A Framework for Human Resource Management, 7e (Dessler)
Chapter 6 Performance Management and Appraisal
1) The process of evaluating an employee’s current and/or past performance
relative to his or her performance standards is called ________.
A) recruitment
B) employee selection
C) performance appraisal
D) organizational development
2) When goal setting, performance appraisal, and development are consolidated
into a single, common system designed to ensure that employee performance
supports a company’s strategy, it is called ________.
A) strategic organizational development
B) performance management
C) performance appraisal
D) human resource management
3) Managers following a traditional performance appraisal system will typically
meet with employees on a ________ basis.
A) weekly
B) monthly
C) bi-monthly
D) yearly
4) Which of the following is not one of the guidelines for effective goal setting?
A) assign specific goals
B) assign measurable goals
C) assign challenging but doable goals
D) assign consequences for performance
5) The “S” in the acronym for SMART goals stands for ________.
A) specific
B) straightforward
C) strategic
D) support
6) The “M” in the acronym for SMART goals stands for ________.
A) moderate
B) measurable
C) meaningful
D) merit
7) The “A” in the acronym for SMART goals stands for ________.
A) actionable
B) appropriate
C) attainable
D) asset
8) Participatively set goals result in higher performance than assigned goals when
the ________.
A) participatively set goals are more difficult
B) assigned goals are more difficult
C) rewards are also higher
D) goals are doable
9) When using goal setting in performance management, the goals should be
________.
A) difficult
B) doable
C) specific
D) All of the above.
10) Who is the primary person responsible for doing the actual appraising of an
employee’s performance?
A) the employee’s direct supervisor
B) the company appraiser
C) the EEO contact person
D) None of the above.
11) Because in most organizations there is a hierarchy of goals, employee
performance standards should ________.
A) be standard
B) make sense in terms of the broader organizational goals
C) be decided by the top executive
D) All of the above.
12) Which of the following is a reason to appraise subordinates’ performance?
A) appraisals provide important data for promotion and salary decisions
B) appraisal let supervisors and subordinates develop plans to correct
performance deficiencies
C) appraisals serve as useful career planning purposes
D) All of the above.
13) Besides the supervisor, which of the following is available to managers as an
alternative source of performance appraisal information?
A) peers
B) rating committees
C) the employee
D) All of the above.
14) Which of the following is a valid appraisal source?
A) self-ratings
B) 360-degree feedback
C) subordinates
D) All of the above.
15) Which of the following is a way to increase 360-degree appraisals?
A) anchor the 360-degree items with behavioral competencies
B) assess the costs of the program and carefully train the people giving and
receiving feedback
C) make sure the feedback given is productive, unbiased ad development oriented
D) All of the above.
16) Which performance appraisal technique lists traits and a range of
performance?
A) alternation ranking
B) graphic rating scale
C) Likert
D) MBO
E) constant sum rating scale
17) The ________ method of performance appraisal involves listing all the
subordinates to be rated, indicating the employee who is the highest on each
characteristic being measured and who is the lowest, and then alternating between
the next highest and lowest until all employees have been ranked.
A) alternation ranking
B) graphic rating scale
C) MBO
D) constant sum rating scale
18) Alternation ranking refers to an appraisal method, which ________.
A) is based on progress made toward the accomplishment of measurable goals
B) requires that the supervisor keep a log of positive and negative examples of a
subordinate’s work-related behavior
C) requires a supervisor to evaluate performance by assigning predetermined
percentages of those being rated into performance categories
D) involves listing all the subordinates to be rated, indicating the employee who is
the highest on each characteristic being measured and who is the lowest, and then
alternating between the next highest and lowest until all employees have been
ranked
19) Suppose you have five employees to rate. You make a chart of all possible
pairs of employees for each trait being evaluated. Then, you indicate the better
employee of the pair for each pair. Finally, you add up the number of positives for
each employee. In this case, you have used the ________ method of performance
appraisal.
A) graphic ranking scale
B) alternation ranking
C) paired comparison
D) forced distribution
20) Forced distribution refers to an appraisal method, which ________.
A) is based on progress made toward the accomplishment of measurable goals
B) combines the benefits of narratives, critical incidents, and quantified scales by
assigning scale points with specific examples of good or poor performance
C) requires a supervisor to evaluate performance by assigning predetermined
percentages of those being rated into performance categories
D) involves listing all the subordinates to be rated, indicating the employee who
is the highest on each characteristic being measured and who is the lowest, and
then alternating between the next highest and lowest until all employees have
been ranked
21) When a supervisor evaluates performance by assigning predetermined
percentages of ratees into performance categories, he or she has used the
________ method of performance appraisal.
A) constant sum ranking scale
B) alternation ranking
C) paired comparison
D) forced distribution
22) John, the supervisor of the manufacturing department, is in the process of
evaluating his staff’s performance. He has determined that 15% of the group will
be identified as high performers, 20% as above average performers, 30% as
average performers, 20% as below average performers, and 15% as poor
performers. John is using a ________ method.
A) graphic rating scale
B) constant sum ranking scale
C) forced distribution
D) alternation ranking
23) Which of the following measurement methods rates employee performance
relative to other employees?
A) graphic rating scale
B) forced distribution
C) Likert scale
D) critical incident method
24) Which of the following is a criticism of the forced distribution method?
A) it damages morale
B) it promotes unfairly
C) it promotes those who play the game well
D) None of the above.
25) To protect against bias claims when using the forced distribution method
employers should ________.
A) appoint a review committee to review any employee’s low ranking
B) train raters to be objective
C) consider using multiple raters in conjunction with the method
D) All of the above.
26) With the ________ method, the supervisor keeps a log of positive and
negative examples of a subordinate’s work-related behavior.
A) alternation ranking
B) constant sums rating
C) narrative forms
D) critical incident
27) The critical incident technique refers to an appraisal method, which
________.
A) is based on progress made toward the accomplishment of measurable goals
B) combines the benefits of narratives, critical incidents, and quantified scales by
assigning scale points with specific examples of good or poor performance
C) requires that the supervisor keep a log of positive and negative examples of a
subordinate’s work-related behavior
D) involves listing all the subordinates to be rated, crossing out the names of any
not known well enough to rank, indicating the employee who is the highest on
each characteristic being measured and who is the lowest, and then alternating
between the next highest and lowest until all employees have been ranked
28) All of the following are advantages of using the critical incident method for
appraising performance except that:
A) it provides examples of good performance.
B) it does not include a numerical rating.
C) it provides examples of poor performance.
D) incidents can be tied to performance goals.
29) Which appraisal method combines the benefits of narratives, critical incidents,
and quantified scales by assigning scale points with specific examples of good or
poor performance?
A) behaviorally anchored rating scale
B) graphic rating scale
C) alternation ranking
D) None of the above.
30) Behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) refers to an appraisal method,
which ________.
A) is based on progress made toward the accomplishment of measurable goals
B) combines the benefits of narratives, critical incidents, and quantified scales by
assigning scale points with specific examples of good or poor performance
C) requires that the supervisor keep a log of positive and negative examples of a
subordinate’s work-related behavior
D) requires a supervisor to evaluate performance by assigning predetermined
percentages of those being rated into performance categories
31) Management by objectives (MBO) refers to an appraisal method, which
________.
A) is based on progress made toward the accomplishment of measurable goals
B) combines the benefits of narratives, critical incidents, and quantified scales by
assigning scale points with specific examples of good or poor performance
C) requires that the supervisor keep a log of positive and negative examples of a
subordinate’s work-related behavior
D) involves listing all the subordinates to be rated, crossing out the names of any
not known well enough to rank, indicating the employee who is the highest on
each characteristic being measured and who is the lowest, and then alternating
between the next highest and lowest until all employees have been ranked
32) What is the first step in the Management by Objectives Method?
A) set the organization’s goals
B) set departmental goals
C) discuss departmental goals
D) define expected results
33) What is the second step in the Management by Objectives Method?
A) set the organization’s goals
B) set departmental goals
C) discuss departmental goals
D) define expected results
34) What is the third step in the Management by Objectives Method?
A) set the organization’s goals
B) set departmental goals
C) discuss departmental goals
D) define expected results
35) What is the fourth step in the Management by Objectives Method?
A) set the organization’s goals
B) set departmental goals
C) discuss departmental goals
D) define expected results
36) What is the fifth step in the Management by Objectives Method?
A) conduct performance reviews and measure the results
B) set departmental goals
C) discuss departmental goals
D) define expected results
37) In how many ways is performance management different from performance
appraisal?
A) 4
B) 3
C) 2
D) None
38) Which of the following is a reason for the use of performance management in
organizations?
A) it contributes to total quality
B) it is better than performance appraisal
C) it is important because it helps in strategic planning
D) All of the above.
39) What is the last step in the Management by Objectives Method?
A) provide feedback
B) set departmental goals
C) discuss departmental goals
D) define expected results
40) When different supervisors define levels of performance (good, fair, poor)
differently, unfair appraisals could result due to a problem with ________.
A) unclear standards
B) halo effects
C) complexity
D) leniency
41) ________ is defined as the influence of a rater’s general impression on ratings
of specific ratee qualities.
A) Impression management
B) Halo effect
C) Central tendency
D) Bias
42) Jason is generally considered unfriendly at work. His supervisor rates him low
on the trait “gets along well with others” but also rates him lower on other traits
unrelated to socialization at work. Jason’s performance appraisal may be unfair
due to ________.
A) impression management
B) stereotyping
C) halo effects
D) strictness
43) Some supervisors, when filling in rating scales, tend to avoid the highs and
lows on the scale and rate most people in the middle. This ________ means that
all employees may be rated average.
A) stereotyping
B) central tendency
C) strictness
D) leniency
44) The best way of reducing the problem of central tendency in performance
appraisals is to ________.
A) rank employees
B) be aware of the problem
C) train supervisors to avoid it
D) consider the purpose of the appraisal
45) The ________ problem occurs when supervisors tend to rate all their
subordinates consistently high.
A) leniency
B) strictness
C) bias
D) halo effect
46) The ________ problem occurs when supervisors tend to rate all their
subordinates consistently low.
A) central tendency
B) leniency
C) strictness
D) bias
47) One personality study focused on how individual traits influenced the
evaluations that students gave their peers. Raters who scored higher on ________
tended to give their peers lower ratings.
A) agreeableness
B) extroversion
C) conscientiousness
D) openness
48) Which personality trait is associated with performance appraisal ratings that
are too lenient?
A) agreeableness
B) extroversion
C) conscientiousness
D) openness
49) One way of reducing the problems of leniency or strictness in performance
appraisals is to ________.
A) rank employees
B) be aware of the problem
C) train supervisors to avoid it
D) consider the purpose of the appraisal
50) When an employee’s personal characteristics such as gender influence a
supervisor’s evaluation of his or her performance, the problem of ________ has
occurred.
A) bias
B) stereotyping
C) central tendency
D) halo affect
51) Which of the following could result in a legally questionable appraisal
process?
A) conduct a job analysis to establish criteria and standards for successful
performance
B) base appraisals on subjective supervisory observations
C) administer and score appraisals in a standardized fashion
D) use clearly defined job performance dimensions