ch 9 - Performance Management

customer evaluations

A performance evaluation that includes evaluation from both a firm's external and internal customers (especially useful in service industry positions)

error of central tendency

a bias that occurs when raters are unwilling to rate individuals as very high or very low on an evaluation scale

recency error

a bias that occurs when reflects situations in which a rater narrowly focuses on an employee's performance that occurs near the time of the evaluation

360-degree appraisal

a comprehensive measurement approach that involves gathering performance data from as many sources as possible - supervisors, peers, subordinates, and customers

positive discipline

a disciplinary process that is not punitive but focuses on constructive feedback and encourages employees to take responsibility for trying to improve their behaviors or performance at work

forced distribution

a form of individual comparisons whereby managers are forced to distribute employees into one of several predetermined categories

what is the feedback meeting?

a meeting where managers can help employees develop and perform better. Be specific on what employees need to improve on. Discuss the full spectrum of all performance dimensions. Ask employee to reflect.

graphic rating scales

a method of evaluating employees based on various traits, or attributes, they possess relevant to their performance

Contaminated performance measures

a performance measure that is irrelevant to an individual's actual job performance

progressive discipline

a process by which an employee with disciplinary problems progresses through a series of disciplinary stages until the problem is corrected

direct measures approach (results based)

a results based evaluation approach in which managers gauge the outcomes of employees' such as their sales, productivity, and absenteeism.

Management by Objectives (MBO)

a results based evaluation approach where managers meet with their employees and jointly set goals for them to accomplish during a particular time period

subordinate

a source of data that includes how well a supervisor is doing in terms of managing their employees

paired comparisons

an evaluation approach in which each employees in a business unit is compared to every other employee in the unit

ranking approach

an evaluation approach in which employees are evaluated from best to worst along some performance dimension or by virtue of their overall performance

self appraisal

an evaluation done by an employee that rates his or her own performance

deficient performance measures

an incomplete appraisal of an individual's performance when important aspects are not measured

contrast effect

bias that results when an evaluation of one or more job applicants is artificially inflated or deflated compared to another job applicant

supervisor source of data

data observed by supervisors

attribute

designed to measure the extent to which an employee possess certain characteristics that are viewed as important for the job and organization

coworker source of data

in a team environment, peers are often in unique positions to comment on certain aspects of their performance.

how to reduce measurement errors?

make rating formats specific, use multiple raters, provide appraisal training (to familiarize raters with errors that can occur), provide frame-of-reference training (to help raters understand performance standards and dimensions and develop common evaluation standards

validity

means your performance measures reflect the actual performance of your employees the consistency of the results over time and across raters How well the measurement is done

when to appraise employees?

provide formal feedback to employees 1 to 2 times a year. but it is also ideal to provide feedback on an ongoing basis throughout the year, especially to improve their daily performance

reliability

refers to how well a measure yields consistent results over time and across raters.

How to take action?

review the performance dimensions with employees, review the standards of performance with employees, and evaluate potential role concerns

Specifity

the clarity of performance standards

absolute approach

the evaluation of employees' performance by comparing employees against certain "absolute" standards (rather than against each other) along a number of performance dimensions (rather than simply making a global assessment about them)

performance standards

the level of expected performance

performance dimension

the specific tasks and activities for which employees are responsible for. (tasks, duties, and responsibilities)

performance measure

the use of a single score to reflect an individual employee's overall performance

frame-of-reference training

training that aims to help raters understand performance standards as well as performance dimensions

what are the steps in the performance management process?

1- identify performance dimensions 2-developing performance measures 3- evaluating performance 4-providing feedback 5-developing action plans to improve performance

Weighting Performance Criteria

Each job differs in terms of how it adds value to the organization Some forms of contributions may be more important than others for particular jobs Weights are used to adjust the relative importance of different performance dimensions

global performance management

The process of managing two related activities: (1) evaluating the performance of your employees against the standards set for them and (2) helping them develop action plans to improve their performance

behavioral observation scale (BOS)

a behavior based evaluation approach that requires raters to evaluate how often an employee displays certain behaviors on the job

forced-choice

a behavior based evaluation approach where managers must choose from a set of alternative statements regarding the person being rated

behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS)

a behavior based evaluation approach where raters must evaluate individuals along a number of performance dimensions with each performance rating standard anchored by a behavioral example

critical incident approach

a behavior-based evaluation approach where the evaluation criteria consist of statements or examples of exceptionally good or poor performance employees display over the course of the evaluation period

horn error

a bias that occurs when a negative characteristic of a person affects the evaluation of the person's other attributes

halo error

a bias that occurs when a positive characteristic of a person affects the evaluation of the person's other attributes

leniency error

a bias that occurs when a rater consistently rate employees on the higher end of an evaluation scale

strictness error

a bias that occurs when a rater consistently rates employees on the low end of an evaluation scale

primacy error

a bias that occurs when a raters earlier impressions of an individual bias his or her later evaluations of the person

similar-to-me errors

a bias that occurs when evaluators more highly rate employees who resemble them in some way