Question 1

Appraisal politics are likely to occur when:

Accepted Answer

Lawsuits related to performance management usually involve charges of discrimination or unjust dismissal.

Question 2

Which of the following steps should be taken to protect employees when they provide evaluations of managers' performance?

Accepted Answer

Organizations can minimize appraisal politics by establishing an appraisal system that is fair. One technique is to hold a calibration meeting. The organization can also help managers give accurate and fair appraisals by training them to use the appraisal process, encouraging them to recognize accomplishments that the employees themselves have not identified, and fostering a climate of openness in which employees feel they can be honest about their weaknesses.

Question 3

A distributional error in which a rater favors lower rankings is known as _____.

Accepted Answer

When a motivated employee lacks knowledge, skills, or abilities in some area, the manager may offer coaching, training, and more detailed feedback. Sometimes it is appropriate to restructure the job so the employee can handle it.

Question 4

What is the advantage of results-oriented performance measurement?

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.

Question 5

How does total quality management (TQM)obtain objective feedback?

Accepted Answer

Raters make distributional errors when they tend to use only one part of a rating scale. If different raters make different kinds of distributional errors, scores by these raters cannot be compared.

Question 6

Which of the following is true of peers as a source of performance information?

Accepted Answer

Appraisal politics are most likely to occur when raters are accountable to the employee being rated, the goals of rating are not compatible with one another, performance appraisal is directly linked to highly desirable rewards, top executives tolerate or ignore distorted ratings, and senior employees tell newcomers company "folklore" that includes stories about distorted ratings.

Question 7

If a student evaluating his/her professor at the end of term rates the professor low on all performance criteria due to dissatisfaction with the professor's grading scale,the student has likely committed which rater error?

Accepted Answer

Employees categorized as "underutilizers" have high levels of ability but lack motivation. To improve their performance, managers should explore ways to demonstrate that they are being treated fairly and rewarded adequately.

Question 8

What is the disadvantage of peers as a source of performance information?

Accepted Answer

Raters often let their opinion of one quality color their opinion of others. When the bias is in a favorable direction, this is called the halo error. Halo error can mistakenly tell employees they don't need to improve in any area.

Question 9

The performance measurement system that combines information from most or all of the possible sources,is known as:

Accepted Answer

Raters often let their opinion of one quality color their opinion of others. When the bias involves negative ratings, it is called the horns error.

Question 10

How does an organization promote fairness and reduce political behavior in the appraisal system?

Accepted Answer

To protect against discrimination or unjust dismissal lawsuits, it is important to have a legally defensible performance management system. Such a system would be based on valid job analyses, with the requirements for job success clearly communicated to employees.

Question 11

What is the disadvantage of results-oriented performance management?

Accepted Answer

Raters make distributional errors when they tend to use only one part of a rating scale. The error is called leniency when the reviewer rates everyone near the top, strictness when the rater favors lower rankings, and central tendency when the rater puts everyone near the middle of the scale.

Question 12

Which rater error makes it difficult to distinguish among employees rated by the same rater because the rater tends to use only one part of the rating scale?

Accepted Answer

Most managers rely on the tell-and-sell approach during the feedback session. In the "tell-and-sell" approach, managers tell the employees their ratings and then justify those ratings.

Question 13

A(n)_____ is a gathering at which managers discuss employee performance ratings and provide evidence supporting their ratings with the goal of eliminating the influence of rating errors.

Accepted Answer

With regard to lawsuits filed on the grounds of unjust dismissal, the usual claim is that the person was dismissed for reasons besides the ones that the employer states. In this type of situation, courts generally focus on the employer's performance management system, looking to see whether the firing could have been based on poor performance. To defend itself, the employer would need a performance management system that provides evidence to support its employment decisions.

Question 14

Total quality management differs from traditional performance measurement in that it:

Accepted Answer

Raters make distributional errors when they tend to use only one part of a rating scale. The error is called strictness when the rater favors lower rankings.

Question 15

If different raters make different kinds of _____ errors,scores by these raters cannot be compared.

Accepted Answer

Employees under the "misdirected effort" category are motivated but lack ability. When a motivated employee lacks knowledge, skills, or abilities in some area, the manager may offer coaching, training, and more detailed feedback. Sometimes it is appropriate to restructure the job so the employee can handle it.

Question 16

Which approach to performance feedback is generally most effective?

Accepted Answer

Although electronic monitoring can improve productivity, it also generates privacy concerns. Critics point out that an employer should not monitor employees when it has no reason to believe anything is wrong. They complain that monitoring systems threaten to make the workplace an electronic sweatshop in which employees are treated as robots, robbing them of dignity.

Question 17

Which rater error leads employees to believe that no aspects of their performance need improvement?

Accepted Answer

Withholding pay increases, demotion, and outplacement are performance improvement measures for the employee category called "deadwood".

Question 18

Which of the following errors occur when a rater compares an individual,not against an objective standard,but against other employees?

Accepted Answer

In the "problem-solving" approach, managers and employees work together to solve performance problems in an atmosphere of respect and encouragement. Research demonstrates that the problem-solving approach is superior as compared to other methods.

Question 19

Subordinate evaluations of performance are most appropriate when the performance results are to be used for:

Accepted Answer

Organizations can minimize appraisal politics by establishing an appraisal system that is fair. One technique is to hold a calibration meeting, a gathering at which managers discuss employee performance ratings and provide evidence supporting their ratings with the goal of eliminating the influence of rating errors.

Question 20

The distributional error that occurs when the reviewer rates everyone near the top of a rating scale is known as _____.

Accepted Answer

Managers can improve employee satisfaction with the feedback process by letting employees voice their opinions and discuss performance goals.

Quiz 8: Managing Employees Performance