Question 1

What have unions traditionally stressed as the basis for promotions and pay increases?
A) productivity
B) performance
C) teamwork
D) seniority

Accepted Answer

D) The labor union is another external factor that might affect a firm's appraisal process. Unions have traditionally stressed seniority as the basis for promotions and pay increases.

Question 2

What is the final step in the appraisal process?
A) reviewing the appraisal with the employee
B) examining the work performance of the employee
C) appraising the work performance of the employee
D) communicating performance criteria to the employee

Accepted Answer

A) The starting point for the PA process is identifying specific performance goals. Then the manager communicates performance criteria to the employee before examining and appraising job performance. At the end of the appraisal period, the appraiser and the employee together review work performance and evaluate it against established performance standards.

Question 3

Sam is employed as an account associate at a publishing firm. Which of the following would most likely help Sam with career planning and development?
A) applicant tracking systems
B) compensation programs
C) performance appraisals
D) work sample tests

Accepted Answer

C) Performance appraisal data is essential in assessing an employee's strengths and weaknesses and in determining the person's potential. Managers may use such information to counsel subordinates and assist them in developing and implementing their career plans.

Question 4

Which of the following is LEAST likely to improve employee engagement?
A) treating workers with trust and respect
B) encouraging workers to be innovative
C) identifying workers for job enlargement
D) assigning workers to jobs that utilize their skills

Accepted Answer

C) Supervisors can positively affect engagement by such actions as assigning workers to jobs that utilize their skills and abilities, encouraging them to innovate, and treating them with trust and respect. Job enlargement involves increasing the number of tasks a worker performs, which is less likely to engage them.

Question 5

Performance appraisals are used for all of the following purposes EXCEPT ________.
A) identifying training needs
B) defending personnel decisions
C) implementing selection tests
D) providing employee feedback

Accepted Answer

C) Performance appraisals are used to provide feedback, encourage performance improvement, make valid decisions, justify terminations, identify training and development needs, and defend personnel decisions. PAs could be used to validate selection tests but not necessarily for implementing them.

Question 6

Which term refers to a goal-oriented process directed toward ensuring that organizational processes are in place to maximize productivity of employees, teams, and the organization?
A) performance appraisal
B) strategic HR planning
C) performance management
D) development analysis

Accepted Answer

C) Performance management (PM) is a goal-oriented process directed toward ensuring that organizational processes are in place to maximize the productivity of employees, teams, and ultimately, the organization. It is a major player in accomplishing organizational strategy in that it involves measuring and improving the value of the workforce.

Question 7

What is the most common cause for the failure of performance appraisal systems?
A) unclear goals and expectations
B) irrelevant development plans
C) time consuming for managers
D) high implementation costs

Accepted Answer

A) The starting point for the PA process is identifying specific performance goals. An appraisal system probably cannot effectively serve every desired purpose, so management should select the specific goals it believes to be most important and realistically achievable. Too many PA systems fail because management expects too much from one method and does not determine specifically what it wants the system to accomplish.

Question 8

With performance management, a close relationship exists between performance and ________.
A) finances
B) competition
C) HR selection
D) incentive goals

Accepted Answer

D) PM includes incentive goals and the corresponding incentive values so that the relationship can be clearly understood and communicated. There is a close relationship between incentives and performance.

Question 9

Which term refers to the level of commitment that workers make to an employer?
A) organizational fit
B) job recognition
C) employee engagement
D) employee sensitivity

Accepted Answer

C) Employee engagement refers to the level of commitment workers make to their employer, seen in their willingness to stay at the firm and to go beyond the call of duty. Engaged workers want to continue working for their employer; they are willing to exert extra energy at work.

Question 10

Which external factor would most likely be opposed to performance appraisal systems?
A) state and federal governments
B) professional organizations
C) trade associations
D) labor unions

Accepted Answer

D) The labor union is another external factor that might affect a firm's appraisal process. Unions have traditionally stressed seniority as the basis for promotions and pay increases. They may vigorously oppose the use of a management-designed performance appraisal system used for these purposes.

Question 11

Which of the following is a common appraisal criteria?
A) traits
B) behaviors
C) competencies
D) all of the above

Accepted Answer

D) Management must carefully select performance criteria as it pertains to achieving corporate goals. The most common appraisal criteria are traits, behaviors, and competencies.

Question 12

In which case did the federal district court judge state, "There is sufficient circumstantial evidence to indicate that age bias and age based policies appear throughout the performance rating process to the detriment of the protected age group"?
A) Massachusetts v Hunt
B) Leonel v American Airlines
C) Mistretta v Sandia Corporation
D) Griggs v Duke Power Company

Accepted Answer

C) Legislation requires that appraisal systems be nondiscriminatory. In the case of Mistretta v Sandia Corporation, a federal district court judge ruled against the company, stating,"There is sufficient circumstantial evidence to indicate that age bias and age based policies appear throughout the performance rating process to the detriment of the protected age group."

Question 13

Employee engagement is an important issue for HR because it ________.
A) alters perceptions
B) increases selection ratios
C) slows the recruiting process
D) affects organizational performance

Accepted Answer

D) Engaged workers want to continue working for their employer; they are willing to exert extra energy at work, which improves organizational performance. A Gallup study found that those organizations in the top quartile on engagement had 18 percent higher productivity, 16 percent higher profitability and 49 percent fewer safety incidents compared with those in the bottom quartile on engagement. There is a clear link between engagement and profitability.

Question 14

Which Supreme Court case supported validation requirements for performance appraisals?
A) Massachusetts v Hunt
B) Albemarle Paper v Moody
C) California Regents v Bakke
D) Griggs v Duke Power Company

Accepted Answer

B) The Albemarle Paper v Moody case supported validation requirements for performance appraisals, as well as for selection tests. Organizations should avoid using any appraisal method that results in a disproportionately negative impact on a protected group.

Question 15

A formal system of review and evaluation of an individual or team task performance is referred to as ________.
A) performance appraisal
B) strategic planning
C) performance management
D) succession planning

Accepted Answer

A) Performance appraisal (PA) is a formal system of review and evaluation of individual or team task performance. PA is especially critical to the success of performance management, which is a goal-oriented process directed toward ensuring that organizational processes are in place to maximize the productivity of employees, teams, and the organization.

Question 16

What is the first step of the performance appraisal process?
A) establishing employee job expectations
B) identifying specific performance goals
C) conducting a thorough job analysis
D) evaluating work performance

Accepted Answer

B) The starting point for the PA process is identifying specific performance goals. An appraisal system probably cannot effectively serve every desired purpose, so management should select the specific goals it believes to be most important and realistically achievable. Later in the process an employee's performance is evaluated.

Question 17

With performance management, the effort of every worker should be directed toward ________.
A) improving compensation awareness
B) analyzing corporate understanding
C) enhancing overall organizational fit
D) achieving strategic goals

Accepted Answer

D) Every person in the organization is a part of the PM system. Each part of the system, such as training, appraisal, and rewards, is integrated and linked for the purpose of continuous organizational effectiveness. With PM, the effort of each and every worker should be directed toward achieving strategic goals.

Question 18

How are performance appraisals used for recruitment and selection?
A) developing a promotional strategy
B) predicting applicant job performance
C) initiating applicant salary negotiations
D) determining training and development needs

Accepted Answer

B) Performance evaluation ratings may be helpful in predicting the performance of job applicants. For example, it may be determined that a firm's successful employees (identified through performance evaluations) exhibit certain behaviors when performing key tasks. These data may then provide benchmarks for evaluating applicant responses obtained through behavioral interviews. PAs are helpful for assessing training needs of current employees rather than of applicants.

Question 19

Which of the following outcomes makes the strongest case for maintaining a traditional performance appraisal system?
A) engaging employees
B) empowering employees
C) documenting poor performance
D) promoting teamwork

Accepted Answer

C) Today, firms stress employee empowerment and engagement. They also want employees to work in teams to accomplish their duties. Teams, not managers, are often making the decisions, which runs counter to the traditional appraisal system. There are those who believe that a firm cannot have an empowered and engaged workforce and still use a traditional performance appraisal system. However, the legal department frequently encourages management to use the appraisal system to document poor performance.

Question 20

Which of the following is a problem associated with performance appraisals?
A) Technical skills are not sufficiently assessed.
B) Performance does not indicate training needs.
C) Line managers are unfamiliar with subordinates.
D) Past performance does not necessarily indicate future potential.

Accepted Answer

D) Although past behaviors may be a good predictor of future behaviors in some jobs, an employee's past performance may not accurately indicate future performance in other jobs. Most PAs stress technical skills and ignore other equally important skills. PAs are useful indicators of training needs.

Quiz 8: Performance Management and Appraisal

What have unions traditionally stressed as the basis for promotions and pay increases?

What is the final step in the appraisal process?

Sam is employed as an account associate at a publishing firm. Which of the following would most likely help Sam with career planning and development?

Which of the following is LEAST likely to improve employee engagement?

Performance appraisals are used for all of the following purposes EXCEPT ________.

Which term refers to a goal-oriented process directed toward ensuring that organizational processes are in place to maximize productivity of employees, teams, and the organization?

What is the most common cause for the failure of performance appraisal systems?

With performance management, a close relationship exists between performance and ________.

Which term refers to the level of commitment that workers make to an employer?

Which external factor would most likely be opposed to performance appraisal systems?

Which of the following is a common appraisal criteria?

In which case did the federal district court judge state, "There is sufficient circumstantial evidence to indicate that age bias and age based policies appear throughout the performance rating process to the detriment of the protected age group"?

Employee engagement is an important issue for HR because it ________.

Which Supreme Court case supported validation requirements for performance appraisals?

A formal system of review and evaluation of an individual or team task performance is referred to as ________.

What is the first step of the performance appraisal process?

With performance management, the effort of every worker should be directed toward ________.

How are performance appraisals used for recruitment and selection?

Which of the following outcomes makes the strongest case for maintaining a traditional performance appraisal system?

Which of the following is a problem associated with performance appraisals?