Deck 10: Strategic Performance Management

Question 1

The values and norms of an organisation that indicate to employees how they should behave and think at work is an example of:

A) strategic planning
B) performance criteria and measures
C) taking action
D) organisational culture

Answer 1

D

Question 2

The overall aim of performance management is to establish whether performance is being improved and implementing strategies to ensure this.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

There is 'one best way' to design performance appraisals so that the same appraisal system can be used for all organisations regardless of their size, quality and quantity of employees, and organisational culture.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

With the increasing diversity of organisations, managers need to develop performance criteria that consider the cultural differences of employees.

Question 5

When people work together in teams their performance should be measured via group performance, never via individual performance.

Question 6

The strategic planning process entails developing long-term organisational plans.A small team of managers and external consultants employed by Fun4You, a toy manufacturer, discovered that the organisation's competitors were mainly producing computer games and electronic toys for the seven-year-old to adulthood market.They also discovered that the parents of children under the age of five wanted toys for their children that were educational and developed their motor skills.As a result Fun4You decided on a strategic goal for the next two years of manufacturing educational toys for under-fives.This decision was based on:

A) an internal analysis
B) an external analysis
C) an analysis of the strengths of the organisation
D) an analysis of the weaknesses of the organisation

Question 7

The 'graphic rating scale' is a very difficult method of performance appraisal and is seldom used by managers.

Question 8

The performance appraisal process is not performed in isolation but is linked to other HRM functions such as job analysis, training and development and workforce planning.

Question 9

Errors and prejudices in performance appraisals are unlikely between the manager and the employee.

Question 10

Which of the following would NOT be an indication of organisational performance?

A) return on investment
B) profit margins
C) technical know-how
D) brand value

Question 11

Performance criteria are stated as key performance indicators (KPIs).Which of the following is not a KPI?

A) number of reported customer complaints
B) market share, customer loyalty and retention rate
C) percentage of timely deliveries
D) internal communication to colleagues

Question 12

There are five characteristics of performance management that managers need to consider before conducting performance reviews.Which of the following is not a characteristic of performance management?

A) a process of continuous input and output management
B) a multifaceted and multilevel agreement of input and output
C) an individual approach to the management process
D) vertical integration and horizontal integration

Question 13

Garth works with Bon in a store and will unpack electronic devices and components and then place them on the shelves.Even though Garth is the store manager and this is not part of his job, he does this task when Bon is busy serving customers.What type of performance is he displaying?

A) task performance
B) contextual performance
C) job performance
D) technical performance

Question 14

There are five characteristics of performance management that HR managers need to consider before conducting performance reviews.ProGrow, a sports clothing manufacturer, has a goal of also producing sports shoes.It realises that in order to do this it will need to recruit or identify employees who have shoe design skills, train existing employees to use new machines and redesign the workspace so that employees are protected from the fumes which emanate from the glue used in sport shoe manufacturing.This is an example of:

A) a process of continuous input and output management
B) a multifaceted and multilevel agreement of input and output
C) vertical integration
D) horizontal integration

Question 15

There are five characteristics of performance management that HR managers need to consider before conducting performance reviews.ProGrow, a sports clothing manufacturer, has a goal of increasing the number of sports clothing outlets stocking their brand by 25% in the next six months.In order to achieve this goal the marketing department's objective is to increase the volume of advertising exposure of the brand.Judy, who works in the marketing department, has the role of developing written advertisements for the print media.This is an example of:

A) a process of continuous input and output management
B) a multifaceted and multilevel agreement of input and output
C) vertical integration
D) horizontal integration

Question 16

Performance reviews lack 'open and honest dialogue', and the failure to manage the whole person, keeping in mind that employees have a life outside of work.

Question 17

External customer satisfaction, internal operations, people's growth and learning, and financial targets are all examples of:

A) strategic planning
B) performance criteria and measures
C) taking action
D) organisational culture

Question 18

One advantage of using technology-based appraisals, which give appraisers the opportunity to provide employee feedback online, is the decreased likelihood of emotional responses and bias.

Question 19

An effective performance appraisal system will enable the organisation to:

A) examine the external environment to ascertain threats
B) improve overall performance to achieve a competitive advantage
C) measure the financial success of the organisation
D) identify opportunities in the external environment

Question 20

Contemporary methods of performance appraisal emphasise the accuracy or ratings of specific employee job-related behaviours but in order to gain a more holistic performance review of employees, which includes social and motivational aspects of the job, the 360 degree feedback method is the most appropriate choice.

Question 21

The link between performance appraisals and improved organisational performance includes:

A) recognising that employees' motivations and discretionary behaviour are major determinants of high performance
B) taking positive steps to discipline behaviour of some employees
C) there are allowances in performance appraisals for discretionary behaviour
D) none of the above

Question 22

Within the framework of performance in business, what are performance criteria? Provide five examples of performance criteria.

Question 23

Which performance appraisal method involves the identification of a large number of critical incidents, the grading of these incidents from very negative to very positive and the numerical rating of these incidents into levels of performance?

A) critical incidents method
B) management by objectives
C) behaviourally anchored rating scale
D) graphic rating scale

Question 24

Within the context of job performance, what is the difference between task performance and contextual performance?

Question 25

When appraising the performance of a group of workers he supervises, John considers each of his employees in turn and circles a number or word on a bipolar scale to signify the degree to which that employee demonstrates a particular job-related skill.John is using:

A) critical incidents method
B) management by objectives
C) behaviour observation scale
D) graphic rating scale

Question 26

One of the most important contributors to the success of the performance appraisal process is that:

A) appraisals are performed at the same time every year
B) managers are equipped with the required skills to perform the process and that they are consistent and fair in their appraisals
C) the results of the performance appraisal are stored in human resource information systems so that all employees can access them
D) managers closely control the process and minimise employee input

Question 27

Discuss behaviourally anchored rating scales and the process that can be used to develop them.

Question 28

UniCorp conducts performance appraisals on all of its employees on a yearly basis.This year the process revealed that several employees were outstanding performers, there was an underutilisation of the skills of administrative staff and that some employees were more suited to perform different work in the organisation.UniCorp would most likely use this information to make decisions about:

A) training and development
B) promotion, demotion, transfer and termination
C) rewarding and compensating employees
D) recruitment and selection

Question 29

During the performance appraisal and review process, Mark and his manager realised that Mark often struggled to type accurately, resulting in his work having errors and his work taking more time to complete than his colleagues' work.Mark's manager would use this information to:

A) decide Mark's training and development needs
B) withhold rewards to punish Mark for his poor performance
C) redesign Mark's job so that he no longer had to type
D) give more of Mark's typing work to his colleagues

Question 30

What are the major problems with performance appraisals and how are they often overcome? How would you use procedural justice during the performance appraisal process?

Question 31

One important aspect of performance appraisals that a manager needs to be aware of is the propensity for bias to enter the process.How can bias be overcome in the performance appraisal process?

Question 32

List ten ways to make performance appraisal feedback more effective.

Question 33

Sustainable development of organisational performance is measured in terms of the 'triple bottom line', which states that measurement of organisational performance should not only include fiscal performance measures such as return on investment (ROI), profit margins, market share, brand value and the quality of goods and services but also incorporate:

A) environment
B) social performance
C) behavioural science
D) both a and b

Question 34

Jillian developed a list of desirable job-related behaviours from critical incidents records.She used this list to record the number of times the desirable job-related behaviours were displayed by her employees.Which performance appraisal tool did Jillian use?

A) critical incidents method
B) management by objectives
C) behaviour observation scale
D) graphic rating scale

Question 35

During Alice's performance appraisal, her boss outlined how her outstanding performance in reducing the number of customer complaints led to increases in customer retention rates with her workgroup and ultimately helped the organisation to increase its competitive advantage by gaining a larger share of the consumer market.This is an example of:

A) giving feedback aligned to goals of the employee
B) giving feedback regarding about performance measurements
C) giving feedback and performance information
D) all of the above

Question 36

The purpose of performance appraisals can be determined by using the SMART method of goal setting.The SMART method suggests that goals should be:

A) specific, motivational, assessable, relevant and time-bounded
B) statements, measurable, agreed, relevant and time-bounded
C) specific, measurable, agreed, realistic and time-bounded
D) statements, motivational, assessable, realistic and time-bounded