EMPLOYEE ROLE SHEET
You have been working at the Tri-City Health Services Center as a junior assistant in the
department of Fund Raising and Grants for about 2 years since your gradua#on from college with a
bachelor’s degree in human services administration. You have been assigned to work on the children’s
health care program at the center. It’s been a good experience. You have had numerous different
assignments and have done an outstanding job on them all. You feel like you are ready for a promotion
this year. If you’re going to make it up the administra#ve ladder to where you want to be, you are going
to have to move fast. You have no real complaints about your job.
During the last year your goals were to implement a fund-raising program and to obtain a 15
percent increase in federal funds by April 1. Both goals have been met. In fact, federal grants increased
by 18 percent. It is April 22 and #me for your annual performance review. You are looking forward to
the interview with your supervisor, Chris Jackson, because you really feel that you have done a good job
and expect an excellent evaluation. Sure you’ve been late a few #mes–maybe more than a lot of other
people. But what difference does it make you feel that you do your work well and a lot be2er than many
other people at the clinic.
(NOTE: THIS COPY OF ROLE IS FOR THE STUDENT WHO WILL PLAY THE SUPERVISOR)
SUPERVISOR’S ROLE A
One of the employees working for you in the Fund Raising and Grants Department has been with
Tri-City Health Services for about 2 years. This employee is enthusias#c, intelligent and has done
extremely well on all assignments for the children’s health program. The employee, Pat Smith, has
shown a great deal of initiative in completing assignments. The goals set last year were to implement a
fund raising program and to increase federal grants received by 15 percent by April 1.
Both goals have been met. In fact, federal grants increased by 18 percent. It is April 22, and
#me for the annual review. You are feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the review because
normally employees who do well in this position move on to the next higher position a>er about two
years. Unfortunately, the employee has been lax in one area–dependability. Pat has been consistently
(15 #mes in last six months) late in arriving for work (some#mes as late as 1 hour) during the last year.
Other employees are beginning to grumble about this. On a couple of occasions, you did remind Pat
about the tardiness. While there are no explicit o?ce rules about lateness, employees are expected to
report to work on #me. You want the employee to keep up the excellent performance but also feel that
the employee must be responsible by coming to work on #me. You also feel that Pat cannot be
considered for a promotion at this #me.
You are to use a “TELL AND SELL” approach to the interview, which tries to persuade the
employee to improve. You are going to a2empt to sell the employee on your assessment of the problem
and your recommendation for improvement. You are to do most of the talking during the interview.
Make sure the employee signs the evaluation form.
(NOTE: THIS COPY OF ROLE IS FOR THE STUDENT WHO WILL PLAY THE SUPERVISOR)
SUPERVISOR’S ROLE B
One of the employees working for you in the Fund Raising and Grants Department has been with
Tri-City Health Services for about 2 years. This employee is enthusias#c, intelligent and has done
extremely well on all assignments for the children’s health program. The employee, Pat Smith, has
shown a great deal of initiative in completing assignments. The goals set last year were to implement a
fund raising program and to increase federal grants received by 15 percent by April 1.
Both goals have been met. In fact, federal grants increased by 18 percent. It is April 22, and
#me for the annual review. You are feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the review because
normally employees who do well in this position move on to the next higher position a>er about two
years. Unfortunately, the employee has been lax in one area-dependability. Pat has been consistently
(15 #mes in last six months) late in arriving for work (some#mes as late as 1 hour) during the last year.
Other employees are beginning to grumble about this. On a couple of occasions, you did remind Pat
about the tardiness. While there are no explicit o?ce rules about lateness, employees are expected to
report to work on #me. You want the employee to keep up the excellent performance but also feel that
the employee must be responsible by coming to work on #me. You also feel that Pat cannot be
considered for a promotion at this #me.
You are to use a “PROBLEM-SOLVING” approach to the interview. The problem-solving approach
focuses on a par#cipa#ve and open dialogue between the supervisor and the employee. perception of
the problem and solution are mutually discussed. Your goal is to get Pat to help deBne the performance
problem and its solu#on. Be certain to discuss career development and further training with the
employee. Make sure the employee signs the evaluation form.
(NOTE: THIS SHEET SHOULD BE GIVEN TO ONE-HALF OF CLASS OBSERVERS)
SUPERVISOR ROLE
One of the employees working for you in the Fund Raising and Grants Department has been with
Tri-City Health Services for about 2 years. This employee is enthusias#c, intelligent and has done
extremely well on all assignments for the children’s health program. The employee, Pat Smith, has
shown a great deal of initiative in completing assignments. The goals set last year were to implement a
fund raising program and to increase federal grants received by 15 percent by April 1.
Both goals have been met. In fact, federal grants increased by 18 percent. It is April 22, and
#me for the annual review. You are feeling somewhat uncomfortable about the review because
normally employees who do well in this position move on to the next higher position a>er about two
years. Unfortunately, the employee has been lax in one area-dependability. Pat has been consistently
(15 #mes in last six months) late in arriving for work (some#mes as late as 1 hour) during the last year.
Other employees are beginning to grumble about this. On a couple of occasions, you did remind Pat
about the tardiness. While there are no explicit o?ce rules about lateness, employees are expected to
report to work on #me. You want the employee to keep up the excellent performance but also feel that
the employee must be responsible by coming to work on #me. You also feel that Pat cannot be
considered for a promotion at this #me.
63. EXERCISE: WHICH PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL FORMAT IS MOST EFFECTIVE?
I. OBJECTIVES:
1. To examine the strengths and weaknesses of four different methods for
appraising employees.
2. To enhance students’ oral communication skills.
II. OUT-OF-CLASS PREPARATION TIME: 30 minutes to prepare for the debate.
III. IN-CLASS TIME SUGGESTED: 50 to 75 minutes
IV. PROCEDURES: See Text
V. DISCUSSION:
The authors have found this debate format to be a highly effective one. Every student has an
ac#ve role to play as either a judge or a debater, so interest is typically quite high. Also, the four-way
debate format allows for a lot of information to be communicated compared with the traditional
two-way debate that goes back and forth. This also helps to hold student interest.
During the debate, we typically ask that all deba#ng teams stand up, in teams, around the
perimeter of the room. We only allow the judges to sit down. This permits each team to clearly see and
communicate to their adversaries. It also helps to enhance student interest in the discussion and to
familiarize class members with each other. This can reduce the students’ reluctance to speak up in
future classes.
One important aspect of the instruc#ons that needs to be stressed is to tell the judges that they
are not to pick a “winner.” Rather, they are to serve as the truth squad and to ultimately state what they
believe is the “correct” answer to the debate question. Declaring a winner detracts from accomplishing
this goal. We tell judges that they can disagree with all sides of the debate, or they can agree with parts
of each side, or they can take any other stand that they want and can jus#fy.
One other important aspect of the instruc#ons that needs to be stressed is that no spontaneous
rebu2als should be permi2ed. Each side must take its turn, or the debate gets out of hand and will take
far longer than the allo2ed #me.
There are several modiBca#ons to the exercise that instructors may want to consider. The
exercise, as written, requires four deba#ng teams. This could be reduced to just two or three teams.
Also, the exercise currently requires that teams prepare for the debate outside of class. An alternative
here is to lecture on the different appraisal formats Brst and then conduct the debate. Finally, the
appraisal formats used could be changed and different formats subs#tuted.
64. EXERCISE: ETHICAL PERFORMANCE APPRAISAL ISSUES
I. OBJECTIVES:
1. To make you aware that many performance appraisal decisions involve ethical
issues.
2. To familiarize you with some of the many ethical performance appraisal issues.
3. To familiarize you with various criteria that can be used to determine if an
action is ethical.
4. To make you aware of some of the reasons why a manager may be tempted to
act unethically when evaluating subordinates.
II. OUT-OF-CLASS PREPARATION TIME: 15 minutes
III. IN-CLASS TIME SUGGESTED: 20-40 minutes
IV. PROCEDURES: See Text
V. DISCUSSION:
Much has been written regarding ethical issues that relate to selling, advertising, stock trading,
accounting fraud, and executive compensation. However, li2le attention has been given to ethical issues
related to performance appraisal. In many work organization, managers are told to conduct annual
performance appraisals with employees and are asked to be accurate in their appraisals. The
importance of being ethical is not addressed. This exercise asks students to examine 10 different
appraisal situation to determine if they pose any ethical issues. Each student group needs to determine:
1) Is the manager in the case acting in an ethical manner? 2) Would their group act in the same manner
as did the manager?
In discussing this exercise, it may be helpful for the instructor to point out that there are two
approaches to appraisal in practice. One of these, the rational perspec#ve, suggests that the goal of
performance appraisal should be accuracy. Each manager must evaluate employees objec#vely because
these appraisals need to be used to make a wide range of administra#ve decisions (e.g., promotions,
transfers, raises, bonuses, layo)s, selection, and training). They also need to be used to develop and
motivate employees. Accuracy serves as a foundation for accomplishing these tasks. On the other hand,
the second perspec#ve-the political approach-suggests that the purpose of performance appraisal may
be its utility in accomplishing either the manager’s or the organiza#on’s goals. For example, the
manager may want to encourage an employee who is struggling by giving her/him a higher than
deserved evaluation. Likewise, a manager may want to punish an employee for being argumenta#ve by
giving him/her a lower than deserved evaluation. Thus, under this philosophy, appraisal is a means to an
end and accuracy is not the primarily or only goal. The scenarios that follow all relate to the issue of
whether these political goals are ethical and appropriate.
DebrieBng the Exercise
In debrieBng this exercise, the instructor may want to use a rota#on system and call on different
groups to answer each scenario. A>er each group has answered the two questions posed for each
scenario, the instructor could ask students to jus#fy their answers and ask them some or all of the
following ethical questions:
a. Does the action involve inten#onal decep#on?
b. Does the action purposely beneBt one party at the expense of another?
c. Is the action fair and just to all concerned?
d. Would you or the manager feel comfortable if the action was made public, or must it
remain a secret?
e. Would you need to jus#fy the action by telling yourself that you can get away with it
or that you won’t need to live with the decision consequences?
f. Would you recommend the action to others?
g. Will the action build goodwill and be2er relationship?
SCENARIO
1. A supervisor has an employee who is an outspoken homosexual. The
supervisor does not like homosexuals. As a result, the supervisor purposefully rates her lower
than deserved on her performance appraisal form.
NOTE: This action is designed to beneBt the supervisor at the expense of the subordinate and the Brm.
It is not fair to the employee because she may not get a raise or a desired promotion. It will not
build goodwill and improve relationship. It involves purposeful decep#on because the
supervisor is not providing an accurate assessment of the employee’s performance.
2. A Brm has recently been charged with discrimina#ng against minori#es. The
Brm denies the charges but asks all supervisors to make sure they do not discriminate. In order
to avoid any possible discrimination charge, a manager rates one poor performing minority
employee higher than deserved on the performance appraisal form.
NOTE: This action is designed to beneBt the manager and perhaps the Brm (in the short run, at best) at
the expense of the employee. The employee is not receiving accurate performance feedback
and is led to believe that he/she is performing be2er than she/he really is. This builds up false
hopes and may be harmful to the employee in the long run. It is not fair to other employees
because they may lose out when promotion #me arrives.
3. A manager has a male subordinate who is married with three children. This
employee is a known womanizer and has been spo2ed by several employees hanging out with
women other than his wife, including pros#tutes. The supervisor does not believe this is
appropriate and rates the employee lower than deserved on the performance appraisal form.
NOTE: This action is designed to punish the employee based on the supervisor’s moral judgments. The
Brm probably loses out and so does the employee. The employee does not know the real reason
for the low appraisal which is unfair. The Brm may lose out because a potentially good employee
will be classiBed as a poor one.
4. A female employee who recently had a baby nego#ated a change from
full-#me to part-#me status with the HR department. Her supervisor, also a working mother,
resents the fact that she is able to spend more #me at home with her child. The supervisor rates
her lower than deserved on the performance appraisal form in an a2empt to force her to
switchback to full-#me status or quit.
NOTE: This action is designed to beneBt the manager but is harmful to both the employee and the Brm.
The employee is being denied an accurate evaluation which in the long run is unfair to her
because it may affect raises and promotion opportunities. The Brm is losing because it may lose
the services of a good employee and need to hire a new person.
5. A Brm has a 360-degree performance appraisal system that includes asking all
subordinates to rate and evaluate their boss. A manager wants to be promoted so he gives all
employees higher performance evaluations than they deserve in hopes that they, in turn, will
rate him higher.
NOTE: This action is designed to help the manager. It is also unfair to employees because they are being
given false information regarding their job performance. The Brm loses because it believes that
the employees are all performing well when, in fact, they may not be.
6. A manager realizes that an employee’s a2endance is so poor that she is likely
to get terminated within the next few months. So, in order to build a more solid case against the
employee and further jus#fy the inevitable termina#on, the manager rates the subordinate
lower than deserved on the performance appraisal form.
NOTE: This action is designed to help the manager at the expense of the employee. The employee is
being treated unfairly because he/she is led to believe that her/his performance is poor.
7. A manager wants to get promoted in order to get a substantial raise. He
believes that he will be judged, in part, in terms of how effective he has been at developing high
performing subordinates as evidenced by his subordinates’ performance appraisal scores. In
order to enhance his promotion chances, he rates his employees higher than deserved.
NOTE: This action is designed to beneBt the manager who wants a raise. The employees lose in the long
run because they are not being given accurate feedback so they do not know how to improve
themselves. The Brm also loses because it is being told that all employees are performing much
be2er than they really are.
8. A manager wants to give one particular subordinate a big raise in order to
keep her from accepting a job elsewhere. However, there is limited raise money available, and it
is based on merit. So, he rates another employee lower than deserved, thereby reducing this
person’s raise, in order to be able to give the other a larger raise.
NOTE: This action is designed to help one employee and the manager at the expense of another
employee. It is unfair to the employee who is being evaluated lower than deserved.
9. A manager wants to get rid of a disliked subordinate, so she rates the
employee lower than deserved in hopes that the employee will quit.
NOTE: This action is designed to help the manager at the expense of the employee. It is unfair to the
employee.
10. A manager wants to help a subordinate get promoted, so she gives her a
higher evaluation than deserved.
NOTE: This action beneBts one employee but probably at the expense of some other employees who are
more deserving of a promotion. It is not fair to these other employees. The Brm may lose out
too because it may promote a person who is not as well qualiBed as some other employee.