Performance Management and Appraisal Discussion Questions 9 Chapter 9-1

What is the purpose of a performance appraisal? Chapter 6-2 Question – 1:

Answer - 1: The purpose of a performance appraisal is to provide employees with feedback on how they are doing, as well as give them an opportunity to give feedback. Chapter 4-3

4–4 Explain what the SMART acronym tells us about goal setting. Question – 2:

Answer - 2: SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, and timely. Goals should be specific and the desired result should be clearly stated. The goals should be measurable and answer the question “how much.” The goals should be attainable and not too difficult or too easy. The goals should be relevant and clearly derive from what the manager and the company want to achieve. The goals should be timely and reflect deadlines and milestones. Chapter 4-5

4–6 What is a critical incident, and how can it help improve performance? Question – 3:

Answer - 3: These are negative or positive examples of an employee’s work-related behaviour that can be used to aid discussion of past performance. It can help improve performance by focussing on incidents throughout the year (instead of just the most recent) which can be used to explain performance ratings at appraisals. Chapter 4-7

4–8 Explain management by objectives, and suggest some benefits and drawbacks of this process. Question – 4:

Answer - 4: Management by objectives involves the setting up of a company-wide goal-setting and appraisal programme. Managers set specific measurable and relevant goals with each employee, and then periodically discuss the latter’s progress toward these goals. However, it is not suitable for all companies. It would be appropriate for a knowledge-based company where roles involve a high level of empowerment rather than a high level of supervision. In this situation it could encourage teams to manage themselves and therefore promote creativity and innovation. The results orientated nature of MBO could also be useful to manage the performance of senior managers. Chapter 4-9

4–10 Identify and explain the problems in performance ratings. Question – 5:

Answer - 5: Unclear standards: A rating scale that uses definitions like creativity and quality can be open to interpretation. Managers can also have different ideas about what constitutes “good”, “satisfactory” or “excellent” performance. Halo effect: A manager’s impression of the personality of an employee can influence their judgment of their work abilities. Central tendency: There can be a tendency to rate the majority of employees as average or satisfactory. Chapter 4-11

Answer - 5: Leniency or strictness: Conversely some managers rate employees either high or low. Recency effect: Recent achievements by an employee can impress managers more than performance over the year as a whole. Bias – the tendency to allow individual differences such as age, race, and sex to affect the appraisal ratings employees receive, is a problem. Chapter 4-12