Chapter 5: Measuring performance

Question 1

Application of performance measurement:

Answer 1

• Criterion data
• Development of employees
• Motivation and satisfaction
• Rewards
• Changing of job, promotion, dismissal

Question 2

Types of performance measures;

Answer 2

- Objective/results: some quantitative count of the results of someone’s work.
- Subjective/judgemental: Evaluation of the effectiveness of someone’s work behavior.
**- Administrative / personnel: **Part of someone’s personnel file (e.g., absence, accidents, promotions).

Question 3

Relations between performance measurements;

Answer 3

• Different perspectives
• Not exchangeable
• Objective is not reliable.

Question 4

Walk-through testing

Answer 4

A type of measurement that requires an employee to describe to an interviewer in detail how to complete a task or job-related behavior.

Question 5

Electronic performance monitoring

Answer 5

A monitoring work processes with electronic devise. It can be very cost effective and has the potential for providing detailed and accurate work logs.

Question 6

Performance management

Answer 6

A system that emphasizes the link between individual behavior and organizational strategies and goals by defining performanc ein the context of those goals. Jointly developed by managers and the people who report to them.

Question 7

Overall performance rating;

Answer 7

• Influenced by many factors.
• Factors differ from rater to rater.
• Limited usefulness for feedback.
• Better obtain ratings about different aspects of the performance.
• Better to use (weighted) averages as overall rating.

Question 8

Trait ratings

Answer 8

• Unacceptable
• At most related to performance (Big Five).
• May be useful as predictors, but not as measures of performance.

Question 9

What are requirements for acceptable performance measurements?

Answer 9

1. Job analysis
2. Description of tasks and/or required human attributes
3. Behavior (effective / ineffective).
4. Rating scales

Question 10

What can be used as a basis for performance measurement?

Answer 10

Job content (tasks)

Question 11

What are rating formats?

Answer 11

• Graphical rating scales
• Checklists; Weighted checklist & Forced choise format
• Behavioral rating; Behavioral anchored rating scales (BARS) & Behavioral observation scales (BOS).

Scales are not equally usefule for feedback.

Question 12

What are 3 critera for graphic rating scales?

Answer 12

1. Does the measured characteristic represent behavior?
2. Is the meaning of the resonse categories clear?
3. Is the assigning of the score unambiguous?

Question 13

Weighted checklist

Answer 13

A checklist that includes intems that have values or weights assigned to them that are derived from the expert judgements of incumbents and supervisors of the position in question.

Question 14

Forced-choice format

Answer 14

A format that requires the rater to choose two statements out of four that could describe the ratee.

Question 15

BARS

Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales

Answer 15

A rating formate that includes behavioral anchors describing what a worker has done or might be expected to do in a particular duty area.

Question 16

Advantages of BARS

Answer 16

• Based on job analysis
• Transparent & reliable desing procedure
• Observable behavior
• Somewhat useful for feedback

Question 17

Disadvantages of BARS

Answer 17

• Time-consuming to construct good scales
• Anchors represent expected behavior (not always observed).
• So, usefulness for feedback not optimal.

Question 18

BOS

Behavioral observation scale

Answer 18

Is a formate that asks the rater to consider how requently an empolyee has been seen to act in a particular way.

Question 19

Employee comparision method

Answer 19

A form of evaluation that involves the direct comparision of one person with anohter.
- Often used when downsizing is required
- Best to rank per dimension
- Not useful for feedbak
- Difficult to compare employees with different jobs.

Question 20

Which employee comparision methods can be used?

Answer 20

• Simple ranking
• Paired comparison

Question 21

Paired comparison

Answer 21

A technique in which each employee in a work group or a collection of individuals with the same job title is compared with eavery other individual in the group on the various dimensions being considered.

To calcuate the number of paired comparisions is n(n-1)/2 with n is the number opf individuals to be compared.

Question 22

Simple ranking

Answer 22

When employees are ranked from top to bottom according to their assessed proficiency.

Question 23

What are the types of rating errors?

Answer 23

• Central tendency error
• Leniency-severity error
• Halo error
• Contrast effect
• First impression
• Similar-to-me

Question 24

Central tendency errors

Answer 24

A rater chooses a middle point on the scale to describe performance, even though a more extreme point might better descirbe the employee. This occurs when the rater don’t want to give more information about why it wasn’t average if this is necessary.

Question 25

Leniency error

Answer 25

An error that occurs with raters who are unusually easy in thier ratings.

Question 26

Severity error

Answer 26

An error that occurs with raters who are unusually harsh in their ratings.

Question 27

Halo error

Answer 27

An error that occurs when a rater assigns the same rating to an employee by only ooking to the overall impression and not the actual peformance in various categories.

Question 28

Administrative training

Answer 28

A training to get basic knowledge about how to conduct a rating for different ratings like BARS or BOS.
- General orientation on system
- With more complex systems

Question 29

Psychometric training

Answer 29

A training that makes raters aware of common rating errors (central tendency, leniency/severity, and halo) in the hope that this will reduce the likelihood of errors.
- Makes raters aware of rating errors
- Reduce the likelihood of rating errors; but also the accuracy of judgment.

Question 30

Frame-of-reference training (FOR)

Answer 30

A trianing based on the assumption that a rater needs a context or frame for providing a rating. This includes;
- Providing info on the multidimensional nature of performance.
- Ensuring that raters understand the meaning of anchors on the scale.
- Engaging the practice rating exercises.
- Providing **feedback **on practice exercises.

More effecitve than psychometric training

Question 31

Goals of a rater with an evaluation can be

Answer 31

• Task performance: using appraisal to maintain or enhance performance.
• Interpersonal: using appraisal to maintain or improve interpersonal relation.
• Strategic: using appraisal to enhance standing of the supervisor.
• Internalized: using appraisal to confirm the rater’s view of himself as a person of high standards.

Question 32

Organizational goals for performacne evaluation can be:

Answer 32

• Between-person uses: salery administration, promotion.
• Within-person uses: identification of training needs, performance feedback.
• Systems-maintenance uses: manpower planning, organizational development.

Question 33

360-degree feedback

Answer 33

Is a process of collecting and providing a manager or executive wiht feedback from man sources.

Question 34

Sources of performance ratings

Answer 34

• DIrect supervisor
• Peers (co-workers)
• Employee him/herself
• Subordinates
• Clients
• Suppliers

Question 35

Reliability of evaluations

Answer 35

• Inter-rater reliability is low
• Different raters have different perspectives
• Combination of sources is needed to get a complete picture

Question 36

Validity of evaluations

Answer 36

• Requires including important apsects of work behavior (job analysis).
• Requires good scales
• Requires trianing of raters.