chapter 8 - performance management (10 mc, 1 sa) Flashcards
modernizing/evolution of performance management
Traditional performance management
- Annual goals set by manager
- Infrequent performance feedback and recognition
- Annual performance reviews
Modern performance management
- Agile, collaborative goals that change as conditions change
- Ongoing conversations, timely recognitions
- Quarterly performance reviews
purposes of performance management - DEVELOPMENTAL
- provide performance feedback
- identify individual strengths/weaknesses
- recognize individual performance
- assist in goal identification
- evaluate goal achievement
- identify individual training needs
- determine organizational training needs
- reinforce authority structure
- allow employees to discuss concerns
- improve communication
- provide a forum for leaders to help
purposes of performance management - ADMINISTRATIVE
- document personnel decisions
- determine promotion candidates
- determine transfers and assignments
- identify poor performance
- decide retention or termination
- decide on layoffs
- validate selection criteria
- meet legal requirements
- evaluate training programs/progress
- personnel planning
- make reward/compensation decisions
problems with performance appraisal
- Managers dislike the face-to-face confrontation of appraisal interviews
- Managers are not sufficiently adept in providing appraisal feedback (need training)
- Being both Judge & Coach difficult - the judgmental role of appraisal conflicts with the helping role of developing employees
- Manager may not be able to observe performance or have all the information
- Inflated ratings because managers do not want to deal with “bad news”
measuring performance - criteria for developing performance standards
Criteria for developing performance standards:
- Measures aspect of the job that is truly important (5-7 essential functions)
- Performance standards can be objectively measured
- Make standards difficult yet achievable (goal setting theory)
- Get employee input when setting standards (procedural justice)
- Make sure the performance measure is free of contamination
- Standards capture the entire range of the job (the measure is free from deficiency)
subjective ratings
Subjective rating:
Rate this employee on his/her level of dependability.
What does that mean? –> how dependable they are so see if you feel like they are always there or if you feel like you can get help from them when needed
objective ratings
Objective rating:
How often is this employee absent?
How well does this employee meet deadlines?
Advantages of objective ratings:
- Less ambiguous
- More legally defensible
global rating
Global rating:
A single overall rating of job performance
“On a 1 -10 scale rate this employee’s overall performance.”
Useful for administrative purposes? Developmental?
- administrative
dimensional rating
Ratings on specific aspects of performance
“How well does this employee meet deadlines?
“…. follow directions?
“… work with other team members?
Useful for administrative purposes? Developmental?
- developmental.
relative ratings
Relative Judgments:
Asking the rater to compare an employee’s performance relative to other employees in the same job
** Ranking method – rank order the employees from “best” to “worst”
** Forced distribution – for example - place ¼ of ees in top rating category, ½ in middle rating category, ¼ in lowest category
Reasons why an organization might use either of these two methods:
- to address rater biases
- to make administrative decisions (pay raises, layoffs, etc.)
relative judgments
Problems with ranking/forced distributions
Can be problematic to relate employees to each other because of competition
1. Relative differences between ranks? #3 v. #4 – what does that mean???
2. May force raters to identify differences where no differences exist
3. Useless for employee feedback
4. Highest ranked ee in one dept could be worse than the lowest ranked employee in another dept
Dept A (Slugs) Dept B (Superstars)
1 - Smith 1 - Wilson
2 - Jones 2 - Chang
3 - Adams 3 - Goodwin
4 - Nelson 4 - Taylor
_____
20 - White 20 - Johnson
dept b superstar #20 might not get a raise but dept a slug #1 will because of relative rating…
absolute judgments
Asking the rater to judge an employee’s performance against a performance standard or baseline
On a 1 – 10 point scale, rate the employee’s ability to meet deadlines.
Advantages of absolute ratings:
1. Employees get more specific feedback
2. The standard isn’t a moving target
3. More legally defensible
Court Rulings/Legal Guidelines for Performance Appraisals
- Performance appraisals are “tests” under Title VII
- Performance ratings must be job-related
- Employees must be given a written copy of their job standards in advance of appraisals
- Managers who conduct the appraisal must be able to observe the behavior they are rating
- Supervisors must be trained to use the appraisal form correctly
- An appeals procedure should be established to enable employees to express disagreement with the appraisal
Sources of Performance Appraisal - manager/supervisor
Manager/Supervisor:
- Appraisal done by an employee’s manager
- Advantages/Disadvantages?
- Which purpose(s) most suited for this source?
- developmental
Sources of Performance Appraisal - self-appraisal performance
Self-Appraisal Performance:
- Generally on an appraisal form completed by the employee prior to the performance interview
- Advantages/Disadvantages?
- Which purpose(s) most appropriate?
- adminstrative
Sources of Performance Appraisal - subordinate appraisal
Subordinate Appraisal:
- Appraisal of a superior by an employee
- Issues that might arise here?
- Which purpose(s) most appropriate?
- developmental
Sources of Performance Appraisal - peer appraisal
Peer Appraisal:
- Appraisal by fellow employees, compiled into a single profile for use in an interview conducted by the employee’s manager.
- Pros/cons? Purpose(s) most suited?
- developmental
Pros/Cons of 360 Degree Appraisal
360 Degree Feedback
Getting performance information from multiple sources
Advantages
- The system is more comprehensive because feedback is gathered from multiple perspectives
- It may lessen bias/prejudice that could be specific to one individual rater
- Feedback from peers and others may increase employee self-development
Disadvantages
- Feedback can be intimidating
- There may be conflicting opinions, though they may all be accurate from the respective standpoints
- Appraisers may not be accountable if their evaluations are anonymous
- How do we get both accountability and retain anonymity?
common rater errors: Error of Central Tendency
Error of Central Tendency
A rating error in which all employees are rated about average (no differentiation)
image in notes
common rater errors: Leniency or Strictness Error
Leniency or Strictness Error
A rating error in which the appraiser tends to give all employees either unusually high or unusually low ratings (no differentiation)
image in notes
common rater errors: Recency Error
Recency Error
A rating error in which appraisal is based largely on an employee’s most recent behavior rather than on behavior throughout the appraisal period
image in notes
rating scale types: Graphic Rating-Scale Method
A trait approach to performance appraisal whereby each employee is rated according to a scale of individual characteristics
Rate this employee on his/her level of dependability.
1 = Excellent
2 = Above average
3 = Average
4 = Below average
5 = Poor
rating scale types: Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale (BARS)
A performance appraisal that consists of a series of vertical scales (usually 5-10), one for each dimension of job performance.
More information on the rating scale than simply “excellent, average, poor ratings”
firefighter scale in notes
rating scale types: Behavior Observation Scale (BOS)
Behavior Observation Scale (BOS)
- Measures the frequency of observed behavior
- Assessment of frequency rather than judgment
- Rater is asked to take the role of “observer” rather than “judge”
- Observing if someone did something is thought to be easier than evaluating how well they did something
image in notes
Performance Appraisal Methods/Rating Scales
Trait Methods – focus on rating employee personal traits
Behavioral Methods – focus on rating employee behaviors
Results Methods – focus on rating the employee’s results
Performance Appraisal Methods/Rating Scales: trait appraisal methods - BAD
Trait Appraisal Methods
Trait Methods – Appraisal in which raters make judgments on worker traits - “Person Appraisal”
Advantages
Are inexpensive to develop
Are easy to use
Disadvantages
Have high potential for rating errors
Too ambiguous
Not legally defensible
Focus is on the person not performance
Performance Appraisal Methods/Rating Scales: behavioral appraisal methods - GOOD
Behavioral Appraisal Methods
Focus is on assessing worker behaviors (not simply worker traits)
Advantages
Use specific, concrete performance criteria
Are acceptable to employees and superiors
Are useful for providing feedback
Legally defensible
Behaviors are closer to performance than traits
Disadvantages
Can be time-consuming to develop/use
Can be costly to develop
Performance Appraisal Methods/Rating Scales: results appraisal methods - GOOD
Results Appraisal Methods
Raters assess the results achieved by the ee (not their personal traits nor how they achieved these results)
Advantages
Clear and unambiguous criteria
Are acceptable to employees and superiors
Link individual to organizational performance
Disadvantages
May encourage short-term perspective
May encourage a “results at any cost” mentality
Quality v. quantity concern
Extraneous factors outside ees’ control might impact performance.
