Question 1

In order to be effective,a performance appraisal system should be based on ________ criteria.

Accepted Answer

D)Job-relatedness is perhaps the most basic criterion needed in employee performance appraisals.Subjective factors,such as initiative,enthusiasm,loyalty,and cooperation may be important; however,unless clearly shown to be job-related,they should not be used.

Question 2

The manager and the subordinate jointly agree on objectives for the next appraisal period in a management by objectives system.

Accepted Answer

The manager and subordinate jointly agree on objectives for the next appraisal period in a results-based system.In such a system,one objective might be,for example,to cut waste by 10 percent.At the end of the appraisal period,an evaluation focuses on how well the employee achieved this objective.

Question 3

Strictness is a common error that occurs when employees are incorrectly rated near the average or middle of the scale.

Accepted Answer

Central tendency error is an evaluation appraisal error that occurs when employees are incorrectly rated near the average or middle of a scale.Being unduly critical of an employee's work performance is referred to as strictness.

Question 4

What performance appraisal problem occurs when supervisors allow individual differences such as gender,race,or age to affect the ratings they give?

Accepted Answer

D)The problem of personal bias occurs when managers allow individual differences to affect the ratings they give.If these are factors to avoid such as gender,race,or age,not only is this problem detrimental to employee morale,but it is blatantly illegal and can result in costly litigation.

Question 5

Managers at A-1 Enterprises use the rating scales method to evaluate employee performance.Ratings are based on factors such as attitude,loyalty,and personality.What is the most likely problem with this type of performance appraisal system?

Accepted Answer

B)A potential weakness of traditional performance appraisal methods is that they lack objectivity.In the rating scales method,for example,commonly used factors such as attitude,appearance,and personality are difficult to measure.In addition,these factors may have little to do with an employee's job performance.

Question 6

Opponents of forced distribution contend that the system fosters paranoia among employees and destroys company loyalty.

Accepted Answer

Critics believe the forced distribution method fosters cutthroat competition,paranoia,and general ill will,and destroys employee loyalty.Opponents of forced distribution contend that the method compels a manager to penalize a good,although not a great,employee who is part of a superstar team.

Question 7

When a manager generalizes one positive performance feature or incident to all aspects of employee performance,the manager is most likely guilty of ________.

Accepted Answer

C)A positive halo error occurs when a manager generalizes one positive performance feature or incident to all aspects of employee performance,resulting in a higher rating.Giving undeserved high ratings to an employee is referred to as leniency.

Question 8

Positive and negative halo effects represent ________ errors.

Accepted Answer

C)A positive halo effect (oftentimes,referred to simply as a halo effect)or negative halo effect (also known as a horn effect)occurs when a rater generalizes an employee's good or bad behavior on one aspect of the job to all aspects of the job.Both are bias errors.Stereotyping is also a bias error,but focuses on judging an individual based on stereotypes that may be associated with group affiliation (for example,age).Central tendency and leniency errors represent particular contrast errors.

Question 9

The production supervisor at Elmwood Foods is known for being unduly critical of his subordinates' work performance.Which of the following best describes this problem?

Accepted Answer

D)Being unduly critical of an employee's work performance is referred to as strictness.A halo error occurs when a manager generalizes one positive performance feature or incident to all aspects of employee performance,resulting in a higher rating.

Question 10

The marketing manager at P&M Consulting is known for giving subordinates undeserved high ratings.Which of the following best describes this problem?

Accepted Answer

A)Giving undeserved high ratings to an employee is referred to as leniency.A halo error occurs when a manager generalizes one positive performance feature or incident to all aspects of employee performance,resulting in a higher rating.

Question 11

The BARS method combines elements of the traditional rating scales and critical incident methods.

Accepted Answer

The behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS)method is a performance appraisal method that combines elements of the traditional rating scales and critical incident methods; various performance levels are shown along a scale with each described in terms of an employee's specific job behavior.

Question 12

A halo error occurs when a manager generalizes one negative performance feature to all aspects of employee performance.

Accepted Answer

A halo error occurs when a manager generalizes one positive performance feature or incident to all aspects of employee performance,resulting in a higher rating.The horn error is an evaluation error that occurs when a manager generalizes one negative performance feature or incident to all aspects of employee performance,resulting in a lower rating.

Question 13

Being unduly critical of an employee's work during a performance appraisal is known as ________.

Accepted Answer

D)Being unduly critical of an employee's work performance is referred to as strictness.Although leniency is usually more prevalent than strictness,some managers,on their own initiative,apply an evaluation more rigorously than the company standard.This behavior may be due to a lack of understanding of various evaluation factors.

Question 14

At Wilson Manufacturing,evaluators are required to justify in writing extremely high or extremely low performance ratings that are given to employees.Which of the following is the most likely outcome of this requirement?

Accepted Answer

B)When supervisors rate all employees as average or close to average,they commit errors of central tendency.Central tendency errors are most often committed when raters are forced to justify only extreme behavior (i.e.,high or low ratings)with written explanations; therefore,HR professionals should require justification for ratings at every level of the scale and not just at the extremes.With such a system,the rater may avoid possible controversy or criticism by giving only average ratings.

Question 15

When employees are incorrectly rated near the middle of the scale,this error is referred to as ________.

Accepted Answer

B)Central tendency error is an evaluation appraisal error that occurs when employees are incorrectly rated near the average or middle of a scale.This practice may be encouraged by some rating scale systems that require the evaluator to justify in writing extremely high or extremely low ratings.

Question 16

How should evaluation criteria for a performance appraisal system be determined?

Accepted Answer

A)Job-relatedness is perhaps the most basic criterion needed in employee performance appraisals.The Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures and court decisions are quite clear on this point.More specifically,evaluation criteria should be determined through job analysis.

Question 17

The basic purpose of a performance appraisal system is to ________.

Accepted Answer

A)The basic purpose of a performance appraisal system is to improve performance of individuals,teams,and the entire organization.The system may also serve to assist in making administrative decisions concerning pay increases,promotions,transfers,or terminations.

Question 18

The critical incident method is a variation of the ranking method in which the performance of each employee is compared with every other employee in the group.

Accepted Answer

Paired comparison is a variation of the ranking method in which the performance of each employee is compared with that of every other employee in the group.A single criterion,such as overall performance,is often the basis for this comparison.The critical incident method is a performance appraisal method that requires keeping written records of highly favorable and unfavorable employee work actions.

Question 19

Some companies use the forced distribution system because of its popularity among most managers and HR professionals.

Accepted Answer

The forced distribution system appears to be unpopular with many managers.These systems can undermine team work and create undesirable competition between employees.

Question 20

Which performance appraisal method is most frequently criticized?

Accepted Answer

A)Performance appraisal is constantly under a barrage of criticism.The rating scales method seems to be the most vulnerable target.Yet in all fairness,many of the problems commonly mentioned are not exclusive to this method but rather,reflect improper implementation.

Quiz 7: Performance Management and Appraisal