HRM AUD Fall 2011
Career development - manager's responsibilities
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Milestones
A good career path identifies certain milestones along the way, which make a person experience feelings of achievement, higher satisfaction and motivation
Personal preferences
A potential error in performance appraisals where prejudices and biases can affect judgement
Define abilities
Abilities are personal characteristics used in performing a job and do note fluctuate over short periods of time
Advantages and Disadvantages of BARS
Advantages of BARS: 1) developed through active participation of managers and job incumbents; 2) anchors are developed from observations and experience of employees who perform the job; 3) can provide specific feedback. Disadvantages of BARS: 1) takes time; 2) separate forms for different jobs
Career Development
An ongoing, formalized effort by an organization that focuses on developing and enriching the organization's human resources in light of both the employee's and organization's needs
Difference between career development and career planning
Career development and career planning must reinforce each other. Career planning looks at careers through the eyes of individual employees. Career development looks at individual careers from viewpoint of organization
Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scale or BARS
Determines an employee's level of performance based on whether or not certain job behaviors are present - the focus of BARS is not on performance outcomes but on the functional behavior demonstrated on the job, assuming that these will result in effective job performance. scale values define specific categories of performance and anchors. Is very accurate but difficult to develop
Define effort
Effort is the amount of energy, physical or mental, an individual uses in performing a task
Career development - employee's responsibilities
Employee's must find time to develop a career plan, being given a few hours by the company each quarter, without encouragement and direction they make little progress
Define Ranking Methods
Ranking methods - methods of performance appraisal in which the performance of an employee is ranked relative to the performance of others
Top 4 responsibilities of Managers in Performance Appraisals
1) Evaluate the performance of employees; 2) Complete the forms used in appraising employees and return them to the human resource department; 3) Review appraisals with employees; 4) Establish a plan for improvement with employees
How to overcome errors in performance appraisals
1) Make refinements in the design of appraisal methods; 2) training raters by improving their skills; 3) multi-raters like the 360 feedback
10 Performance Appraisals Methods
1) Management by objectives or MBO; 2) multi-rater assessment or 360 degree feedback; 3) graphic rating scale; 4) behaviorally anchored rating scale or BARS; 5) critical-incident appraisal; 6) essay appraisal; 7) checklist; 8) forced-choice rating; 9) ranking methods; 10) work standards approach
Three ranking methods
1) alternation ranking; 2) paired-comparison ranking; 3) forced distribution
Top 4 responsibilities of HR in Performance management
1) design the performance management system and select the methods and forms to be used for appraising employees; 2) train managers in conducting performance appraisals; 3) maintain a reporting system to ensure that appraisals are conducts on a timely basis; 4) maintain performance appraisal records for individual employees
2 of managements greatest responsibilities is to provide
1) employees with adequate working conditions; 2) a supportive environment to eliminate or minimize performance obstacles
Potential weaknesses of the graphic rating scale
1) evaluators are unlikely to interpret written descriptions in the same manner; 2) choice of rating categories might have little relationship to job performance
Factors contributing to increasing importance of career development
1) increased employee mobility; 2) related environmental factors
2 importance uses of info gathered from Performance Appraisals
1) input to the validation of selection procedures; 2) input to human resource planning
6 guidelines for providing feedback through the appraisal interview
1) manager must know the employee's job description; 2) evaluation must be based on employee's performance and not on personality; 3) manager must be positive and build on employee's strengths; 4) manager must be candid and specific; 5) manager must listen to the employee and present an opinion; 6) manager must elicit employee feedback on how to improve performance
BARS are developed following 3 steps
1) managers and job incumbents identify relevant job dimensions for the job; 2) managers and job incumbents write behavioral anchors for each job dimension; 3) managers and job incumbents reach consensus concerning scale values to be used and grouping of anchor statements
4 criteria for Management by Objectives MBO to be successful
1) objectives should be quantifiable and measurable; 2) objectives should be challenging yet attainable; 3) employees participate in objective-setting process; 4) objectives and action plan must serve as a basis for regular discussions between manager and employee concerning employee's performance
Successful career development from 3 sources:
1) organization like HR personnel; 2) employee; 3) employee's immediate manager
At a minimum raters should receive training in
1) performance appraisal methods used by company; 2) importance of rater's role in total appraisal process; 3) use of performance in appraisal information; 4) communication skills necessary to provide feedback
Top 4 uses of Performance Appraisals in making Administrative Decisions
1) promotions; 2) firings; 3) layoffs; 4) merit pay increase
How often should performance appraisals be conducted?
2 to 3 times a year informally, and at least once a year formally
A BARS rating performance requires 3 things
1) rater reads list of anchors on scale to find anchors that best describe the employee's job behavior; 2) scale value opposite the group of anchors is check. process is followed for all the identified dimensions of the job; 3) total evaluation combines the scale values checked for all job dimensions
Factors that influence success of appraisal interviews
1) the more employees participate in the appraisal process the more satisfied they will be with the interview, with the manager, and will be more likely to meet performance improvement objectives 2) manager must use positive motivational techniques; 3) setting specific goals together
3 reasons of why career development is necessary
1) to meet immediate and future human resource needs of the organization on a timely basis; 2) to better inform organizations and individuals about potential career paths within organizations; 3) to utilize existing human resource programs to the fullest by integrating activities that select, assign, develop, and manage individual careers with organization's plans. Also, can reduce costs from turnover, improve morale, increase efficiency, productivity, and job satisfaction
6 questions a manager should answer to prepare for an appraisal interview
1) what results should the interview achieve?; 2) what good contributions is the employee making?; 3) Is the employee working up to his or her potential?; 4) Is the employee clear about the manager's performance expectations?; 5) What training does the employee need to improve?; 6) What strengths does the employee have that can be built on or improved?
Explain the forced-choice method of performance appraisal
In this method, the rater is required to rank a set of statements describing how an employee carries out the duties and responsibilities of the job. Statements are normally weighted, score is computed. Disadvantages of forced-choice rating: can irritate raters who feel they are not trusted and can results can be difficult to communicate to employees
Primacy
First impressions can influence later judgment of an employee, and people tend to retain these impressions even when faced with contradictory evidence
Define paired comparison ranking
For example, evaluating 6 employees. Matrix of employees, compared in pairs based on performance, criterion. Check for person who does better than the other. Problem is that its only for small groups of employees
Performance Appraisal and the HRM function of Compensation Management
HRM function of compensation management - performance appraisal is a factor in determining pay. Compensation can affect appraisal of performance
Performance Appraisal and the HRM function of Labour Relations
HRM function of labour relations - performance appraisal justifies personnel actions. Appraisal standards and methods may be subject to negotiation
Performance Appraisal and the HRM function of Recruitment
HRM function of recruitment - performance appraisal judges effectiveness of recruitment efforts. Quality of applicants determines feasible performance standards
Performance Appraisal and the HRM function of Selection
HRM function of selection - performance appraisal validates selection function. Selection should produce workers best able to meet job requirements
Performance Appraisal and the HRM function of Training and Development
HRM function of training and development - performance appraisal determines training needs. Training and development aids achievement of performance standards
Career development - human resource personnel responsibilities
Human resource personnel are generally responsible for ensuring that this information is kept current. HR should see that accurate and updated info is conveyed, that interrelationships among different career paths are understood, promote and create good work environments
Describe the checklist method of performance appraisal
In this method, the rather makes yes or no responses to a series of questions concerning the employee's behavior. Different weights can be assigned to the questions, but the evaluator is usually not aware of the weights. Disadvantages of the checklist method: raters can infer positive or negative connotations which leads to bias, time consuming, can be interpreted differently
Define leniency, central tendency, recency, and the halo effect
Leniency - grouping ratings at the positive end of a curve. Central tendency - when appraisal statistics indicate that most employees are appraised as being near the middle of the performance scale. Recency - evaluations are based only on work performed most recently. The halo effect occurs when a rater allows a single prominent characteristic of an employee to influence his or her judgement on each separate item in the performance appraisal.
Explain management by objectives MBO
Management by objectives (MBO) consists of establishing clear and precisely defined statements of objectives for the work to be done by an employee, developing an action plan indicating how these objectives are to be achieved, allowing the employee to implement this action plan, measuring objective achievement, taking corrective action when necessary, and establishing new objectives for the future. MBO also requires that employees participate in the objective setting process but is time consuming
Describe multi-rater assessment or 360 degree feedback
Multi-rater assessment is a method of assessment under which managers, customers, and colleagues evaluate performance as well as the person assessed
Career development - organization responsibilities
Organizations have the responsibility for starting and ensuring that career development takes places, they develop and communicate career options within the organization to the employee, and advise an employee concerning possible career paths to achieve that employee's career goals
Define performance appraisal
Performance appraisal involves determining and communicating to an employee how he or she is performing the job and, ideally establishing a plan of improvement. In other words, feedback
Define performance
Performance refers to the degree of accomplishment of the tasks that make up an employee's job and is viewed as resulting from the interrelationships among effort, abilities, and role perceptions.
Describe essay appraisal
The essay appraisal method requires that the rater describe an employee's performance in narrative form
Define role/task perceptions
Role/task perceptions refer to the direction in which individuals believe they should channel their effort on their jobs
Work Standards
Setting an expected level of output and comparing each employee's level to the standard, should reflect average output of a typical employee. Advantages are that performance review is based on highly objective factors and standards must be fair. Disadvantages are the lack of comparability of standards for different job categories
Environmental Factors as Performance Obstacles
Sometimes factors beyond the control of an employee can stifle performance like lack of time, conflicting demands, inadequate work facilities/equipment, policies, lack of supervision and support, and luck. Environmental factors are not direct determinants of performance, but modifying determinants
Describe the work standards approach to performance appraisal
The work standards approach involves setting a standard or expected level of output and then comparing each employee's performance to the standard
Explain critical-incident appraisal
This method requires the rater to keep a written record of incidents as they occur. Incidents should involve job behaviors that illustrate both positive and negative performances of the employee being rated. Incidents used as a basis. Disadvantages of critical-incident appraisal: can be time-consuming to record everything, definition unclear and open to misinterpretation, creates friction for everything being on the rec, difficult to rank relative to others
Performance Appraisal and the Law
Title 7 of the Civil Rights Act permits use of a bona fide performance appraisal system. Generally not considered to be bona fide when their application results in adverse effects on protected groups. Suggestions for improvement include ensuring that personnel decisions are consistent with the performance appraisals, appraisals are written documented and retained, training managers how to conduct proper evaluations and more
Determinants of Performance
To attain an acceptable level of performance, a min level of proficiency must exist in effort, abilities, and role perceptions otherwise the work will be misdirected
Describe the graphic rating scale
With this method, the rater assess an employee on factors such as quantity of work completed, dependability, job knowledge, attendance, accuracy of work, and cooperativeness. Is simple and quantitative, but can be unclear and lead to bias
Define alternation ranking
lists the names of the employees to be rated on the left. Rater chooses most valuable employee on the list, crosses that off and puts at the top of the column on the right. Then the rather chooses the least valuable employee, crosses it off, and puts it at the bottom of the column on the right. Simple to use and avoid central tendency bias but can cause disagreements if all employees are excellent
Developing Performance Improvement Plans
managers must recognize that an employee's development is a continuous cycle of setting performance goals, providing training necessary to achieve goals, assessing performance related to accomplishing goals, and setting new, higher goals
Career Planning
process by which an individual formulates career goals and develops a plan for reaching those goals. Realistic career planning forces individuals to look at available opportunities in relation to their abilities. With a career plan, a person is more likely to experience satisfaction while making progress along the career path.
Define forced distribution ranking
rater must compare the performance of employees and place a certain percentage of employees at various performance levels; 20% do no meet expectations, 60% meet expectations, 20% exceed expectations. Problem is whether bell curve is applicable and that one person's performance evaluation is function of another's. Good for grouping people, but employees results depend on an arbitrary cutoff point
