MANA 3320 Lecture 8 Outline of Last Lecture I Assess the need for training II How to create employees readiness for training III Plan an effective training program IV Compare widely used training methods V Implement and evaluate a successful training program Outline of Current Lecture I The three steps in the performance appraisal process II Performance appraisal serves strategic administrative and development purposes III The pros and cons of different performance appraisal approaches methods and the overall recommendation IV Providing performance feedback is an important step in the performance appraisal And it needs to be conducted in an appropriate way to be effective Current Lecture The Three Steps in the Performance Appraisal Process Identification determines what areas of work the manager should be examining when measuring performance Identifies relevant behaviors Identify traits and qualities should be based on job analysis These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor s lecture GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes not as a substitute The first part of the performance appraisal process is identifying what is going to be measured Should be based on what determines effective job performance Should be based on job analysis E g quality quantity and interpersonal skills Measurement is making managerial judgments about how good or bad employee performance was Performance Evaluation Types of Appraisal Methods The first part of the performance appraisal process is identifying what is going to be measured Should be based on what determines effective job performance Should be based on job analysis E g quality quantity and interpersonal skills Management is the overriding goal of any appraisal system Appraisals should be more than a past oriented activity that criticizes or praises workers for their previous performance It must take a future oriented view of what workers can do to achieve their potential in the organization how do you enforce the performance Purposes of Performance Appraisal Strategic Purpose effective performance management helps the organization achieve its business objectives fulfill quota goals etc Administrative Purpose ways in which organizations use the system to provide information for day to day decisions about salary benefits and recognition programs determining salary benefits recognition Developmental Purpose serves as a basis for developing employees knowledge and skills Types of Appraisal Approaches The Comparison Approach Advantages 1 It counteracts the tendency to rate everyone favorably or near the center of the scale 2 Can be easy to use Disadvantages 1 It does not provide any absolute information so managers cannot determine how good or poor employees actually are 2 It can force managers to identify differences among workers where no real difference exists which can cause conflict among workers 3 The basis for the ranking is not clear which makes it difficult for employees to understand and unhelpful for developmental purposes Most HR specialists believe the disadvantages of the comparison approach outweigh its advantages Absolute Rating Approaches Including the trait attribute approach the behavioral approach and the outcome results approach Advantages 1 It allows employees from different work groups to be compared to one another 2 If all employees are excellent workers they all can receive excellent ratings It is viewed as more fair than the relative comparison approach and it helps to avoid causing conflict among workers 3 Because ratings are made on separate dimensions of performance the feedback to the employee can be more specific and helpful Challenges 1 All workers in a group can receive the same evaluation if the supervisor is reluctant to differentiate among workers 2 Different supervisors can have different evaluation standards The Trait Attribute Approach E g the graphic rating scale Advantage Relatively easy to develop and implement Disadvantages 1 It is ambiguous and subjective Definitions of a trait e g dependability conscientiousness can differ dramatically across supervisors 2 It focuses on the person rather than on performance and can therefore make employees defensive 3 It is not very helpful for performance development The Behavioral Approach E g BARS Advantages 1 Standards are unambiguous and observable behaviors 2 More objective and more legally defensible than trait scales 3 It provides employees with specific examples of the types of behaviors to engage in or to avoid It also encourages supervisors to be specific in their performance feedback 4 Employee acceptance is high Disadvantages 1 Developing behavioral scales can be time consuming 2 It does not work as well for complex jobs in which it is difficult to see a link between behavior and results or there is more than one good way to achieve success The Outcome Results Approach E g Sales volume units produced profits Advantages 1 It provides clear and unambiguous criteria by which worker performance can be judged 2 It provides objective criteria that are less subject to human biases 3 It can be easily linked to the strategic goal of the organization Disadvantages 1 It may not be valid when performance results are significantly affected by external circumstances that are beyond an employee s control 2 It may create a results at any price mentality that can lead employees to disregard ethics in the conduct of their job 3 It does not provide guidance on how to improve Professor s Opinion on Appraisal Methods Behavioral and outcome results approaches are recommended as they are based on more objective and specific performance information A combination of the behavioral and results outcome approaches may be used to assess both the process and outcome of employee performance Errors in Performance Measurement Types of Rating Errors in Performance Measurement Similar to me bias text p 254 last paragraph Contrast errors Distributional errors e g central tendency Halo error Halo effect Providing Performance Feedback Scheduling Performance Feedback Performance feedback should be a regular expected management activity Annual feedback is not enough Employees should receive feedback so often that they know what the manager will say during their annual performance review Conducting the Feedback Session During feedback sessions managers can take any of three approaches 1 Tell and Sell managers tell employees their ratings and then justify those