Ch 9 and Ch 10

Which of the following levels of training needs analysis focuses on identifying employees who need training and the types of training they need?

Individual analysis

As an alternative appraisal method, _____ places greater emphasis on the periodic review of work plans by both supervisor and subordinate in order to identify goals attained, problems encountered, and the need for training.

work planning and review

Which of the following terms is defined as the process in which participants learn through experience and application?

Action learning

Which of the following is NOT provided to team members by guided-team correction?

An analysis of master coordination of team tasks

____ are brief anecdotal reports by supervisors of things employees do that are particularly effective or ineffective in accomplishing parts of their jobs.

Critical incidents

____ analysis is helpful in determining the special needs of a particular group, such as older workers, women, or managers at different levels.

Demographic

Which of the following is a disadvantage of narrative essay methods that makes it difficult to use them for employment decisions?

Different essays touch on different aspects of each subordinate's performance.

____ are often used to help talented executives who are in trouble because of behavioral style deficiencies, or to help them lead critical transitions, such as having to lead a major change effort.

External coaches

Even if there is an excessive delay between effective performance and receipt of a reward, the reward still has great potential to motivate subsequent high performance.

False

Evidence indicates that for the same amount of practice, learning is better when practice is repetitive rather than massed.

False

Feedback affects individual but not group performance.

False

Reliability implies that a performance appraisal system is capable of distinguishing effective from ineffective performers.

False

Results-oriented rating methods focus on employee behaviors, either by comparing the performance of employees to that of other employees or by evaluating each employee in terms of performance standards without reference to others.

False

The assessment of team performance implies that individual contributions should be ignored.

False

The most effective way to raise a trainee's motivation is by providing an interesting training environment.

False

The narrative essay method, a type of behavior-oriented rating method, assumes that a candid statement from a rater who is knowledgeable about an employee's performance is not as valid as other complicated rating methods.

False

The post-training appraisal of performance should not be done sooner than one year following the training so that the trainees have an opportunity to put into practice what they have learned.

False

The worst mistake a company can make is to layoff a new employee after orientation.

False

To be most effective, skill learning should include four essential ingredients: (1) planning, (2) implementation, (3) monitoring, and (4) feedback.

False

To choose the training method that best fits a given situation, first, carefully define the resources you have available.

False

Which of the following is an advantage of narrative essays in appraising employee performance?

Good for individual feedback and development

_____ errors occur when ratings are assigned on the basis of a global impression of a ratee.

Halo

In the context of employee training, identify an issue that is examined at a micro level.

How should the delivery of training programs be structured?

_____ feedback utilizes input from a variety of sources including managers, subordinates, peers, and customers to provide a perspective on performance from all angles.

Multirater or 360-degree

Which of the following levels of training needs analysis identifies what an employee must do in order to perform competently?

Operations analysis

Which of the following levels of training needs analysis focuses on whether managers, peers, and employees support training activity?

Organization analysis

The phenomenon of the self-fulfilling prophecy is known as the _____ effect.

Pygmalion

Which of the following statements is true about behavioral checklist as an alternative appraisal method?

Raters are provided with a series of statements that describe job-related behavior.

Ron is a sales representative with Emergo Systems Ltd. He has performed beyond expectation for the current financial year. However, during the last month of the year, he enters into a feud with one of his customers over a trivial issue. As a result, his manager gives him a poor performance rating during the appraisals. Identify the appraisal error committed by Ron's manager.

Recency error

____ implies that there are clear links between the performance standards for a particular job and organizational objectives and between the critical job elements identified through a job analysis and the dimensions to be rated on an appraisal form.

Relevance

____ implies that a performance-appraisal system is capable of distinguishing effective from ineffective performers.

Sensitivity

Which of the following statements is NOT a supervisory activity that should be done before a performance feedback interview?

Set goals that you feel the employee should strive for

_____ requires only that a rater order all employees from highest to lowest, from "best" employee to "worst" employee.

Simple ranking

The presentation of text, graphics, video, audio, or animation in digitized form for the purpose of building job-relevant knowledge and skill is _____.

TDI

_____ focuses on teamwork skills that facilitate information exchange, cooperation, and coordination of job-related behaviors.

Team-coordination training

Which of the following statements about graphic rating scales is false?

They are time-consuming to develop and administer.

Which of the following statements is true of results-oriented rating methods of appraising employee performance?

They place primary emphasis on what an employee produces.

Which of the following statements is an advantage of behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) as an alternative appraisal method?

They use critical incidents to describe various levels of performance.

In the context of effective teams, which of the following teams best represents the characteristic of coaching?

A team in which leaders promote and share ground rules

In the context of effective teams, which of the following teams best represents the characteristic of conditions?

A team in which members have ready access to resources and information

In the context of effective teams, which of the following teams best represents the characteristic of cognition?

A team that has clear roles and norms

____ focus on employee behaviors, either by comparing the performance of employees to that of other employees or by evaluating each employee in terms of performance standards without reference to others.

Behavior-oriented rating systems

___ provides exposure to and practice with other teammates' tasks, roles, and responsibilities in an effort to increase shared understanding and knowledge among team members.

Cross-training

Which of the following statements is true of 360-degree feedback for appraising employee performance?

Discrepancies between self-ratings and those received from other sources may create an awareness of a person's needs for development.

Alternation ranking requires only that the rater order all employees from highest to lowest, from "best" employee to "worst" employee.

False

An emphasis on the employee as a person or his or her self-concept, as opposed to the task and task performance only, is likely to lead to higher levels of future performance.

False

Behavior modeling tends to increase when the model is rewarded for behavior and when the rewards are things the model would like to have.

False

Hypothesis testing has demonstrated repeatedly that training has an overall positive effect on job-related behaviors or performance.

False

If team members have opposite or conflicting goals, the efficiency of the total unit is likely to be energized.

False

In the context of behavior-oriented rating methods, critical incidents are brief anecdotal reports by supervisors that focus on traits, not behaviors.

False

In the context of behavior-oriented rating methods, graphic rating scales yield the depth of essays and critical incidents, but they are more time-consuming to develop and administer.

False

Increasing the specificity of feedback benefits the learning of responses for poor performance, but it may be detrimental to the learning of responses for good performance.

False

Individual objectives work well when results depend on factors outside an employee's control.

False

Managers need as much encouragement and organizational support as possible if painless layoffs are going to take place.

False

Of the many types of rater training programs available today, meta-analytic evidence has demonstrated reliably that 360-degree training is the most effective at improving the accuracy of performance appraisals.

False

Organizations that provide online training have a distinct advantage when competing for talented employees

False

Organizations with most effective training practices discourage risk taking.

False

Performance appraisal is an exact, human process.

False

Performance management must be equated with performance appraisal, which is an administrative exercise that managers typically do once a year to identify and discuss job-relevant strengths and weaknesses of individuals or work teams.

False

When structuring training material to maximize its meaningfulness, trainers should teach complex skills before the simpler ones.

False

Which theory is founded on the premise that an individual's intentions regulate his or her behavior?

Goal theory

Which of the following is a disadvantage of Management by Objectives (MBO) in appraising employee performance?

It does not facilitate comparison across employees.

Which of the following statements is true of relevance as a requirement of effective appraisal systems?

It implies the periodic maintenance and updating of job analyses.

Which of the following statements about performance appraisal is false?

It is an exact, human process.

Which of the following statements is true of reliability as a requirement of effective appraisal systems?

It refers to consistency of judgment.

In the context of the training needs-assessment model, which of the following statements is true about operations analysis?

It requires careful examination of the work to be performed after training.

Which of the following is a disadvantage of self-appraisal in the performance-appraisal process?

It tends to show less agreement with the judgments of other performance rating methods.

_____ is a process of managing that relies on goal setting to establish objectives for the organization as a whole, for each department, for each manager within each department, and for each employee.

MBO

Which of the following is a disadvantage of forced distribution?

May be inaccurate if a group of employees is either very effective or ineffective

____ refers to the material that is rich in association for the trainees and is therefore easily understood by them.

Meaningfulness

This can be thought of as a kind of compass, one that indicates a person's actual direction as well as a person's desired direction.

Performance management

_____ translate job requirements into levels of acceptable or unacceptable employee behavior.

Performance standards

___ implies that appraisal systems are easy for managers and employees to understand and use.

Practicality

What type of team is assembled for a specific purpose and expected to disband after their task is completed?

Project

In the context of training, which of the following suggestions will maximize trainees' identification with a model?

Provide the trainees with a list of key behaviors to attend to when observing the model, and allow them to express the behaviors in language that is most comfortable for them.

Which of the following statements is an advantage of the method of forced distribution of appraising employee performance?

They are most useful when a large number of employees must be rated.

What is the purpose of the assessment phase of training?

To define what it is the employee should learn in relation to desired job behaviors

Which of the following is a major responsibility of the managers who are committed to manage and facilitate maximum performance in an organization?

To eliminate roadblocks to successful performance

Which of the following steps will NOT help to avoid legal difficulties in regard to performance appraisals?

Train supervisors to avoid documenting cases where subjective standards were applied unevenly to members of protected groups.

Which of the following characteristics distinguishes companies with most effective training practices?

Training is tied to business strategies and objectives.

After a performance appraisal interview, supervisors should communicate frequently with subordinates about their performance.

True

At a general level, it is important to analyze training needs on the basis of organizational objectives and strategies.

True

At the level of society, training improves the quality of the labor force.

True

Despite their shortcomings, appraisals continue to be used widely, especially as a basis for tying pay to performance.

True

During the early stages of learning, the trainer should be available to oversee the trainee's practice directly.

True

Fewer than half of all organizations even try to measure the value of training, and fewer still calculate the return in monetary terms.

True

Goal theory is founded on the premise that an individual's conscious goals or intentions regulate her or his behavior.

True

If employees lack the tools to reach the challenging goals they have set, they will become frustrated and disenchanted.

True

If training is ill-conceived, poorly planned, or inadequately executed, then it is likely to be ineffective and a waste of precious resources.

True

In the context of behavior-oriented rating methods, graphic rating scales that use critical incidents to anchor various points along the scale are known as behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS).

True

Individual skills are a necessity, but they not a sufficient condition for effective team performance.

True

It is easier to learn and remember factual material when it is meaningful to the trainee.

True

Longitudinal research shows that managers who met with their direct reports to discuss their upward feedback improved more than other managers.

True

Managers of effective work groups tend to monitor the performance of their team members regularly, and they provide frequent feedback to them.

True

Managers who are committed to managing for maximum performance recognize that one of their major responsibilities is to eliminate roadblocks to successful performance.

True

Multirater or 360-degree feedback utilizes input from managers, subordinates, peers, and customers to provide a perspective on performance from all angles.

True

One of the reasons performance management is difficult to execute well throughout an entire organization is that it demands daily, not annual, attention from every manager.

True

Organizations sometimes place too much emphasis on the techniques and methods of training and not enough on first defining what the employee should learn in relation to desired job behaviors.

True

Orientation is often just a superficial indoctrination into company philosophy, policies, and rules; sometimes it includes the presentation of an employee handbook and a quick tour of the office or plant.

True

Performance appraisals provide feedback to employees and thereby serve as vehicles for personal and career development.

True

Performance management is a kind of compass that indicates a person's actual direction as well as a person's desired direction.

True

Ranking methods that compare employees to one another are useful for generating initial rankings for purposes of employment decisions.

True

Relevance implies that there are clear links between the performance standards for a particular job and organizational objectives.

True

Retraining current workers for new jobs is more cost effective than firing them and hiring new ones.

True

Smart managers enlist the active support and cooperation of subordinates or teams by making explicit exactly what aspects of job performance they will be evaluated on.

True

The careful matching of company and employee expectations during the first year can result in positive job attitudes and high standards, which then can be reinforced in new and more demanding jobs.

True

The most fundamental requirement for any rater is that he or she has an adequate opportunity to observe the ratee's job performance over a reasonable period of time.

True

The rating format is not as important as the relevance and acceptability of the rating system.

True

To evaluate training, you must systematically document the outcomes of the training in terms of how trainees actually behave back on their jobs and the relevance of that behavior to the objectives of the organization.

True

To improve orientation, you need candid, comprehensive feedback from everyone involved in the program.

True

Training consists of planned programs designed to improve performance at the individual, group, and/or organizational levels.

True

Training success is determined by not only the quality of training but also an individual's readiness for the training and the degree of organizational support for the training.

True

Transfer of training refers to the extent to which competencies learned in training can be applied on a job

True

When determining adverse impact, organizations must keep records of who is eligible and interested in promotion. This defines the applicant group.

True

In the context of examining the training enterprise as a whole, which of the following training issues is examined at a macro level?

What is the economic impact of training?

Legal and scientific requirements for a successful appraisal system include all of the following EXCEPT:

acceptability.

A systematic approach to team training should include:

all of these.

New employees need specific information in all of the following, EXCEPT:

all of these.

The broad process of performance management requires that you do which things well:

all of these.

In the context of the general systems model of the training and development process, the _____ serves as a foundation for the entire training effort.

assessment phase

Skill learning and learning facts contain the following ingredients, EXCEPT:

behavior modeling.

Graphic rating scales that use critical incidents to anchor various points along the scale are known as _____.

behaviorally anchored rating scales

Most of the research evidence on the length of a practice session indicates that for the same amount of practice, learning is better when practice is:

distributed.

Appraisals provide legal and formal organizational justification for:

employment decisions.

The three phases of the training process include all of the following, EXCEPT the:

generalization phase.

In the context of the levels of training needs analysis, _____ defines training needs in terms of the difference between desired performance and actual performance.

individual analysis

The advantage of using a behavioral checklist is that:

it provides a direct link between job analysis and performance appraisal.

At least once a year, review the orientation program to determine if it is _____ and to identify future improvements.

meeting its objectives

At the _____ level, we may choose to examine issues such as what types of training yield positive outcomes for organizations and trainees (i.e., what works).

micro

Regardless of which specific training method is chosen, it should attempt to all of the following, EXCEPT:

motivate the employee to evaluate the effectiveness of the training.

The simplest type of absolute rating system is the _____, in which a rater describes, in writing, an employee's strengths, weaknesses, and potential, together with suggestions for improvement.

narrative essay

An employee must have an opportunity to practice what he or she is learning when developing a(n):

new skill.

The impact of training on _____ is the most significant, but most difficult, effect to demonstrate.

organizational results

Familiarization with and adaptation to a situation or an environment is:

orientation.

The worst mistake a company can make is to ignore a new employee after:

orientation.

When trainees are given the opportunity to practice far beyond the point where they have performed a task correctly several times, the task becomes "second nature" and is:

overlearned.

When using _____, each employee is compared with every other employee, usually in terms of an overall category such as "present value to the organization."

paired comparisons

An administrative exercise that is typically done once a year to identify and discuss job-relevant strengths and weaknesses of individuals or work teams is:

performance appraisal.

Defining performance requires all of the following EXCEPT:

performance facilitation.

In the context of training, research suggests that we do all of the following as an attempt to maximize trainees' identification with a model, EXCEPT:

rank the behaviors to be modeled in a sequence from most to least difficult.

A well-designed new-employee orientation will facilitate:

socialization.

Learning to function as a contributing member of the corporate "family" is termed:

socialization.

Increasing an individual's employability outside the company simultaneously increases his or her job security and desire to stay with the current employer. This concept is known as the:

training paradox.