Question 1

A supervisor working for a firm that uses performance management should most likely expect to ________.
A)conduct annual performance appraisals
B)compare team goals to industry standards
C)re-evaluate how employees accomplish tasks
D)use paper forms to handle performance appraisals

Accepted Answer

C) Performance management means continuously re-evaluating and (if need be) modifying how the employee and team get their work done.Depending on the issue,this may mean additional training,changing work procedures,or instituting new incentive plans,for in-stance.Performance management also involves continuous rather than annual performance appraisals,which are managed through computerized systems.

Question 2

The continuous process of identifying,measuring,and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning their performance with the organization's goals is known as ________.
A)strategic management
B)performance analysis
C)performance appraisal
D)performance management

Accepted Answer

D) Performance management is the continuous process of identifying,measuring,and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning their performance with the organization's goals.

Question 3

Supervisors at Sun Microsystems use the forced distribution method to evaluate performance,so they must ensure that the proportions in each category are symmetrical.

Accepted Answer

Proportions in each category do not need to be symmetrical with the forced distribution method of performance evaluation.

Question 4

In order to ensure that performance goals are challenging and relevant,Matthew,a marketing manager,should independently set goals for his subordinates because participatively set goals usually produce lower job performance.

Accepted Answer

Goals should be challenging but doable,and it is more effective for supervisors and employees to work together at setting goals.Participatively set goals usually produce higher performance.

Question 5

Which component of performance management refers to communicating a firm's higher-level goals throughout the organization and then translating them into departmental and individual goals?
A)goal alignment
B)performance monitoring
C)direction sharing
D)developmental support

Accepted Answer

C) Direction sharing means communicating the company's higher-level goals (including its vision,mission,and strategy) throughout the company and then translating these into doable departmental,team,and individual goals.Coaching and developmental support,goal alignment,and performance monitoring are other elements of performance management.

Question 6

When actual job duties are appraised,the idea is to focus on the extent to which the employee exhibits the competencies that the employer values and that are essential for the job.

Accepted Answer

When the job's actual duties are appraised,a supervisor assesses how well the employee did in exercising each duty.Competency-based appraisals focus on the extent to which the employee exhibits the competencies essential for the job.

Question 7

A performance appraisal is based on the assumption that an employee understood what his or her performance standards were prior to the appraisal.

Accepted Answer

The term "appraisal" assumes that the employees knew what their performance standards were and that they received feedback required to remove performance deficiencies.

Question 8

Which term refers to the alignment of employee goals with departmental and company goals?
A)performance management
B)employee segmentation
C)strategic congruence
D)direction sharing

Accepted Answer

C) Strategic congruence is central to performance management: each employee's goals must be aligned with departmental and company goals.Direction sharing and segmentation are other aspects of performance management.

Question 9

Supervisors should provide employees with feedback,development,and incentives necessary to help employees eliminate performance deficiencies or to continue to perform well.

Accepted Answer

Performance appraisal always involves setting work standards,assessing the employee's actual performance relative to those standards,and providing feedback to the employee with the aim of motivating him or her to eliminate performance deficiencies or to continue to perform above par.

Question 10

In order to ensure that performance appraisals are effective,Felicia,a line supervisor,should make sure to schedule a feedback session to address each subordinate's performance,progress,and future development plans.

Accepted Answer

An effective appraisal requires a feedback session.Here,you and the subordinate discuss his or her performance and progress,and make plans for any development required.

Question 11

Oshman manufactures small kitchen appliances,such as blenders,toasters,and mixers.The firm has nearly 80,000 employees in 22 countries.Employees receive annual performance appraisals from their supervisors that combine critical incidents with a graphic rating scale.However,the firm's CEO advocates shifting from performance appraisals to performance management in an attempt to make Oshman more competitive and performance driven. Which of the following,if true,best supports the argument to replace Oshman's traditional appraisal methods with the performance management approach?
A)Oshman's competitors in the small appliance industry monitor the performance of their employees through electronic performance monitoring systems.
B)Oshman executives want to align the firm's strategic plan with individual employee goals and development needs.
C)Oshman has experienced problems associated with central tendency and bias, and the firm wants to ensure that appraisals are legally sound.
D)Oshman uses management by objectives as a primary appraisal method and requires supervisors to develop SMART goals.

Accepted Answer

B) Performance management refers to the continuous process of aligning the performance of individuals and teams with an organization's goals.Performance management does not necessarily eliminate problems like central tendency and bias.Instead,the approach focuses on monitoring an employee's performance and making sure it matches the needs of the firm.

Question 12

When conducting an appraisal interview,supervisors should do all of the following EXCEPT ________.
A)ask open-ended questions
B)give specific examples of poor performance
C)write up an action plan with goals and dates
D)compare the person's performance to that of other employees

Accepted Answer

D) When a supervisor conducts an appraisal interview,it is advisable to speak in terms of objective work data with specific examples of poor performance.A supervisor should also ask the employee open-ended questions to encourage conversation and write up an action plan.It is inappropriate to compare a person's performance with another person.

Question 13

Formal performance appraisals have been eliminated by almost all major firms and replaced by daily assessments by peers in addition to extensive training opportunities.

Accepted Answer

Conventional appraisals are still the norm,although many progressive employers,such as Toyota,have essentially eliminated formal appraisals.Appraisals at such firms mainly involve having teammates continuously assessing each other,day-to-day.However,not all employers can or necessarily would benefit from such systems,so formal appraisals remain the most common.

Question 14

Oshman manufactures small kitchen appliances,such as blenders,toasters,and mixers.The firm has nearly 80,000 employees in 22 countries.Employees receive annual performance appraisals from their supervisors that combine critical incidents with a graphic rating scale.However,the firm's CEO advocates shifting from performance appraisals to performance management in an attempt to make Oshman more competitive and performance driven. All of the following questions are relevant to Oshman's decision to replace its traditional appraisal methods with the performance management approach EXCEPT ________.
A)What technology is available to help managers gain immediate access to employee performance data?
B)How would work procedures need to be modified to provide more frequent feedback to employees?
C)How would the firm's mission and vision translate into departmental, team, and individual goals?
D)What procedures are already in place to effectively identify and measure critical incidents?

Accepted Answer

D) Issues related to performance management include the technology used to monitor employee performance,methods for providing feedback,development of goals,and incentives.Identifying critical incidents is an issue related to traditional appraisal methods rather than performance management.

Question 15

When a supervisor must criticize a subordinate in an appraisal interview,it is most important for the supervisor to ________.
A)limit negative feedback to once every year
B)provide specific examples of critical incidents
C)acknowledge the supervisor's personal biases in the situation
D)hold the meeting with other people who can document the situation

Accepted Answer

B) When you must criticize,it should be done privately and should include examples of critical incidents and specific suggestions of what to do and why.Avoid once-a-year "critical broadsides" by giving feedback periodically,so that the formal review contains no surprises.Criticism should be objective and free of personal bias.

Question 16

Job descriptions serve as the primary tool for developing performance standards because they already include specific job goals.

Accepted Answer

Job descriptions are rarely the best tool for developing performance standards.Employers usually write job descriptions not for specific jobs,but for groups of jobs,and the descriptions rarely include specific goals.

Question 17

When an employee's performance is so poor that a written warning is required,the warning should ________.
A)identify the standards by which the employee is judged
B)provide examples of employees who met the standards
C)provide examples of times when the employee met the standards
D)be written by a labor law attorney in accordance with federal guidelines

Accepted Answer

A) Written warnings should identify the employee's standards,make it clear that the employee was aware of the standard,specify any deficiencies relative to the standard,and show the employee had an opportunity to correct his or her performance.

Question 18

Which of the following best depicts how information technology supports performance management?
A)tracking team performance with digital dashboards
B)conducting employee training through WebEx software
C)filing benefits information through the company intranet
D)monitoring market performance with electronic scorecards

Accepted Answer

A) Firms that implement performance management often use IT-supported tools like scorecard software and digital dashboards to continuously display,monitor,and assess each team's and employee's performance.IT is used by firms for other HR purposes,but monitoring employee and team performance is related to PM.

Question 19

The HR department monitors the performance appraisal system,but it is typically not involved in rating employees.

Accepted Answer

The human resources department serves a policy-making and advisory role but does not usually rate the performance of employees.It is the role of the supervisor to conduct a performance appraisal.The human resource team should also be responsible for training supervisors to improve their appraisal skills,for monitoring the appraisal system's effectiveness,and for ensuring that it complies with EEO laws.

Question 20

The forced distribution method is the simplest and most popular technique for appraising performance.

Accepted Answer

The forced distribution method is actually a controversial technique for appraising performance, as it requires ranking employees into specific categories (such as "top performers," "average," and "poor performers") based on a predetermined percentage. This technique can be problematic if the distribution does not accurately reflect the true performance levels of employees or if it creates unfair competition among colleagues. Other performance appraisal methods, such as the 360-degree evaluation or the critical incident method, may be more effective in providing a comprehensive and objective assessment of an employee's performance.

Quiz 9: Performance Management and Appraisal

A supervisor working for a firm that uses performance management should most likely expect to ________.

The continuous process of identifying,measuring,and developing the performance of individuals and teams and aligning their performance with the organization's goals is known as ________.

Supervisors at Sun Microsystems use the forced distribution method to evaluate performance,so they must ensure that the proportions in each category are symmetrical.

In order to ensure that performance goals are challenging and relevant,Matthew,a marketing manager,should independently set goals for his subordinates because participatively set goals usually produce lower job performance.

Which component of performance management refers to communicating a firm's higher-level goals throughout the organization and then translating them into departmental and individual goals?

When actual job duties are appraised,the idea is to focus on the extent to which the employee exhibits the competencies that the employer values and that are essential for the job.

A performance appraisal is based on the assumption that an employee understood what his or her performance standards were prior to the appraisal.

Which term refers to the alignment of employee goals with departmental and company goals?

Supervisors should provide employees with feedback,development,and incentives necessary to help employees eliminate performance deficiencies or to continue to perform well.

In order to ensure that performance appraisals are effective,Felicia,a line supervisor,should make sure to schedule a feedback session to address each subordinate's performance,progress,and future development plans.

When conducting an appraisal interview,supervisors should do all of the following EXCEPT ________.

Formal performance appraisals have been eliminated by almost all major firms and replaced by daily assessments by peers in addition to extensive training opportunities.

When a supervisor must criticize a subordinate in an appraisal interview,it is most important for the supervisor to ________.

Job descriptions serve as the primary tool for developing performance standards because they already include specific job goals.

When an employee's performance is so poor that a written warning is required,the warning should ________.

Which of the following best depicts how information technology supports performance management?

The HR department monitors the performance appraisal system,but it is typically not involved in rating employees.

The forced distribution method is the simplest and most popular technique for appraising performance.