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Attempts Keep the Highest no score out of $2\mathrm{.}5/2\mathrm{.}5$

$1.$ Performance Appraisal and Human Resource Development

Read the following case study about how one organization changed its performance review system in the wake of the $2008$ global financial crisis. Then answer the questions that follow.

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Case Study

Performance Reviews by the Numbers

When Maria Giraldo began her job as a nurse at Long Island Jewish Medical Center $($L$.$I.J$.$M$.$C$.)$ nearly $12$ years ago, performance reviews were conducted using a $10-$page paper form that asked managers to score her on qualities like $$leadership$$ or $$respectfulness$.$

$$They were very subjective,$$ says Ms$.$ Giraldo, who is now a nurse manager in the intensive$-$care unit at L$.$I.J$.$M$.$C$.$ She was often graded on intangibles like how well she worked with others, which Ms$.$ Giraldo says were important but open to interpretation.

But three years ago her hospital implemented a new computer$-$based performance system that broke her job description down into quantifiable goals such as to keep infection rates for her unit low and patient$-$satisfaction scores high. When review time came, the discussion didn$$t dwell on how she had performed$$either she had hit the goals or she hadn$$t$.$

It$$s the same sort of hard$-$facts review system that many organizations in the U$.$S$.$ are adopting. And it$$s changing the way companies and professionals view success and how to get ahead in a career.

Knocked around by the recession, U$.$S$.$ businesses are trying to overhaul evaluations in a way that better separates top performers from underachievers. According to Hewitt Associates, $10\%$ of managers and $11\%$ of other employees are now judged based solely on the results they achieve, as opposed to a combination of hard figures and softer behavioral characteristics, such as demonstrating corporate values or showing leadership, up from $7\%$ and $8\%,$ respectively, five years ago. Nearly a third of professionals at an executive level are evaluated based solely on results, up from a little more than a fifth in $2005.$

In the North Shore$$LIJ Health System, the old, subjective evaluations had led to the corporate equivalent of grade inflation, say officials. $$The chance of earning a good score was almost guaranteed,$$ says Joseph Cabral, chief human resources officer of the health system, which has $15$ hospitals and $42,000$ employees in New York and Long Island.

Now, rather than a subjective score from a manager, nurse performance is directly judged by how high patient$-$satisfaction scores are. One key reason the hospital system changed its performance reviews: By October, many insurers plan to pay hospitals for care based in part on patient satisfaction$$which will be collected by surveys after patients are discharged. If the North Shore$$LIJ Health System$$s scores had stayed where they were, Mr$.$ Cabral estimates the change would have cost it at least $$55$ million annually.

Reprinted with permission of The Wall Street Journal. $2010.$ Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

The new performance management system at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center $($L$.$I.J$.$M$.$C$.)$ was specifically designed to address which of the following problems with traditional performance reviews?

Performance reviews are too subjective.

Traditional performance reviews are unfair to minorities.

Performance reviews are done too often.

Managers cannot complete traditional performance reviews on time.

Which of the following problems might occur with the new performance appraisal system at L$.$I.J$.$M$.$C$.?$ Check all that apply.

Employees may focus on getting good reviews from patients, even if it means bending the rules regarding proper treatment protocols.

Measuring infection rates is subjective.

Employees might get discouraged, because they feel they have no control over patient satisfaction ratings.

Different types of patients might be more or less susceptible to infection.

Now answer several questions about performance appraisal and employee development more generally.

Errors, such as stereotyping, are likely to occur when managers evaluate employees based on the specific behaviors they exhibit on the job.

The behaviorally anchored rating scale performance appraisal system tries to improve performance ratings by forcing managers to:

Rate employees based on intuition

Include information from a wide variety of sources in their reviews

Rate employees based on their actions, not their traits

Compare employees

What is the difference between training and development?

Training is conducted by another employee, while development is provided by an expert from outside the organization.

Training usually refers to teaching operational or technical employees how to do the job for which they were hired, while development refers to teaching professionals skills that may be needed in the future.

Training refers to education that takes place on the job, while development takes place in the classroom.