Chapter 8 Flashcards
What is Performance management and performance appraisal?
Performance management: The continuing process of identifying, measuring, and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization.
Performance appraisal: The process by which organizations evaluate employee job performance over a period of time.
True/False: Performance measurements should have a balanced link between business strategy and employees skills.
False: Performance measurements should have a strong link to* business strategy. *
What is the cascading approach in performance management?
The cascading approach aligns organizational goals by having high-level executives set goals for divisions, which are then refined by mid-level managers for units, teams, and individuals. The goals flow from the top down through each level of the organization. (Provide clarity for what is expected of employee and how to work of employee contributes to org success)
- Time consuming
- Each level is dependant on the level above to complete its goals in a timely manner
- Risk being distored
How does the linking up approach differ from the cascading approach?
Each unit and employee clearly links their goals to the organizations objectives.
The linking up approach starts with individual and team goals, which are then aggregated upward to ensure alignment with the organization’s overall goals, as opposed to the top-down flow of the cascading approach. (Provide clarity for what is expected of employee and how to work of employee contributes to org success)
- Faster
- Allows more direct line of sight between individuals goals and the organizations objectives.
- May produce more meaningful and clear goals
What is a balanced scorecard?
Assesses the performace of the overall organization. Combines the performance measures of the total organization—integrates financial goals with customer satisfaction, internal processes, organizational growth, learning, and innovation
- Very popular approach
- All balanced scorecard objectives work toward the organizations goals and ensure all aspects of the org are moving forward together.
What are the primary uses of performance appraisals in an organization?
5 uses
- Administrative decisions: (e.g., pay raises, promotions) Ex: stronger performers get raises/promotions or weak get transferred/terminated.
- Feedback and performance improvement: Tell employee how they are performing and inform employees of performance expectations.
- Employee development and career planning: Tools for coaching improvment and identify areas of strengths and weaknesses (may lead to development)
- Criteria for test validation: Validates selection tests (people should also do well in performance). Helps make selection tests more valid to use as evidense. (Ex: In lititagions like wrongful dismissal)
- Training program objectives: Provide insights into other aspects of the HR system. Where additional training is needed and how effective are other areas of HR to help improve weak performance?
- Job redesign: Trends in performance specific to a job may indicate job redesign.
What are the 4 steps in the performance appraisal process?
- Performance Objectives: Setting job-related, practical performance targets based on performance standards/benchmarks.
- Measure Performance: Using reliable and easy-to-use performance measures that report on critical behaviors to determine performance.
- Communicate Feedback: Providing performance ratings and feedback to employees at specified intervals.
- HR Records and Decisions: Keeping records of performance for legal purposes and to guide HR decisions.
What are performance objectives?
- The targets for employees that drive them toward the strategic business goal of the organization at the individual level.
- Should be job related, practical and based on performance standards.
- It is common for employees and management to set these objectives together at the beginning of the appraisal period and establish a performance management plan (PMP) based on performance standards.
What is performance standards?
The measurable benchmarks that relates to the desired results of employee performance.
- Relates to quality, quantity or time of work performed.
- Should also be SMART. Managers must set achievable goals that are and also not to general.
What are performance measures?
The ratings used to evaluate employee performance.
What are direct and indirect performance observations? and what are objective and subjective performance observations?
Direct observation: Rater actually sees the employee’s performance
Indirect observation: Substitutes for direct (e.g., secondhand observations of others, complaints written tests, or reports of performance)
Objective observation: Verifiable by others and typically quantitative. (Ex: scrap rates, response time, # of customer complaints)
Subjective observation: Not verifiable by others and is based on rater’s opinions and perceptions and could be subject to bias. Accuracy is also low. (Ex: measuring phone etiquette.
True/false: Performance measures must be easy to use, reliable and report on critical behaviours?
True
What is Comparative evaluation methods? and what are the most common forms of this method?
2 forms
Comparative Evaluation Methods: Compare one employee’s performance with a coworkers.
- Easily standardized
- little job related feedback in improvment.
Ranking Method: Employees ranked from best to worst. Subject to halo (positive bias) and recency effects
- reletave differences between employees are unknown
Forced distributions Method: Employees sorted into categories or classifications. Usually a certain proportion must be put into each category.
- reletave differences between employees are unknown (Ex: vitality curve)
What are noncomparative evaluation methods? and what are the most common forms of this method?
Noncomparitave Evaluation: The appraisal methods that evaluate an employee’s performance according to preset data, and not by comparing one employee to another.
Rating Scales: A scale that requires the rater to provide a subjective evaluation of an individual’s performance. Oldest and most widely used method. Subjective (i.e. based on the rater’s opinion). Responses may be given numerical values. Advantages: Inexpensive, no training to complete form, and can be applied to many employees.
Disadvantages: Specific performance criteria missed, may be bias
Behaviourally Anchored Rating Scales (BARS): Evaluation tools that rate employees along a rating scale by means of specific behaviour examples on the scale. Descriptions of effective/ineffective performance examples placed along a scale.
Job-related, practical, and standardized and less subjective bias.
Performance tests and Observations: May include paper-and-pencil tests or an actual demonstration of skills
Management-by-objectives Approach (MBO): Employee and superior jointly establish performance goals for the future; employees are subsequently evaluated on how well they have obtained these objectives. Can motivate employees, performance feedback must be regular. Cannot be to ambitious or narrow (can result in employee frustration).
What is a 360-degree performance appraisal? and what are the main sources information on employee performance?
360 degree performance appraisal: Combination of self, peer, supervisor, and subordinate performance evaluation. Good for employee development but has the potential for biases.
Self-appraisals: Good for selfdevelopment goals. Recall and document major accomplishments. Also helps employees identify areas of improvment and roadblocks.
Peers appraisals: Peers have observed typical performance, interpersonal and collaberation skills, and may have seen employess when not on their best behaviour.
Customers/Clients: Customer complaints and compliments and surveys
Supervisors: Responsibe for performance of staff (employees are on their best behaviour when the boss is around)
Direct Reports: Assessing how a supervisor provides feedback, autonomy and guidance.
