A sales manager who was trying to rank fourteen salespeople was having trouble because two of her salespeople had more than $100,000 in sales, three had less than $30,000 in sales, and the rest fell in the middle. What method would you recommend the sales manager use if she wants to use a norm-referenced appraisal?

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Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The forced distribution method is a norm-referenced appraisal method that requires the evaluator to distribute employees into predetermined categories, such as the top 10% or bottom 20%. This method is particularly useful when there is a wide range of performance levels among employees, as in the case of the salespeople described. By using forced distribution, the sales manager could rank her salespeople based on their performance relative to one another, rather than on an absolute standard.

A Sales Manager Who Was Trying to Rank Fourteen Salespeople