Week 11 - Performance Appraisals

Question 1

Goals of Performance Appraisals

Answer 1

1. To communicate management goals and objectives to employees
2. motivate employees to improve their performance
3. distribute organizational rewards such as salary increases and promotion equitably
4. conduct personnel management research

Question 2

Challenges of performance appraisals

Answer 2

1. It is difficult to measure intangible performance.
2. Flatter organizational hierarchies challenge traditional superior-subordinate appraisals.
3. Limited organizational rewards & punishments make evaluation ineffective at linking pay or disciplinary action to performance
4. Rating errors.

Question 3

Common Rating Errors

Answer 3

Halo effect, central tendency, strict rating, lenient rating, latest behavior, initial impression,

Question 4

Halo Effect

Answer 4

cognitive bias whereby the perception of one trait is influenced by the perception of another trait of that person or object. Ex) attractive ppl often judged as having more desirable personality and skills than the average looking person.

Question 5

3 Appraisal Methods to know

Answer 5

Trait based, Behavior Based and Results Based

Question 6

Strict Rating

Answer 6

Rating consistently lower than the average; being consistently overly harsh

Question 7

Lenient Rating

Answer 7

Rating consistently higher than the expected average; being overly loose

Question 8

Trait Base System

Answer 8

Assessments on the degree to which someone possesses certain desirable personal characteristics deemed important for the job.

Question 9

Behavior Base System

Answer 9

Attempts to discern what someone actually does. BARS is behaviorally anchored rating scale that develops a range of possible standards for each task and then translates them into numerical scores.

Question 10

Results Base

Answer 10

Attempts to calibrate one’s contribution to the success of the organization. Requires specific, realistic objectives and compare actual and expected accomplishments.

Question 11

Self-appraisal

Answer 11

• Based on the belief that the employee has important insights about how the job can be done, can provide valuable data particularily when the supervisor and employee engage in joint goal setting
• People tend to be inaccurate judges of their own performance

Question 12

Peer evaluation

Answer 12

• Has become appropriate since work in some org changed from individual to team based projects
• Requires that an agency culture is high in trust when coworkers develop rating scales and have access to relevant info