Deck 14: Performance Management

Question 1

Self-evaluations are largely a waste of time because employees naturally rate their own work more favorably than do their supervisors.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

It is unwise for a supervisor to use performance appraisals to make decisions about demoting or firing employees.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

A peer evaluation is the evaluation of an employee's performance by other employees of higher rank than that of the employee.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The purpose of meeting with a new hire at the end of his or her first day is to determine whether or not the employee should report to work the next day.

Question 5

Effective supervisors provide their subordinates with formally written feedback on a monthly basis.

Question 6

A consensus appraisal should be completed if an employee reports to several supervisors.

Question 7

Formal appraisals usually become part of an employee's permanent employment record.

Question 8

The system of performance management begins with the supervisor setting the stage for employee success.

Question 9

Most organizations require supervisors to evaluate their employees' performance formally.

Question 10

Most organizations ask supervisors to conduct informal evaluations on a daily basis.

Question 11

An employee's poor performance and failure to improve are solely indicators of the employee's deficiencies and represent no reflection on the supervisor.

Question 12

A 360-degree evaluation is an evaluation that is based on information collected from all around the employee--from customers, vendors, supervisors, peers, and subordinates, for example.

Question 13

A formal appraisal system forces a supervisor to examine employees' work from the standpoint of how well they are meeting established standards and to identify areas that need improvement.

Question 14

It is a good idea to conduct a performance appraisal for new employees within the first 3 to 6 months of their hire.

Question 15

According to Kreitner and Kinicki, poor employee performance is almost always due to insufficient motivation.

Question 16

Most employees would rather be told how they are doing, even if it involves some criticism, rather than receive no feedback from their supervisors.

Question 17

Performance appraisals do little to help supervisors in their coaching and counseling of employees.

Question 18

The primary reason for evaluating performance on a systematic basis is to achieve organizational goals.

Question 19

Supervisors should not feel obligated to provide positive feedback during a performance evaluation because the purpose of an evaluation is to identify areas of the job that require improvement.

Question 20

In order to perform adequately, employees must know what is expected of them.

Question 21

Employees' performance should never be rated higher than "average."

Question 22

Most employees are able to handle fair criticism.

Question 23

The choice of an appraisal term or level depends mostly on the rater's perceptions, which may inaccurately measure performance.

Question 24

By any objective standard, Taron's job performance is satisfactory at best; but because his supervisor, Susan, is friends with Taron and socializes with him away from the office, she has rated his performance as "excellent." This is an illustration of the leniency error.

Question 25

Other than the title of the document, a self-evaluation form should be identical to the supervisor evaluation form.

Question 26

Employees sometimes bring up issues in an appraisal interview that were unexpected by the supervisor.

Question 27

The supervisor should use the appraisal meeting to formally praise the employee for past or current good performance and to help the employee develop better performance in the future.

Question 28

Part of the "coaching" aspect of supervision prepares employees to take on greater responsibilities on the job.

Question 29

Performance appraisal software can weight each factor for a given job according to its importance to the employee's job.

Question 30

If employees sign their performance appraisal forms it means that they agree with the ratings they have received.

Question 31

Every appraisal meeting must include discussions about plans for improvement and possible opportunities for the employee's future with the organization.

Question 32

Only sections of the performance appraisal form that relate to the employee's job should be evaluated.

Question 33

Supervisors tend to give higher ratings than employees deserve because they want the employees to receive the highest pay increases possible.

Question 34

Most employees don't care how they are doing, but supervisors are required by the Human Resource Department to conduct performance evaluations.

Question 35

Performance standards are the job-related requirements by which an employee's performance will be evaluated.

Question 36

Most performance appraisal forms include factors that serve as criteria for measuring job performance, skills, knowledge, and abilities.

Question 37

Many organizations have an audit or review process to review supervisors' appraisal process.

Question 38

Supervisors should complete the performance evaluation the day before the appraisal meeting so they have an opportunity to review it and make changes if necessary.

Question 39

The supervisor must be prepared to document ratings by citing specific examples of good or bad performance.

Question 40

When it comes to improving employee performance, there is no substitute for daily feedback.

Question 41

Piecework plans are individual incentive plans keyed to achieving performance goals.

Question 42

Too many supervisors automatically recommend the normal wage increase for all employees, regardless of their job performance.

Question 43

All employees desire promotions.

Question 44

Internal promotions tend to increase morale in the workplace.

Question 45

Unless forced to consider seniority by a union contract, most supervisors these days base promotions strictly on ability.

Question 46

In order to ensure the necessary work is completed, the supervisor should do all of the following EXCEPT:

A) Monitor performance regularly.
B) Provide support, guidance, and direction.
C) Do the work personally.
D) Provide feedback and controls.

Question 47

An effective compensation program should be designed to attract, retain, and motivate employees.

Question 48

Merit is the quality of an employee's job performance; ability is the employee's potential to perform the higher-level tasks.

Question 49

Performance appraisal can raise many organizational challenges. Of the situations listed below, identify the least complicated or most "normal."

A) The employee works for several supervisors due to a variable work-shift schedule.
B) The employee is one of seven employees reporting directly to the supervisor.
C) The company has a matrix organizational structure.
D) The company has implemented the self-managed work-team concept.

Question 50

A formal performance appraisal should be conducted by:

A) The employee's immediate supervisor.
B) The head of the employee's department.
C) The director of human resources.
D) The company CEO.

Question 51

Often times employees will self-select another employee who is perceived to be one of the best and learn from that person.

Question 52

Skill-based pay rewards are based on improvements in performance.

Question 53

Employee satisfaction and performance increase when there are opportunities for advancement.

Question 54

Gain-sharing plans are group incentive awards.

Question 55

Supervisors are responsible for determining the relative worth of jobs within their departments.

Question 56

Effective supervisors should provide their employees with informal feedback on performance:

A) daily.
B) weekly.
C) a few times every month.
D) at least once a year.

Question 57

Promotion by seniority is the best method to use when considering who should be given the opportunity to "move up" within an organization.

Question 58

Effective supervisors recognize that ongoing employee skill development is critical to the organization's success.

Question 59

Bringing a new employee into a department may be desirable because the person brings different ideas and fresh perspectives.

Question 60

Promoting from within is always a wise move.

Question 61

Self-evaluations:

A) Have generally been shown to be a waste of time because employees usually rank their performance the same as their supervisors.
B) Are usually considered more important in the appraisal process than supervisor's evaluations.
C) Should be close to the supervisor's ratings if the supervisor has provided ongoing feedback.
D) Should be based on entirely different standards than the supervisor's evaluations.

Question 62

In a 360 degree evaluation, all of the following people have input into the process, EXCEPT:

A) Vendors.
B) Friends.
C) Peers.
D) Customers.

Question 63

Which of the following is the PRIMARY purpose of an appraisal meeting?

A) Explaining to the employee behavior that needs to be corrected and improved.
B) Helping the employee develop good future performance.
C) Letting the employee know how he or she is doing.
D) Discussing the amount of the employee's annual raise.

Question 64

All of the following are factors typically evaluated in a performance appraisal EXCEPT:

A) Seniority.
B) Timeliness of input.
C) Aptitude.
D) Appearance.

Question 65

During a performance appraisal, the supervisor of an employee with substandard work performance needs to:

A) Assign the employee new job responsibilities.
B) Transfer the employee to another department.
C) Communicate what needs to be done in order to improve.
D) Terminate the employee.

Question 66

For an employee who is new to the organization, the supervisor should:

A) Provide the new hire with autonomy.
B) Evaluate the new hire's performance periodically.
C) Watch closely to correct all mistakes as soon as possible.
D) Both b and c

Question 67

Which of the following is a problem with appraisal forms most organizations experience?

A) Not all raters agree on the meaning of such terms as exceptional, very good, satisfactory, fair, and unsatisfactory.
B) Some supervisors are more severe than others.
C) Some supervisors are overly generous or lenient.
D) All of these answers.

Question 68

Formal performance appraisal systems:

A) Rarely help supervisors identify areas in which employees need improvement.
B) Can provide clues about a supervisor's own performance, as well as employees' performance.
C) Should never be used in connection with demotions or terminations of employees.
D) Are not as useful in motivating employees as the occasional "pat on the back" that all employees need and deserve.

Question 69

Which of the following is True about performance appraisals?

A) They are always associated with promotions.
B) They inform employees about how they are doing in terms of performing their jobs.
C) The should be conducted once a month.
D) They are never used for employees who have been on the job for less than six months.

Question 70

Which of the following statements about supervisory coaching is NOT True?

A) Coaching does not result in instantaneous improvement.
B) Not all employees can or should be coached in the exact same way.
C) Coaching can be used to help superior employees prepare for greater responsibility.
D) Only the average employees benefit from coaching.

Question 71

Which of the following statements about the use of performance appraisal forms is True?

A) The majority of employees are overly critical of their own performance.
B) The use of the same form by all supervisors assists the completion of the form and a comparison of the raters.
C) Computerized performance appraisal systems are less desirable than written appraisals because they cannot be customized.
D) Appraisal forms that require the supervisor to fill in the employee's achievements are the easiest and least time-consuming to complete.

Question 72

Peer evaluations are used because:

A) Supervisors are too busy.
B) Peers have a close working relationship with the individual.
C) Peers feel more valued as employees when they have the opportunity to participate in management activities.
D) All of the above.

Question 73

Frequent feedback throughout the year from the supervisor to employees:

A) Becomes less and less necessary the longer an employee has been on the job.
B) Makes it easier for employees to ignore performance standards.
C) Is usually considered an annoyance by most employees.
D) Rewards good performance and fosters improvement.

Question 74

Which employees benefit the most from coaching?

A) Substandard performers
B) Average performers
C) Superstars
D) All of the above benefit equally

Question 75

Appraisal meetings should be held:

A) Shortly after the performance rating form has been completed.
B) Without giving employees any time to prepare for the meeting.
C) About three months after the performance rating form has been completed.
D) In a departmental meeting so other employees can comment on what is being discussed.

Question 76

Most employees want to:

A) Improve or advance.
B) Remain securely in their current job until retirement.
C) Be demoted.
D) None of the above.

Question 77

The job-related requirements used to evaluate an employee are called:

A) central tendencies.
B) halo effects.
C) appraisal standards.
D) performance standards.

Question 78

Which of the following is a misuse of a performance appraisal system?

A) Using it as a motivational tool.
B) Using it to determine job assignments.
C) Using it to decide which employees should receive special training.
D) Using it as a disciplinary device.

Question 79

Which of the following is NOT a practical suggestion for improving employee performance?

A) Letting people know what is expected of them.
B) Telling employees to "shape up" or "ship out."
C) Finding out what can be done to help the employee.
D) Observing employee performance.

Question 80

A supervisor should make sure that employees understand that:

A) The standards of performance vary depending on employee seniority.
B) They have the opportunity to ask questions of the supervisor during the evaluation meeting.
C) Appraisals are based upon the supervisor's perception of the employees' behavior.
D) They must ultimately agree with the supervisor's judgment about their performance.