Chapter 9

Which of the following does NOT describe a legally defensible comment for employee evaluation and feedback?

a) "I gave you a 'Below Average' on your performance appraisal because you have a bad attitude."

Which of the following statements about the timing of feedback for performance appraisals is true?

a) Performance expectations should be established at the beginning of the appraisal period and then reinforced with feedback.

_______________ as a group reported the highest percentage of having their individual goals aligned with corporate goals.

a) Senior-level managers

If the performance appraisal for a sales representative evaluated her skill as a driver as well as her selling skills, the appraisal could be correctly described as:

a) contaminated

A sales manager who was trying to rank fourteen salespeople was having trouble because two of her salespeople had more than $100,000 in sales, three had less than $30,000 in sales, and the rest fell in the middle. What method would you recommend the sales manager use if she wants to use a norm-referenced appraisal?

a) forced distribution

Assume a rater thinks all blondes are dumb. When rating a blond female and two other females who are brunettes, the rater scored the blond lower on her performance evaluations even though her results were the same as the other two. This sort of stereotype-induced bias produces a rating error called the:

a) halo and horn

Punishment:

a) is used to decrease the frequency of undesirable behavior

Behavioral observation scales:

a) measure how frequently employees engage in certain behaviors

Straight-ranking and forced distribution are two types of:

a) norm-referenced appraisals

For performance evaluation, which of the following is not a personal trait?

a) productivity

___________ was the HR activity reported by managers as being the most tightly or somewhat integrated with their firms' performance management activities.

b) Compensation

Bill thinks that he received a poor evaluation because his boss "has it in for him." What is an appropriate response to remove this as an obstacle to effective appraisal?

b) Initiate multiple rater system to minimize this possible negative effect.

According to expectancy theory, people tend to choose behaviors that they believe will help them achieve their personal goals and avoid behaviors that they believe will lead to undesirable consequences. Bill does not call in to report that he will be absent. This will result in an unexcused absence that will lead to disciplinary action. Bill has had unexcused absences in the past for which he has been disciplined. How is this action explained by this theory?

b) To Bill, the discipline he will incur does not have enough negative valence to offset the positive valence of not calling in.

Good goals are:

b) challenging

Paul Fisher is an HR professional who is in charge of performance appraisals at his organization. Performance appraisals are conducted for all of the company's employees at the end of June each year. That way employees in different departments can be compared as to how each is supporting the organizational objectives. He spends most of May getting ready for this:

b) focal-point review

In order to use positive reinforcement correctly, an HR professional should:

b) focus on job behavior

When performance management is tightly integrated with other HR activities to improve workforce competencies, attitudes and motivation, _________is present in the organization.

b) goal-ordinated human resource management (GoHRM)

When an employee asks "What consequences will follow from my decision to perform?" they are considering the _____ of their action.

b) instrumentality

The 360-degree appraisal:

b) is a multiple-source evaluation

The direct index approach to performance appraisals is a results based-format that:

b) provides clear, unambiguous direction to employees regarding desired job outcomes

An advantage of behaviorally anchored rating scales over graphic rating scales is that:

b) they provide results that employees can more easily use to improve performance

Which of the following is an example of an organizational citizenship behavior? (2)

c) An office administrator volunteered to help a sales manager compile an organizational history.

Because performance management occurs through interpersonal interactions, it naturally reflects differences in country cultures. In ____ and _____ , employees expect their supervisors to negotiate with them when setting performance goals.

c) Germany, Sweden

A performance appraisal evaluator who was using the anniversary model would perform evaluations:

c) according to when employees joined the organization

Management by objectives (MBO)

c) begins with the establishment of employee objectives for the upcoming performance period

Results-based formats for performance measurement:

c) can ignore important job behaviors that are difficult to quantify

When asked by her instructor to rate her fellow group members according to their performance in a class project, Kirsten gave them all a grade of 75 even though it was obvious that some had worked harder on the product than others. Kirsten was guilty of which of the following rating errors?

c) central tendency

The graphics rating scale:

c) does not use direct output measures

Upward appraisals occur when:

c) employees evaluate their managers

In the chapter opening vignette "Managing Human Resources at Frito-Lay", the performance criteria initially used to measure the success of route sales representatives were solely:

c) results-based

Michelle works for a large fast-food restaurant chain. Her job is to visit different restaurants in the chain to rate their speed of service, quality of food, cleanliness of store and restrooms, and properly displayed promotional materials. From this brief description of Michelle's job, it appears that the chain uses _____ criteria in its performance measurements.

c) results-based

Armando has been working hard to earn a promotion. But when the promotion was posted, Armando's name was not on it. The promotion was awarded to Bill, an employee who was widely thought to be the supervisor's favorite. What impact will not getting the promotion likely have on Armando's performance?

d) All of these might be impacts.

Claudette has chronic pain syndrome. The paint causes her to have a contorted facial expression that disturbs to some of her co-workers who are secretly avoiding working with her. Claudette is an average performer. Oscar, one of the best performing workers, is particularly upset by Claudette's expressions, and he told you (his manager) that he intends to quit unless you discharge Claudette. Claudette can be easily replaced. Oscar cannot. What is your response?

d) Claudette's facial expression is not a job-related performance issue for which you can discharge her.

To be effective, performance management activities should be aligned with:

d) all of the above

The performance of interdependent others:

d) all of the above are correct

"Shows company spirit" is a _____ item on a performance rating scale because it is _____.

d) bad, it is ambiguous

Motivation consists of two elements. The first is the decision about which behaviors to engage in and the second element is the decision about:

d) how much effort to expend on this behavior

Which of the following is NOT a negative consequence of ineffective performance?

d) increased competition

In the feature Managing with Metrics: Setpoint's Public Performance, the culture of the company's performance-driven culture is reflected in all of the following EXCEPT:

d) its rewarding only the highest performing individuals

The primary advantage of the graphics rating scale is:

d) its simplicity

One of the most common problems in an effective performance measurement and feedback system is that:

d) most line managers have no incentive for conducting performance measurement and feedback

During his first weeks on the job, Rick had a lot of trouble getting adjusted to his new position as maintenance engineer for an amusement park. He made quite a few small mistakes while learning how to perform his job. After three months on the job, Rick settled down and proved to be an excellent maintenance engineer. However, Rick's supervisor categorized Rick as a poor worker during those first months on the job. The supervisor does not notice anything positive about Rick's performance; he is always looking for something wrong in the way Rick has performed his job. It was with this mindset that the supervisor filled out Rick's performance appraisal. The supervisor committed which of the following rating errors?

d) primacy

In preparing the performance appraisals for her employees, the sales manager ranked Deb Ross as the overall best salesperson because she had the highest level of sales and Dave Autry as the overall worst salesperson because he had the lowest level of sales. The other salespeople were placed in order of their sales between Ross and Autry. Which type of performance appraisal format is being used in this example?

d) straight ranking

Factors that influence employee motivation include all of following except

d) the KSA's of the supervisor

What type of measures would not be used if a rater were using a direct index approach to evaluating the work of a delivery truck driver?

d) the driver's friendliness

Which of the following sources of performance data typically provides the most reliable performance judgments?

d) the employee's supervisor

Which of the following is an example of an organizational citizenship behavior?

e) All of the above are examples of organizational citizenship behaviors.

Which of the following guidelines should be used for creating legally defensible performance appraisals?

e) All of the above guidelines should be used if the organization wants a legally defensible performance evaluation system.

Which of the following statements about management by objectives (MBO) is true?

e) All of the above statements about management by objectives (MBO) are true.

The objective of diagnosis in the feedback session is to understand factors that affect an employee's performance so the parties can attempt to resolve them. Which of the following is NOT a question to ask in the diagnosis process?

e) All of these questions are useful

Which of the following statements about focal-point review systems is true?

e) None of the above statements about focal-point review systems is true.

Sources of performance data for a retail clerk may include:

e) all of the above

When designing a performance appraisal for a purchasing agent, the HR professional should look at:

e) all of the above

Performance-driven cultures:

e) all of the above are correct

Performance management is used to do all of the following EXCEPT:

e) all of the above are uses of performance management

Monitoring the performance of employees at lower levels in the organization can be useful in:

e) all the above

The most frequently used form of performance management review is one that is occurs __________.

e) annually

Behaviorally anchored rating scales:

e) are accurately described by all of the above

If the performance appraisal for a sales representative does not measure the skill and care he uses in providing follow-up service to his employees, the appraisal would be correctly described as:

e) deficient

If after repeated warnings and counseling, an employee's performance does not improve, the organization can:

e) do all of the above

Dissatisfaction with _____ led to the development of the behaviorally anchored rating scales.

e) graphics rating scales

Organizations are not always successful in using performance management strategically, and one reason is that ____________.

e) line managers do not fully understand and appreciate the basic principles

In the chapter opening vignette "Managing Human Resources at Frito-Lay", dissatisfaction with the sales performance criteria initially used to measure the success of route sales representatives lead to the restructuring of the criteria to include:

e) multiple criteria measures

The detrimental effect of ineffective performance management practices that is of the least concern to organizations is:

e) negative impact on financial performance

Which of the following is NOT a source of conflict associated with performance feedback?

e) third-party intervention