Fundamentals of HR Management, 8e (Noe)
Chapter 10 Managing Employees’ Performance
1) Performance management requires knowing what activities and outputs are desired, observing
whether they occur, and providing feedback to help employees meet expectations.
2) Performance management systems are established to meet three broad purposes of the
organization: strategic, administrative, and developmental.
3) In a performance appraisal, the term validity refers to whether the appraisal measures all
aspects of performance, both relevant and irrelevant.
4) The paired-comparison method measures the consistency of results over time.
5) In the simple ranking method of performance measurement, managers rank employees in their
group from the highest performer to the poorest performer.
6) The paired-comparison method involves comparing each employee with each other employee
to establish rankings.
7) To rate employee behaviors, an organization begins by defining which behaviors are
associated with the employee’s personality traits.
8) The critical-incident method requires managers to keep a record of specific examples of the
employee acting in ways that are either effective or ineffective.
9) A disadvantage of behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) is that it can bias a manager’s
memory.
10) Compared to a behavioral observation scale (BOS), a behaviorally anchored rating scale
(BARS) makes it easier for providing feedback, maintaining objectivity, and suggesting training
needs.
11) Organizational behavior modification (OBM) is a plan for managing the behavior of
employees through an informal system of feedback and reinforcement.
12) Behavioral approaches to performance measurement, such as organizational behavior
modification and rating scales, tend to be biased.
13) Traditional performance management differs from total quality management (TQM) in that it
assesses both individual performance and the system within which the individual works.
14) Using an employee’s manager for feedback is very useful because managers’ own success
depends so much on their employees’ performance.
15) Self-appraisals are appropriate as the basis for administrative decisions.
16) In order to minimize distributional errors, raters should use only one part of the rating scale.
17) Appraisal politics are most likely to occur when a performance appraisal is directly linked to
highly desirable rewards.
18) In a “tell-and-sell” approach, managers tell the employees their ratings and then justify those
ratings.
19) The improvement of an employee’s performance varies according to the employee’s ability
and level of motivation.
20) The requirements for job success are clearly communicated to employees to protect against
lawsuits.
21) Which statement is true of effective performance management?
A) It can tell top performers they are valued.
B) It can evaluate employees without establishing standards.
C) It averts communication between managers and their employees.
D) It uses just one person as a source of information.
E) It does not affect employees who meet expectations.
22) What is the first step in performance management process?
A) evaluating performance
B) developing employee goals, behavior, and actions to achieve outcomes
C) providing consequences for performance results
D) defining performance outcomes for company division and department
E) identifying improvements needed
23) Lillian is the purchasing manager at Ceramic Central, a maker of housewares. She has
evaluated the first year’s performance of Jason, a purchasing agent. In the evaluation, she noted
that he places orders accurately, but when employees in the company ask about the status of their
orders, he has difficulty finding the information for them in a timely manner. What should be the
next step in performance management in this situation?
A) Lillian should define new performance outcomes that do not include checking order status.
B) Jason should develop more realistic goals that do not include checking order status.
C) Lillian and Jason should set new performance standards that are more realistic.
D) Lillian should arrange for training so Jason can learn how to look up the status of orders.
E) Lillian should provide Jason with ongoing performance feedback.
24) What is the last step in performance management process?
A) defining performance outcomes for company division and department
B) identifying improvements needed
C) developing employee goals, behavior, and actions to achieve outcomes
D) evaluating performance
E) providing consequences for performance results
25) Jeremiah, a vice president of human resources, wants to ensure that his company’s
performance management process is effective, so he sets up an annual review of the process.
What should that review measure?
A) whether the performance management process includes all seven steps
B) whether performance discussions are taking place annually
C) how well performance standards are tailored to each individual employee
D) whether measures of individual performance support the department’s and company’s
objectives
E) how effectively the company has defined performance management as an event, not a process
26) Meghan is the new HR manager at Turner Times. She meets with the company’s leaders to
discuss how she intends to support business objectives. Meghan tells them that Turner Times has
a performance management process that delivers reliable information, but it needs to be more
strategic. Which action would best make performance management more strategic?
A) telling managers not to feel uncomfortable when appraisal information is negative
B) using appraisal information to support decisions related to employee retention and termination
C) using appraisal information as a basis for developing employees’ knowledge and skills
D) setting individual performance measures that are linked to the organization’s goals
E) making employees aware of their strengths and areas in which they can improve
27) The ways in which organizations use the system to provide information for day-to-day
decisions about salary, benefits, and recognition programs falls under the ________ purpose of a
performance management system.
A) structured
B) developmental
C) strategic
D) administrative
E) deciding
28) Ty, the HR manager at Elrod Engines, is preparing a newly promoted employee for her role
as a supervisor. In his experience, he will need to address the new supervisor’s nervousness about
conducting performance appraisals. What is the most likely cause of this nervousness?
A) Performance feedback must be aligned with the company’s strategy.
B) A performance evaluation can help supervisors decide how to develop employees’ skills.
C) Effective performance feedback makes employees aware of their strengths and weaknesses.
D) Performance management supports administrative decisions that have a great impact on
employees.
E) Performance management starts with defining what the organization expects from employees.
29) “Performance management serves as a basis for improving employees’ knowledge and
skills.” This statement corresponds to which purpose of performance management?
A) developmental purpose
B) administrative purpose
C) investigative purpose
D) strategic purpose
E) executive purpose
30) Maddie, an HR manager, is coaching a supervisor who needs to develop her leadership skills.
Maddie suggests that the supervisor use performance feedback as a tool for the development of
her employees. Which action would be an example of this purpose of performance feedback?
A) The supervisor limits performance feedback to formal appraisals conducted once a year.
B) The supervisor uses performance information for day-to-day decisions about salary, benefits,
and recognition programs.
C) The supervisor uses performance measures to guide decisions about employee retention and
termination.
D) The supervisor uses performance measures to identify assignments that will help employees
build on their strengths.
E) The supervisor makes sure each employee’s goals are aligned with the company’s and
department’s objectives.
31) In the context of effectiveness of performance management, ________ means the extent to
which a measurement tool actually measures what it is intended to measure.
A) validity
B) dependability
C) acceptability
D) reliability
E) specificity
32) In performance appraisal, ________ refers to whether an appraisal measures all the relevant
aspects of performance and omits irrelevant aspects of performance.
A) contamination
B) reliability
C) acceptability
D) validity
E) interrater reliability
33) The human resource department of Wallace Corp. brings in a consultant to evaluate its
performance management system. The consultant says he evaluated the validity of the system’s
performance measures and identified some deficiencies. What does the consultant mean?
A) Some attitudes that are being measured are unrelated to success on the job.
B) Results gathered in certain ways are inconsistent from one rater to another.
C) Results gathered in certain ways are inconsistent over time.
D) Some behaviors that contribute to business success are not being measured.
E) The performance measures are too vague to provide useful guidance.
34) Kathryn, a manager at Harper Haw, uses a rating tool to evaluate the performance of her
subordinates. However, she finds that the scale she used did not yield consistent results, and she
could not determine if a change had taken place in the performance of the employees. What was
lacking in the rating scale?
A) validity
B) acceptability
C) reliability
D) transparency
E) specificity
35) John and Nina, managers at Aderton Enterprises, want to the check the consistency of results
for a performance measure that uses ratings by a supervisor. They want to know if different
supervisors would rate the same behavior the same way. In the context of criteria for effective
performance management, John and Nina are interested in the measure’s
A) validity.
B) test-retest reliability.
C) specificity.
D) interrater reliability.
E) accountability.
36) Brian, the HR manager at Haller Co., establishes a performance management system for his
company. He wants to check the consistency of results over time. In the context of criteria for
determining the effectiveness of performance measures, Brian is trying to check the ________ of
the performance management system.
A) validity
B) test-retest reliability
C) specificity
D) interrater reliability
E) acceptability
37) In the context of performance management, which term refers to a measure that obtains
consistency of results over time?
A) validity
B) interrater reliability
C) acceptability
D) test-retest reliability
E) specificity
38) When BBG Inc. was preparing to roll out a new performance management system, Kayla,
the human resource executive, insisted that for the new system to succeed, they must first explain
it to employees. Kayla said employees need to perceive the system as fair. Why would this effort
make the performance management system more effective?
A) The employees who receive feedback must believe that the process of preparing it was not too
time consuming.
B) Specific feedback helps meet the goals of supporting strategy and developing employees.
C) Low interrater reliability means the rating will differ depending on who is scoring the
employees.
D) When employees see performance measures as fair, they are likelier to apply the feedback.
E) A measurement tool should accurately measure what it was designed to measure.
39) Which of the following helps performance management meet the goals of supporting
strategy and developing employees?
A) strategic fit
B) specific feedback
C) overall opinion
D) employee orientation
E) generalized instruction
40) Braddington Inc. wants to assess the performance of its employees. It uses a questionnaire
that has a usually high fit with strategy, usually high validity, usually high reliability, moderate
acceptability, and very high specificity. Which approach to employee performance is being
focused on by this questionnaire?
A) results
B) quality
C) behavioral
D) comparative
E) attribute
41) Fiona, a supervisor at Ronaldo Co., wants to compare the performance of her employees. If
she does this by listing the employees from best to worst performer, which term describes her
method?
A) simple ranking
B) mixed-standards scale
C) critical-incident method
D) graphic rating scale
E) organizational behavior modification
42) In the context of methods for measuring performance, alternation ranking is a variation of
________ ranking.
A) simple
B) distributed
C) paired
D) attribute
E) scalar
43) Tony, a production manager at Brighton Biometrics, needs to measure the performance of 10
subordinates. He writes their names on a paper and circles Paul’s name as the best-performing
employee of the group. He then circles Erma’s name as the worst employee of the group. He
rates the remaining employees as second best, second worst, and so on. In the context of methods
of performance measurement, Tony is using the ________ method.
A) forced-distribution
B) alternation ranking
C) graphic rating
D) mixed-standard
E) critical-incident
44) Sabrina, a production manager at Orrin Co., needs to measure the performance of 12 of her
subordinates. She divides the number of employees into categories like exceptional, above
average, average, and below average. She assigns a certain percentage of employees to each
category to determine the quality of their performances. In the context of methods for measuring
performance, Sabrina is using the ________ method.
A) alternation ranking
B) rating attribute
C) mixed-standard
D) paired-comparison
E) forced-distribution
45) Joel is a manager at Malan Inc., and he uses a rating approach to evaluate his employees. He
considers one employee at a time and circles a number or a word to signify the degree to which
that employee demonstrates a particular trait in the scale. Which approach is Joel using to assess
his employees?
A) mixed-standard scale
B) critical-incident approach
C) graphic rating scale
D) behavioral observation scale
E) behaviorally anchored rating scale