Question 1

What is Performance Management?

Accepted Answer

Performance management = continuous process of: -- identifying, -- measuring, and -- developing the performance of individuals and teams, and -- aligning performance with the strategic goals of the organization (Aguinis, 2013) Management by objectives (MbO) is frequently used framework for performance management (Drucker, 1954; Pulakos et al., 2019) − Cascading strategic goals down to all operational levels by systematic goal setting − Participative agreement on SMART goals for everyone − Objective feedback and performance appraisal − Link goal attainment with pay-for-performance systems and personal development Conceptual core: Goal setting theory

Question 2

What is the MbO cycle?

Accepted Answer

- (1) Define organisational strategy - (2) Goal agreement - (3) Link rewards to goals - (4) Develop action plan - (5) Periodic reviews - (6) Performance & development review Increasing trend to establish more continuous forms of performance management rather than fixed annual MbO cycles (e.g. OKR: three-monthly cycles based on top-down and bottom- up defined objectives and key results to foster continuous learning loops).

Question 3

What is the evidence for Performance-oriented Management?

Accepted Answer

- Large US dataset of 35000+ manufacturing plants - Monitoring, targets, incentives → higher firm performance (Bloom et al.) - Top 10% vs. bottom 10% plants: Management techniques explained 18% of variance in performance - R&D explained 17%; skills 11%; IT spending 8%

Question 4

What are regular performance reviews used for?

Accepted Answer

- Provide feedback & motivate future performance - Record (un)satisfactory performance − Absolute assessment per individual − Comparative assessment across individuals − Rank order or forced distribution of ratings to ensure more differentiated evaluations and/or to take immediate measures, such as regularly laying off the worst 10% of employees. - Basis for reward decisions (pay-for-performance) - Basis for career development

Question 5

What biases can affect performance assessment?

Accepted Answer

Stereotypes − Explicit or implicit assumptions about correlations between characteristics based on the group a person belongs to. Halo effect − A central characteristic of a person determines the overall impression. − Example: Imagine a person who is intelligent, dominant, conscientious, and warm. Compare with your image of a person who is intelligent, dominant, conscientious, and cold. Primacy/recency effect − First and last pieces of information influence overall impression most. Persistence of impressions − Sticking with an assessment despite information to the contrary.

Question 6

How do stereotypes form?

Accepted Answer

- May stem from real group differences - Stereotypes can form without any basis in real group differences, e.g. through − implicit theories of co-variation of certain personal characteristics; − self-fulfilling prophecies; − illusory out-group homogeneity. - Simplify information processing at the cost of ignoring individual differences - Affect job assignments & expectations in the workplace

Question 7

What are common attribution errors in assessments?

Accepted Answer

- Overemphasise internal causes - Protect self-worth by underestimating personal failures - Underuse comparative info - Internalstable attributions for failure lead to training, whereas external attributions do not - Biases stronger for out-groups vs. in-groups

Question 8

How to reduce biases in performance reviews?

Accepted Answer

- Systematic preparation - Reflect on potential errors - Foster open communication - Implicit bias training - Use of structured assessment scales that define concrete behaviors

Question 9

What is Pay composed of?

Accepted Answer

- Base/fixed pay: job evaluation - Variable pay: performance, experience, social situations Performance-related pay − For managers more frequent than for non-managerial employees − In larger companies more frequent than in smaller companies − Critical points: Is the rewarded behavior the desired behavior? How is intrinsic motivation affected? Are individual, team, and company performance aligned? Pay is much more than money − Pay is also compensation, reward, incentive, recognition. − Procedural and distributive justice of pay systems at least as important as absolute amount for pay satisfaction.

Question 10

How is Career Development approached?

Accepted Answer

Systematic development of competencies based on company needs and individual career interests
− Education/training/informal learning
− Counselling/coaching
− Job design
Career management
− Company-defined career paths: e.g., management versus technical career
− Company support for career self-management: e.g., networking, internal job market

Question 11

Exploring one's own stereotypes: Implicit Association Test

Accepted Answer

An implicit preference for a social category (e.g. young vs. old people) is assumed if response times are faster when that category is paired with positive words compared to negative words.

Question 12

Impact of stereotypes in work settings are ubiquitous

Accepted Answer

Differences in job assignments based on stereotypes – some examples from US research
− Black store managers for retail shops in Black neighborhoods: smaller shops for less affluent people
reduce opportunities for sales performance.
− Black workers in an advertizing firm were only assigned to “Black-centric” products (e.g., basketball
equipment), while White workers were assigned to a fuller product range.
− Women and Asian Americans are more likely to be appointed to board and CEO positions in poorly
performing organizations.
Differences in expectations based on stereotypes
− Expected competencies based on “prototypical workers” (e.g. male firefighters, female nurses).
− Devaluation of competencies required for female-dominated jobs.

Question 13

Biases in causal attributions for behavior Muss überarbeitet werden

Accepted Answer

Causal attributions
o Assuming causes of behavior based on comparisons between people, tasks, and situations
o Major dimensions: internal (within person)/external, stable/variable
Attribution errors
o Overemphasize the actor as a cause of events
o Protect self-worth by underestimating internal causes of failures and overestimating internal causes
of successes
o Underuse comparative information, e.g. how would another person behave in this situation
o Overemphasize internal causes for stereotype-congruent behaviors
o Infer more internal causes for negative out-group and positive in-group behaviors than for positive
out-group and negative in-group behaviors
Attributions for performance influence HRM decisions.
o Internal attribution of good performance will trigger rewarding the person, external attribution will not.
o Internal & stable attribution of failure (= lack of competencies) more likely to lead to developmental
measures than attribution to internal & variable causes (= lack of motivation).

Question 14

Technology-supported performance management

Accepted Answer

Algorithmic management
− Work behaviors are continuously tracked and monitored.
− Performance is measured automatically based on standardized
metrics (customer ratings, time per work unit, conformity to rules
etc.).
− Performance may be influenced by automatically created nudges
(e.g., by surge pricing in ridehailing).
− Work schedules are created automatically based on customer
demand.
− Decisions on rewards/punishment are taken automatically based on
predefined algorithms.
Consequences/challenges
− Increased surveillance and control
− Increased/decreased transparency depending on whether
algorithms are known to workers
− Potential for bias and discrimination introduced by customer ratings
− Reduced mangerial accountability

Question 15

"Job worth" as basis for pay is not an objective category, but socially defined.

Accepted Answer

Criteria used in many job evaluation methods discriminate against person-related service and female-dominanted jobs. − High weighted criteria: Knowledge and experience, cognitive abilities, leadership responsibility − Low weighted criteria: Physical/emotional demands, strenuous working conditions Cultural influences on what is considered a worthy job -- "There are villages, in which men fish and women weave cloth, and villages, in which women fish and men weave; in both cases the work done by men is more highly evaluated (...) when men cook, cooking is considered an important task, when women cook, it is simply housework." (Margaret Mead) Political influences on what is considered a worthy job -- "US Democrat executives, senior and HR managers are associated with higher pay for low-wage employees (controlled for metro-occupation-industry-year local labor markets). -- This effect is stronger for Democrat-leaning low-wage service jobs than for increasingly Republican bluecollar workers, and stronger for women than for men." (Lyttelton & Wilmers, 2025)

HRM_L4 Flashcards

(26 cards)