Ch10 Performance Management

What are the advantages of using the critical incident method?

- It provides specific hard facts for explaining the appraisal - It also ensures that a manager thinks about the employee's appraisal throughout the year, because the incidents must be accumulated; therefore, the rating does not just reflect the employee's most recent performance. - Can be adapted to the specific job expectations laid out for the employee at the beginning of the year - Often used to supplement another appraisal technique, such as a ranking system - Useful for identifying specific examples of good and poor performance and for planning how deficiencies can be corrected.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the graphic rating scale?

+ Simple to use; provides a quantitative rating for each employee - Standards may be unclear, halo effect, central tendency, leniency, and bias can be problems

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Management by Objectives (MBO)?

+ Tied to jointly agreed-upon performance objectives - Risk of unclear performance measures, time-consuming, and inflated/deflated goals due to tug of war

What happens in step 2 (providing ongoing coaching and feedback) of the Performance Management Process?

- Some companies only engage in performance reviews annually. - They are often tying the outcomes of the performance review with compensation, promotion, and lateral movement decisions.

What happens in step 4 (determining performance rewards/consequences) of the Performance Management Process?

- Sometime after the performance review has taken place, the manager should use the salary planning guidelines to determine the appropriate rewards or consequences. - The actual performance should be compared against the defined levels.

Recent research indicates that effective performance management involves what?

- linking individual goals and business strategy; - showing leadership and accountability at all levels of the organization; - ensuring close ties among appraisal results, rewards, and recognition outcomes; - investing in employee development planning; - having an administratively efficient system with sufficient communication support

What is the forced distribution method?

Predetermined percentages of ratees are placed in various performance categories

What is the graphic rating scale?

The simplest and most popular technique for appraising performance. A scale that lists a number of traits and a range of performance for each. The employee is then rated by identifying the score that best describes their level of performance for each trait.

Behavioural science research studies suggest four guidelines for setting performance goals which are:

1. Assign specific goals 2. Assign measurable goals - put in quantitative terms and include target dates/deadlines 3. Assign challenging, but doable goals 4. Encourage participation - employees suggest that goal setting with employee participation produces higher performance goals.

Who is not involved in 360-degree appraisal? A. customers B. union representatives C. peers D. supervisors

B. union representatives

Which of the following formal appraisal methods is qualitatively based? A. alternative ranking method B. behaviourally anchored rating scale C. paired comparison method D. critical incident method

D. critical incident method

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the paired comparison method?

+ A more precise ranking method that involves multiple traits - Difficult to use as employee numbers increase; differences may not be noticeable enough to rank

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the forced distribution method?

+ End up with a predetermined number of people in each group - Appraisal results depend on the adequacy of the original choice of cut-off points

What are the advantages of using the behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS)?

1. A more accurate measure. 2. Clearer standards. 3. Feedback 4. Independent dimensions. 5. Consistency.

What are examples of advanced quantitative methods for appraising employees?

1. Behaviourally anchored rating scaled (BARS) 2. Management by Objective (MBO)

How can managers avoid the halo effect?

Being aware of this problem is a major step toward avoiding it. Supervisory training can also alleviate the problem.

What is a performance appraisal?

Evaluating an employee's current and/or past performance relative performance standards

True or False: performance appraisals in Canada are NOT legal documents

False. Performance appraisals are legal documents in Canada.

What is the critical incident method?

Keeping a record of uncommonly good or undesirable examples of an employee's work-related behaviour and reviewing the list with the employee at predetermined times.

What is the alternation ranking method?

Ranking employees from best to worst on a particular trait

What is the overall objective of high-ethics performance reviews?

To provide an honest assessment of performance and develop a plan to improve the individual's effectiveness mutually.

What are the 7 main problems that can undermine appraisal tools?

1. unclear standards 2. halo effect 3. central tendency 3. leniency or strictness 4. appraisal bias 5. recency effect 6. similar-to-me bias.

What is coaching?

A process for improving work performance, in a frequent contact, hands-on process aimed at helping employees improve performance and capabilities.

What is the difference between performance appraisals and performance management? A. Performance appraisals are focused on evaluating an employee's current or past performance against pre-established standards, while performance management is a broad set of activities related to improving employee performance, productivity, and effectiveness. B. Managers get trained on how to manage performance, but rarely on how to evaluate performance. C. Performance appraisals are an ongoing informal process of identifying areas of development and underperformance to make performance improvement plans, whereas performance management is focused on evaluating existing performance against established standards. D. Performance appraisals are recorded in employee records, while performance management activities are never formalized and recorded.

A. Performance appraisals are focused on evaluating an employee's current or past performance against pre-established standards, while performance management is a broad set of activities related to improving employee performance, productivity, and effectiveness.

You have a system whereby multiple raters rate the performance of each employee. What is the likely impact of this system on the ratings? A. The ratings will be more valid. B. The ratings will be inflated. C. The ratings will be more personalized. D. The ratings may result in more legal challenges.

A. The ratings will be more valid.

Selena is completing a performance rating form on members of her staff, who are all lifeguards. She wants to ensure that she can identify specific behaviours to give her staff feedback for improvement. Which method should she use? A. behaviourally anchored rating scale B. management by objectives C. graphic rating scale D. forced distribution

A. behaviourally anchored rating scale

A recently promoted manager doesn't want to make their set of employees feel under- or overappreciated, so they are extremely hesitant to rank anyone as performing really poorly or really well. What performance appraisal problem would they likely experience? A. central tendency B. similar-to-me bias C. leniency D. recency effect

A. central tendency

All of the following are reasons to appraise performance except _____________. A. discussing career opportunities. B. making retention decisions during downsizing. C. developing plans for employee development. D. informing compensation decisions.

A. discussing career opportunities.

Which performance appraisal method requires identifying a pre-set percent of employees as strong performers? A. forced distribution method B. paired comparison method C. alternation ranking method D. graphic rating scale

A. forced distribution method

Which of the following statements about 360-degree performance reviews is false? A. They are usually applied in a confidential and anonymous manner. B. This feedback system requires less time and effort than other systems. C. Appropriate parties—peers, superiors, employees, and customers, for instance—complete survey questionnaires about an individual. D. The questionnaires must be custom designed and linked to the organization's strategic direction, vision, and values.

B. This feedback system requires less time and effort than other systems.

Vanessa is a beautiful woman who routinely gets very good performance appraisals from her male supervisors in spite of having results that are similar to those of her co-workers. This is likely an example of which rating problem? A. leniency B. appraisal bias C. recency effect D. similar-to-me bias

B. appraisal bias

Which of the following would not be considered part of the performance management process? A. determining rewards and consequences B. developing health and safety programs C. defining expectations and goals D. providing ongoing feedback and coaching

B. developing health and safety programs

Which formal appraisal method is best used when a company has limited resources and wants to focus training and development on the top performers only? A. graphic rating scale B. forced distribution method C. management by objective D. behaviourally anchored rating scale

B. forced distribution method

A performance rating scale that results in most people being identified as above average or superior performers might be suffering from what problem? A. similar-to-me bias B. leniency C. recency effect D. strictness

B. leniency

When providing coaching and feedback, communication is best when it is __________. A. infrequent B. two-way C. online or virtually enhanced D. provided by many supervisors to one employee

B. two-way

All of the following are benefits of the behaviourally anchored ranking scale (BARS) except for which one? A. The measures are more accurate. B. The standards are clearer. C. Employees participate in the development of standards. D. The rating is more consistent.

C. Employees participate in the development of standards.

You are running some statistical analyses on the performance appraisal results of each business unit in the organization. You notice that one specific business unit has a lower statistical rating of older workers compared to younger workers, even when experience, education, and pay is accounted for. How can the company reduce bias in this unit? A. Use younger raters. B. Use single raters. C. Have supervisors explain the ratings they give. D. Revise the performance appraisal system for this unit.

C. Have supervisors explain the ratings they give.

Bob, a very successful salesperson paid on straight commission, has been told that he should be less aggressive with customers and has attended workshops that have shown him how to effectively communicate in a less aggressive fashion. However, Bob continues to behave in the same way. Which of the following would most likely be the issue? A. Bob's personality may not allow Bob to change his behaviour. B. Bob does not understand the behavioural expectations in his position. C. The reward system in Bob's organization does not match the performance expectations. D. Bob may not be receiving the appropriate level of coaching to change his behaviour to match expectations.

C. The reward system in Bob's organization does not match the performance expectations.

A retailer had job performance standards that were only job specific, and therefore measured only task performance. The company wanted to include contextual performance measures in all job performance evaluations, too. Which of the following is a good example of contextual performance for this retailer? A. able to meet sales targets consistently B. able to apply the skills learned in their job C. able to demonstrate a positive attitude with colleagues and customers D. able to stock and keep merchandise neat

C. able to demonstrate a positive attitude with colleagues and customers

Tradeco executives have noticed an increase in turnover and a drop in satisfaction among low-level employees. Supervisors are at a loss to explain what is happening, but some departing employees have mentioned negative supervisory behaviour as a factor in their decision to leave. What could Tradeco do about this? A. Conduct a peer appraisal by supervisors. B. Conduct a management appraisal on supervisors. C. Conduct a self-appraisal of supervisors. D. Conduct a subordinate appraisal of supervisors.

D. Conduct a subordinate appraisal of supervisors.

What is a challenge with using only self-ratings? A. Self-ratings are not legally defensible. B. Individuals rarely consider their own performance or engage in self-appraisals. C. Individuals have demographic biases when they rate themselves. D. Individuals tend to inflate their own ratings.

D. Individuals tend to inflate their own ratings.

What does logrolling mean? A. Performance is judged based on individual differences like age, race, sex, and so on. B. The appraisal scale is too vague and open to interpretation. C. A supervisor's rating of an employee on one trait biases the rating of that person on other traits. D. Peers get together to rate each other highly.

D. Peers get together to rate each other highly.

What is the difference between a subjective rating and an objective rating? A. Subjective ratings are documented, whereas objective ratings are often undocumented and used for coaching purposes. B. Subjective ratings are based on internal evaluations, whereas objective ratings are based on external evaluations. C. Subjective ratings are used predominantly for peer evaluations, whereas objective ratings are used predominantly for supervisory evaluations. D. Subjective ratings are based on the evaluator's opinion, feelings, or perspective, whereas objective ratings are based on unbiased and observable or verifiable facts.

D. Subjective ratings are based on the evaluator's opinion, feelings, or perspective, whereas objective ratings are based on unbiased and observable or verifiable facts.

Sammy has 11 employees. At the beginning of every performance evaluation period, she makes a list of numbers from 1 to 11. She puts the employee who she views as the best performer in position 1. Then she puts who she views as the worst performer in position 11. She looks at the remaining 9 employees, and of them, places the best performer in position 2, and the worst in position 10. She continues until all employees are listed. What is this method known as? A. forced distribution B. paired comparison method C. matched distribution D. alternation ranking method

D. alternation ranking method

What happens in step 5 (conducting career development discussions) of the Performance Management Process?

During this discussion, the manager and employee discuss opportunities for development to strengthen or improve the employee's knowledge, skills, and abilities.

Davar has 20 employees. He decides only 3 of them will be identified as strong performers, 3 will be identified as weak performers, and the remaining 14 will be considered average performers. Which performance appraisal method was used?

Forced distribution method

What is the paired comparison method?

Ranking employees by making a chart of all possible pairs of employees for each trait and indicating the better employee of the pair.

Rihanna is impressed with the way that a project manager on her team completed the last project a week before schedule. She inflates performance evaluations based on this impression. This situation concerns which rating scale problem?

Recency effect

Ariana has an employee who graduated from the same university that she did. That employee often gets inflated ratings as a result of this bias. This situation concerns which rating scale problem?

Similar-to-me bias

Drake is afraid of offending anyone with poor performance ratings, so he rates all his employees pretty high. This situation concerns which rating scale problem?

Strictness error

What happens in step 3 (conducting performance appraisal and evaluation discussions) of the Performance Management Process?

The appraisal itself is generally conducted with the aid of a predetermined and formal method.

What is management by objectives (MBO)?

The manager and employee to jointly set specific measurable goals and periodically discuss progress toward these goals, aligned with a comprehensive, organization-wide goal-setting and appraisal program.

What is strictness/leniency?

The problem that occurs when a supervisor has a tendency to rate all employees either low or high.

What is performance management?

The process encompassing all activities related to improving employee performance, productivity, and effectiveness. It includes goal setting, pay for performance, training and development, career management, and disciplinary action.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using narrative form?

+ Explicitly states improvement goals and associated outcomes or consequences - Employees may take these too personally

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using the critical incident method?

+ Helps specify what is "right" and "wrong" about the employee's performance; forces the supervisor to evaluate employees on an ongoing basis - Difficult to rate or rank employees relative to one another; cannot be used to defend salary decisions

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS)?

+ Provides behavioural "anchors"; very accurate; high inter-rater reliability - Difficult to develop

What are the advantages and disadvantages of using alternation ranking?

+ Simple to use (but not as simple as graphic rating scale); avoids central tendency and other problems of rating scales - Can cause disagreements among employees and may be unfair if all employees are, in fact, excellent

What are examples qualitative methods of appraising employees?

1. Critical incident method 2. Narrative forms

What are examples of comparative methods of appraising employees?

1. Graphic rating scale 2. Alternation ranking method 3. Paired comparison method 4. Forced distribution method

How can managers appraise someone?

1. Managers often say that effective goals are SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely) 2. With a form with basic job dimensions or traits 3. Based on employees' mastery of the competencies that the job requires

How do managers define performance expectations?

1. Managers use one or more of three bases—goals, job dimensions or traits, and behaviours or competencies—to establish ahead of time what the person's performance standards should be.

What are the 5 reasons to appraise subordinates' performance?

1. Most employers base pay, promotion, and retention decisions on the employee's appraisal 2. Appraisals play a central role in the employer's performance management process. Performance management means continuously ensuring that each employee's performance aligns with the company's overall goals. 3. The appraisal lets the manager and subordinate develop a plan for correcting any deficiencies and reinforce the subordinate's strengths. 4. Appraisals provide an opportunity to review the employee's career plans in light of their exhibited strengths and weaknesses. 5. Finally, appraisals enable the supervisor to identify if there is a training need and the remedial steps required.

How can managers avoid appraisal problems?

1. Raters must be familiar with the problems 2. training supervisors on how to eliminate rating errors, such as the halo effect, leniency, and central tendency, can help them avoid these problems 3. raters must choose the right appraisal tool 4. errors in performance appraisals can be reduced by using multiple raters in the evaluation

What are the 4 basic types of formal appraisal discussions?

1. Satisfactory - promotable 2. Satisfactory - unpromotable 3. Unsatisfactory - correctable 4. Unsatisfactory - uncorrectable

What are potential problems with using management by objectives (MBO)?

1. Setting unclear, unmeasurable objectives 2. Time consuming 3. Tug of war - managers push for higher goals; employees push for lower ones

How can you effectively conduct a formal appraisal discussion?

1. be direct and specific 2. do not get personal 3. encourage the person to talk 4. develop an action plan

What are the 5 steps in the performance management process?

1. defining performance expectations and goals 2. providing ongoing feedback and coaching 3. conducting performance appraisal and evaluation discussions 4. determining performance rewards/consequences 5. conducting development and career opportunities discussions

What are the three major purposed of performance management?

1. it aligns employee actions with strategic goals 2. it is a vehicle for culture change 3. it provides input into other HR systems such as development and remuneration

In one study, researchers found that whether employees expressed satisfaction with their formal appraisal discussions depended mostly on three factors which are:

1. not feeling threatened during the interview 2. having an opportunity to present their ideas and feelings and to influence the course of the interview 3. having a helpful and constructive supervisor conduct the interview.

For the performance appraisal to be accurate, valid, and produce useful results, the criteria must be:

1. relevant to the job being appraised 2. broad enough to cover all aspects of the job requirements 3. specific

What is a 360 degree appraisal?

A performance appraisal technique that uses multiple raters including peers, employees reporting to the appraisee, supervisors, and customers.

What is central tendency? How can managers solve this issue?

A tendency to rate all employees in the middle of the scale. Ranking employees instead of using a graphic rating scale can avoid this central tendency problem because all employees must be ranked and thus cannot all be rated average.

Which of the following is a good recommendation for developing an effective appraisal process? A. Allow appraisers regular contact with the employee being evaluated. B. Employ subjective supervisory ratings as the main component. C. Use a rating scale with abstract trait names such as "honesty." D. Use a rating system from another company.

A. Allow appraisers regular contact with the employee being evaluated.

Which of the following is an advantage of management by objective (MBO)? A. It improves employee engagement. B. It saves time. C. It makes setting objectives easier. D. It sets clear, measurable objectives.

A. It improves employee engagement.

Which of the following is not one of the guidelines for developing an effective appraisal process? A. Performance appraisals should be carried out by a member of the HR department. B. Use subjective ratings, such as essays, as only one component of the appraisal. C. Incorporate a formal appeal mechanism in the appraisal. D. Appraisal items must be drawn from a job analysis.

A. Performance appraisals should be carried out by a member of the HR department.

Which of the following is not an element of a well-designed performance improvement plan (PIP)? A. The expected date when the employee thinks they can bring performance to acceptable levels is flexible. B. The expectations of the employer and employee are highlighted in writing. C. A follow-up date and the names of the parties who engaged in the conversation are identified. D. The objectives that are considered to be reasonable are listed.

A. The expected date when the employee thinks they can bring performance to acceptable levels is flexible.

A 360-degree approach is popular among Canadian employers, despite such problems as the amount of time and effort involved and lack of fit with strategic goals and other HR practices. What is another problem with 360-degree feedback? A. There is a lack of trust in the system by employees. B. Feedback is multisource. C. Coaching and mentoring is not supported. D. Appraisals are based on objective measures.

A. There is a lack of trust in the system by employees.

Once a decision to use 360-degree appraisal has been made, companies should ___________________. A. provide training for all supervisors, raters, and ratees B. develop performance criteria centrally C. make reports available to whoever wants them D. launch the performance system broadly

A. provide training for all supervisors, raters, and ratees

Agnes creates a working list of all of her employees. She picks the best and worst performing employees and puts them on a new performance list, anchoring the new list as a list of best- to worst-performing employees. She then returns to her working list and systematically adds in the best- and worst-performing employees until her working list is empty. Which performance appraisal method was used?

Alternation ranking method

What is the behaviourally anchored rating scale (BARS)?

An appraisal method that aims to combine the benefits of narratives, critical incidents, and quantified ratings by anchoring a quantified scale with specific narrative examples of good and poor performance.

What are unclear performance standards? How can managers solve this issue?

An appraisal scale that is too open to interpretation of traits and standards The best way to solve is to develop and include descriptive phrases that define each trait.

What is task performance?

An individual's direct contribution to their job-related processes. Focusing on tasks means that performance expectations are grounded in realistic job demands and align with the organization's strategic objectives and implementation plans.

What is contextual performance?

An individual's indirect contribution to the organization by improving the organizational, social, and psychological behaviours that contribute to organizational effectiveness beyond those specified for the job

What is a formal appraisal discussion?

An interview in which the supervisor and employee review the appraisal and make plans to remedy deficiencies and reinforce strengths

An employee who demonstrates strong work ethic is given an inflated rating on reliability. This demonstrates which rater error? A. central tendency B. recency effect C. halo effect D. unclear performance standards

C. halo effect

Which one of these processes would not abide by Thorndike's suggested criteria for employment decisions? A. The criteria can be consistently applied to all employees in the job. B. The criteria focus on ideal expectations rather than practical ones. C. The criteria are free from direct and indirect bias. D. The criteria reflect an element of the job related to performance.

B. The criteria focus on ideal expectations rather than practical ones.

In dynamic organizations, when should performance coaching be conducted? A. biannually B. monthly or quarterly C. semi-annually D. annually

B. monthly or quarterly

The alternation ranking, paired comparison, and forced distribution methods of performance appraisal attempt to overcome a problem with a graphic rating scale. What problem is this? A. lack of specific relationship to the job B. tendency for managers to rate all employees as average C. lack of clarity in values of appraisal D. lack of clarity in what is being appraised

B. tendency for managers to rate all employees as average

When a performance appraisal (PA) scale is too open to interpretation of traits and standards, it leads to which of the following structural problems in the PA process? A. simplistic performance standards B. unclear performance standards C. Appraisal scales should be open to interpretation to ensure fairness. D. graphical interpretation

B. unclear performance standards

Sean highlights factors that he thinks are critical for job success for his employees. He defines these factors, and then determines a scale of how these factors might be defined at each level (he identified five possible levels of performance for each scale). He then applies the scale consistently to each employee. Which performance appraisal method was used?

Behaviourally anchored rating scale

Self ratings can be made more accurate _____________________________. A. if employees know that performance comparisons will be made, and they are instructed not to compare themselves to others B. if employees know that only their self-evaluations will be used and they are instructed to consider their performance compared to others C. if employees know that performance comparisons will be made, and they are instructed to compare themselves to others D. if employees know that only their self-evaluations will be used and they are instructed to consider their performance alone, independent of how others performed

C. if employees know that performance comparisons will be made, and they are instructed to compare themselves to others

Which one of the following statements about the behaviourally anchored rating system is false? A. It provides useful feedback. B. It has clearer standards. C. It assesses dimensions as interdependent. D. It is a more accurate measure.

C. It assesses dimensions as interdependent.

What is a key disadvantage to using a management by objectives approach to performance appraisal? A. It is difficult to develop. B. It is unfair as all employees are, in fact, excellent. C. It is too time consuming. D. It can cause disagreements among employees.

C. It is too time consuming.

What is the difference between performance management and performance appraisal? A. Performance appraisal evaluates and measures actual performance; performance management is focused on controlling behaviour. B. Performance management is part of performance appraisal. C. Performance management is the complete process involving all elements relating to improving employee performance; performance appraisal reflects the process of evaluating an employee's performance. D. Performance management is the same as performance appraisal.

C. Performance management is the complete process involving all elements relating to improving employee performance; performance appraisal reflects the process of evaluating an employee's performance.

There are many ways to avoid appraisal problems. For instance, supervisors can be trained on how to eliminate rating errors. Which of the following is not another way to avoid appraisal problems? A. Use multiple raters. B. Choose the right appraisal tool. C. Use multiple rating scales for the same behaviour. D. Make appraisers aware of problems that can arise.

C. Use multiple rating scales for the same behaviour.

What is the simplest and most popular technique for appraising performance? A. forced distribution method B. alternation ranking method C. graphic rating scale D. paired comparison method

C. graphic rating scale

Although performance management techniques in high- and low-performing organizations are essentially the same, managers in high-performing organizations __________________. A. tend to manage performance on a biannual basis B. tend to manage performance on a yearly basis C. tend to manage performance on a daily basis. D. tend to manage performance on an hourly basis

C. tend to manage performance on a daily basis.

Jamie has a folder for each employee in his office, and if the employee does something exceptionally poorly or exceptionally well he makes a note of the event and puts it in the employee folder. When performance reviews are due, he collects the folder and assesses employee performance based on the compilation of events over time. Which performance appraisal method was used?

Critical incident method

Which of the following is an example of contextual performance? A. completing work within the expected timeline B. keeping databases about customers up to date C. completion of sales as per the quota D. helping co-workers when needed

D. helping co-workers when needed

Grace, a firefighter, is engaged in a critical incident method of performance evaluation. Critical incidents cannot be used for making what types of decisions? A. training needs assessment B. performance management C. coaching D. salary

D. salary

Which of the following performance appraisal outcomes is most likely to lead to extra incentives like extra time off, a small bonus, or job enrichment? A. unsatisfactory—correctable B. unsatisfactory—uncorrectable C. satisfactory—promotable D. satisfactory—not promotable

D. satisfactory—not promotable

What happens in step 1 (defining performance expectations) of the Performance Management Process?

Defining performance expectations and goals is a critical step in employees' understanding of how their work makes a contribution to achieving business results.

Sara evaluates her employees on traits such as reliability, initiative, and attitude toward work using a scale that ranges from unsatisfactory to outstanding. Which performance appraisal method was used?

Graphic rating scale

Madonna is impressed with how well one of her employees deals with customers. Although customer service is only 30 percent of the employee's job, Madonna consistently rates the employee high due to her perceptions of excellence in customer service. This situation concerns which rating scale problem?

Halo effect

What is electronic performance monitoring (EPM)?

Having supervisors electronically monitor or observe the employee's output or whereabouts using computerized data to capture an employee's daily output and thereby their performance.

What is the recency effect?

The rating error that occurs when ratings are based on the employee's most recent performance rathe than on performance throughout the appraisal period.

What is bias?

The tendency to allow individual differences such as age, visible minority status, ethnicity, Indigenous group membership, and gender affiliation to affect employees' appraisal ratings.

What is appraisal bias?

The tendency to allow individual differences, such as age, race, and sex to affect the appraisal ratings that these employees receive.

What is similar-to-me bias?

The tendency to give higher performance ratings to employees who are perceived to be similar to the rater in some way.

What is the performance appraisal process?

The three-step performance appraisal process: 1. setting work standards 2. assessing the employee's actual performance relative to those standards (this often involves some rating form) 3. providing feedback to the employee to help eliminate performance deficiencies or to continue to perform above par.