Performance Appraisal
Performance Appraisal
Performance Appraisal
Learning Objectives
After you have read this chapter, you should be able to:
Identify the components of performance management systems. Distinguish between performance management and performance appraisal, and between job criteria and performance standards. Explain the administrative and developmental uses of performance appraisal. Describe the advantages and disadvantages of multisource (360) appraisals. Discuss the importance of training managers and employees about performance appraisal, and give examples of several rater errors. Identify several concerns about appraisal feedback and ways to make it more effective.
Provide information to employees about their performance. Clarify organizational performance expectations. Identify the development steps that are needed to enhance employee performance. Document performance for personnel actions.
Performance Appraisal
The process of evaluating how well employees perform their jobs and then communicating that information to the employees.
Job Criteria
Important elements in a given job
Deficiency
Contamination
Performance Criteria
Overemphasis
Performance Standards
Performance Standards
Expected levels of performance
Systematic Appraisal
Disadvantages
Negative reactions by managers to employee ratings Subordinates fear of reprisals may inhibit them from giving realistic (negative) ratings Ratings are useful only for self-improvement purposes
Team/Peer Rating
Advantages
Helps improve the performance of lower-rated individuals Peers have opportunity to observe other peers. Peer appraisals focus on individual contributions to teamwork and team performance.
Disadvantages
Can negatively affect working relationships. Can create difficulties for managers in determining individual performance. Organizational use of individual performance appraisals can hinder the development of teamwork
Multisource Appraisal
Drawbacks
Restrictions on the range of possible rater responses Differences in the interpretations of the meanings of scale items and scale ranges by raters Poorly designed scales that encourage rater errors Rating form deficiencies limit effectiveness of the appraisal
Behavioral/Objective Methods
Behavioral Rating Approach
Assesses employees behaviors instead of other characteristics Consists of a series of scales created by:
Identifying important job dimensions Creating statements describing a range of desired and undesirable behaviors (anchors)
Drawbacks
Interpretation of item meanings by raters Weighting creates problems in appraisal interpretation Assignment of weights to items by persons other than the raters
Comparative Methods
Ranking
A listing of all employees from highest to lowest in performance. Drawbacks
Does not show size of differences in performance between employees Implies that lowest-ranked employees are unsatisfactory performers. Becomes an unwieldy process if the group to be ranked is large.
Assumes a normal distribution of performance. Resistance by managers to placing individuals in the lowest or highest groups. Providing explanation for placement in a higher or lower grouping can be difficult. Is not readily applicable to small groups of employees.
Narrative Methods
Critical Incident
Manager keeps a written record of highly favorable and unfavorable employee actions. Drawbacks
Variations in how managers define a critical incident Time involved in documenting employee actions Most employee actions are not observed and may become different if observed Employee concerns about managers black books
Depends on the managers writing skills and their ability to express themselves.
Objective Setting
Feedback as a System
Evaluation of Data
Data
Feedback System