Deck 7: Managing Employee Engagement and Performance

Question 1

Validity refers to the consistency of a performance measure.

Answer 1

False

Question 2

The critical incidents technique is a behavioural approach to performance management.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Management by objectives (MBO)systems seldom link employee performance to an organization's strategic goals.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Attribute approached methods are quite easy to develop and are generalizable across a variety of jobs,strategies,and organizations.

Question 5

Although performance management does include the once or twice a year formal appraisal or evaluation meeting,effective performance management is a process,not an event.

Question 6

Managers are usually comfortable confronting employees with their performance weaknesses.

Question 7

Subordinates are the most frequently used source of performance information.

Question 8

The extent to which a performance management system seeks performance consistent with the organization's strategy,goals,and culture is known as its acceptability.

Question 9

Results-based approaches to performance measurement assume that subjectivity can be eliminated from the measurement process.

Question 10

The best use of self-ratings is for administrative purposes.

Question 11

The three purposes of performance management systems are strategic,administrative,and developmental.

Question 12

After 3 years of working with your company you have been assigned to a new manager.Unfortunately you are not overly fond of this manager and it is having a significant impact on your happiness at work.You have tried to avoid dealing directly with the manager but have been unsuccessful and as a result you have started to call in sick and when you are at work you do not care about the job itself.You are experiencing what is known as the theory of job disassociation.

Question 13

The behavioural approach to performance management methods are the most popular performance evaluation approaches in organizations.

Question 14

Leniency reflects that a manager rates all employees in the middle of the rating scale.

Question 15

Multifaceted rankings require managers to rank employees within their departments from highest performer to poorest performer.

Question 16

Acceptability is affected by the extent to which employees believe the performance management system is consistent.

Question 17

Performance management is the means through which managers ensure that employees' activities and outputs are congruent with the organization's goals.

Question 18

Appraisal politics refer to evaluators purposefully distorting a rating to achieve personal or company goals.

Question 19

An advantage of behaviourally anchored rating scales is increased interrater reliability.

Question 20

A major advantage of the 360-degree appraisal is that it provides a means for minimizing bias in an otherwise subjective evaluation technique.

Question 21

If a manager 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,he/she is using a:

A)critical incidents approach.
B)mixed standard scale.
C)behaviour observation scale.
D)graphic rating scale.

Question 22

Which attribute approach to performance management is the most frequently used?

A)Behaviourally anchored rating scales
B)Mixed standard scales
C)Behaviour observation scales
D)Graphic rating scales

Question 23

To improve the performance feedback process,managers should do all but one of the following.Name the exception.

A)Give employees feedback frequently,not just during the feedback session.
B)Let employees rate their performance before the feedback session.
C)Conduct the feedback session in his/her office.
D)Focus on behaviour or results,not on the person.

Question 24

When employees participate in the performance feedback session,they _____________________.

A)are often frustrated with the process
B)are reluctant to state any weaknesses they feel they have to work on
C)do not believe their input has any positive or negative impact on their improvement
D)are consistently satisfied with the process

Question 25

Denise is very dissatisfied with her job situation,but she does not perceive any other employment opportunities,so she stays and spends most of the workday dreaming about non-work matters.Which of the following behaviours is she experiencing?

A)Physical withdrawal
B)Psychological withdrawal
C)Change behaviours
D)Physiological withdrawal

Question 26

The two primary sets of people in the organization who affect an individual's job satisfaction are:

A)subordinates and supervisors.
B)supervisors and family members.
C)co-workers and subordinates.
D)supervisors and co-workers.

Question 27

A(n)_____ measure evaluates irrelevant aspects of performance or aspects that are not job related.

A)unreliable
B)valid
C)contaminated
D)inconsistent

Question 28

Output is a factor to consider in analyzing poor performance.

Question 29

In which performance technique are managers given statements,based on relevant performance dimensions,representing good,average,and poor performance along each dimension?

A)Behaviourally anchored rating scale
B)Mixed-standard scale
C)Behaviour observation scale
D)Graphic rating scale

Question 30

Just cause is a legal term meaning an employer has a justifiable (and legally defensible)reason for terminating an employee without providing reasonable notice or payment in lieu of notice.

Question 31

The performance management approach that requires managers to keep a record of specific examples of effective and ineffective performance is called:

A)behaviourally anchored rating scales.
B)behaviour observation scales.
C)critical incidents.
D)organizational behaviour modification.

Question 32

Procedural justice refers to the judgment that people make with respect to outcomes received relative to the outcomes received by other people with whom they identify.

Question 33

A manager should reward good performance,set goals,and train or arrange temporary assignment for skill development for highly motivated,high ability employees also referred to as solid performers.

Question 34

Which of the following is a process where appraisers observe the individuals' behaviour and evaluate their skill or potential as managers for promotion decisions?

A)Productivity measurement and evaluation system
B)Management by objectives
C)Assessment centres
D)Organizational behaviour modification

Question 35

A situation in which evaluators purposefully distort a rating to achieve personal or company goals is referred to as:

A)upward feedback.
B)downward feedback.
C)appraisal politics.
D)calibration politics.

Question 36

Which of the following is an inappropriate approach to measuring performance?

A)Comparative approach
B)Attribute approach
C)Consequential approach
D)Behaviour approach

Question 37

Once the expected performance has been defined and employees' performances have been measured,it is necessary to feed that performance information back to the employees so that they can correct any deficiencies.

Question 38

Identify the evaluation approach to performance measurement that meets the following criteria: very high strategic congruence,usually high validity,high reliability,high acceptability,and high specificity.

A)Comparative
B)Attribute
C)Behavioural
D)Results

Question 39

Voluntary turnover of employees is:

A)not strongly related to job satisfaction.
B)a costly and disruptive phenomenon for organizations.
C)an example of a behaviour change.
D)an example of psychological withdrawal.

Question 40

You completed your 3 month probation and you just met with your supervisor.She provided you with your ratings,justified the ratings and ended the performance feedback session.What did your manager fail to do in order to provide you effective performance feedback?

A)Create the right context for the discussion.
B)Encourage the subordinate to participate in the session.
C)Ask the employee to rate his or her performance before the session.
D)Recognize effective performance through praise.

Question 41

All of the following are examples of reasons for poor performance,EXCEPT:

A)lack of feedback.
B)lack of ability from the employee.
C)economic downturn.
D)misunderstanding of performance expectations.

Question 42

Which of the following is NOT a purpose of performance management systems?

A)Administrative
B)Developmental
C)Investigative
D)Strategic

Question 43

The _____ method requires managers to compare every employee with every other employee in the work group,giving an employee a score of 1 every time he/she is considered the high performer.

A)partner measurement
B)mixed-standard scales
C)forced distribution
D)paired comparison

Question 44

Alternative dispute resolution is a method of resolving disputes that:

A)involves extensive legislation.
B)does not rely on the legal system.
C)excludes outside parties.
D)does not involve binding arbitration.

Question 45

The three components of job satisfaction are:

A)compensation,working conditions,and peer support.
B)values,perceptions,and importance of individual views.
C)job involvement,organizational commitment,and job withdrawal.
D)physical environment,social environment,and the person.

Question 46

Turnover initiated by the organization,often among people who would prefer to stay,is:

A)involuntary turnover.
B)voluntary turnover.
C)external turnover.
D)internal turnover.

Question 47

Sam Jones was terminated from his job with no explanation or consideration of why he was let go.It is likely that Sam has not experienced:

A)procedural justice.
B)outcome fairness.
C)interactional justice.
D)alternative dispute resolution.

Question 48

Low job involvement and low organizational commitment are:

A)essentially the same thing.
B)forms of psychological disengagement.
C)examples of physical withdrawal that are related to job dissatisfaction.
D)examples of physical withdrawal that are not related to job satisfaction.

Question 49

Regardless of what measures are used or how many facets of satisfaction are assessed,a systematic,_____ program of employee survey research should be a prominent part of any human resource strategy for a number of reasons.

A)periodic
B)occasional
C)intermittent
D)ongoing

Question 50

Which of the following is generally NOT true of management by objectives?

A)Goals are usually established unilaterally by management.
B)Goals are specific,difficult,and objective in nature.
C)Individual goals are linked to the company's strategic goals.
D)Objective managerial feedback is provided to employees throughout the rating period.

Question 51

_____ with departing workers can be a valuable tool for uncovering systematic concerns that are driving retention problems.

A)Behavioural interviews
B)Retention interviews
C)Exit interviews
D)Mock interviews

Question 52

Which rater error leads employees to believe that no aspects of their performance need improvement?

A)Contrast
B)Halo
C)Horns
D)Similar-to-me

Question 53

A measure that results in dramatically different ratings over time lacks:

A)internal consistency reliability.
B)interrater reliability.
C)intrarater reliability.
D)test-retest reliability.

Question 54

In a workgroup,a completely competent performer is working with a number of peers who are outstanding.If the competent employee receives lower-than-deserved ratings because of the outstanding colleagues,then which rater error has occurred?

A)Contrast error
B)Distributional error
C)Halo/horns error
D)Similar-to-me error

Question 55

Which rater error makes it difficult to distinguish among employees rated by the same rater and creates problems in comparing the performance of individuals rated by different raters?

A)Contrast error
B)Distributional error
C)Halo/horns error
D)Similar-to-me error

Question 56

Employer programs that attempt to ameliorate problems encountered by workers who are drug dependent,alcoholic,or psychologically troubled are referred to as:

A)employee assistance programs.
B)supervisor assistance programs.
C)health benefits programs.
D)health insurance programs.

Question 57

Which of the following is not a common principle of justice?

A)Outcome justice
B)Procedural justice
C)Interactional justice
D)Task justice

Question 58

Which rater error is made when one judges those who are comparable to him/her in the immediate work group higher than those who are not?

A)Contrast error
B)Distributional error
C)Halo/horns error
D)Similar-to-me error

Question 59

The consistency among the different individuals who evaluate the employee's performance is known as:

A)internal consistency reliability.
B)interrater reliability.
C)intrarater reliability.
D)test-retest reliability.

Question 60

These programs provide increased opportunities for workers to have input into important organizational decisions that involve their work,and have been found to reduce role conflict and ambiguity.

A)Prosocial motivation programs
B)Team building programs
C)Job enrichment programs
D)Job rotation programs

Question 61

The process through which an organization gets information on how closely an employee's actual performance met the performance plan is:

A)performance appraisal.
B)performance management.
C)performance feedback.
D)ability analysis.

Question 62

What type of training attempts to emphasize the multidimensional nature of performance and thoroughly familiarize raters with the actual content of various performance dimensions?

A)Performance training
B)Error reduction training
C)Multidimensional training
D)Rater accuracy training

Question 63

Job satisfaction may be best defined as:

A)a pleasurable feeling that results from the perception that one's job fulfills or allows the fulfillment of one's important job values.
B)the degree to which an employee identifies with an organization and is willing to put forth effort on its behalf.
C)the performance of one's job duties so as to satisfy the requirements of the job.
D)the degree to which people identify themselves with their jobs or career.

Question 64

Which of the following is NOT true of managers as the source of performance measures?

A)Managers are the most frequently used source of performance information.
B)Managers are generally motivated to make accurate ratings.
C)Manager-based performance evaluations eliminate the concern of favouritism.
D)Managers are viewed by employees as legitimate sources of performance information.

Question 65

The _____ approach minimizes subjectivity,relying on objective,quantifiable indicators of performance.

A)quality
B)comparative
C)results
D)attribute

Question 66

In Company PQR,Jackson values high pay above all else;Lilah values the opportunity to travel;and Chan values staying within her home geographic region.All employees are able to fulfill their respective values through their jobs.This exemplifies:

A)job withdrawal.
B)job involvement.
C)job satisfaction.
D)social environment.

Question 67

Job withdrawal is:

A)the loss of jobs within an organization due to adverse economic forces.
B)a set of behaviours that dissatisfied individuals enact to avoid the work situation.
C)the retracting of a job offer following the results of the pre-employment physical.
D)a change in employee attitude,causing the employee to be less committed to his/her job.

Question 68

The technique that ranks employees into predetermined categories or groups according to performance is called:

A)forced distribution.
B)high/low ranking system.
C)paired comparison.
D)strictness.

Question 69

A situation where one person is losing his/her job while others are not is conducive to perceptions of _____ on the part of the discharged employee.

A)structural fairness
B)process fairness
C)procedural fairness
D)outcome fairness

Question 70

Which determinant of procedural justice states that procedures are applied by a person who has no vested interest in the outcome and no prior prejudices regarding the individual?

A)Bias suppression
B)Correctability
C)Representativeness
D)Ethicality

Question 71

_____ justice focuses specifically on the methods used to determine the outcomes received.

A)Outcome
B)Distributive
C)Procedural
D)Interactional

Question 72

The extent to which the performance measure gives guidance to employees about what is expected of them is called:

A)reliability.
B)validity.
C)specificity.
D)acceptability.

Question 73

Which of the following is NOT true of peers as the source of performance measures?

A)Peers have expert knowledge of job requirements.
B)Peer ratings are particularly useful for administrative and strategic decision making.
C)Peer ratings are particularly useful when supervisors do not have the opportunity to observe employees.
D)Peers have been found to provide extremely valid assessments of performance in several different settings.

Question 74

An intervention that explicitly focuses on the impoverished or boring tasks as a source of dissatisfaction in its aim to reduce job dissatisfaction is called:

A)job enrichment.
B)team building.
C)prosocial motivation.
D)job rotation.

Question 75

What type of counselling helps displaced employees manage the transition from one job to another?

A)Outplacement
B)Transition
C)Relocation
D)Displacement

Question 76

An employee that is performing at a barely acceptable level because of lack of ability and/or motivation to perform well,not poor work conditions,is called a(n):

A)marginal employee.
B)inconsistent employee.
C)social loafer.
D)mediocre performer.

Question 77

Subordinates,as a source of performance information,are generally most appropriate when the performance results are to be used for:

A)training purposes.
B)investigative purposes.
C)strategic purposes.
D)developmental purposes.

Question 78

Which performance management evaluation criterion is concerned with maximizing the overlap between actual job performance and the measure of job performance?

A)Reliability
B)Acceptability
C)Specificity
D)Validity

Question 79

Which of the following is NOT one of the primary aspects of tasks that affect job satisfaction?

A)Task complexity.
B)The amount of flexibility in where and when the work is done.
C)Task status.
D)The value the employees place on the task.

Question 80

_____ ranking consists of a manager looking at a list of employees,deciding who the best employee is,and crossing that person's name off the list.From the remaining names,the manager decides who the worst employee is and crosses that name off the list-and so forth.

A)Simple
B)Alternation
C)Reverse
D)Forced