Chapter # 8
performance management &
feedback
Performance Management and
Feedback
An organization’s long-term success in meeting its strategic
objectives rests with its ability to manage employee
performance and ensure that performance measures are
consistent with the organization’s needs.
On the other hand, the terms performance appraisal and
performance evaluation imply a one-sided judgmental
approach to performance management, where employees
have little involvement in the process.
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Purpose of Performance
Management and Feedback
• Organizations need broader performance measures
to insure that:
– Performance deficiencies are addressed in a timely
manner through employee development programs.
– Highlighting individual strength & weaknesses.
– Employee behaviors are being channeled in the
appropriate direction toward performance of specific
objectives.
– Employees are provided with appropriate and specific
feedback to assist with their career development.
– Motivating the employees.
– Minimizing wastage of resources and time
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Performance Feedback Versus
Performance Appraisal
Performance Feedback Performance Appraisal
1. Time period Time period Past, present, Past
and future
2. Focus Link employee work Create records; document
activities to specific performance problems
business objectives and
strategy
3. Nature of Two-way One-sided, downward,
communication directive
4. Employée role Active participant Passive
5. Formality Informal, verbal High formality, written
forms with signatures
6. Timing Spontaneous, ad hoc As prescribed (usually
needed annual)
7. Role of supervisor Coach, motivator, partner Authority figure 10–4
The Performance Management Cycle
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Training and Development &
Performance Appraisal
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Who Evaluates?
• Problems with immediate supervisors conducting
performance evaluations:
– Lacking appropriate information to provide informed feedback
on employee performance.
– Insufficient observation of the employee’s day-to-day work to
validly assess performance.
– Lack of knowledge about the technical dimensions of a
subordinate’s work.
– Lack of training or appreciation for the evaluation process.
– Perceptual errors by supervisors that create bias or lack of
subjectivity in evaluations.
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Perceptual Errors of Raters
• Halo Effect
– Rater allows a single trait, outcome or consideration to
influence other measures of performance.
• Stereotyping
– Rater makes performance judgments based on employee’s
personal characteristics rather than the employee’s actual
performance.
• Recency Error
– Recent events and behaviors of the employee bias the rater’s
evaluation of the employee’s overall performance.
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Perceptual Errors of Raters (cont’d)
• Central Tendency Error
– Evaluator avoids higher and lower ends of performance
assessment rating in favor of placing all employees at or near
the middle of the scales.
• Leniency or Strictness Errors
– Evaluator’s tendency is to rate all employees either above
(leniency) or below (strictness) their actual performance level.
• Personal Biases and Organizational Politics
– Have a significant impact on the ratings employees receive
from their supervisors.
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What to Evaluate?
• Traits Measures
– Are an assessment of how the employee fits with the
organization’s culture, not what the employee actually does.
• Behavior-based measures
– Focus on what an employee does correctly and what the
employee should do differently.
• Results-based measures
– Focus is on accomplishments or outcomes that can be
measured objectively. Problems occur when results measures
are difficult to obtain, outside employee control, or ignore the
means by which the results were obtained.
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How to Evaluate?
• Absolute Measurement
– Employees are all measured strictly by absolute performance
requirements or standards of their jobs.
• Relative Assessment
– Employees are measured against other employees and
ranked on their distance from the next higher to the next
lower performing employee.
– Ranking allows for comparison of employees but does not
shed light on the distribution of employee performance.
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Measures of Evaluation
• Graphic Rating Scales
• Weighted Checklists
• Behaviorally Anchored Rating
Scales (BARS)
Behaviorally Anchored Expectation
Scale
Behaviorally Anchored Observation
Scale
• Critical Incident Method
• Management By Objectives
(MBO)
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Graphic Rating Scale Method
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Weighted Checklist Method
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Behavioral Anchored Scale (BOS)
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Examples of Behaviorally Anchored Rating Scales
The job being appraised belongs to a customer service representative:
•A level four rating might assume the rep answers the phone after 1 to 2 rings with a
friendly greeting
•A level six rating might assume the rep answers phone after 1 ring with the correct
company greeting
A traditional rating scale would ask if the employee answers phone promptly/courteously
and list the number ratings:
•1: Never
•2: Not Often
•3: Sometimes
•4: Usually
•5: Always
It is clear to see there will be a difference in the outcome of the appraisal with the more
definitive BARS method.
10–17
Behavioral Observation Scale (BOS)
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Management By Objective MBO
MBO is a systematic & participative way to goal-setting.
Goals must be:
•Tangible
•Verifiable
•Measurable
Corporate goals are broken down into smaller, more specific
goals at each level of organization.
Four common ingredients to MBO programs:
•Goal specificity
•Participative decision making
•Explicit time period
•Performance feedback
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Video Links
[Link] [Link]
[Link]/watch?v=EETDwk0_ErQ
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