Week 11: Performance Feedback

Question 1

Why evaluate?

Answer 1

• Focus attention on organizational goals
• Reinforces effective actions and behaviours
• Corrects action of ineffective behaviours

Question 2

Why does feedback fail?

Answer 2

• 38% of studies feedback actually has negative result on performance
• Cognitive and emotional inhibitors
  
  • Attributional biases
  • Strong negative emotions
  • Lack of readiness for change
• Culturally inappropriateness

Question 3

How does performance appraisal differ across cultures?

Answer 3

• Individualist cultures
  
  • Used for many purposes tied to promotion and compensation
• Collectivist cultures
  
  • Tend to use seniority rather then performance achievement
  • At the top of organizational chart, performance evalutation is likely to be considered to determine promotions

Question 4

When does feedback work?

Answer 4

• Individual precursors
  
  • Awareness
  • Sense of necessity
  • Confronting change
  • Willingness for feedback
  • Development orientation
• Organizational precursors
  
  • culture supports feedback, thus not in collectivist
  • Accountability for change within organization
  • Compensation tied to individual results
  • Vision, mission and values are aligned
  • Separate administrative from coaching purposes of performance appraisal

Question 5

How can we make feedback effective?

Answer 5

• Interview preparation
  
  • Using the ladder of inference
  • Confronting biases
    
    • Use frame of inference training
  • Consider how a 3rd party would receive your feedback
• During the interview
  
  • Focus attention at the task level
  • Be specific and concrete
  • Convey trust and expertise
  • Use and refer to multiple raters

Question 6

12 Tips for effective feedback

Answer 6

1. Specific
2. Non-personal
3. Work related
4. Documentable
5. Descriptive
6. Non-prescriptive
7. Timely
8. Frequent
9. Purposeful
10. Constructive & balanced
11. Appropriate context
12. Interactive