Chapter 8 test questions mgmt 343

Older employees tend to have more confidence in the fairness of social performance management than younger employees do. T or F

F

One of the advantages of the results approach to performance measurement is that it disassociates an individual's results from the organization's strategies and goals. T or F

F

Output is a factor to be considered in analyzing poor performance. T or F

F

Productivity measurement and evaluation system (ProMES) is designed to specifically define performance dimensions by developing behavioral anchors associated with different levels of performance. T or F

F

Quality-based performance methods are quite easy to develop and are generalizable across a variety of jobs, strategies, and organizations. T or F

F

The best use of self-ratings is for administrative purposes T or F

F

The comparative approach to performance management increases the problems of leniency, central tendency, and strictness. T or F

F

The extent to which a performance measure is deemed to be satisfactory or adequate by those who use it is known as its reliability. T or F

F

The initial steps of the performance management cycle involve an employee and a manager identifying what the employee can do to capitalize on performance strengths. T or F

F

Validity is the consistency of a performance measure. T or F

F

Which performance management technique initially involves the identification of a large number of critical incidents, followed by the classification of these incidents into performance dimensions, and finally ranking these incidents into levels of performance? A. Behaviorally anchored rating scale B. Graphic rating scale C. Comparative rating scale D. Organizational behavior modification E. A competency model

A. Behaviorally anchored rating scale

_____, attended by managers, provide a way to help ensure that performance is evaluated consistently across managers and to reduce the influence of rating errors and politics on appraisals. A. Calibration meetings B. Frame-of-reference trainings C. Multidimensional trainings D. Rater accuracy trainings E. Succession planning meetings

A. Calibration meetings

Benito, a psychology student, has had an overall negative impression of his psychology professor. As a consequence, during the end-of-term appraisal, he rates his professor low on all performance criteria. Which of the following rater errors has Benito committed? A. Horns B. Leniency C. Central tendency D. Contrast E. Strictness

A. Horns

Which of the following is true of peers as the source of performance information? A. Peers have expert knowledge of job requirements and often have the most opportunity to observe an employee in day-to-day activities. B. Peer evaluations give employees power over their managers, thus putting managers in a difficult situation. C. Peers are comfortable providing evaluations for both administrative and developmental purposes. D. Peers have the ability to discard the fact that they may be friends with the ratee in order to provide an unbiased rating. E. Peers give feedback that is strongly related to performance and to employee perceptions of the accuracy of the appraisal.

A. Peers have expert knowledge of job requirements and often have the most opportunity to observe an employee in day-to-day activities

Which of the following is true regarding behavioral approaches to performance measurement? A. They link the company's strategy to the specific behavior necessary to implement that strategy. B. They adopt a very subjective approach to evaluating human behavior at the workplace. C. They result in techniques that have a low degree of validity and acceptability. D. They assume that there are multiple best ways to do the job. E. Despite substantial investments in training, the techniques are not strong enough to be reliable.

A. They link the company's strategy to the specific behavior necessary to implement that strategy.

A competent employee receives lower-than-deserved ratings because of a few outstanding colleagues who set very high performance standards. This is an example of a _____ rater error. A. contrast B. distributional C. halo D. similar to me E. horns

A. contrast

The ranking technique that requires certain percentages of employees to be categorized into predetermined categories or groups based on their performance is known as _____. A. forced distribution B. the high/low ranking system C. paired comparison D. alternation ranking E. simple ranking

A. forced distribution

The process through which an organization gets information on how closely an employee's actual performance meets his or her performance plan is known as _____. A. performance appraisal B. job analysis C. performance feedback D. ability analysis E. achievement discrepancy

A. performance appraisal

Elle Inc. is a firm that holds frequent reviews and feedback sessions for its employees. It demands that the same person review the employees of a team to ensure that the performance evaluation is consistent; tests-retests are conducted periodically to make sure the evaluation is consistent. These two steps taken by Elle Inc. focus on the _____ of performance management. A. reliability B. strategic congruence C. specificity D. acceptability E. validity

A. reliability

As the CEO of Blue Corp., Terrell makes it a point to meet new hires at all levels of his organization. He explains the goals of the company and emphasizes the importance of an individual employee's role in the larger picture. This initiative of Terrell focuses on the _____ of performance management. A. strategic purpose B. administrative purpose C. developmental purpose D. statistical purpose E. validity purpose

A. strategic purpose

Alternation ranking requires managers to rank employees within their departments from highest performer to poorest performer. T or F

F

The _____ approach assumes that subjectivity can be eliminated from the measurement process and that outcomes are the closest indicators of one's contribution to organizational effectiveness. A. behavior B. results C. attribute D. quality E. comparative

B. results

Which quality control technique is useful for understanding the amount of variance between an outcome and the expected value or average outcome? A. A control chart B. A histogram C. A cause-and-effect diagram D. A process-flow analysis E. A Pareto chart

B. A histogram

Which of the following is a comparative approach to ranking that consists of a manager looking at a list of employees, deciding who the best employee is, and crossing that person's name off the list? A. Simple ranking B. Alternation ranking C. Reverse ranking D. Elimination by aspect E. Forced distribution

B. Alternation ranking

A software company assesses its developers more on their client support skills than their development skills. Which of the following would best describe the software company's performance management process? A. Deficient B. Contaminated C. Unreliable D. Inconsistent E. Unspecified

B. Contaminated

Prometheus Corp. is a large-scale manufacturer of consumer electronic gadgets. As part of its performance management system, Prometheus measures the amount each employee contributes to the profits of the company, and the employees are either held accountable or rewarded based on their contributions. With regard to performance measurement, under which of the following would contribution to profits be categorized? A. Key risk indicators (KRIs) B. Critical success factors (CSFs) C. Non-performing assets (NPAs) D. Key performance indicators (KPIs) E. Behavioral Observation Scales (BOSs)

B. Critical success factors (CSFs)

_____ rating error occurs when a rater gives an employee high ratings on all aspects of performance because of the rater's overall positive impression of the employee. A. Contrast B. Halo C. Leniency D. Similar to me E. Central tendency

B. Halo

_____ are the most frequently used source of performance information. A. Peers B. Managers C. Subordinates D. Employees themselves E. Customers

B. Managers

Which of the following is a means of measuring and feeding back productivity information to personnel with the main goal of motivating employees to higher levels of productivity? A. Projective tests B. Productivity Measurement and Evaluation System C. Assessment centers D. Critical incidents E. Multi-criteria decision analysis

B. Productivity Measurement and Evaluation System

At BayPoint Strategies, employees can work on several projects over the course of a year, reporting to different managers and interacting with a variety of team members. Which of the following approaches would be most effective and efficient in assessing employee performance at this consulting firm? A. Upward feedback B. Social performance management C. Productivity Measurement and Evaluation System D. 360-degree appraisal E. Paired comparison method

B. Social performance management

The performance management method that requires managers to rate the frequency with which an employee has exhibited a behavior during a rating period is the _____. A. simple ranking method B. behavioral observation scale C. graphic rating scale D. organizational behavior modification method E. forced distribution scale

B. behavioral observation scale

The process of performance management begins with A. developing employee goals, behavior, and actions to achieve outcomes. B. defining performance outcomes for company divisions and departments. C. providing consequences for performance results. D. identifying the improvements needed. E. providing support and ongoing performance discussions.

B. defining performance outcomes for company divisions and departments.

Consistency in ratings given by two individuals who evaluate an employee's performance is known as _____ reliability. A. internal consistency B. interrater C. inter-method D. test-retest E. parallel-forms

B. interrater

A performance measure is said to be contaminated when A. it does not measure all aspects of performance. B. it evaluates irrelevant aspects of performance. C. it is a subjective supervisory measure of job performance. D. it is not reliable over time. E. the overlap between actual job performance and the measure of job performance is maximized.

B. it evaluates irrelevant aspects of performance.

Attribute-based performance methods are the least popular performance evaluation approaches in organizations. T or F

F

Globo Analytics Inc., a data analysis company, has modified its performance management system. Apart from training employees on their specific tasks, the trainers and managers help the employees become more aware of the overall goals of the company and how their individual performances influence the broader goals of the company. As a result of this, employees' performances have become more consistent with the organization's strategies, goals, and culture. This initiative of Globo focuses on the _____ criterion of performance management. A. consistency B. strategic congruence C. social D. acceptability E. risk avoidance

B. strategic congruence

Both the comparative and the attribute approaches to performance measurement are _____. A. high on strategic congruence B. very low on specificity C. low on acceptability D. high on reliability E. very high on validity

B. very low on specificity

The _____ technique consists of having multiple raters above, equal to, and below the manager providing input into a manager's evaluation. A. gamification B. background check C. 360-degree appraisal D. upward feedback E. performance appraisal

C. 360-degree appraisal

Which of the following is an example of frame-of-reference training? A. Evan focuses primarily on making managers aware of rating errors and how to reduce them effectively. B. Christine makes managers aware of how errors influence ratings. C. Demita emphasizes using the same idea of high, medium, and low performances when making evaluations. D. Hassan stresses having consistent standards of evaluation. E. Lorena focuses on eliminating politics through discussion among managers.

C. Demita emphasizes using the same idea of high, medium, and low performances when making evaluations.

Which of the following is true regarding the attribute approach to performance management? A. There is usually a high congruence between the techniques used in this approach and the company's strategy. B. The methods usually have clearer performance standards due to which different raters provide similar ratings and rankings. C. It is easy to develop and is generalizable across organizations and strategies. D. It provides specific guidance and feedback to employees. E. The ratings from this approach are easily accepted by employees during feedback.

C. It is easy to develop and is generalizable across organizations and strategies.

_____ consists of practices participated in by employees from all levels of the company that focus on continuous improvement of business processes. A. Quality circle B. Muda C. Kaizen D. Root cause analysis E. Business process reengineering

C. Kaizen

A _____ is a quality control technique that lists the causes of a problem in decreasing order of importance. A. cause-and-effect diagram B. control chart C. Pareto chart D. process-flow analysis E. histogram

C. Pareto chart

Which of the following is the first step in the Productivity Measurement and Evaluation System (ProMES)? A. The staff defines indicators of the products to measure how well the products are being generated. B. The management develops a feedback system that provides employees and work groups with information about their specific level of performance. C. People in the organization identify the set of activities or objectives the organization expects to accomplish. D. The employee and manager identify what the employee can do to capitalize on performance strengths. E. The staff establishes the contingencies between the amount of the indicators and the level of evaluation associated with that amount.

C. People in the organization identify the set of activities or objectives the organization expects to accomplish.

_____ is the means through which managers ensure that employees' activities and outputs are congruent with the organization's goals. A. Performance standardization B. Performance budgeting C. Performance management D. Performance indicator E. Performance dampener

C. Performance management

Which of the following approaches to performance measurement minimizes contamination and deficiency? A. The comparative approach B. The attribute approach C. The behavioral approach D. The results approach E. The quality approach

C. The behavioral approach

Roundel Inc. is a company that sells automobile tires. The company is projecting an increase in sales in the next 12 months and is looking to fill the senior positions through internal recruiting to meet this demand. The company is evaluating the individual performances and seeking to develop some ranking of the individuals within a work group to identify the best performer. Which of the following approaches is the company using? A. The results approach B. The attribute approach C. The comparative approach D. The behavioral approach E. The quality approach

C. The comparative approach

Which of the following approaches to measuring performance uses some overall assessment of an individual's performance or worth and seeks to develop a ranking of the individuals within a work group? A. The results approach B. The attribute approach C. The comparative approach D. The consequential approach E. The behavioral approach

C. The comparative approach

Which of the following observations is true about scattergrams? A. They help in identifying the most important cause of a problem. B. They are useful for understanding the amount of variance between an outcome and the expected value or average outcome. C. They help employees determine whether the relationship between two variables or events is positive, negative, or zero. D. They assume that the majority of problems are the result of a small number of causes. E. They are useful for identifying redundancy in processes that increases manufacturing or service time.

C. They help employees determine whether the relationship between two variables or events is positive, negative, or zero

Which of the following is an example of using performance management to fulfill an administrative purpose? A. Define the results, behaviors, and, to some extent, employee characteristics that are necessary. B. Develop employees who are effective at their jobs. C. Use performance appraisal to make decisions such as pay raises, promotions, retention-termination, layoffs, and recognition of individual performance. D. Identify employees' strengths and weaknesses and link employees to appropriate training and development activities. E. Confront employees with their performance weaknesses.

C. Use performance appraisal to make decisions such as pay raises, promotions, retention-termination, layoffs, and recognition of individual performance.

A _____ rater error is one in which a rater gives middle or average ratings to all employees despite their performance. A. horns B. leniency C. central tendency D. strictness E. contrast

C. central tendency

In the graphic rating scale, the rater A. defines performance dimensions by developing behavioral anchors associated with different levels of performance. B. defines the relevant performance dimensions and then develops statements representing good, average, and poor performances along each dimension. C. considers one employee at a time, circling the number that signifies how much of that trait the individual has. D. identifies and describes competencies that are common for an entire occupation, organization, or job family or for a specific job. E. compares every employee with every other employee in the work group, giving an employee a score of 1 every time he or she is considered the higher performer.

C. considers one employee at a time, circling the number that signifies how much of that trait the individual has.

The extent to which a performance measure gives guidance to employees about what is expected of them is called _____. A. reliability B. validity C. specificity D. acceptability E. strategic congruence

C. specificity

In what legal suit would the plaintiff allege that the performance measurement system varied according to individuals? A. Harassment suit B. Statutory tort C. Unjust dismissal suit D. Discrimination suit E. Custody action

D. Discrimination suit

Which of the following attribute approaches to performance management is most commonly used? A. Behaviorally anchored rating scales B. Mixed standard scales C. Behavior observation scales D. Graphic rating scales E. Simple ranking scales

D. Graphic rating scales

Rick is the vice president of the human resources team. He designs a new performance management process. He completes the first step and moves on to the next step of developing employee goals and actions to achieve the outcomes. Which of the following is he likely to do next to create an effective performance management process? A. He will define performance outcomes for divisions and departments. B. He will evaluate performance. C. He will identify improvements needed. D. He will provide support and ongoing performance discussions. E. He will provide consequences for performance results.

D. He will provide support and ongoing performance discussions.

_____ is a rater error in which a rater gives high ratings to all employees regardless of their performance. A. Halo B. Contrast C. Central tendency D. Leniency E. Similar to me

D. Leniency

Jian is a manager at Zobos Corp. He needs to perform an evaluation of his subordinates. He does this by pairing each of his subordinates with every other subordinate in the same group, then selects the higher performer between the two. At the end of the process, he calculates the number of times a subordinate has been the higher performer in a match-up. Which type of performance management system does Jian employ to perform the evaluation? A. Probability distribution B. Simple ranking C. Forced distribution D. Paired comparison E. Scanlon plans

D. Paired comparison

Which of the following statistical process quality control techniques help identify the redundancies in procedures that increase manufacturing or service time? A. Cause-and-effect diagrams B. Control charts C. Pareto charts D. Process-flow analyses E. Histograms

D. Process-flow analyses

_____ attempts to emphasize the multidimensional nature of performance and thoroughly familiarize the raters with the actual content of various performance dimensions. A. Social performance measurement B. Sensitivity training C. Multidimensional training D. Rater accuracy training E. Process-flow analysis

D. Rater accuracy training

_____ is the extent to which the performance management system elicits job performance that is consistent with an organization's strategy, goals, and culture. A. Specificity B. Reliability C. Validity D. Strategic congruence E. Acceptability

D. Strategic congruence

Which of the following is a disadvantage of subordinate evaluations? A. Subordinates tend to focus only on aspects of their manager's performance that are measured, neglecting those that are not. B. Subordinates do not have adequate opportunity to observe a manager's interactions and behavior. C. Friendship has the potential to bias ratings. D. Subordinates have power over their managers, thus putting the managers in a difficult situation. E. Subordinates find the situation of being both rater and ratee uncomfortable when the evaluations are made for administrative decisions.

D. Subordinates have power over their managers, thus putting the managers in a difficult situation.

Which of the following approaches would be worst suited to providing managers with the specific guidance required to correct an employee's performance deficiencies? A. The quality approach B. The comparative approach C. The behavioral approach D. The attribute approach E. The results approach

D. The attribute approach

Which of the following is true about the quality approach to performance measurement? A. The quality approach techniques usually have very little strategic congruence. B. The quality approach has very low acceptability. C. The quality approach does not advocate the evaluation of personal traits. D. The quality approach adopts a systems-oriented focus. E. The quality approach relies primarily on a combination of the comparative and results approaches to performance measurement.

D. The quality approach adopts a systems-oriented focus.

A situation in which evaluators purposefully distort a rating to achieve personal or company goals is referred to as _____. A. Bayesian inference B. group dynamics C. 360-degree feedback D. appraisal politics E. the similar to me error

D. appraisal politics

The _____ method requires managers to compare every employee with every other employee in a work group, giving an employee a score of 1 every time he or she is considered the higher performer. A. partner measurement B. probability distribution C. forced distribution D. paired comparison E. alternation ranking

D. paired comparison

A measure that results in drastically different ratings over time lacks _____ reliability. A. internal consistency B. interrater C. parallel-forms D. test-retest E. inter-method

D. test-retest

A performance management system designed with a strong quality orientation can be expected to A. emphasize an assessment of system factors, but not person factors, in the measurement system. B. emphasize managers and employees working separately to solve performance problems. C. involve only the external customers in setting standards and measuring performances. D. use multiple sources to evaluate person and system factors. E. emphasize an assessment of person factors, but not system factors, in the measurement system.

D. use multiple sources to evaluate person and system factors.

CobWeb Inc., a software firm, assesses managers based on how well they understand their subordinates, as well as the factors involved in their poor performance. Which of the following examples is the most appropriate evaluation of the input factors involved in analyzing poor performance? A. Lin considers if her subordinate has the technical skills required for the task. B. Rocio checks if his subordinate is emotionally able to perform at the expected level. C. Aliya looks into whether her subordinate has been given information about his performance. D. Will analyzes if performance consequences are given in a timely manner. E. DeShaun checks if the job flow and procedures are logical.

E. DeShaun checks if the job flow and procedures are logical.

Teknikal Inc. decides to implement a new performance management system. It consists of a list of five traits used to evaluate all the employees. The manager considers one employee at a time and, on a continuum with different points, circles the number that signifies how much of a particular trait the individual has. Which type of performance management system is Teknikal Inc. using? A. Probability distribution B. Simple ranking C. Forced distribution D. Paired comparison E. Graphic rating scale

E. Graphic rating scale

Which of the following statements best defines the acceptability of a performance measure? A. It is the extent to which the performance management system elicits job performance that is consistent with the organization's strategy, goals, and culture. B. It is the extent to which a performance measure gives detailed guidance to employees about what is expected of them and in what ways they are unsuitable for the job. C. It is the extent to which a performance measure assesses all the relevant—and only the relevant—aspects of job performance. D. It is the extent to which a performance measure is free from random error. E. It is the extent to which a performance measure is deemed to be satisfactory or adequate by those who use it.

E. It is the extent to which a performance measure is deemed to be satisfactory or adequate by those who use it.

In which performance technique are managers given three statements of performance per dimension and asked to indicate whether an employee's performance is above (+), at (0), or below (-) the statements? A. Behaviorally anchored rating scale B. Forced distribution scale C. Behavior observation scale D. Graphic rating scale E. Mixed-standard scale

E. Mixed-standard scale

Which of the following is true about the results approach to performance management? A. The results approach relies primarily on a combination of the attribute and results approaches to performance measurement. B. The results approach virtually eliminates problems of leniency, central tendency, and strictness. C. The techniques of the results approach usually have very little congruence with the company's strategy. D. The results approach is usually highly unacceptable to both managers and employees. E. The results approach minimizes subjectivity, relying on objective, quantifiable indicators of performance.

E. The results approach minimizes subjectivity, relying on objective, quantifiable indicators of performance.

Which performance management evaluation criterion reflects the extent to which a performance measure assesses all the relevant—and only the relevant—aspects of performance? A. Reliability B. Strategic congruence C. Acceptability D. Specificity E. Validity

E. Validity

The _____ approach to performance management focuses on the extent to which individuals have certain characteristics or traits believed desirable for the company's success. A. results B. quality C. behavioral D. comparative E. attribute

E. attribute

Whittaker Publishing Corp. is a publishing company that wants to hire more technical experts to handle the software requirements in the publishing process. However, the test given to the programmers assesses not only their technical knowledge but also their communication skills, language abilities, and understanding of client services. The test conducted by Whittaker Publishing Corp. is _____. A. high on reliability B. low on strategic congruence C. high on specificity D. high on acceptability E. low on validity

E. low on validity

The performance effectiveness of employees is provided to them during the _____ process. A. performance appraisal B. achievement discrepancy C. job rotation D. ability analysis E. performance feedback

E. performance feedback

Appraisals that involve collecting subordinates' evaluations of a manager's behavior or skills are known as _____. A. 360-degree feedback B. screening interviews C. peer review D. social performance E. upward feedback

E. upward feedback

A behaviorally anchored rating scale is designed to specifically define performance dimensions by developing behavioral anchors associated with different levels of performance. T or F

T

A performance management system should link employee activities with an organization's goals. T or F

T

Acceptability is affected by the extent to which employees believe the performance management system is fair. T or F

T

An advantage of behaviorally anchored rating scales is an increased interrater reliability. T or F

T

Competencies are sets of skills, knowledge, abilities, and personal characteristics that enable employees to successfully perform their jobs T or F

T

In appraisal politics, evaluators purposefully distort a rating to achieve personal or company goals. T or F

T

Managers are the most frequently used source of performance information T or F

T

Once the expected performance has been defined and employees' performances have been measured, it is necessary to feed that performance information back to the employees so that they can correct any deficiencies T or F

T

Result-based approaches to performance measurement assume that subjectivity can be eliminated from the measurement process T or F

T

The assumption of Pareto analysis is that the majority of problems are the result of a small number of causes. T or F

T

The major advantage of the 360-degree appraisal technique is that it provides a means for minimizing bias in an otherwise subjective evaluation technique T or F

T

The quality approach relies primarily on a combination of the attribute and results approaches to performance measurement T or F

T

Visible support of the performance management process by the CEO and senior management ensures that the system is consistently used across the company. T or F

T