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I/O Psych Ch 7
Evaluating Employee Performance
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| method of performance appraisal in which supervisor is given several behaviors & is forced to choose which of them is most typical of employee | forced choice rating |
| meeting btwn supervisor & subordinate for purpose of discussing performance appraisal results | performance appraisal review |
| reasons organization wants to evaluate employee performance | 1st step in performance appraisal process |
| forced choice rating is __ for determining compensation | excellent |
| forced choice rating is __ for training purposes | terrible |
| excellent source for improving employee performance __ feedback | 360-degree |
| 360-degree feedback is not appropriate for determining | salary increases |
| performance appraisal review is the time to determine how | employee weaknesses can be corrected |
| difference in compensation btwn 2 individuals within same job is function of | tenure & job performance |
| important reason for evaluating employee performance is | to provide fair basis on which to determine employee's salary increase |
| numerical rather than narrative format is needed if performance appraisal results are | to be used to determine salary |
| promotion of employees until they reach their highest level of incompetence | Peter Principal |
| if performance evaluations are are used to promote employees, care should be taken to ensure | employee is evaluated well on the job dimensions similar to those of the new position |
| an increase/change in training is probably necessary for all employees if | many employees score poorly on a performance appraisal dimension |
| personnel research is a reason for | evaluating employees |
| to determine effectiveness, an accurate measure of performance must be available for use in determining | whether performance increases as a result of training |
| to be valid, when using employment tests, correlation of test scores would be done against | an accurate measure of job performance |
| in organizations where union contracts forbid use of performance evaluations in personnel decisions | personnel research is an important reason for evaluating employee performance |
| identifying environmental & cultural factors that could affect the system | 2nd step in performance appraisal process |
| 360-degree feedback & multiple-source feedback are | buzzwords for using multiple sources to appraise performance |
| performance appraisal system in which feedback is obtained from multiple sources such as supervisors, subordinates, and peers | 360-degree feedback |
| performance appraisal strategy in which employee receives feedback from sources (clients, subordinates, peers) other than just a supervisor | multiple-source feedback |
| about 28% of large US organizations use some form of __ feedback | multiple-source |
| sources, from multiple-source feedback, of relevant info about employee performance include | supervisors, peers, subordinates, customers & self-appraisal |
| supervisor's who self-ratings agree with others' ratings | tend to be better performers than those who's ratings are not consistent with others' |
| most common type of performance appraisal | supervisor rating |
| more than 90% of all performance appraisals are | conducted using supervisors' ratings of performance |
| supervisors see __ of employee's efforts | results |
| peers often see actual __ of employees | behaviors |
| usually come from employees who work directly with or often come in contact with the employee getting appraisal | peer ratings |
| peer ratings are fairly reliable when peers who make rating are | similar to & well acquainted with employee being rated |
| peer ratings correlated highly with supervisor ratings when | successfully predicting future success of promoted employees |
| high performers evaluate their peers __ __ than low performers | more strictly |
| employees who score high is self-esteem & self-monitoring, and low in individualism | react more favorably to peer ratings |
| important component of 360-degree feedback | subordinate feedback |
| subordinate feedback is also called | upward feedback |
| subordinate ratings correlate high with __ ratings of supervisors' performance | upper-management |
| multi-source feedback is most effective when feedback indicates that employee | needs to change behavior, perceives change is feasible, & are open to receiving constructive criticism |
| current customers who have been enlisted by a company to periodically evaluate service they receive | secret shopper |
| self-ratings suffer from modesty in | Japan, Korea, & Taiwan |
| self-ratings suffer from leniency in | US, mainland China, India, Singapore, & Hong Kong |
| self-appraisals appear to be most accurate when employees __ performance appraisal system | understand |
| self-appraisals appear to be most accurate when employees believe that | objective record of their performance is available with which supervisor can compare self-appraisal |
| selecting performance criteria & appraisal methods that will accomplish goals for system | 3rd step in performance appraisal process |
| ways of describing employee success | criteria |
| prior to developing actual performance appraisal instrument decisions about | focus of appraisal's dimensions & whether to use rankings/ratings |
| appraisal dimensions can focus on | traits, competencies, task types, or goals |
| concentrates on such employee attributes as dependability, honesty, & courtesy | trait-focused dimensions |
| concentrate on employee's knowledge, skills, & abilities | competency-focused dimensions |
| competency-focused dimensions allow for easy feedback & suggest | steps necessary to correct deficiencies |
| because trait-focused dimensions focus on personal traits they do not allow for | easy feedback & do not suggest steps necessary to correct deficiencies |
| organized by similarity of tasks that are performed; usually includes several competencies | task-focused dimensions |
| task-focused dimensions allow | easier evaluation of performance than with other dimensions |
| disadvantage of task-focused dimensions is that it is more difficult to | offer suggestions for how to correct deficiencies |
| organize appraisal on basis of goals to be accomplished by employee; makes easier to understand why certain behaviors are expected | goal-focused dimensions |
| effort employee makes to get along with peers, improve organization, & perform tasks that are needed but are not necessarily official part of employee's job description | contextual performance |
| contextual performance is important because they are __ organizational behaviors important to success of an organization | prosocial |
| contextual performance is important because they also tend to be | similar across jobs |
| may reduce racial & other biases and makes good philosophical sense | weighting dimensions |
| to reduce leniency, employees can be | compared to one another |
| comparing employees to one another rather than being rated individually on a scale | employee comparison |
| method of performance appraisal in which employees are ranked from best to worst | rank order |
| rank order is the __ and most common of employee comparison | easiest |
| paired comparison can be used to | make rank order easier |
| form of ranking; method involves comparing each possible pair of employees & choosing which one of each pair is a better employee | paired comparison |
| predetermined % of employees are placed in each of 5 categories | forced distribution |
| forced distribution is also called | "rank and yank" |
| rank-and-yank result in __ levels of organizational productivity, especially during first few years in which system is in place | increased |
| to use the forced distribution method, one must assume that employee performance is | normally distributed (there are certain % of employees that are poor, average, & excellent) |
| employee performance is probably not normally distributed because of | restriction of range |
| greatest problem with all employee-comparison methods is that | they don't provide info about how well an employee is actually doing |
| objective/hard criteria is way to | evaluate performance |
| quantity of work, quality of work, attendance, & safety are | objective measures to evaluate performance |
| type of objective criterion used to measure job performance by counting number of relevant job behaviors that take place | quantity |
| type of objective criterion used to measure job performance by comparing a job behavior with a standard | quality |
| deviation from a standard of quality | error |
| quality is __ in terms of errors | measured |
| to obtain a measure of quality there must be a __ against which to compare an employee's work | standard |
| errors include work quality that is __ than a standard | higher |
| common method for objectively measuring one aspect of employee's performance is by looking at | attendance |
| attendance can be separated into | absenteeism, tardiness, & tenure |
| criterion mostly used for research purposes when evaluating success of selection decisions | tenure |
| criterion usually used for research purposes, but can also be used for employment decisions such as promotions & bonuses | safety |
| 2 most common rating scales of performance | graphic rating scale & behavioral checklist |
| method of performance appraisal that involves rating employee performance on an interval/ratio scale | graphic rating scale |
| consists of list of behaviors, expectations, or results for each dimension then forces supervisor to concentrate on relevant behaviors that fall under a dimension | behavioral checklist |
| advantage of graphic rating scales is their | ease of constructions and use |
| disadvantage of graphic rating scales is their | susceptibility to such rating errors as help & leniency |
| behavioral checklists are constructed by taking task statements from detailed job description and converting them into behavioral performance statement representing | level at which behavior is expected to be performed |
| advantage to behavior-based system is | increased amount of specific feedback that can be given to each employee |
| result-focused statements concentrate on what employee __ as result of what they did | accomplished |
| result-focused systems are tempting because they evaluate employees on | their contribution to the bottom line |
| problem with result-focused systems is that employee can do everything asked & | still not get the desired results die to factors outside their control |
| condition in which a criterion score is affected by things other than those under control of employee | contamination |
| it is essential to identify as many sources of contamination as possible to determine ways to | adjust performance ratings to account for these sources |
| when comparing employee's level of performance with that of other employees it is important to use scale anchors | below average, average, above average |
| behaviors can be rated based on __ with which they occur | frequency |
| best approach is rate employes on extent to which | their behaviors meet the expectations of organization |
| less commonly used methods to rate performance are | behaviorally anchored scales (BARS), mixed-standard scales, & forced-choice scales |
| the courts are more interested in due process afforded by appraisal system than in its | technical aspects |
| conservative courts are more likely to base their decisions about performance appraisal ratings based on | validity & accuracy |
| libel courts are more likely to base their decisions about performance appraisal ratings based on | fairness issues |
| training supervisors to become aware of various rating errors & how to avoid them | increases accuracy & reduces rating errors |
| unless additional training & feedback are provided, for upervisors to become aware of various rating errors & how to avoid them, it is possible for them to | reduce accuracy of ratings by substituting new errors |
| effectiveness of rater training also is a function of | training format |
| method of training raters in which the rater is provided with job-related information, a chance to practice ratings, examples of ratings made by experts, and the rationale behind the expert ratings | frame-of-reference training |
| raters who receive frame-of-reference training | make fewer rating errors & recall more training info than untrained raters |
| frame-of-reference training provides raters with | job-related info, practice on rating, & examples of ratings made by experts |
| goal of frame-of-reference training is to | communicate organization's definition of effective performance & then to get raters to consider only relevant employer behaviors when making performance evaluations |
| the better employees understand the performance appraisal system | the greater is their satisfaction with the system |
| method of performance appraisal in which the supervisor records employee behaviors that were observed on the job and rates the employee on the basis of that record | critical incidents |
| critical incidents are examples of | excellent & poor employee performance |
| formal accounts of excellent & poor employee performance that were observed by supervisor | critical incident log |
| critical incidents should be communicated to the employee | at the time they occur |
| documentation forces a supervisor to focus on employee behaviors rather than | traits |
| documentation forces a supervisor to provide | behavioral examples to use when reviewing performance ratings with employees |
| documentation helps supervisors recall behaviors | when they are evaluating performance |
| being aware of first impressions is important because | performance can be dynamic |
| supervisors tend to recall the most __ behavior that occurred during the evaluation period | recent |
| supervisors tend to remember __ behaviors more than they remember __ behaviors | unusual; common |
| supervisors tend to look for behaviors most like | their opinion of that person |
| documentation provides __ to use when reviewing performance rating with employees | examples |
| documentation helps an organization __ __ legal actions taken against it by an employee who was terminated/denied a raise/promotion | defend against |
| without documentation, employers will seldom | win lawsuits filed against them |
| courts' need for documentation is supported by research indicating that when | evaluators must justify their performance ratings, their ratings are more accurate |
| critical incidents are then used during performance appraisal review process to | assign a rating for each employee |
| critical incident log is important part of appraisal process because it | refreshes supervisor's memory of employee's performance & provides justification for each performance rating |
| standardized use of the critical-incident technique developed at General Motors; consists of 2-color form | Employee Performance Record |
| advantage of Employee Performance Record is that | supervisors are allowed to record only job-relevant behaviors |
| when it is time to appraise employee's performance, supervisor should first | obtain & review objective data relevant to employee's behavior |
| objective data relevant to employee's behavior when combined with critical incident logs provides | solid basis on which to rate an employee |
| by supervisor reading critical incidents written there should be reduction in errors of | primacy, recency, & attention to unusual info |
| once supervisor is ready to assign performance appraisal ratings they must be careful not to make common rating erros involving | distribution, halo, proximity, & contrast |
| rating errors in which a rater will use only a certain part of a rating scale when evaluating employee performance | distribution errors |
| type of rating error in which a rater consistently gives all employees high ratings, regardless of their actual levels of performance | leniency error |
| leniency error is a(n) __ error | distribution |
| partial explanation for leniency is that supervisors | don't really know difference btwn good & bad performance, so they err on the positive side |
| rater consistently rates all employees in the middle of scale, regardless of their actual levels of performance | central tendency error |
| rater consistently gives all employees low ratings, regardless of their actual levels of performance | strictness error |
| rater allows either single attribute/overall impression of individual to affect ratings on each relevant job dimension | halo errors |
| occurs especially when rater has little knowledge of job & is lesser familiar with person being rated | halo effects |
| halo error is more common in __ ratings than in __ ratings of subordinates | peer; supervisor |
| halo error is statistically determined by correlating ratings for | each dimension with those for other dimensions |
| occur when rating made on 1 dimension affects rating made on dimension that immediately follows it on rating scale | proximity errors |
| with halo error, __ dimensions are affected by an overall impression of employer | all |
| with proximity error, affects are seen | only on dimension physically located nearest particular dimension on scale |
| employee's performance is contrasted to another employee's performance, or another appraisal of same employee, rather than to an objective standard | contrast error |
| contrast effects only occur when | person making evaluation actually sees employee perform & rates employee during both rating periods |
| raters base their rating of employee during 1 rating period on ratings previous rater gave during previous period | assimilation |
| when 2 people rate same employee, reason for lack of reliability is that | raters often commit rating errors, such as halo & contrast errors |
| when 2 people rate same employee, reason for lack of reliability is that raters have very different __ & __ about ideal employee | standards; ideas |
| when 2 people rate same employee,2 different raters may actually see __ __ by same employee | different behaviors |
| most effective way to reduce number of rating errors & increased reliability is to | train the people who will be making performance evaluations |
| where recent behaviors are given more weight in performance evaluation than behaviors that occurred during 1st few months of evaluation period | recency effect |
| idea that supervisors do not have opportunity to see a representative example of an employee’s behavior | infrequent observation |
| infrequent observation occurs due to how busy managers are doing their "own work" they do not have time to "walk the floor" to observe, so they | make inferences based on completed work or employee's personality traits |
| infrequent observation occurs due subordinates __ __ around managers than peers | acting differently |
| research indicates that raters recall those behaviors that are | consistent with their general impression of an employee |
| raters who are familiar with the job being evaluated recall __ judgements about performance but __ behaviors than do raters who are not familiar w/job | more; fewer |
| decrease in memory accuracy over time can be reduced if | several raters, rather than one, are used to evaluate performance |
| memory-based ratings lead to | more distortions |
| in many instances memory-based ratings are __ __ than ratings made immediately after behavior occurs | more accurate |
| perceived psychological pressure | stress |
| another way supervisors can affect performance ratings is | the amount of stress under which supervisor operates |
| raters who were placed in stressful situation produced ratings with __ __ than sis raters who were not under stress | more errors |
| rater overcompensates in effort to be "fair"; raters affect toward an employee may interfere with cognitive processing of actual performance information | bias |
| feelings or emotion | affect |
| rater who like the employees being rated may be more lenient, __, & less accurate in their ratings than would raters who neither like/dislike their employees | biased |
| do not play significant role in performance appraisals, according to 2 reviews of literature | racial bias |
| according to Stauffer & Buckley, about racial bias, argue that much of research in this area is flawed and that when proper method is used | evidence in performance ratings exists |
| meta-analysis on gender & age bias indicates that | it does not seem to be an issue in performance ratings |
| research indicates that dissatisfaction & decrease in organizational commitment occurs | even when employee receives evaluation that is "satisfactory" but not "outstanding" |
| appraisal in which employee is told everything done poorly & then the employee is sold on ways to improve | tell-and-sell approach to performance appraisal interviews |
| time,scheduling, & preparation are techniques that can be used | to make performance appraisal interview for effective |
| both supervisor & employee should be allotted at least an hour | to prepare for the appraisal interview |
| should be a neutral place that ensures privacy & allows supervisor & employee to face one another without a desk btwn them as a communication barrier | appraisal interview location |
| although formal performance appraisal review occurs only once/twice per year, __ __ should be held throughout the year to provide feedback | progress checks (informal) |
| in preparing for performance appraisal interview, supervisor should review | ratings assigned to employee & reasons for those ratings |
| quality of feedback given to employees will affect their | satisfaction with entire performance appraisal process |
| employees __ & __ to amount of time that supervisor uses to prepare for performance appraisal interview | perceive; react |
| when preparing for performance appraisal interview, employee should | rate own performance using same rating format as supervisor |
| when preparing for performance appraisal interview, employee should | write down specific reasons & examples to support self-ratings |
| when preparing for performance appraisal interview, employee should | write down ideas for personal development |
| during interview supervisor should communicate the __ of performance appraisal | role |
| making decisions about salary increases & terminations are not the __ __ of performance appraisal | only purpose |
| during interview supervisor should communicate __ performance appraisal was conducted | how |
| during interview supervisor should communicate how the __ __ was accomplished | evaluation process |
| during interview supervisor should communicate expectation that appraisal interview will be | interactive |
| during interview supervisor should communicate goal of | understanding & improving performance |
| opinion of courts, in most states, that employers have right to hire & fire employees at will & without any specific cause | employment-at-will doctrine |
| statements in employment applications and company manuals reaffirming an organization’s right to hire and fire at will | employment-at-will statements |
| progressive discipline | providing employees with punishments of increasing severity, as needed, in order to change behavior |
| research indicates employees who are actively involved in interview from start to finish will be | more satisfied with the results |
| positive feed back should always be given | first |
| negative feedback is positioned btwn positive feedback | feedback sandwich |
| liberal use of positive feedback helps employees | accept negative feedback |
| liberal use of positive feedback helps supervisors | who tend to avoid providing negative feedback in an effort to reduce chance of interpersonal conflicts |
| to attribute others' failure/poor performance to personal rather than situational factors | fundamental attribution error |
| awareness & acknowledgement of __ __ for performance is especially important because we have a tendency called fundamental attribution error | external factors |
| goals should be mutually set, at the end of the interview, for | future performance & behavior |
| when goals are mutually set, at the end of the interview, both supervisor & employee should | understand how these goals will be met |
| employment-at-will doctrine is used in the __ sector | private |
| in the public sector an employee can be fired | only for cause |
| limits to employment-at-will doctrine include __ laws, such as CA, MT, & NY | state |
| limits to employment-at-will doctrine include __ of federal or state government | provisions |
| employees cannot be fired for reasons protected by federal/state law | provisions of federal or state |
| limits to employment-at-will doctrine include public __ | policy/interest |
| employers cannot terminate employee for exercising a legal duty, jury duty, or refusing to violate the law or professional ethics | public policy/interest |
| limits to employment-at-will doctrine include __ | contracts |
| unions enter into __ __ __ (contracts) with employers that also limit or negate employment-at-will | collective bargaining agreements |
| limits to employment-at-will doctrine include __ contracts | implied |
| employment-at-will is nullified if an employer implies that an employee "has a job for life," or can be fired only for certain reasons | implied contracts |
| limits to employment-at-will doctrine include __ of good faith & fair dealing | covenants |
| courts have ruled that employers must act in good faith & deal fairly with an employee | covenants of good faith & fair dealing |
| to __ __ __ to use policy of employment-at-will, most organizations include employment-at-will statements | protect their right |
| in situations not covered by employment-at-will an employee can only legally be terminated if | probationary period, violation of company rules, inability to perform, & economically caused reduction in force (layoffs) |
| period in which employees prove they can perform well | probationary period |
| employees can be terminated __ __ during probationary period than at any other time | more easily |
| courts consider __ __ in determining legality of decisions to terminate an employee for violating company rules | five factors |
| rule against particular behavior must actually exist; cannot be "unwritten" rules | 1st factor in determining legality of decisions to terminate an employee for violating company rules |
| if rule against particular behavior exists, must prove the employee knew the rule; either through oral/written communication | 2nd factor in determining legality of decisions to terminate an employee for violating company rules |
| ability of employer to prove that employee actually violated the rule; proof through witnesses, video, & job samples | 3rd factor in determining legality of decisions to terminate an employee for violating company rules |
| extent to which the rule has been equally enforced | 4th factor in determining legality of decisions to terminate an employee for violating company rules |
| extent to which the punishment fits the crime; must make reasonable attempt to change employee's behavior through progressive discipline | 5th factor in determining legality of decisions to terminate an employee for violating company rules |
| in progressive discipline, the longer an employee has been with an organization | the greater the number of steps that must be taken to correct the behavior |
| in order to termination an employee for an inability to perform the job, the organization will need | to prove that employee could not perform the job & that progressive discipline was taken to give the opportunity to improve |
| for an employer to survive a court challenge to terminating poor-performing employee, it must first | demonstrate that a reasonable standard of performance was communicated to the employee |
| for an employer to survive a court challenge to terminating poor-performing employee, after demonstrating that a reasonable standard of performance was communicated to the employee, it must next | demonstrate that there was a documented failure to meet the standard |
| a properly designed performance appraisal system is the key to | legally terminating an employee |
| legal performance appraisal systems are based | on a job analysis |
| legal performance appraisal systems have concrete, relevant standards that | have been communicated to employees |
| legal performance appraisal systems involve | multiple behavioral measures of performance |
| legal performance appraisal systems are | standardized & formal |
| legal performance appraisal systems provide the opportunity for | employee appeal |
| in cases of large layoffs, requires that organizations provide workers with at least 60 days notice | Worker Adjustment & Retraining Notification Act (WARN) |
| when terminating an employee the first step is | to ensure that legal process has been followed |
| when terminating an employee the second step is to determine | how much help to offer the employee |
| when terminating an employee the final step is to schedule | appropriate time/place to conduct the communication |
| The statement "It's not fair to pay a poor employee the same amount of money as an excellent employee" exemplifies the need for accurate performance appraisals in | determining salary increases |
| ___ ratings have been successful in predicting future success of promoted employees but/and are __ in organizations | peer; seldom used |
| According to most research, subordinate feedback results in | increased supervisor performance |
| Whereas trait-focused instruments concentrate on who or what an employee __,task-focused instruments focus on what an employee ___ | is; does |
| involves comparing each possible pair of employees and choosing which one of each pair is the better employee | paired comparison |
| most common type of rating scale is the __ __ scale | graphic rating |
| Amy works at a bank that is trying to get customers to apply for vehicle loans. As hard as Amy tries, she is unsuccessful because bank's loan rates are not competitive. When evaluating Amy's performance, her supervisor must consider the loan rates as a | source of contamination |
| Documenting employee performance | reduces legal liability |
| affects the quality of ratings provided by raters | amount of stress in the rater's environment, feelings the rater has toward the ratee, & race of the rater and the ratee |
| performance appraisal instrument would be most useful in terminating an employee due to | inability to perform |
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