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Indicate whether the statement is true or false.
1. A central tendency error occurs when one positive performance characteristic causes a manager to rate all other aspects
of performance positively.
a.
True
b.
False
2. In the context of performance rating methods, the specific dimensions measured by graphic rating scales are not
typically based on job analysis.
a.
True
b.
False
3. In an organization, career management is independent of the performance management process.
a.
True
b.
False
4. Performance appraisals that show evidence of disparate impact must be validated the same as any selection technique.
a.
True
b.
False
5. An individual’s supervisor is the least likely person to rate the individual in his or her performance appraisal.
a.
True
b.
False
6. The establishment stage is the first stage of a typical career.
a.
True
b.
False
7. Contextual performance refers to tasks that an employee is expected to perform as part of his or her job responsibilities.
a.
True
b.
False
8. In the context of rating errors, a contrast error occurs when a manager assigns relatively high or lenient ratings to all
employees.
a.
True
b.
False
9. A 360-degree appraisal uses performance information collected from people on two sides of a manager, above and
below.
a.
True
b.
False
10. A critical incident is an example of particularly good or bad employee performance.
a.
True
b.
False
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Indicate the answer choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
11. Which of the following is most likely an example of a special career-counseling program?
a.
A conference organized by an investment firm about new banking solutions and the resulting career
opportunities for its executives
b.
A session conducted by a firm for the benefit of its employees who belong to minority groups to integrate
them into the daily activities of the firm
c.
A workshop conducted by a software development firm to update all its employees on the latest developments
in the field of information technology
d.
A one-on-one interaction between an employee and his supervisor to discuss the employee’s performance in
the last fiscal quarter
12. The following item appears in an employee evaluation form of an organization:
How does the employee react when faced with challenging tasks?
1 = Gets nervous and asks the supervisor for help
2 = Looks into the problem and asks peers for solutions
3 = Makes a list of possible solutions and shows them to the supervisor
4 = Comes up with innovative solutions on his or her own and fixes the problem within time
Which of the following methods of performance appraisal is the organization using?
a.
The management-by-objectives system
b.
The paired-comparison method
c.
A Likert scale
d.
A behaviorally anchored rating scale
13. Mathew is always late to office. Mathew’s manager does not like Mathew’s tardiness. Therefore, during a performance
review, Mathew’s manager gives him low ratings even though his work was impeccable during the performance-review
period. In this scenario, Matthew’s manager is making a _____.
a.
severity error
b.
halo error
c.
horns error
d.
central tendency error
14. Performance information is gathered from people on all sides of a manager, above, beside, below, and so forth in
_____.
a.
the downward feedback method
b.
a peer assessment
c.
the negotiated performance appraisal method
d.
a 360-degree appraisal
15. Which of the following involves interaction between an individual employee or manager in an organization and either
a line manager or an HR manager in that organization?
a.
A pay survey
b.
An individual assessment
c.
Internal discourse
d.
Career counseling
16. Which of the following is a difference between a halo error and a horns error?
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a.
A halo error is the opposite of a distributional error, whereas a horns error is the opposite of a contrast error.
b.
A halo error occurs when all aspects of an employee’s performance are rated positively, whereas a horns error
occurs when all aspects of an employee’s performance are downgraded.
c.
A halo error is a performance selection error, whereas a horns error is a performance rating error.
d.
A halo error occurs when people are compared against one another instead of against an objective standard,
whereas a horns error occurs when a rater tends to use only one part of a rating scale.
17. Which of the following is a difference between the establishment and the maintenance stages of a traditional career?
a.
The establishment stage consists of individuals aged between late teens and late twenties, whereas the
maintenance stage consists of individuals aged between late sixties and early seventies.
b.
In the establishment stage, individuals begin to create a relevant role for themselves in a firm, whereas in the
maintenance stage, individuals reach a level in the firm that optimizes their talents.
c.
In the establishment stage, individuals gradually lose interest in their work, whereas in the maintenance stage,
individuals find that the coursework of their field is of interest to them.
d.
The establishment stage is the first stage of a traditional career, whereas the maintenance stage is the last stage
of a traditional career.
18. It is not always clear that errors in performance appraisals are really errors, except for _____.
a.
horns errors
b.
distributional errors
c.
halo errors
d.
contrast errors
19. Performance appraisals cannot accomplish their goals if:
a.
managers and employees do not use the same set of standards to rate performance.
b.
there are no false negative or false positive errors in the selection process.
c.
the immediate supervisors of employees play the largest role in the employees’ appraisal process.
d.
appraisals are conducted for less than 30 employees at a time.
20. Katy, a manager, is evaluating her team members by rating them from best to worst. This rating is based on their
overall performance. Which of the following performance-appraisal methods is Katy using in the given scenario?
a.
The simple ranking method
b.
The factor comparison method
c.
The critical incident method
d.
The forced-distribution method
21. Which of the following factors could impact a supervisor’s motivation, rather than ability, to provide a meaningful
performance appraisal?
a.
Inadequate job knowledge
b.
Favoritism toward specific workers
c.
Inadequate opportunity to observe employee performance
d.
Changing technology, which impacts the supervisor’s understanding of an employee’s job tasks
22. Which of the following is a traditional career stage that involves identifying interests and opportunities?
a.
Exploration
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b.
Establishment
c.
Maintenance
d.
Disengagement
23. The goal of performance management is:
a.
to formally evaluate the performance of employees.
b.
to help employees learn and adopt ethnocentric skills relevant to their job.
c.
to prevent employees from reaching the disengagement stage of their careers.
d.
to improve employee performance.
24. Which of the following rating errors occurs when a manager gives low ratings to all employees by holding them to an
unreasonably high standard?
a.
A severity error
b.
A halo error
c.
A horns error
d.
A leniency error
25. In the context of the traditional model of career stages, individuals are likely to view work as less important and find
other sources for fulfilling their personal needs and goals in the _____.
a.
maintenance stage
b.
disengagement stage
c.
establishment stage
d.
exploration stage
26. Leroy, a senior manager, has been preoccupied with relocating the marketing division of Clifford Inc. to its new
office. As a result, he is unable to monitor the work of his subordinates during this period. Therefore, he decides to give
high ratings to all his subordinates in their performance appraisals, irrespective of their actual performance. In the given
scenario, Leroy is most likely to commit a _____.
a.
severity error
b.
leniency error
c.
horns error
d.
halo error
27. Which of the following is a similarity between leniency and central tendency?
a.
Both are contrast errors in performance appraisals.
b.
Both are types of distributional errors in performance appraisals.
c.
Both occur when people are compared against one another instead of against an objective standard.
d.
Both are behaviors that are never stated as formal requirements of a job.
28. Which of the following stages of the traditional career model involves creating a meaningful and relevant role in an
organization?
a.
The maintenance stage
b.
The disengagement stage
c.
The establishment stage
d.
The exploration stage
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29. Which of the following refers to the set of experiences and activities that people engage in related to their job and
livelihood over the course of their working life?
a.
Acculturation
b.
Contextual performance
c.
Organizational citizenship behavior
d.
Career
30. Which of the following is a disadvantage of ranking methods for performance appraisals?
a.
They provide no information about the difference between the persons ranked first and second.
b.
They are complex and difficult to implement.
c.
They do not result in a normal distribution of performance ratings.
d.
They require raters to keep a log to record critical incidents that reflect good and bad performance on the part
of individual employees.
31. Several firms have claimed to have dropped performance appraisals completely and focused entirely on performance
management. Much of this reaction stems from the use of _____.
a.
the forced-distribution method
b.
the Likert scale
c.
a goal-based system
d.
a management-by-objectives system
32. In the context of performance appraisals, which of the following occurs when the rater tends to use only one part of a
rating scale?
a.
A distributional error
b.
A contrast error
c.
A halo error
d.
A horns error
33. Which of the following statements is true of the maintenance stage of a traditional career?
a.
The highest growth in the performance of an individual occurs during this stage.
b.
The performance of an individual starts being considered relevant by his or her organization during this stage.
c.
It involves creating a meaningful and relevant role in an organization.
d.
It involves an individual gradually beginning to pull away from his or her work in an organization.
34. Chin, a regional manager at a marketing firm, must formally evaluate his immediate subordinates every year. He does
so by using a management-by-objectives system. In the given scenario, Chin is most likely involved in _____.
a.
outbound training
b.
job evaluations
c.
performance appraisals
d.
organizational socialization
35. Which of the following is a step in career planning where an organization integrates its performance-management
system with its career-management system?
a.
Individual assessment
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b.
Career counseling
c.
Organizational specification of career paths
d.
Communication
36. Which of the following is a difference between a behavioral observation scale (BOS) and a behaviorally anchored
rating scale (BARS)?
a.
A BARS does not allow managers to rate the frequency with which an individual employee has exhibited each
effective and ineffective behavior during the rating period, whereas a BOS does.
b.
A BARS uses substantially more effective and ineffective behaviors than a BOS to define specifically all the
measures necessary for effective performance.
c.
A BARS takes more time and can be more expensive to develop than a BOS.
d.
A BARS is developed from critical incidents, whereas a BOS is not.
37. In the management-by-objectives (MBO) system of performance appraisal, an individual’s degree of goal attainment:
a.
is the same as the degree of accomplishment of the organization’s goals.
b.
becomes the individual’s performance appraisal.
c.
rarely forms the basis for the individual’s performance evaluation.
d.
is qualitative and subjective.
38. In the context of the methods for appraising performance, which of the following consists of a statement or question
about some aspect of an individual’s job performance?
a.
The forced-distribution method
b.
A graphic rating scale
c.
The critical incident method
d.
A side-by-side matrix scale
39. Which of the following methods of performance appraisal involves contrasting each individual employee with every
other individual employee, two at a time?
a.
The paired-comparison method
b.
The factor comparison method
c.
The critical incident method
d.
The forced-distribution method
40. Which of the following is a similarity between a behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) and a behavioral
observation scale (BOS)?
a.
Both are cheap to develop.
b.
Both involve grouping employees into predefined frequencies of performance ratings.
c.
Both are developed from critical incidents.
d.
Both allow managers to rate the frequency with which each employee has exhibited effective and ineffective
behaviors during the rating period.
41. In the context of performance-appraisal methods, one of the major criticisms that had been leveled against graphic
rating scales is that they were especially prone to a series of _____.
a.
contrast errors
b.
halo errors
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c.
distributional errors
d.
horns errors
42. Which of the following statements is true of performance management?
a.
It prevents employees from reaching the disengagement stage of their careers.
b.
It aims to promote ethnocentric behavior in the workplace.
c.
It is the ultimate goal of performance-appraisal activities.
d.
It is a more specific process than performance appraisal.
43. Which of the following statements defines a performance appraisal?
a.
It is the general set of activities carried out by an organization to improve employee performance.
b.
It is the set of experiences and activities that people engage in related to their job and livelihood over the
course of their working life.
c.
It is the specific and formal evaluation of an employee to determine the degree to which the employee is
performing his or her job effectively.
d.
It is a phase of career planning in which individuals carefully analyze what they perceive to be their own
abilities, competencies, skills, and goals.
44. Which of the following is one of the ultimate goals of career management?
a.
Having employees enjoy productive and satisfying work careers
b.
Preventing employees from reaching the disengagement stage of their careers
c.
Preventing the use of ranking techniques for performance appraisal
d.
Creating special career-counseling programs for certain categories of employees
45. One relatively new innovation in performance-appraisal methods is the use of _____.
a.
career counseling
b.
the graphic rating scales
c.
computer monitoring
d.
the forced-distribution methods
46. Which of the following is an advantage of a behaviorally anchored rating scale (BARS) system?
a.
It dramatically increases reliability by providing specific behavioral examples to reflect effective and less
effective behaviors.
b.
It can be developed quickly and easily.
c.
It allows managers to rate the frequency with which individual employees have exhibited specific behaviors
during the rating period.
d.
It is cheap to develop.
47. Xavier, a sales manager, set extremely high daily sales targets for his subordinates. As none of his subordinates were
able to meet those targets, he gave poor ratings to all subordinates. Which of the following errors did Xavier make?
a.
A severity error
b.
A halo error
c.
A horns error
d.
A leniency error
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48. Which of the following statements is true of effective career planning?
a.
It results in a stronger and more effective workforce for a firm.
b.
The chief operating officer of a firm usually represents the firm in the career-planning process.
c.
Career planning helps to predict with absolute certainty the level of talent or interest an individual will have in
the future.
d.
The final step in effective career planning is individual assessment.
49. Which of the following rating errors occurs when a manager assigns relatively high performance ratings to all
employees?
a.
A severity error
b.
A leniency error
c.
A horns error
d.
A halo error
50. Which of the following statements is true of the forced-distribution method of performance appraisals?
a.
It requires managers to maintain a log or diary of effective and ineffective employee behaviors.
b.
It takes away the power of organizations to control how much money is spent on merit pay.
c.
It results in a normal distribution of performance ratings.
d.
It involves comparing each individual employee with every other individual employee.
51. The performance-appraisal process at Lorenzo Inc. requires managers to evaluate organizational citizenship behaviors,
such as helping coworkers get their work done, integrating new employees into the team, and rewarding the employees
accordingly. In the given scenario, the managers are:
a.
rating contextual performance.
b.
using a management-by-objectives system for appraising performance.
c.
rating task behaviors.
d.
using a goal-based system for appraising performance.
52. Which of the following is the first step in effective career planning?
a.
Communication
b.
Individual assessment
c.
Career counseling
d.
Performance management
53. Which of the following statements is true of the goals set under the management-by-objectives (MBO) system of
performance appraisal?
a.
They are qualitative and difficult to measure.
b.
They are almost always written down.
c.
They are subjective in nature.
d.
They are the same as the objectives of the organization.
54. Which of the following is an approach that attempts to emphasize for managers the fact that performance is
multidimensional in nature and to teach those managers about the actual content of various performance dimensions?
a.
Onboarding
b.
Frame of reference training
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c.
The critical incident method
d.
The forced-distribution method
55. Which of the following statements is true of rating performance based on outcomes?
a.
This method emphasizes the subjective measures of performance.
b.
It focuses on highlighting only the positive aspects of employee performance.
c.
It is based on the assumption that similar traits underlie effective performance for all jobs.
d.
Feedback is relatively straightforward and easy to interpret.
56. Which of the following is developed from critical incidents and uses a substantial number of critical incidents to
define specifically all the measures necessary for effective performance?
a.
A behavioral observation scale
b.
A Likert scale
c.
A graphic rating scale
d.
A semantic differential scale
57. Natasha, a 29-year-old software developer at Widget Corp., has become a valuable member of her team over the past
5 years. She is acknowledged by the company as someone who should be valued and retained. In the context of traditional
career stages, it is evident that Natasha is in the _____.
a.
exploration stage
b.
establishment stage
c.
maintenance stage
d.
disengagement stage
58. Most companies with a reputation to be great places to work:
a.
prevent employees from reaching the disengagement stage of their careers.
b.
encourage voluntary retirements.
c.
have formal career-planning systems for their managers.
d.
use the forced-distribution method for appraising performance.
59. Individuals are more likely to retire when:
a.
they reach the establishment stage of their careers.
b.
they face gender and racial discrimination at work.
c.
their work is part-time.
d.
their spouses have retired.
60. Organizational citizenship behaviors are behaviors associated with _____.
a.
career planning
b.
job embeddedness
c.
career counseling
d.
contextual performance
61. Briefly explain the legal issues in performance appraisal.
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62. Contrast formal and informal career-counseling programs.
63. Describe the steps involved in a typical career-planning system.
64. Briefly explain the factors that affect an employee’s decision to retire.
65. Describe the management-by-objectives method of performance appraisal.
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