Performance Appraisal Methods (Scenario)

Performance Appraisal Methods (Scenario)
Carly has just returned from a conference on performance appraisal methods. It was an interesting conference and it generally confirmed what Carly had suspected about her company's performance management system—it required some drastic revision! The company's current method is to have the immediate supervisor write out an evaluation of each individual employee. This method is time-consuming for the supervisors, and is as much a test of their writing skills as it is an evaluation of actual employee performance. Carly considered three alternative methods to replace the current system. The first method was one of the oldest and most popular performance appraisals. It involved listing a set of performance factors such as quantity of work, quality of work, level of cooperation, etc., and then rating each factor on an incremental scale. The second alternative method involved a system that focused on specific and measurable job behaviours. It required appraisers to rate employees according to numbered items which each represented actual job behaviours, rather than general descriptions or traits. The third alternative method was very results-oriented and was often used to evaluate managers and professional employees based on their accomplishment of specific goals that had been jointly established with their superiors.
-The primary advantage of using the first alternative method is that it ________.

A) provides rich examples of behaviourally based data
B) is results oriented and focused on end goals
C) provides quantitative data and is less time-consuming than other methods
D) is thorough and simple to use