Chapter 7

Question 1

A method of performance appraisal in which a supervisor is
given several behaviors and is
forced to choose which of them
is most typical of the employee.

Answer 1

Forced-choice rating scale

Question 2

A meeting between a supervisor and a subordinate for the purpose of discussing performance appraisal results (strengths and weaknesses).

Answer 2

Performance appraisal review

Question 3

10 steps in evaluating employee performance

Answer 3

Step 1: Determing the reason for evaluating employee performance
Step 2: dentify Environmental and Cultural Limitations
Step 3: Determine Who Will Evaluate Performance
Step 4: Select the Best Appraisal Methods to Accomplish your Goals
Step 5: Train Raters
Step 6: Observe and Document Performance
Step 7: Evaluate Performance
Step 9: Terminate Employees
Step 8: Communicate Appraisal Results to Employees
Step 10: Monitor the Legality and Fairness of the Appraisal
. System

Question 4

The idea that organizations tend to promote good employees until they reach the level at which they are not competent—in other words, their highest level of incompetence.

Answer 4

Peter Principle

Question 5

A performance appraisal system in which feedback is obtained from multiple sources such as super- visors, subordinates, and peers.

Answer 5

360-degree feedback

Question 6

A performance appraisal strategy in which an employee receives feedback from sources (e.g., clients, subordinates, peers) other than just his or her supervisor.

Answer 6

Multiple-source feedback

Question 7

most common source of performance appraisal

Answer 7

supervisor rating

Question 8

• It would not seem fair to pay a poor-performing employee the same amount
  as an excellently performing one. Thus, one important reason for evaluating
  employee performance is to provide a fair basis on which to determine an
  employee’s salary increase.

Answer 8

DETERMINING SALARY INCREASES

Question 9

• reason for evaluating performance is to determine which employees
  will be promoted. Although it would seem only fair to promote the best
  employee, this often does not occur

Answer 9

MAKING PROMOTION DECISIONS

Question 10

When performance management techniques are not successful, the results of a performance review might suggest
that the best course of action is to terminate the employee.

Answer 10

MAKING TERMINATION DECISIONS

Question 11

Employment tests must be validated, and one way this can be done is by correlating test scores with some measure of job performance.

Answer 11

CONDUCTING PERSONNEL RESEARCH

Question 12

For example, if supervisors are highly overworked, an elaborate, time-consuming performance appraisal system will not be successful

Answer 12

Step 2: Identify Environmental and Cultural Limitations

Question 13

also called upward feedback) is an important component of 360-degree feedback, as they can provide a very different view about a super- visor’s behavior.

Answer 13

Subordinate feedback

Question 14

often see the actual behavior.their ratings usually come from employees who work directly with an employee; a bank teller could be rated by other bank tellers.

Answer 14

Peers

Question 15

they provide feedback on employee performance by filing com- plaints or complimenting a manager about one of her employees. Formally,they provide feedback by completing evaluation cards

Answer 15

Customers

Question 16

Allowing an employee to evaluate his/her own
behavior and performance is a technique used by an
increasing number of organizations.

Answer 16

SELF APPRAISAL

Question 17

Introduce here the main concept that
this training course is aiming to impart to
the audience. Share how it will help them
in their role and responsibilities within
the company.

Answer 17

OUR TRAINING
OBJECTIVE

Question 18

concentrates on such employee attributes as dependability, honesty, and courtesy. Though commonly used, are not a good idea because they provide poor feedback and thus will not result in employee development and growth.

Answer 18

Trait-Focused Performance Dimensions

Question 19

concentrate on the employee’s knowledge, skills, and abilities. For example, might include writing skills, oral presentation skills, and driving skills.

Answer 19

Competency-Focused Performance Dimensions

Question 20

dimensions that are organized by the similarity of tasks that are performed.

Answer 20

Task-Focused Performance Dimensions

Question 21

is to organize the appraisal on the basis of goals to be accomplished by the employee.

Answer 21

Goal-Focused Performance Dimensions

Question 22

In recent years, psychologists have begun to study————, that is, the effort an employee makes to get along with peers, improve the organization, and perform tasks that are needed but are not necessarily an official part of the employee’s job description.

Answer 22

contextual performance

Question 23

employees can be compared with one another instead of being rated
individually on a scale.

Answer 23

EMPLOYEE COMPARISONS

Question 24

ranked in order by
their judged
performance for each
relevant dimension

Answer 24

RANK ORDER

Question 25

involves comparing each possible pair of employees and choosing which one of each pair is the better employee

Answer 25

PAIRED COMPARISONS

Question 26

a predetermined percentage of employees are placed in each of the five categories

Answer 26

FORCED DISTRIBUTION METHOD

Question 27

obtained by simply counting the number of relevant job behaviors that take place

Answer 27

QUANTITY OF WORK

Question 28

measured in terms of errors, which are defined as deviations from a standard

Answer 28

QUALITY OF WORK

Question 29

a predetermined percentage of employees are placed in each of the five categories

Answer 29

ATTENDANCE

Question 30

employees who follow safety rules and who have no occupational accidents do not cost an organization as much money

Answer 30

SAFETY

Question 31

the most commonly used option in evaluating performance is to have supervisors rate how well the employee performed on each dimension

Answer 31

RATINGS OF PERFORMANCE

Question 32

scales are fairly simple, with 5 to 10 dimensions accompanied by words

Answer 32

GRAPHIC RATING SCALE

Question 33

consist of a list of behaviors, expectations, or results for each dimension

Answer 33

BEHAVIORAL CHECKLIST

Question 34

rate performance on a dimension by comparing the employee’s level of performance with that of other employees

Answer 34

COMPARISON WITH OTHER EMPLOYEES

Question 35

behaviors can be rated based on the frequency with which they occur

Answer 35

FREQUENCY OF DESIRED BEHAVIORS

Question 36

rate employees on the extent to which their behavior meets the expectations of the organization

Answer 36

EXTENT TO WHICH ORGANIZATIONAL EXPECTATIIONS ARE MET

Question 37

provides raters with job- related information, practice in raing, and examples of ratings made by experts as well as the rationale behind those expert ratings made by experts as well as the rationale behind those expert ratings

Answer 37

FRAME- OF- REFERENCE TRAINING

Question 38

THE NEXT STEP IN THE PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL PROCESS IS FOR SUPERVISORS TO OBSERVE EMPLOYEE BEHAVIOR AND DOCUMENT CRITICAL INCIDENTS AS THEY OCCUR

Answer 38

STEP 6: OBSERVE AND DOCUMENT PERFORMANCE

Question 39

DOCUMENTATION IS IMPORTANT FOR FOUR REASONS.

Answer 39

First, documentation forces a supervisor to focus on employee behaviors rather than traits and provides behavioral examples to use when reviewing performance ratings with employees. Second, documentation helps supervisors recall behaviors when they are evaluating performance. Third, documetation provides examples to use when reviewing performance ratings with employees. Fourth, documentation helps an organization defend against legal actions taken against it by an employee who was terminated or denied a raise or promotion.

Question 40

A standardized use of the critical- incident technique developed at General Motors.

Answer 40

EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE RECORD

Question 41

After obtaining objective data, the supervisor should go back and read all of the critical incidents written for an employee. Reading these incidents should reduce errors of primacy, recency, and attention to unusual information.

Answer 41

SREADING CRITICAL-INCIDENT LOGS

Question 42

Once critical-incident logs have been read and objective data reviewed, the supervisor is ready to assign performance appraisal ratings. While making these ratings, the supervisor must be careful not to make common rating errors involving distribution, halo, proximity, and contrast.

Answer 42

COMPLETING THE RATING FORM

Question 43

TYPE OF RATING ERROR IN WHICH A RATER CONSISTENTLY GIVES ALL EMPLOYEES HIGH RATINGS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ACTUAL LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE.

Answer 43

LENIENCY ERROR

Question 44

TYPE OF RATING ERROR IN WHICH A RATER CONSISTENTLY RATES ALL EMPLOYEES IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SCALE, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ACTUAL LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE.

Answer 44

CENTRAL TENDENCY ERROR

Question 45

TYPE OF RATING ERROR IN WHICH A RATER CONSISTENTLY GIVES ALL EMPLOYEES LOW RATINGS, REGARDLESS OF THEIR ACTUAL LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE.

Answer 45

STRICTNESS ERROR

Question 46

Correlating the ratings for each dimension with those for the other dimensions. If they are highly correlated, halo error is often said to have occurred.

Answer 46

HALO ERROR

Question 47

PROXIMITY ERROR

Answer 47

A rating made on one dimension affects the rating made on the dimension that immediately follows it on the rating scale.

Question 48

The performance rating one person receives can be influenced by the performance of a previously evaluated person

Answer 48

CONTRAST ERROR

Question 49

A type of rating error in which raters base their rating of an employee during one rating period on the ratings the rater gave during a previous period.

Answer 49

ASSIMILATION

Question 50

Thee negative feedback is sandwiched between positive feedback.

Answer 50

Feedback Sandwich

Question 51

The opinion of courts in most states that employers have the right to hire and fire an employee at will and without any specific cause.

Answer 51

Employment-at-Will Doctrine

Question 52

An employee can be fired only for cause—for example, breaking a rule, demonstrating an inability to perform.

Answer 52

State Law

Question 53

Employees cannot be fired for reasons protected by federal or state law. For example, an employer cannot fire an employee because she is female, pregnant, nonwhite, or over the age of 40.

Answer 53

Provisions of federal or state law

Question 54

Employers cannot terminate an employee for exercising a legal duty such as jury duty or refusing to violate the law or professional ethics.

Answer 54

Public policy/interest

Question 55

If an individual employee has a signed employment contract stipulating a particular period of employment, an organization cannot fire the employee without cause.

Answer 55

Contracts

Question 56

Employment-at-will is nullified if an employer implies that an employee “has a job for life” or can be fired only for certain reasons.

Answer 56

Implied contracts

Question 57

Though employers are generally free to hire and fire at will, the courts have ruled that employers must still act in good faith and deal fairly with an employee.

Answer 57

Covenants of good faith and fair dealing

Question 58

employees are given a probationary period in which to prove that they can perform well. Employees can be terminated more easily during the probationary period than at any other time.

Answer 58

PROBATIONARY PERIOD

Question 59

employees are given a probationary period in which to prove that they can perform well. Employees can be terminated more easily during the probationary period than at any other time.

Answer 59

INABILITY TO PERFORM