the next step for Josh?

A) Implementation of the standards
B) Continuing performance discussions
C) Setting of objectives
D) Development of performance standards

Question 48

Which of the following belongs to the behavioral dimensions in graphic rating scales?

A) Dependability
B) Attendance
C) Quantity of work
D) Communication effectiveness

Question 49

_____ is a technique for distributing ratings that are generated with any of the other appraisal methods and comparing the ratings of people in a work group.

A) Forced distribution
B) Critical incident
C) Behavioral rating scales
D) Essay method

Question 50

Which of the following is an objective measure of performance?

A) A supervisor's rating of an employee's integrity
B) An organization's perceptions of an employee's values
C) An employee's attitude toward the customer
D) The total number of washing machines sold by an employee

Question 51

Luke, an HR manager at Rexi LLC, is responsible for implementing a guided self-appraisal system using management by objectives in his organization. He has established objectives that are realistically attainable. Which of the following is typically the next step for Luke?

A) Determining a satisfactory level of performance
B) Job review and agreement
C) Continuing performance discussions
D) Development of performance standards

Question 52

The _____ occurs when a low rating on one characteristic leads to an overall low rating.

A) halo effect
B) horns effect
C) similar-to-me error
D) contrast error

Question 53

The _____ occurs when ratings of all employees fall at the high end of the scale.

A) primacy effect
B) recency effect
C) leniency error
D) central tendency

Question 54

Which of the following is a narrative method of performance appraisals?

A) Forced distribution
B) Critical incident
C) Behavioral rating scales
D) Ranking

Question 55

Which of the following is typically the first stage in implementing a guided self-appraisal system using MBO?

A) Job review and agreement
B) Continuing performance discussions
C) Setting of objectives
D) Development of performance standards

Question 56

Which of the following is true of performance standards?

A) Only nonnumerical performance standards can be established.
B) Performance standards should be established before the work is performed.
C) Performance standards should be established while the work is being performed.
D) Only numerical performance standards can be established.

Question 57

Zara, an HR manager at Fluxin LLC, is responsible for implementing a guided self-appraisal system using management by objectives in her organization. She has developed specific standards for performance. Which of the following is typically the next step for Zara?

A) Job review and agreement
B) Continuing performance discussions
C) Setting of objectives
D) Implementation of the performance standards

Question 58

_____ is the most widely used means of rating employees.

A) Supervisory rating of subordinates
B) Peer rating
C) Outsider rating of employees
D) Self-rating

Question 59

If employers do not require a(n) _____, performance appraisal ratings often do not match the normal distribution of a bell-shaped curve.

A) critical incident
B) forced distribution
C) essay method
D) ranking method

Question 60

The _____ method requires a manager to write a short write-up describing each employee's performance during the rating period.

A) forced distribution
B) ranking
C) essay
D) critical incident

Question 61

The use of _____ can cause rater error because the form might not accurately reflect the relative importance of certain job characteristics, and some factors might need to be added to the ratings for one employee, while others might need to be dropped.

A) graphic rating scales
B) comparative methods
C) narrative methods
D) category scaling methods

Question 62

Which of the following is behavior-based information?

A) Cost reduction
B) Effective communication
C) Improved quality
D) Timeliness of response

Question 63

Which of the following is a subjective measure of performance?

A) A supervisor's rating of an employee's integrity
B) The revenue an employee has bought into the organization
C) The number of hours that an employee has worked
D) The total number of cars sold by an employee

Question 64

Which of the following is typically the last stage in implementing a guided self-appraisal system using MBO?

A) Continuing performance discussions
B) Setting of objectives
C) Development of performance standards
D) Job review and agreement

Question 65

Which of the following is true of organizations that practice a performance-driven approach?

A) Employee rewards vary little from person to person and are not based on individual performance.
B) Performance appraisal activities are seen as being primarily a "bureaucratic exercise."
C) Employee rewards vary significantly from person to person and are not based on individual performance.
D) Performance evaluations link results to employee compensation and development.

Question 66

_____ recognizes that for many jobs, employee performance is multidimensional and crosses departmental, organizational, and even national boundaries.

A) Outsider rating
B) Peer rating
C) Self-rating
D) 360-degree rating

Question 67

Which of the following isresults-based information?

A) Sales volume
B) Customer satisfaction
C) Initiative
D) Teamwork

Question 68

Which of the following is trait-based information?

A) Dispositions
B) Verbal persuasion
C) Units produced
D) Customer satisfaction

Question 69

Which of the following belongs to the descriptive category in graphic rating scales?

A) Employee development
B) Decision making
C) Communication effectiveness
D) Quantity of work

Question 70

Which of the following statements is true of developing a performance-focused culture throughout the organization?

A) Firms with performance-focused cultures have more positive performance than those with a maintenance-orientation culture.
B) In firms with a performance-focused culture, performance appraisal activities are seen as having few ties to performance and are primarily regarded as a "bureaucratic exercise."
C) Firms with performance-focused cultures do not usually provide training to managers and employees.
D) In firms with a performance-focused culture, adequate performance and stability dominate the firm.

Question 71

_____ is a series of activities designed to ensure that the organization gets the performance it needs from its employees.

A) Performance appraisal
B) Performance improvement
C) Performance planning
D) Performance management

Question 72

_____ is especially useful when supervisors do not have the opportunity to observe each employee's performance but other work group members do.

A) Self-rating
B) Employees rating managers
C) Peer rating
D) Outsider rating

Question 73

The _____ occurs when a rater gives greater weight to the latest events when appraising an individual's performance.

A) primacy effect
B) leniency error
C) recency effect
D) central tendency

Question 74

The simplest methods for appraising performance are _____, which require a manager to mark an employee's level of performance on a specific form divided into categories of performance.

A) narrative methods
B) category scaling methods
C) graphic rating scales
D) comparative methods

Question 75

A panel of division managers evaluating a supervisor's potential for advancement in the organization is known as _____.

A) peer rating
B) multisource rating
C) outsider rating
D) self-rating

Question 76

If the rater has seen only a small specimen of the person's work, an appraisal may be subject to _____.

A) contrast error
B) horns effect
C) halo effect
D) sampling error

Question 77

Which of the following is a comparative method of performance appraisals?

A) Critical incident
B) Behavioral rating scales
C) Essay
D) Forced distribution

Question 78

Employees working in isolation or possessing unique skills may be particularly suited to _____.

A) multisource rating
B) self-rating
C) peer rating
D) outsider rating

Question 79

In the _____ method, the manager keeps a written record of both highly favorable and unfavorable actions performed by an employee during the entire rating period.

A) ranking
B) forced distribution
C) essay
D) critical incident

Question 80

The _____ occurs when a rater gives all employees an average rating.

A) central tendency
B) leniency error
C) primacy effect
D) recency effect