chapter 9 and 10 Flashcards
Define high-performance work systems, and identify the elements of such a system.
Definition: a high-performance work system is the right combination of people, technology, and organizational structure that makes full use of the organization’s resources and opportunities in achieving it’s goals.
Elements: (P I R T O)
- People
- Information Systems
- Reward Systems
- Task Design
- Organizational Structure
Summarize the outcomes of a high-performance work system.
Outcomes:
-Achieving the organization’s goals, typically including growth, productivity and high profits.
Intermediate Goals:
-Higher quality, more innovation, better customer satisfaction, increased job satisfaction, and reduced absences.
Describe the conditions that create a high-performance work system.
Will see improvements to systems with increases in: (K I S E E) -Knowledge -Incentives -Satisfaction -Employee skills -Empowerment
Explain how human resource management can contribute to high performance.
- Design jobs that increase teamwork and employee empowerment.
- Recruit employees who seem like team players.
- Train employees for specific jobs.
- Provide compensation based on performance
- Increase performance management system support
Discuss the role of HRM technology in high-performance work systems.
- It can improve the efficiency of the HRM functions.
- It can help support training and knowledge sharing.
- Can improve efficiency of routine tasks.
- e-HRM can allow employees access to their records as they need it.
Summarize ways to measure the effectiveness of human resource management.
HRM audits:
- Formal review of the outcomes of the HRM functions.
- Can come from the organization’s documents and surveys of customers.
Analyze specific programs or activities:
- Did the program meet the goals defined?
- Did it deliver anything of economic value?
Define and identify the activities involved in performance management.
Definition: Performance management is the process through which managers ensure that employee’s activities and outputs contribute to the organization’s goals.
Process:
1st- Determine which performances are relative to the organization.
2nd- Measure the performances through performance appraisals.
3rd- Provide employees feedback through feedback sessions.
Discuss the 3 purposes of performance management systems.
Organizations establish PMS systems to meet three broad purposes:
- Strategic Purpose: Aimed at meeting business objectives and links employee behavior with organization’s goals.
- Administrative Purpose: Provides information for day-to-day decisions about salary, benefits, recognition, etc.
- Development Purpose: Used to develop employee’s knowledge and skills.
Define the five criteria for measuring effectiveness of a performance management system.
(S A R V S)
- Strategic: Fitting with organization’s strategy by supporting its goals.
- Acceptable: Says PMS should be acceptable to people who use them and those who receive feedback.
- Reliability: Measures should provide test-retest reliability so appraisals are consistent over time.
- Valid: Measure all relevant aspects of performance.
- Specific: Tells employees what is expected and how they can meet their expectations.
Compare the major methods for measuring performance.
Ranking systems such as simple ranking, forced distribution, or paired comparisons.
- Time consuming
- Requires disclosure to employees how ranking system is performed.
- Relatively simple but not always valid.
- Need a great deal of information for these methods to be effective.
Describe major sources of performance information in terms of their advantages and disadvantages.
-Performance information is typically gathered from appraisals.
Advantages:
-Can be useful if information is gathered in a productive way.
-Can use other employees and customers to help gather information.
-Is simple information to gather with little costs.
Disadvantages:
- Information can be subjective and at times untrue.
- Peers can give biased ratings on other employees
- Self-appraisals can be biased
- Customer feedback is often effective, but can be expensive.
Define types of rating errors, and explain how to minimize them.
- People often observe behavior without knowing all the relevant circumstances that can affect outcomes.
- Higher evaluations often given to people similar to themselves.
- Rating all employees as high, medium, low
- Rating employees negatively in all areas because of weak performance in one area.
Ways to reduce:
- train raters to be aware of their tendencies to make errors.
- train them to be sensitive to employee performance.
- train all raters together so expectations are similar.
- discuss ratings with other raters and discuss discrepancies in ratings.
Explain when and how to provide feedback effectively.
When:
-Should be regular, scheduled so that employees can correct problems.
How:
- Establish neutral location.
- Emphasize that the feedback session will be an opportunity for discuss on both sides.
- Manager should use a problem solving approach.
- Manager should look for opportunities to praise.
- Discussion should focus on behavior instead of personalities.
Summarize ways to produce improvement in unsatisfactory performance.
Employees who are motivated but lack ability:
- Provide coaching and training.
- Give detailed feedback.
- Consider restructuring the job.
Employees who have ability but lack motivation:
- Investigate whether outside problems are a distraction.
- Possibly deliver more praise.
- Discuss pay increase
Employee lacking both motivation and ability:
- Should consider if they are a good fit.
- Demotion or Termination
Discuss legal and ethical issues that affect performance management.
- Managers should make sure PMS’s and decisions treat employees equally.
- Can establish valid performance measures.
- Train raters to evaluate performance accurately.
- Performance should be based on results, not traits.
- System should include coaching for under performing employees.
- Can use electronic monitoring to increase accuracy of performance ratings.
