Because Reginald got fired from his previous job, he was able to land a new gig as a production manager at Widgets of America. He's only been on the job for 3 weeks. However, he shared with all of his coworkers and company management that he has earned a degree in Industrial/Organizational Psychology. Knowing that Reginald has a background in performance appraisal, a coworker comes to Reginald and asks how he's doing in his job. While Reginald ponders the best way to go about responding, Reginald's supervisor calls him into her office. She asks him to provide her with a short list of employees that deserve merit raises. He has no idea how to go about this because there are so many different types of jobs (e.g. machine operator and customer support) as well as working conditions (e.g. office vs factory). Reginald doesn't want to get fired again...

Describe how Reginald should go about making his decisions regarding performance appraisals. Pay special attention and be sure to address the following:

• Is observation enough ("Looks busy")?
• How should the standard be set? Should it vary with the task?
• How good is the standard? What if certain machines break down constantly?
• Does the performance rating method depend on the purpose of the appraisal (e.g. for feedback vs. for raises)?