Question 1

Identify the statement that accurately characterizes behavioral approaches to performance measurement.

Accepted Answer

Behavioral approaches such as organizational behavior modification and rating scales can link the company's goals to the specific behavior required to achieve those goals. Behavioral methods can generate specific feedback, along with guidance in areas requiring improvements.

Question 2

James was recently made the manager of his department at Patches Inc.,and he has to evaluate his subordinates' behavior in the next two weeks.He is unsure if he should use the behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS)or the behavioral observation scale (BOS)to assess their behavior.Which of the following characteristics of the two would help James decide the scale that would be most appropriate for him to use?

Accepted Answer

While a behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) discards many examples in creating the rating scale, a behavioral observation scale (BOS) uses many of them to define all behaviors necessary for effective performance. A BOS asks the manager to rate the frequency with which the employee has exhibited the behavior during the rating period.

Question 3

Ray,the CEO of Textiles Inc.,believes the goals of the company must be divided into smaller departmental and individual goals,and the accomplishment of these smaller goals will result in accomplishment of the bigger goals of the company.In the context of measuring performance results,Ray's belief can be best justified using _____.

Accepted Answer

Management by objectives is a system in which people at each level of the organization set goals in a process that flows from top to bottom, so employees at all levels are contributing to the organization's overall goals. These goals become the standards for evaluating each employee's performance. In this scenario, Ray's belief can be best justified using management by objectives.

Question 4

Fernando,a production manager at Wind Chimes Inc.,thinks subordinates are unreliable sources of performance appraisal information for evaluating the performance of managers.However,Jose,the sales manager,thinks subordinates act as good sources of performance appraisal information.Whose argument is most likely to be correct and why?

Accepted Answer

In this scenario, Jose is right because subordinates often have the best chance to see how well a manager treats employees.

Question 5

Paul is a manager at Firefly Corp.,and he uses a rating approach to evaluate his employees.He considers one employee at a time and circles a number or a word to signify the degree to which that employee demonstrates a particular trait in the scale.Which of the following approaches is Paul using to assess his employees?

Accepted Answer

The graphic rating scale method lists traits and provides a rating scale for each trait. The employer uses the scale to indicate the extent to which the employee being rated displays the traits. The rating scale may provide points to a circle (as on a scale going from 1 for poor to 5 for excellent), or it may provide a line representing a range of scores, with the manager marking a place along the line.

Question 6

In the context of methods for measuring performance,alternation ranking is a variation of _____ ranking.

Accepted Answer

Alternation ranking is a variation of simple ranking. In this method, the manager decides which employee is best and crosses that person's name off the list. From the remaining names, the manager selects the worst employee and crosses off that name. The process continues with the manager selecting the second best, second worst, third best, and so on, until all employees have been ranked.

Question 7

Payne Corp.wants to assess the performance of its employees.It uses a questionnaire that has a high fit with strategy,high validity,high reliability,moderate acceptability,and very high specificity.Which of the following approaches to employee performance is being focused on by this questionnaire?

Accepted Answer

Performance measures that focus on employee behavior have high fit with strategy, usually high validity, usually high reliability, moderate acceptability, and very high specificity. Refer to Table 10.1.

Question 8

For which of the following purposes is it most appropriate to use performance results when making subordinate evaluations of performance?

Accepted Answer

When managers receive ratings from their subordinates, the employees have more power, so managers tend to emphasize employee satisfaction, even at the expense of productivity. Therefore, subordinate evaluations are most appropriate for developmental purposes.

Question 9

Identify a true statement about the mixed-standard scale.

Accepted Answer

Mixed-standards scales use several statements describing each trait to produce a final score for that trait.

Question 10

Margaret,a production manager at Falcon Inc.,needs to measure the performance of 12 of her subordinates.She divides the number of employees into categories like exceptional,above average,average,and below average.She assigns a certain percentage of employees to each category to determine the quality of their performances.In the context of methods for measuring performance,Margaret is using the _____ method.

Accepted Answer

A forced-distribution method assigns a certain percentage of employees to each category in a set of categories. A manager completing the performance appraisal would rate 5% of his or her employees as exceptional, 25% as exceeding standards, and so on. A forced-distribution approach works best if the members of a group really do vary this much in terms of their performance. It overcomes the temptation to rate everyone high in order to avoid conflict. In this scenario, Margaret is using the forced-distribution method.

Question 11

Clayton,a supervisor,needs to rate the performance of 20 subordinates.He uses a rating scale to rate them on a scale of 1 to 10.He rates 18 employees at 5,which leads to central tendency.In the context of types of rating errors,Clayton commits the _____ error.

Accepted Answer

Raters make distributional errors when they tend to use only one part of a rating scale. Distributional errors make it difficult to compare employees rated by the same person. The error is called central tendency when the rater puts everyone near the middle of the scale. In this scenario, Clayton commits a distributional error.

Question 12

Jonathan,a supervisor,needs to assess his subordinate's performance.He uses a method that compares one employee with another.In doing so,he rates an exceptional employee as an average performer by mistake.Jonathan's manager tells him that he can avoid this type of error if he uses an assessment method that compares an employee with an objective standard rather than another employee.In the context of types of rating errors,Jonathan commits the _____ error.

Accepted Answer

If a rater compares an individual, not against an objective standard, but against other employees, contrast errors occur. A competent performer who works with exceptional people may be rated lower than competent, simply because of the contrast. In this scenario, Jonathan commits a contrast error.

Question 13

Barry,a supervisor at Yenzen Hotels Inc.,thinks self-appraisal is a valid measure of performance appraisal.However,his colleague Vincent disagrees.Whose argument is most likely to be correct and why?

Accepted Answer

In this scenario, Vincent is right because employees have a tendency to inflate assessments of their performance. Especially if the ratings will be used for administrative decisions, exaggerating one's contributions has practical benefits.

Question 14

Joseph,a supervisor at H2O Chemicals Inc.,needs to assess the behavior of 25 people,who constitute a large group of his subordinates.Which of the following must Joseph ideally do to assess the behavior of his subordinates and why?

Accepted Answer

Behavioral observation scale (BOS) is easier than graphic rating scales and other types of behavioral assessment methods. It is often preferred by managers and employees for its ease of use, providing feedback, maintaining objectivity, and suggesting training needs.

Question 15

The _____ performance management method requires managers to rate the frequency with which an employee has exhibited a behavior during a rating period.

Accepted Answer

A behavioral observation scale (BOS) asks the manager to rate the frequency with which the employee has exhibited the behavior during the rating period. These ratings are averaged to compute an overall performance rating.

Question 16

Which of the following is an advantage of using the results-oriented performance measurement?

Accepted Answer

In general, evaluation of results can be less subjective than other kinds of performance measurement. This makes measuring results highly acceptable to employees and managers alike. Results-oriented performance measurement is also relatively easy to link to the organization's goals.

Question 17

Janet,a production manager,thinks management by objectives is a good way to measure performance results of employees in an organization.However,her colleague,Ferdinand,disagrees with her.Whose argument is correct and why?

Accepted Answer

In this scenario, Janet is right because results-oriented performance measurement is relatively easy to link to the organization's goals. Also, measuring results is often acceptable to both employees and managers.

Question 18

The _____ method of performance measurement uses several statements describing each trait to produce a final score for that trait.

Accepted Answer

The method of performance measurement that uses several statements describing each trait to produce a final score for that trait is known as the mixed-standard scale.

Question 19

Lydia,a supervisor at Sansen Inc.,needs to appraise the performance of her subordinate,Charlie.In the context of performance information,which of the following is the least biased source of information for appraisal and why?

Accepted Answer

Managers possess the basic qualifications for carrying out performance appraisal. Managers have an incentive to provide accurate and helpful feedback because their own success depends on their subordinates' performance.

Question 20

James,the production manager of Zenfax Inc.,thinks performance appraisal information from peers is a less reliable source than other sources of information.However,Ron,a sales manager in the company,thinks peers give valuable information for appraisal.Whose argument is most likely to be correct and why?

Accepted Answer

An employee's peers act as excellent sources of information because they have expert knowledge of job requirements. They also bring a different perspective to the evaluation and can provide extremely valid assessments of performance. In this scenario, Ron is right because he thinks peers provide valuable information for appraisal.

Quiz 10: Managing Employees Performance