Performance Management Concepts Skills And Exercises 2nd Edition Robert Cardy, Brian Leonard - Solutions

Identify major dimensions of performance to serve as criteria. For example, if the volunteer is a team member, you could focus on dimensions that are part of that role, such as interpersonal relations, timeliness of task completion, and so on.
Find a volunteer who is willing to receive performance feedback.The person might be a current or former member of your company or a team member.
Every performance management system has pros and cons.Assuming this team-based approach to evaluations is implemented in the business world, what are the downfalls of such an approach? Is this a valid approach, or does it open the door to “letting the roosters run the henhouse”? Could or would
Assuming you had the resources and the buy-in from the organization sponsoring the team (or team owner), how would you implement a team-based performance feedback system?Would you recommend any training? If so, specify.
Some team members may resist adding performance feedback to their roles as team members. How would you address the problem?
Choose a team that you have been a part of (sports, clubs, academic, fund-raising, church, etc.). What was the end result the team was seeking to achieve? Was there any type of accountability around the success or failure of the team? Create a methodology by which team members are given the
Certain sets of questions will show a larger difference between ratings. Which questions show the highest difference between ratings and which show the lowest? Why do you think this might be? Share with the class.
What is the difference between the thoughts that each statement conjures up for each section? Which set has undertones of objective facts versus undertones of subjective opinion? Will one line of questioning inspire change versus resentment over the other? Why?
What is the difference in the level of defensiveness conjured up by the first set of questions as opposed to the second? Which set of questions inspires defense and which inspires inquisitiveness and conversation? Why?
Now read the following statements to the other person. The employee being evaluated should write down their initial thoughts and rank the level of defensiveness created by each statement.a. Your actions in the past have reflected that you do not work your hardest when you are here (name an
Get together with a partner and read the statements below to the other person. Have the other person write down their initial thoughts and feelings after hearing the phrase read to them. Next have them rate the level of defensiveness that each statement instills in them on a scale from 1 to 5 (1 =
Share your findings with the class.
What if you determine that a student performs poorly for a semester and fails? Will your method stand up to outside, perhaps legal, scrutiny? Explain.
Being the highly sought-after professor that you are, you also teach four other classes each day. Can you streamline this process of tracking performance and providing feedback? Are you doing this in a manner that is most beneficial to you, the time-strapped professor, or to the students?
Now that you know how often you will provide the students with feedback, exactly how will you track each student’s performance?Will it be done electronically, mentally, in a spreadsheet, on paper, or some other way? Make a prototype of this tracking mechanism to share with your colleagues.
How much of your time would this take to do each week? How did you arrive at this number?
A student can think of nothing worse than arriving at the end of a semester and finding out that they are doing more poorly than they had thought, only to find that it is too late to catch up. Still, students must hold some accountability for knowing what the rules are up front and playing by them
Suppose that you were a college professor who created a new class of thirty students, teaching whatever subject you would like(choose one). Now suppose that the grades of each student are based entirely upon criteria that are not dependent on grades(e.g., class participation, class preparedness,
Every push for efficiency improvements within a company comes at a cost. Frame-of-reference training is no different in this respect. While most managers are paid a salary and considered an overhead cost, the cost to train them can still be estimated by making a few adjustments. Assume that
Did the evaluations converge and become more accurate for each progressive evaluation session? Did the workers or students view the FOR process as useful?
Should the worker being reviewed have knowledge of the criteria for assessing the effectiveness of a feedback session? Why or why not? If the worker does not evaluate and provide feedback on the effectiveness of the feedback session, who else should or could?
Were the dimensions and behavioral examples helpful? Did they assist the observer in evaluating the effectiveness of the feedback session? Did the dimensions and behaviors assist the people responsible for providing feedback? Were the criteria helpful to the performer?
Revisit Basic Skill Builder 6.1 of this chapter and prepare materials for feedback to another performer. Follow the steps in Basic Skill Builder 6.1, but use the dimensions you generated here to evaluate the feedback session.
Using your revised set of dimensions, apply the CIT (see Chapter 3) to generate your own behavioral incidents to each dimension and assign effectiveness values to each. Generate anchors for your dimensional rating scales by selecting from the behavioral incidents. (Be sure to use only those
The above dimensions were generated some time ago and prior to the popularity of team-based structures and empowerment. Are the dimensions and behavioral examples still applicable today?Are there dimensions you would delete, change, or add? Make changes to the dimensions as you see appropriate.
After completion of the feedback session, the volunteer performer summarizes his or her assessment of the feedback session. Is there agreement with the assessments made by the observers?
The observers of the feedback session should evaluate it using the following questions:. How well did it seem to go?. Was the feedback focused on the performance or the performer?. How did the performer seem to react to the feedback? Did the feedback session remain in control, or did disagreement
How would you recommend your solution in item 3 be implemented? In other words, how would you go about selling or convincing management that your solution is needed and should be followed?
What could be done to improve the situation?
Why is the annual positive review that she receives not enough?
Based on your reading of the opening example, what is the problem for Phuong? That is, why is she not a happy and committed worker?
From your experience, do you agree with such a performance evaluation system? Do the pros outweigh the cons? Why or why not?
Imagine that you have just been hired to become the CEO of a company that takes the streamlined approach and focuses on goal setting. The company is slowly losing market share and profits to your major competitors. Your first set of priorities is to adjust compensation, bonuses, and promotions to
How effective do you think such a system would be for a company? Is this a useful system to use? Explain.
With the exception of Box 7, large companies arguably require employees in all eight other boxes in order to function long term.A company cannot be full of only high potential/high performer employees since there are not enough positions at the top to provide adequate promotion opportunities. With
Was establishing levels of future potential more difficult than for past performance? Why or why not? Is this a fair way to categorize employees? Would it be effective at keeping a company competitive?
Create FOR materials to be used to train various managers on low, medium, and high levels of an employee’s future potential.
Choose a job position that you have either worked in or managed.Create a CIT based upon “future potential” of an employee for this position.
How would you improve this system based upon methods discussed in this chapter and previous chapters?
Feedback from the internal customer adds another useful dimension to the evaluation system. Some would say this creates conflict for a consultant between giving the customer what they want and giving them what they need. How could such a conflict arise? Do you think the benefits outweigh the
Feedback from team members references a type of 360-degree feedback system. Does team-member feedback make sense in this case? In a highly complex and political organization, what are some strengths of this type of system? What are some pitfalls? Do the strengths outweigh the weaknesses? Why or why
This company, rather advanced in its performance evaluation systems, utilizes both results-based and performance-based criteria. Evaluations based upon ROI would be considered a“result-based criterion.” Does this portion of an employee’s bonus at the end of each year sound fair? Why or why
At a company like SJ&B, it would seem that there is no system in place for measuring the effectiveness and accuracy of evaluation methods from office to office or manager to manager. What if the company decided to tie evaluations to pay raises and promotions?As the CEO of the company, what methods
In the grand scheme of things, if evaluations are not tied directly to pay, is this discrepancy cause for concern by senior management? For a multinational company, what are some of the inefficiencies, blind spots, and shortcomings that can result from such a system?
Do you think an impact of casual attributions on evaluations should occur? Is it fair? What is the purpose of a company? To make a profit? If so, should anything other than the employee’s ability to deliver results matter (assuming no one is hurt and all rules are followed)? Why or why not?
Refer to the causal matrix used in attribution theory (see Figure on page 97). Place performance attributes of each animal in each quadrant of the matrix. Does placing the performance of an animal in specific quadrants address how harshly or how gently you evaluate performance?
How would you take each of the following results-based criteria into consideration with each “employee”?a. Consider the level of difficulty of objectives. How difficult was the goal? How do you determine the level of difficulty?b. Consider important gradations to achieving the goals.c.
As they finished at approximately the same time, would you score them the same? In a results based system or a “goals only”system, wouldn’t it be unfair to score them differently? Explain?
What is your assessment of the FOR training approach? Do you think it would be effective for developing common evaluation standards in an organizational setting? What are some possible disadvantages of the FOR training approach? Do you have any changes you would recommend be made to the FOR
Does the error rate get larger or smaller with practice for the volunteer? How much does this error rate multiply in a company of 1,000 employees with hundreds of other scripts and actors?
Find someone to act as a test subject for your FOR training(coworker, classmate, spouse, children, etc.).a. Discuss the criteria of performance (What are the dimensions? What are the rating scales?) with the volunteer for this specific performance evaluation.b. Either read the first description of
Use the behavioral incidents and performance levels you created from this exercise to build three to four “descriptions of performance” that include all dimensions. These descriptions of performance will either be read aloud or acted out for the training members, who will provide ratings on
Use the CIT to create a behavior-based description for this position.a. Generate three to four job dimensions.b. Create ten to fifteen critical behavior incidents for each job dimension.c. Apply performance levels to each critical behavior incident.
Choose a job position that you have held in the past, one you hold now, or preferably one that you have managed at some point.
Compare your results with the rest of the class. Which scenarios differ the most between classmates? In a company, who would make the final decision? What are the legal consequences?
Business is, hypothetically, survival of the fittest. Those companies that are faster, smarter, and more efficient than other companies survive, while those that are slower and less efficient die. Do you think it is relevant whether poor performance is due to sin or sickness? When survival is at
Is it fair to disregard those items in a performance evaluation for which you have marked “sickness”? Can people manipulate this if they see patterns develop?
Is this an all-or-nothing exercise? Can some of these be partially sin and partially sickness? How will you decipher during a real evaluation?
Determine whether the following causes of poor performance are due to sin (has control) or sickness (has no control).
Choose a professional sports team. Choose a specific position on this sports team (i.e., quarterback, third baseman, halfback). Now create results-based criteria for this position upon which you will judge all future athletes playing this position.a. Give five results-based criteria you would use
This chapter suggested that during implementations of such new evaluation programs, it is important to execute them “from the ground up.” In other words, it is important to get the buy-in from the weathermen on the performance levels and effectiveness values before forcing the criteria upon
Create Frame-of-Reference training materials upon which the weatherman’s boss can evaluate him or her. You want to make sure that all weathermen at the parent news company are evaluated evenly.a. Generate descriptions of performance that you can use to train executives at the news station around
Create a three-dimensional CIT for a local weatherman (or weatherwoman) on a local news stationa. Determine the three dimensions. Will they be performance based, results based, or both? Why?b. Create the critical behavioral incidents.c. Create the performance levels around the behavioral incidents.
What other information does Sheila need to find out to determine the causes of David’s apparent success? What questions can she ask? What actions can she take?
Is it really relevant for Sheila to determine what the cause of observed performance is? As long as David gets the job done, why is causality important? Give five reasons.
Consider the locus-by-stability matrix used in attribution theory(see Figure on page 97). Where does David’s performance, as described in this scenario, fit into this matrix? Could it fit into more than one quadrant? Explain.
Create a “sales pitch” to the CEO of WidgetCo, detailing the cost of this proposed plan and how it is offset by the return on investment from this project.
Assume that your questionnaire uncovered that, indeed, WidgetCo is deficient in all five categories you are investigating.Create an action plan for you to help WidgetCo become a top-tier company in performing evaluations and providing useful feedback to employees.a. What must be done, specifically
Create a questionnaire or survey often to twenty questions to send out to employees and managers to learn about the effectiveness of the WidgetCo performance management evaluation process. Use concepts learned in this chapter and previous chapters to determine the questions. Questions can be
What are the top five things you would like to find out about the evaluation system at WidgetCo? What are the five most important issues that you would like to uncover at WidgetCo? What would some of the symptoms of those issues be? For example, one major issue could be lack of common evaluation
What would be the possible benefits of reducing or eliminating this difference in criteria?
How could the difference in criteria be resolved? Describe the steps that could be taken.
Why is the difference in criteria between Randy and James a problem for First Consulting? Do you think one is right and the other wrong? Why?
Describe the problem from the perspective of performance criteria. That is, while Randy and James may have different styles, how could you state the issue in terms of criteria?
Examine the resulting pattern of observed performance levels.What diagnoses can you make based on your inspection of the patterns? Are there tasks (or projects or role aspects) that appear easier or harder? Are there some workers who seem to be above average or below average? Are there any
Use the matrices you developed to collect and record performance observations. You could initially enter your narrative performance observations and then translate them into a number scale (as used in the chapter) or into a + / − system reflecting effectiveness.
Select a work situation and develop your own person by task (or projects or role) matrices. Given the work situation, you should identify the tasks, projects, or role dimensions specific to that environment. That is, what are the major tasks or project or role dimensions that a job analysis would
What training might be needed before each source begins making observations? What training might be needed if diagnosis is also decentralized?
Would you have the same person (or people) doing the observation do the diagnosis? In other words, if observation could be decentralized by having other groups participate in the process, should diagnosis be decentralized as well? Should each source be responsible for inferring causes of
Most matrix organizations involve a great deal of project-based teamwork. Could you utilize other employees who worked with Developer A in the performance evaluation process? What would the pros and cons of such a process be?
If Program Manager Y gets poor reviews on “Management Skills,”should that be taken into account for Developer A if Manager Y gives Developer A a poor review? If so, how can the company account for this systematically?
How should the company structure Developer A’s (and thus everyone’s) performance review, considering that he has not worked directly with his boss, Developer A, for six months? They would like to make all reviews in the company objective and fair, not based upon manager personalities and
Jimmy is an employee to whom current and future managers will look as a role model in the company. Over time, it is likely that he will be imitated (if he is not already). Is Jimmy an asset or a liability for this company? Explain.
How would you prevent this from happening if you were Jimmy’s manager or the CEO? Use some of the concepts discussed in this chapter.
Success does not go unnoticed for long. Eventually, others in the company catch on to what works and what does not work and they adapt accordingly. What happens to such companies when the other employees catch on and everyone uses this approach?
Every company develops and nurtures a specific culture, whether it is the intended culture or not. The culture ultimately defines the company. What does Jimmy’s secret to success say about the culture of GlobalTech? What does it emphasize more, ability or effort?
Companies must constantly embrace change and reinvention, both at a department level and a company-wide level. Those companies that are most flexible and most adaptable have a considerable advantage in the marketplace. Which company, X or Y, is easier to “fix”? Why?
How does your answer change based upon the size of the company? How would you answer if you were to choose based upon the size of the company?a. Startup companyb. $3 in revenuec. $100M in revenued. $1B in revenue Do your answers change at all here?
Is it easier to diagnose causes of poor employee performance in one company versus another? Why?
What are the pros and cons of each (in relation to motivation, effort, and ability)? Make an argument for both.
If you had to choose one, would you rather run, manage, and/or work in:a. Company X: Has extremely poor systems but great employees?b. Company Y: Has well-running systems, but poor employees?Why did you choose this answer? Does it change depending on which role you choose (CEO vs. manager vs.
How would you incorporate your answer to question 4 into your performance management process if you were to design it from the ground up?
Now assume that you have inherited this company, and you must evaluate from past performance whether or not an employee’s poor or erratic performance is based upon their abilities (as opposed to a system factor or a motivation factor). How would you go about doing this? Be specific and make
How will you test or measure the presence or absence of abilities on these specific skills? In other words, how will you be able to determine whether performance is due to ability or not? Can abilities be determined from years of experience? Certifications?Results?
Given the proper resources, can someone be trained to have charisma? Most would say no. Knowing which abilities can be trained and which cannot (given reasonable resources and time)is imperative to understanding performance management. Which of the abilities you listed are quickly trainable, which
Imagine that tomorrow you are going to start a company with fifty or more employees. You can determine what the company does and how it operates. Choose one of the key positions/roles within your company (it may be similar to a position that you have held in the past). Make a list of all the
It may be more costly for a company to improve system factors than it is for the company to live with them. Costs vary dramatically when looking at them from both short- and long-term viewpoints. In your case, is the cost of the poor results of the suboptimized system factor more or less than the
For each negative factor, list a reason why you think the company may not have already addressed the system factor entirely. Go easy on the sarcasm here and try to put yourself in the shoes of management.
Which system factors contributed negatively to your particular company or situation? Explain.
Looking at these three different options, would you combine any aspects of the three? If you were the owner of a team, how would you utilize some or all of these techniques to optimize the performance of your team?

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Performance Management Concepts Skills And Exercises 2nd Edition Robert Cardy, Brian Leonard - Solutions

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