Chapter 6: Performance management
Contingency approach to defining performance
Do what the situation requires, rather than a one-size-fits-all approach
Which types of rewards can enhance the value of your overall compensation?
work flexibility tuition benefits vacation time
Four components of effective Performance Management (PM)
-Defining performance -Monitoring and evaluating performance. -Reviewing performance. -Providing consequences
general outcome of reward systems
-Desired outcome: More of what is desired such as achieving sales goals -Nothing: No change in sales goal achievement -Undesired side-effects: Employees provide unrealistic delivery dates to increase sales
4. Provide consequences
Administer valued rewards and appropriate punishment.
respondent behavior
Automatic reactions to stimuli, or stimulus-response (S-R) Ex: startled by unexpected noise
Operant behavior
Behavior that are learned and occur when we "Operate on" the environment to produce desired consequences.
Skinner concluded that behavior is:
respondent and operant
continuous reinforcement (CRF)
A reinforcement schedule in which every instance of a target behavior is reinforced.
intermittent reinforcement
A reinforcement schedule in which some but not all instances of a target behavior are reinforced.
According to Gallup, which conditions make PM more effective?
Coaching is continual. Expectations are collaborative, clear, and aligned. Accountability exists.
pay for performance
Comprises merit and/or bonus pay based on individual-, group-, or organizational-level measures and involving individual, group, or organization rewards.
Which of the following can be influenced by promotions and pay raises? (Check all that apply.)
Employees' emotional well-being Employees' perception of fairness Employees' intentions of quitting
Extrinsic rewards
Financial, material, and social rewards originating from the environment.
When a teacher bases students' grades on a midterm and a final exam of equal weight, what type of reinforcement schedule is being used?
Fixed interval
Step A: Set goals
Goals should be SMART: acronym for specific, measurable, attainable, results-oriented, and time-bound.
Performance goal
Goals that garner a specific end result
learning goals
Goals that promote enhancing your knowledge or skill.
Coaching
Is a customized process between two or more people with the intent of enhancing learning and motivating change.
Tracking goal achievement and progress toward goals can have which impacts on employees?
It increases motivation. It improves performance.
Monitoring Performance
Measuring, tracking, or otherwise verifying progress and ultimate outcomes.
Which statements describe why rewards often fail to motivate employees?
Motivation is impacted by the use of one-shot rewards. Monetary rewards are over emphasized. Too much time passes-between the achievement and the reward
Common uses of performance management
Performance ratings, feedback, development and performance improvement plans, career planning, recommendations for employee-related decisions, and documentation for legal purposes.
Positive reinforcement
Process of strengthening a behavior by contingently presenting something appealing.
Three General criteria for Distributing Rewards:
Results: tangible results. Behavior and actions: like teamwork, cooperating, risk taking and creativity Nonperformance considerations: ex: rewards linked to seniority or job title.
Total rewards
Rewards encompassing not only compensation and benefits, but also personal and professional growth opportunities and a motivating work environment that includes recognition, job design, and work-life balance.
Intrinsic rewards
Self-granted, psychic rewards.
1: Define performance
Set goals and communicate performance expectations
Law of effect
States that behavior with favorable consequences tends to be repeated, and behavior with unfavorable consequences tends to disappear.
Four general steps when implementing Goal-setting programs
Step A: Set goals Step B: Promote goal commitment Step C: Provide support and feedback Step D: Create Action plans
Which of the following are some of the biggest perceived detriments of the performance management system? (Check all that apply.)
Too much focus on pay and incentives Lack of clarity on how to improve Lack of fairness by managers
extinction
Weakening a behavior by ignoring it or making sure it is not reinforced.
Which of the following describe the instructional function of feedback?
When roles are made more clear When new behaviors are taught
An individualized and customized form of performance management is known as
coaching
The primary functions of performance management include:
communicating the employee behavior that is being sought guiding employee training and development making decisions related to employees such as pay raises
Feedback is only positive or negative when:
compared to a goal
Which of the following terms describe trends in feedback?
continual informal inclusive
3. Review Performance
deliver feedback and coaching
Feedback delivery tends to be which of the following?
direct critical
Comparing actual performance to a previously set goal is the step in the performance management process called:
evaluating performance
It is important to monitor progress toward goal achievement in order to:
identify problems while pursuing a goal
Reinforcement theory states that you can:
increase desired behaviors by providing pleasing consequences strengthen desired behaviors by withdrawing a displeasing consequence
feedback
information about individual or collective performance shared with those in a position to improve the situation.
Which of the following factors have a tendency to demotivate employees?
layoffs across-the-board raises and cuts extreme executive compensation
2. monitor and evaluate performance
measure and evaluate progress and outcomes
Perception of Feedback
people tend to perceive and recall positive feedback more accurately than they do negative feedback, but negative feedback can have a positive motivational effect -Accuracy: Measure the right things in the right way -The credibility of the source: Trust the person delivering the feedback to be honest -Reasonableness of the goal: nobody has ever reached the goal and received the bonus -Fairness of the system: Only family members receive pay raises
Contingent Consequences
positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment, extinction
punishment
process of weakening behavior through either the contingent presentation or something displeasing or the contingent withdrawal of something positive.
What elements need to be both monitored and evaluated when determining someone's performance?
progress toward the goal goal achievement
When choosing measures of performance, which of the following criteria should be met?
relevancy accuracy
A desired outcome of the ______ system is to retain talented people.
reward
increase desired behaviors by providing pleasing consequences strengthen desired behaviors by withdrawing a displeasing consequence
seeking regular feedback finding a manager who uses performance management practices that align with your values and aspirations discovering what the company says it values and what it actually rewards
Which of the following takeaways will prove helpful to managers?
setting clear expectations and providing regular feedback clearly linking rewards to expectations ensuring your direct reports set SMART goals
Pay for performance results tend to be best when organizations do which of the following?
significantly reward top performers consider multiple performance measures enact a transparent system
Although most employers rely on fixed interval reinforcement schedules, some examples of effective variable rewards include:
spot rewards variable bonuses for achieving major goals celebrations of milestones
As part of the contingency approach to goal setting, what elements should fit the situation?
the policy the practice the behavior
Why should negative feedback be administered carefully?
to avoid creating defensiveness to avoid promoting insecurity
Which conditions help make pay for performance effective?
using multiple measures of performance paying top performers much more than other employees calibrated performance measures that ensure accuracy
The reinforcement schedules that produce the strongest behavior that is most resistant to extinction include:
variable interval schedules variable ratio schedules
What can employees do to avoid surprises during performance appraisals?
Ask managers informally for more frequent feedback. Check in with managers periodically to see how things are going.
Step B: Promote Goal Commitment
Commitment can be increased by ensuring goals are personally relevant, obtainable, and fair.
Negative reinforcement
Strengthens a desired behavior by contingently withdrawing something displeasing. Ex: Probation periods for new hires.
Evaluating Performance
The process of comparing performance at some point in time to a previously established expectation or goals
Which of the following describe when feedback is motivational?
when there is promise of a reward when it is a reward
Common perceptual errors related to Performance Evaluation
-Halo: Rating an employee high across all dimensions because they are very likable. -Recency: Rating an employee low for the year based on one late report at the end of the year -Leniency: Rating an employee high across all dimensions regardless of actual performance -Central tendency: Rating an employee average on all dimensions
Key factors in Organizational Rewards
1. types of rewards 2. distribution criteria 3. desired outcomes
Total rewards offered by an organization may include:
benefits such as health and wellness and retirement funds personal growth opportunities such as training compensation such as base pay and other monetary incentives
Commitment to goals can be promoted in which of the following ways?
by identifying who or what might keep you from achieving them by imagining how you will feel when you achieve them
Performance Management (PM)
Set of processes and managerial behaviors that include defining, monitoring, measuring, evaluating, and providing consequences for performance expectations.
