Deck 8: Performance Management

Question 1

A valid performance appraisal evaluates behaviours that are critical to job success.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

One of the objectives of a performance management system is to include measures of employee satisfaction.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

The major problem with peer appraisals is the concern that peers have about potential retribution if their responses are identified.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Human resource specialists should arbitrary set performance standards.

Question 5

Sound performance management programs make a clear connection between employee goals and incentives.

Question 6

Indirect subjective performance measures tend to minimize the personal biases of the evaluator.

Question 7

Business strategy, performance management, and compensation systems should be carefully linked.

Question 8

Performance appraisals can indicate to employees where they are not meeting acceptable performance standards.

Question 9

Human resource specialists prefer direct subjective measures of performance.

Question 10

Performance appraisals can alert the human resource department to problems in staffing procedures.

Question 11

Objective performance measures are usually less accurate than subjective measures.

Question 12

Whether performance measures are objective or subjective is key to determining whether they will be useful.

Question 13

Performance management systems aim to transform organizational objectives into measurable outcomes.

Question 14

Performance appraisals can be used for making decisions about compensation.

Question 15

The HR department usually develops performance appraisals for employees in all departments to ensure uniformity.

Question 16

Performance standards are the benchmarks against which performance is measured.

Question 17

The performance appraisal process and identifying valid performance measurements are the two elements that make up performance management systems.

Question 18

An effective performance management system requires the involvement of industry experts to determine the indicators of performance.

Question 19

Most human resource departments dislike using self-appraisals because they offer little job-related feedback.

Question 20

Performance measures are the benchmarks against which performance is measured.

Question 21

Conducting a thorough job analysis contributes to the legal defensibility of performance appraisals.

Question 22

Evaluator domination is a performance evaluation bias that occurs during the performance appraisal process.

Question 23

Frame-of-reference training aims to improve raters' observation techniques and categorization skills.

Question 24

Improvements to employee performance are significantly higher when supervisors set general as opposed to specific goals.

Question 25

Behaviourally anchored rating scales attempt to reduce the biases of subjective performance measures by placing specific examples of effective and ineffective performance along a scale.

Question 26

The management-by-objectives approach to performance appraisal is future-oriented.

Question 27

The behaviourally anchored rating scales method of appraisal requires job analysts to group examples of effective and ineffective behaviour into performance-related categories.

Question 28

The tell-and-listen approach to an employee appraisal interview reviews the employee's performance and tries to convince the employee to perform better.

Question 29

During an evaluation interview, negative comments should focus on an employee's personality as opposed to their job performance.

Question 30

The halo effect is a rater bias that occurs when an evaluator tends to think highly of all employees and evaluates all employees as "satisfactory" or "average" regardless of their actual performance

Question 31

Performance appraisal forms serve little legal purpose beyond providing proof that employee evaluation is consistent.

Question 32

The problem-solving approach to an employee evaluation interview allows the employee to explain reasons, excuses, and defensive feelings about why performance is deficient.

Question 33

Performance appraisals that enforce consequences lose their effectiveness quite quickly.

Question 34

Effective performance appraisals can make up for poor staffing or job design procedures.

Question 35

The length of time that employers must allot to employees to improve their performance is standardized.

Question 36

A good method for overcoming the biases of leniency, strictness, and central tendency in performance appraisal is the forced distributions method.

Question 37

Comparative performance evaluation methods include the ranking method and forced distributions.

Question 38

The 360-degree performance appraisal combines performance evaluations made by the employee as well as the employee's peers, supervisors, and subordinates.

Question 39

The leniency bias occurs when raters are consistently too easy in evaluating employee performance.

Question 40

Behaviourally anchored rating scales and the ranking method are both future-oriented performance evaluation approaches.

Question 41

Talent management involves identifying and developing specific individuals within the organization who have high potential.

Question 42

When a rating scale is used to evaluate performance, who usually completes the form?

A) the immediate supervisor
B) an internal HR specialist
C) an external consultant
D) subordinates
E) peers

Question 43

If an evaluator is providing an employee with feedback about their past performance or future potential using "the tell and sell" approach, what is the evaluator engaging in?

A) talent management
B) setting performance standards
C) an evaluation interview
D) a 360-degree performance appraisal
E) establishing a performance improvement plan

Question 44

Which of the following is the process of identifying, measuring, and developing individual and team performance to align performance with an organization's strategic goals?

A) performance appraisal
B) employee development
C) performance management
D) talent management
E) career planning

Question 45

In order to be effective, performance standards must:

A) be set arbitrarily
B) be simple
C) avoid discrimination
D) reflect the desired results of each job
E) be highly reliable

Question 46

A future-oriented performance appraisal allows the human resource department to provide feedback to the employees as to the status of their career progression.

Question 47

Which of the following appraisal approaches is future-oriented?

A) management-by-objectives
B) performance tests
C) behavioural observation scale
D) behaviourally anchored rating scales
E) observations

Question 48

The 360-degree performance appraisal is most appropriate for which of the following purposes?

A) employee development
B) administrative
C) career planning
D) determining pay raises
E) making decisions about promotions

Question 49

The management-by-objectives performance evaluation approach is based upon which of the following premises?

A) when management sets goals for employees, goals are more likely to be met
B) achieving objectives will produce satisfied employees
C) employees are more motivated to achieve goals when they are jointly agreed upon by employees and supervisors
D) there is little connection between performance and objectives
E) the best approach is to have employee goals cascade into manager goals

Question 50

A high number of poor performers within an organization could indicate errors elsewhere in the human resource management function.

Question 51

Which of the following describes subjective performance measures?

A) ratings that are verifiable by others
B) ratings based on opinion or perception
C) ratings based on having witnessed the performance
D) ratings based on substitutes for actual performance
E) ratings that are usually quantitative

Question 52

The tendency for managers to evaluate employees as "average" as opposed to "effective" or "ineffective" describes which of the following rating errors?

A) recency effect
B) leniency bias
C) central tendency bias
D) strictness bias
E) halo effect

Question 53

What is performance appraisal being used for when performance evaluations give stronger performers pay raises and transfers weaker performers?

A) career planning
B) test validation
C) performance improvement
D) employee development
E) administrative tasks

Question 54

Rater guidelines for conducting effective performance evaluation interviews include which of the following?

A) emphasize negative aspects
B) make general as opposed to specific criticisms
C) provide delayed positive feedback
D) argue with the person being evaluated if needed
E) identify specific performance improvement actions that can be taken

Question 55

Which of the following is a rater bias in personnel evaluation?

A) central tendency bias
B) forced distribution bias
C) first impression bias
D) domination bias
E) expertise bias

Question 56

To create an accurate picture of an individual's job performance, the performance appraisal system needs to be:

A) reliable
B) based on indirect observations
C) subjective
D) valid
E) complex

Question 57

Which of the following are characteristics of an effective performance appraisal process?

A) a complex job-related system
B) a system that sets performance standards arbitrarily
C) a system that measures criteria related to employee personality
D) a reliable system
E) a system using performance measures that report on behaviour inconsistently

Question 58

Comparative evaluation methods for performance appraisals can include:

A) behaviour observation scale
B) forced distributions
C) performance tests
D) management by objectives
E) behaviourally anchored rating scales

Question 59

Performance appraisal is the process by which organizations:

A) select the best applicants to hire
B) review applications for employment
C) evaluate employee job performance over time
D) determine individual health and safety benefits
E) attempt to decertify unions

Question 60

Which of the following needs to be considered after the purpose of a performance appraisal system has been established and the system has been linked to organizational objectives?

A) transforming organizational objectives into measurable outcomes
B) setting performance targets
C) establishing a forward-looking strategic partnership between management and employees
D) including measures of employee satisfaction
E) using a balanced scorecard to assess the performance of the overall organization

Question 61

Which of the following characteristics is associated with the "linking up" approach to aligning organizational and individual goals?

A) it produces less meaningful goals than the cascading approach
B) goals risk being distorted as they move through the chain
C) it is time-consuming to set up
D) it allows for a direct line of sight between the individual goals and the organization's objectives
E) it ensures that goals at the unit and team levels cascade into organizational goals

Question 62

The design of a performance appraisal process will depend on which of the following?

A) how much administrative work HR can handle
B) employees' career plans
C) the purpose of the performance appraisal system
D) what the organization expects in terms of performance
E) which performance raters need training

Question 63

Which of the performance evaluation methods uses critical incidents but measures the frequency of those behaviours occurring with scales ranging from high to low?

A) the rating scale method
B) the forced distribution method
C) the ranking method
D) the behaviourally anchored rating scale
E) the behaviour observation scale

Question 64

Which of the following characteristics describes good performance standards?

A) they are general
B) they are set by management
C) they are complex to measure
D) they are achievable
E) they exceed realistic expectations

Question 65

Which of the following is occurring when raters witness employees' performance?

A) indirect observation
B) objective performance measurement
C) subjective performance measurement
D) direct observation
E) less accurate performance measurement

Question 66

If a rater's performance ratings are generally lower for female employees than they are for male employees, the rater is likely committing which rater error?

A) halo effect
B) strictness
C) leniency
D) personal prejudice
E) contrast error

Question 67

Which of the following is a purpose of conducting performance appraisals?

A) to adapt to labour market realities
B) to inform employee career development plans
C) to recognize organizational constraints
D) to get a personal impression of employees
E) to be used as criteria for test reliability

Question 68

Which of the following is an objective that organizations concerned with running an efficient and effective performance management system will try to achieve?

A) justify HR decisions using documentation of performance
B) provide instruments for measuring the success of an organization.
C) encourage job re-design
D) transform organizational objectives into vague outcomes
E) make a connection between employee objectives and their career goals

Question 69

Performance management systems should be:

A) simple and practical
B) complex and practical
C) proactive and complex
D) simple and proactive
E) complicated and reactive

Question 70

A performance review session where a supervisor allows an employee to explain reasons, excuses, and defensive feelings about their performance is an example of which approach to providing performance feedback?

A) the tell-and-sell approach
B) the problem-solving approach
C) the tell-and-listen approach
D) the positive approach
E) the subjective approach

Question 71

Which of the following is an employee evaluation method that combines self, peer, supervisor, and subordinate performance evaluations?

A) the critical incident method
B) the 360-degree performance appraisal
C) the management-by-objectives approach
D) the performance tests and observations method
E) the behaviour observation scale

Question 72

Maintaining a sound performance management program requires involvement from who when determining the indicators of performance?

A) managers
B) supervisors
C) internal consultants
D) employees
E) industry experts

Question 73

Which of the following is a non-comparative performance evaluation method?

A) the rating scale method
B) the ranking method
C) job analysis
D) the forced distribution method
E) using bell curves

Question 74

Which of the following are key benchmarks for performance appraisal systems?

A) working conditions
B) performance standards
C) a competency matrix
D) assessment centres
E) biodata

Question 75

Which of the following is a noncomparative evaluation method that places descriptions of effective and ineffective performance along the scale?

A) behaviourally anchored rating scales
B) forced distribution
C) ranking method
D) observation
E) performance tests

Question 76

Which performance appraisal method requires the rater to provide a subjective evaluation of an individual's performance?

A) behaviour observation scale
B) rating scale
C) performance tests
D) behaviourally anchored rating scales
E) ranking method

Question 77

A completed performance appraisal form:

A) must be kept in the employee's files for a maximum of one year
B) is a legal document that proves job-related criteria were valid and used consistently
C) is an internal document that has no importance outside of the organization itself
D) must be submitted to the provincial labour relations board
E) outlines the standardized time frame allowed for performance improvement

Question 78

When a supervisor's personal opinion of an employee sways the supervisor's measurement of the employee's performance, the supervisor is committing which rater error?

A) halo effect
B) error of central tendency
C) leniency bias
D) contrast error
E) personal prejudice

Question 79

Which of the following is a serious problem with all subjective measures of employee evaluation?

A) they are subject to rater bias
B) they are quantitative
C) they are based on substitutes for actual performance
D) they are time-consuming
E) they are not an option for all jobs

Question 80

Which of the following steps for creating a performance improvement plan involves documenting the employee's current performance and areas for improvement?

A) develop an action plan
B) getting started
C) review the performance improvement plan
D) follow up
E) meet with the employee