Ch 10: Performance Appraisal and Career Management

functions served by performance appraisals

• provide a benchmark for assessing the extent to which recruiting and selection processes are adequate

• important for legal reasons; mechanism used to demonstrate promotions, transfers, terminations, and reward allocations are based on merit

• play a larger role in the performance management process

• can be the basis of incentive pay systems

role of the organization

• develops the general performance-appraisal process for its managers and employees to use

• determines the timing of performance appraisals

• ensures clear and specific performance standards are available to managers

• ensures everyone rates performance using the same set of standards

rater

usually the supervisor and plays the largest role in the appraisal process

• have to help develop and learn standards

• communicates standards to the ratees

• collects information regarding behaviors and stores it

• responsible for preparing the employee to perform at desired levels

ratee

person being rated

• has a clear and unbiased view of their performance

not

Supervisors are/are not necessarily a perfect source of information

360-degree appraisals

performance information is gathered from people on all sides of the manager: above, below, beside and so forth

performance diaries

used to record relevant performance information when behaviors occur and so the rater does not need to solely rely on memory; can also be used to serve as documentation of performance in court

trait based appraisal

abstract properties of individuals that generally cannot be observed directly but can be inferred from behavior

• ratings of attitude, leadership, and initiative

• allows an organization to use the same appraisal instrument for all or most employees

CONS

• most difficult to defend in court because of them being subjective

• less instructive and helpful than other types of feedback

behavior based appraisal

tend to be based on job analysis and they tend to be tailored for specific jobs

outcome based appraisals

rating based on outcomes rather than behaviors or traits

• feedback is straightforward and easy to interpret

• the most objective

simple ranking method

having the manager simply rank-order, from top to bottom or from best to worst, each member of a particular work group or department

paired comparison method

comparing each individual employee with every other individual employee, one at a time

forced distribution method

grouping employees into predefined frequencies of performance rating; frequencies are determined by organization in advance

graphic rating scale

consists of a statement about some aspect of an individual’s job performance (for example, making the rater select from: strongly agree, agree, neither agree or disagree, disagree and strongly agree)

critical incident method

relies on instances of especially good or poor performance on the part of the employee

• gives precise examples but can be time-consuming

• can make it difficult to compare one person to another

behaviorally anchored rating scale

represent a combination of graphic rating scale and the critical incident method

• quite complicated and expensive

• developed by the manager who is the rater so managers are more likely to commit to using it

behavioral observation scale

developed from critical incidents like a BARS but uses substantially more critical incidents to define specifically all of the measures necessary for effective performance

management by objectives

popular approach based largely on the extent to which individuals meet their personal performance objectives

contrast error

it occurs when we compare people against one another instead of against an objective standard

distributional errors

occurs when the rater tends to use only one part of the rating scale; common error for graphic rating scales

severity

distributional error when the manager gives low ratings to all employees by holding them to unreasonably high standards

leniency

distributional error that occurs when a manager assigns relatively high or lenient ratings to all employees

central tendency

distributional error that occurs when the manager tends to rate all employees as average

halo error

occurs when one positive performance characteristic causes the manager to rate all other aspects of performance positively

horns error

the manager tends to downgrade other aspects of an employee’s performance because of a single performance dimension

method to reduce errors

train managers to overcome biases by pointing out their tendency to commit errors

contextual performance

refers to tasks an employee does on the job that are not required as part of the job but benefits the organization in some way (might be referred to as organizational citizenship behaviors)

career

the set of experiences and activities in which a person engages related to their job and livelihood over the course of a working life

exploration stage

the first traditional career stage and involves identifying the kind of work one might be interested in doing

• starts in the mid- to late teens and lasts through the mid- and late twenties

establishment stage

the second traditional career stage where an individual begins to create a meaningful and relevant role for themselves and the organization

• may become a valuable member of a work team and be recognized by their superior

• can be acknowledged by the organization as someone the company values and wants to retain

• during an individual’s late twenties through mid- to late thirties

maintenance

the third traditional career stage where the individual begins to reach a level in the organization that optimizes their talents or abilities

• marks a midcareer plateau and could end their career on this plateau

• enjoy their careers and considers them to be highly productive and worthwhile

• may devote extra effort to learning new job skills to remain current in their professional skills and abilities

• called in to fill mentor roles

disengagement stage

the fourth traditional career stage where the individual gradually begins to pull away from their work in the organization

• priorities change and work becomes less important to them

• they begin thinking about leaving the organization and finding other sources for fulfilling personal needs and goals

stronger

Effective career planning results in a ______ and more effective workforce.

when individuals are more likely to retire

• when their spouses have retired

• when they have the financial resources needed to maintain their preretirement lifestyles

improve employee performance

The goal of performance management is to…..

the forced distribution method

Several firms have claimed to have dropped performance appraisals completely and focused entirely on performance management. Much of this reaction stems from the use of ________ _______ (start answer with the)

the maintenance stage

The highest growth in the performance of an individual occurs during this stage

individual assessment phase

individuals need to analyze carefully what they perceive to be their own abilities, competencies, skills, and goals

career counseling

interaction between an individual employee or manager in the organization and either a line manager or an HR manager