Chapter 10

Question 1

Why Do Performance Appraisal? (4)

Answer 1

1. Administrative
2. Development
3. Supervisory
4. Symbolic

Question 2

Why Do Performance Appraisal? - Administrative reasons

Answer 2

• Who should be considered promotion or merit increase?

Who is not performing well? Need disciplinary measures?

A well documented set of performance appraisal can also be helpful in dealing with legal issues.

Question 3

Why do performance appraisals - Developmental Reasons

Answer 3

Help employees to better understand employer expectations and key performance dimension of the job.

Assist employees to understand strengths and weakness in their performance.

Help employees understand how to improve performance.

Providing feedback is the essential part of employee development process.

Question 4

Why do performance appraisals - Supervisory Reasons

Answer 4

Improves supervisory performance by helping supervisors to think systematically about employee performance.

Encourage communication with employees

Question 5

Why do performance appraisals- Symbolic reasons

Answer 5

Create the perception that employers care about good employee performance.

Conducting performance appraisal process demonstrate the concern of performance to employees.

Question 6

Unintentional Inaccuracies in Appraisals - Central tendency error

Answer 6

Occurs when appraisers rate all employees as “average” in everything

Question 7

Unintentional Inaccuracies in Appraisals - halo error

Answer 7

Occurs when appraisers rate an individual either high or low on all Characteristics because one characteristic is either high or low

Question 8

Unintentional Inaccuracies in Appraisals - recency errors

Answer 8

The tendency of appraisers to over weight recent events when appraising employee performance

Question 9

Unintentional Inaccuracies in Appraisals - contrast effect

Answer 9

Tendency for a set of performance appraisals to be influenced upward by the presence of a very low performer or downward by the presence of a very high performer

Question 10

Unintentional Inaccuracies in Appraisals - similarity effect

Answer 10

Tendency for a set of performance appraisers to inflate the appraisals of employees they see as similar to themselves

Question 11

Unintentional Inaccuracies in Appraisals - leniency effect

Answer 11

Tendency of many appraisers to provide unduly high performance appraisals

Question 12

Unintentional Inaccuracies in Appraisals - harshness effect

Answer 12

Tendency to provide unduly low performance appraisals

Question 13

Methods & Instruments for appraisals (7)

Answer 13

1. Ranking & forced distribution
2. Graphic rating scale
3. Behavioural observation scales
4. Behaviourally anchored rating scales
5. Objectives and results based systems
6. Field review
7. Combination approaches

Question 14

Ranking: Forced distribution method

Answer 14

Performance appraisal method that stipulates the distribution of employees across the performance categories

Question 15

Ranking: Paired comparison method

Answer 15

Determines the rank order of all employees in a unit by comparing each employee with each of the other employees in the unit

Question 16

Graphic Rating

Answer 16

An appraisal method in which appraisers use a numerical scale to rate employees on a series of characteristics

Question 17

Behaviourally anchored rating scales (BARS)

Answer 17

Appraisal method that provides specific descriptors for each point on the rating scale

Question 18

Behaviourally observation scales (BOS)

Answer 18

Appraisal method under which appraisers rate the frequency of occurrence of different employee behaviours

Question 19

Management by objective (MBO)

Answer 19

Philosophy of management that rates performance on the basis of employee achievement of goals set by mutual agreement of employee and manager
- Involves setting employee goals and providing feedback on goal accomplishment

Question 20

Guidelines for MBO based appraisals (5)

Answer 20

Managers and employees must be willing to establish goals and objectives together.
Objectives must be quantifiable and measurable for the long and short term
Expected results must be under the control of the employee
Goals and objectives must be consistent for each level ( top executive, manager, and employee)
Managers and employees must establish specific times when goals are to be reviewed and evaluated

Question 21

Sources of appraisals (5) 360-degrees feedback

Answer 21

• Peer
• Subordinate
• Self
• customer
• Superiors

Question 22

Linking pay to performance appraisals - merit pay grid/merit pay matrix

Answer 22

A tool for allocating merit raises, based on the performance level of the employee and the pay range quartile in which they fall

Question 23

Issues in designing and effective appraisal/merit system (8)

Answer 23

1. What is the objective of the system?
2. What is the most appropriate measurement system?
3. How frequently should appraisals be conducted
4. How are appraisals to be linked to pay?
5. How should feedback be provided?
6. How is procedural justice to be achieved?
7. How are raters to be trained and evaluated
8. How is the system to be evaluated?

Question 24

Performance appraisals challenges

Answer 24

One of the most challenging and complex human resource management functions
- companies can’t find a performance appraisal system that they are happy with
-