Question 1

If 360-degree evaluations are the best, why are they not always used?

Accepted Answer

360-degree evaluations can be time-consuming and costly to implement, which may be a barrier to their widespread adoption. Other factors such as the potential for conflicts between managers and biases among evaluators can also contribute to resistance towards implementing this type of evaluation process. It is important for organizations to carefully weigh the benefits and costs of 360-degree evaluations before deciding to use them.

Question 2

Duran went to the same college as his manager.The two often speak of the college's sports and traditions together.Although Duran is a below-average performer, his manager gives him an average rating on his performance appraisals.It is likely his manager made an error due to _______.

Accepted Answer

The manager's bias towards Duran due to their shared background and common interests suggests that he may have made an error in rating Duran's performance due to similarity bias.

Question 3

Daniel knew his performance appraisal was coming up in one month.He spent that month coming to work early and staying late.As a result, he got an excellent rating on his performance appraisal when his performance for the entire year had only been average.It is likely his manager made an error due to _______.

Accepted Answer

The manager's rating was influenced by recency bias, which means that more weight was given to Daniel's recent behavior (coming early and staying late for a month) rather than his overall performance for the entire year.

Question 4

Marc's manager saw him come back late from lunch one day.Marc was late because he had been working out a problem with a client.However, Marc's manager assumed Marc just took a long lunch because Marc is a slacker.It is likely his manager made a(n) _______ error.

Accepted Answer

The manager made an attribution error by assuming that Marc's lateness was due to his personal characteristics (being a slacker) rather than considering external factors such as working out a problem with a client.

Question 5

On the first week of his new sales job, Bryan closed a huge sale.Although his work since has been average, he still receives excellent performance appraisal reviews.It is likely his manager is making a _________ error.

Accepted Answer

This is a classic example of the halo effect, where the perception of one positive trait (closing a huge sale) influences the evaluation of other unrelated traits (average work performance).

Question 6

According to most research, how do employees (especially younger and less experienced employees) generally view their ability to do their job?

Accepted Answer

Most research suggests that employees, especially younger and less experienced ones, tend to overestimate their ability to do their job. This phenomenon is known as the Dunning-Kruger effect, which describes the tendency of individuals to overestimate their competence in a particular area because they lack the knowledge or experience to recognize their own limitations.

Question 7

"You came early to class and therefore you must be a good overall student." What type of performance appraisal error is involved here?

Accepted Answer

This is an example of a halo error, where a single positive trait is assumed to indicate overall positive qualities. The student's punctuality in arriving early to class is being assumed to indicate their overall academic ability.

Question 8

According to the text, when supervisors are being evaluated, _____ may provide information about their managerial practices that we would be unable to find out using other means.

Accepted Answer

Subordinates may provide feedback about a supervisor's managerial practices that may not be apparent to their bosses or other managers. They may have insights into how the supervisor interacts with and manages their team on a day-to-day basis.

Question 9

______________ analyze individual performance on all sides.

Accepted Answer

360-degree evaluations involve feedback from multiple sources, including peers, superiors, subordinates, and the individual themselves, providing a comprehensive analysis of individual performance from all angles. The other options are not commonly used methods for evaluating individual performance.

Question 10

Which one of the following is NOT true of peers as a source of performance information?

Accepted Answer

Research on the validity of peer evaluations has not been overwhelmingly clear, and there is evidence of potential bias in the ratings.

Question 11

As individuals become more knowledgeable and skilled in their work, how will they view their ability to do their job?

Accepted Answer

As individuals become more knowledgeable and skilled in their work, they are likely to accurately estimate or even underestimate their ability to do their job. This is because they are more aware of the complexity of their job and the room for improvement, rather than being overconfident. Overestimation or underestimation may occur in some cases, but it is not the general trend.

Question 12

When using subordinates to evaluate employees' performance, ________ must be maintained.

Accepted Answer

When using subordinates to evaluate employees' performance, anonymity must be maintained to ensure that subordinates feel comfortable providing honest feedback without fear of repercussions. This can lead to more accurate evaluations and a better understanding of employee performance. Transparency and integrity are also important, but anonymity is the most crucial factor. Safety and ranking are not relevant to the use of subordinates in performance evaluations.

Question 13

Brisa recently had a baby.When she returned from maternity leave, her manager assumed that she would want to work fewer hours and would be distracted by things at home.Although Brisa's performance remained as high as it had been before the baby, her boss gave her lower marks on her performance appraisal.It is likely his manager made an error due to _______.

Accepted Answer

Brisa's manager assumed that she would want to work fewer hours and would be distracted by things at home based on a stereotype of working mothers. This led to lower marks on her performance appraisal, indicating the manager's error in stereotyping.

Question 14

Rating everyone high on this exam would be associated with what error?

Accepted Answer

Leniency error occurs when a grader consistently gives high scores regardless of the actual performance of the student.

Question 15

The type of performance management system where a company analyzes the performance of an individual "from all sides" is known as:

Accepted Answer

360-degree performance appraisals involve gathering feedback from multiple sources including the individual's manager, peers, subordinates, and even customers or clients. This provides a more comprehensive view of an individual's performance from all angles, hence the name "360-degree."

Question 16

Jeffrey was just named Employee of the Month.To decide who would receive this honor, management must have used the ________ method of performance appraisal.

Accepted Answer

The ranking method involves comparing employees to each other and ranking them, which is often used to determine awards like Employee of the Month.

Question 17

Brenda dislikes having to fill out performance appraisals on her employees.She vows to sit down and finish them all in one afternoon.She decides to start with her lowest-performing employee to get the worst out of the way.Next, she appraises an average performer but gives excellent ratings.After appraising that first employee, the average performer looks excellent to her.It is likely Brenda made an error due to _______.

Accepted Answer

Brenda made an error due to the contrast effect, where the perception of one employee's performance is influenced by the appraisal given to the previous employee. By starting with the lowest-performing employee, Brenda's perception of the second employee's performance was influenced by the contrast of the first employee's low rating. This resulted in giving an excellent rating to an average performer.

Question 18

Han believes that all his employees do a good job.When he gives performance appraisals, he rates everyone as "average" because he thinks that doing a good job is an average rating.In reality, several of Han's employees are excellent and several are below average.It appears Han is making a(n) _________ error in his performance appraisals.

Accepted Answer

Han's error is known as distributional error, where he is assuming that all employees are average performers and ignoring the actual differences in their performance levels.

Question 19

Trevor is well liked by his manager and all his coworkers.He is fun to be around and makes people laugh.His work performance is average, but his manager gave him an excellent rating on his performance appraisal.It is likely his manager made an error due to _______.

Accepted Answer

Trevor's positive personality and ability to make people laugh may have influenced his manager's rating, leading to bias in the appraisal process.

Question 20

When Myra was completing a performance appraisal on one of her employees, she rated the employee high on reliability and conscientiousness.The next item on the form was accuracy.Even though the employee was only average on accuracy, Myra gave her a high rating.Myra had just given her a high rating on two other items.It is likely Myra made an error due to _______.

Accepted Answer

The answer of When Myra was completing a performance appraisal...

Quiz 8: Performance Management and Appraisal