Performance Appraisal Systems Flashcards
1
Q
What are the rationales for implementing effective performance appraisals?
A
- Legal
- Communicative
- Productivity of labor
- Equity in rewards
- Other managerial functions
- Financial positions
2
Q
Effective Performance Appraisal: Legal
A
- Make sure employee got fired for their own actions and not a discrimination issue
- If employee’s performance not documented well, company can lose money it lawsuit if claim that was filed mentioned discrimination
3
Q
Effective Performance Appraisal: Communicative
A
- Ensures understanding of performance expectations by managers and staff
- Provides a formal means for employees to voice concerns and make suggestions for system improvement
- Indicates management’s commitment to open dialogue and fairness
4
Q
Effective Performance Appraisal: Productivity of labor
A
- Provides direction to employees on how to improve
- Establishes an environment conducive to self-motivation
- Assists employees with career planning
- Promotes satisfaction and elicits commitment of employees
- Mitigates turnover
5
Q
Effective Performance Appraisal: Equity in rewards
A
- Provides a means for accurate and equitable distribution of organizational rewards
- Provides recognition for past service
- Cannot be arbitrary or perceived as arbitrary
6
Q
Effective Performance Appraisal: Other managerial functions
A
- Supplies evidence to review organizational and systems problems
- Provides data on recruitment and selection procedures
- Identifies deficiencies in orientation and training programs
7
Q
Effective Performance Appraisal: Financial positions
A
- Reducing operating costs
- Avoids costly litigation
- Reduces replacement costs
8
Q
What are the types of appraisal systems?
A
- Absolute
- Relative
- Outcome oriented
9
Q
What does absolute systems consists of?
A
- Require the manager/rater to indicate whether or not the employee is meeting a set of predetermined criteria for performance
- Usually involves some sort of scale or index
- Most commonly used performance appraisal system
10
Q
Advantages of absolute systems
A
- Inherent feedback generation
- More specific for indicating importance of various responsibilities and behaviors
- Considered more objective, quantifiable, and legally defensible
11
Q
Disadvantages of absolute systems
A
- Rater insufficiencies, such as central tendency, leniency, and halo effect
- More burdensome and time‐consuming
12
Q
What are the absolute methods?
A
- Essay
- Critical incident
- Checklist
- Graphic rating
- Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS)
- 360° feedback
- Forced choice
13
Q
Essay
A
- Absolute method
- Advantages: may provide rich data
- Disadvantages: differences across raters, lack of objectivity
- Rater prepares a written statement describing the employee’s strengths and areas for improvement
14
Q
Critical Incident
A
- Absolute method
- Advantages: Derived from documented data, Good for implementation of progressive discipline
- Disadvantages: Burdensome, Subject to interpretation, May not capture all information, May be more sensitive toward particularly good or poor employees
- Rater maintains a record of incidents indicative of both positive and negative behaviors of the employee
15
Q
Checklist
A
- Absolute method
- easy to complete but doesn’t give chance for good feedback
- Advantages: Easy to complete, Indicative of specific behaviors
- Disadvantages: Less precision, Less conducive to feedback
- Rater answers with a “yes” or a “no” to a series of questions about the employee’s behavior
16
Q
Graphic rating
A
- Absolute method
- Advantages: Often based on trait measures, Great for feedback, Lends well toward quantification
- Disadvantages: Leniency, Central tendency, Use of traits, Must come up with appropriate intervals in spacing and description, Must derive appropriate criterion items
- Rater indicates various employee traits and behaviors on a scale; like how we do class evals
17
Q
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
A
- Absolute method
- Advantages: Designed specifically to measure behaviors on the job, Quantitative, Conducive to supplying feedback
- Disadvantages: Central tendency, Labor‐intensive to create
- Rater uses highly descriptive scales to indicate employee’s tendency to demonstrate desirable behaviors; ex. points are assigned to a description
18
Q
360° Feedback/Multi‐rater
A
- Absolute method
- Advantages: Multiple points of view, Reduces impact of bias from one rater, Excellent for feedback, Facilitates reflection
- Disadvantages: Very time‐consuming, Subject to role conflict
- Employees rate themselves, and comparisons are made with ratings by various stakeholders
19
Q
Forced Choice
A
- Absolute method
- Advantages: Mitigates bias
- Disadvantages: Irksome to raters, Usually takes a HR specialist to score, or at least special training to do so, Feedback is challenging
- Rater ranks a set of weighted statements describing the employee’s performance
20
Q
Relative Systems
A
Rater makes comparisons among employees
21
Q
What are the methods for relative systems?
A
- Alternation ranking
- Paired comparisons
- Forced distribution
22
Q
Alternation ranking
A
- Relative method
- Select most and least valued employee from remaining pool of employees
23
Q
Paired comparisons
A
- Relative method
- Each employee is compared with every other employee one at a time
24
Q
Forced distribution
A
- Relative method
- Categorize employees into one of “x” groups based on tendency to meet expectations
25
Advantages of relative systems
Eliminate leniency and central tendency effects
26
Disadvantages of relative systems
Limited feedback
27
Outcome‐Oriented Systems
- Focused more on end results than on behaviors or traits
| - Used more frequently for salaried employees, particularly those with considerable job autonomy
28
What are the methods for outcome oriented systems?
- Management by objectives
| - Work standards approach
29
Advantages of outcome oriented systems
- Setting goals
- Planning for change
- Pushing productivity levels
- Feedback
- Motivation
- Employee self‐actualization
30
Disadvantages of outcome oriented systems
- Equity issues can arise
| - May not be able to grade a lot of people the same way
31
Management by Objectives
- Outcome oriented method
- Advantages: Highly participatory, Incentive driven
- Disadvantages: Employees evaluated by different standards
32
Work standards approach
- Outcome oriented method
- Advantages: Evaluation is more standardized
- Disadvantages: Standards may be viewed as unfair
- Rater sets a standard or an expected level of output and compares each employee’s performance to the standard
33
Management by Objectives process
1. Establish clear and precisely defined statements of objectives for the work to be done by an employee o Manager/rater and employee usually negotiate
2. Develop an action plan indicating how these objectives will be accomplished
3. Allow the employee to implement the action plan
4. Measure objective achievement
5. Take corrective action when necessary
6. Establish new objectives for the future
34
Performance Appraisal Interview
- Preparation and data are key
| - Appointments should be made well in advance
35
What should you provide employees with when performing a performance appraisal interview?
- Copy of the position description and appraisal method (and/or standards, objectives evaluated)
- Copy of the report from the previous review and instructions on how to prepare for the meeting/interview
36
What might an employee do during a performance appraisal interview?
- Prepare comments on how well objectives were met since the last review
- Be asked to discuss most valuable contributions since the previous review
- Identify barriers to optimal performance or achieving goals
- Be asked to complete a self‐evaluation
37
Pre‐Interview Rater Considerations
- What results should the interview achieve?
- What good contributions is the employee making?
- Is the employee working up to his or her potential?
- Is the employee clear about performance expectations?
- What strengths does the employee have that can be built upon?
- Is there any additional training available that can help the employee improve?
38
Conducting the Interview
1. Review and update the position description and standards
2. Discuss performance ratings
3. Highlight strengths and accomplishments
4. Describe areas to improve or build upon, along with any goals not met
5. Discuss future performance and assist with career planning
39
Performance Appraisal Considerations
- Frequency of reviews •
- Culture of review and feedback
- Reliability issues
- Monitoring the system
40
Performance and Organizational Rewards
- Intrinsic and extrinsic rewards
- Balancing act dependent upon available funds and what you are allowed by higher‐ups
- Communicate a clear distinction between cost‐of‐living, seniority, and merit pay increases
