Case 7.1

The Politics of Performance Appraisal 1. The evaluation of perspectives about performance appraisal presented by the managers in this case study is a little complex. This case uses the example of performance appraisal in a number system. The issues that were presented with using this kind of system is its ability to motivate, push an employee out of the company or just keep everything stable. Because there are so many situation where managers need to get a guy focused on his work again, or set a trouble maker up for termination later down the road.

In those situations, a “3” on the scale can be a blow to someone who is used to a minimum scoring of “6”. And that’s the idea: manipulation for the better good of the company. 2. In my opinion, fine-tuning has become the unacceptable distortion method when you are adjusting scores to set someone up for termination in the future. Yes job performance is important but like they mentioned, if an employee has made you upset all week over a comment, you are prone to think of the negative.

You are prone to want to teach a lesson to an unruly employee or replace someone who may not have deserved overall to be terminated. 3. If I were the VP of Eckel Industries, I’d have to be honest. Without replacing the entire system of which they have been conducting these performance appraisals, this is uncontrollable. It’s just like the idea of a bank’s leakage; you have to be prepared to lose a little money from miscalculation or good old theft.

This is the same way.

In the article “Taking Advantage of Social Comparisons in Performance Appraisal: The Relative Percentile Method”, it is stated that the job performance dimension that are most important in building a great team is “…work practices and procedures, planning and problem solving, group cooperation and cross-functional management, promoting safety, communication, personnel development, customer and supplier relations, and personal work style..

” (Goffin 7). Managers should basically perform these appraisals with this in mind.

Overall, managers are trying their best to build a great team and keep them motivated to perform up to code, but you will have a few people that will go by the waste side from the simple fact that their personality doesn’t mesh well with the group. It’s life. It would undo the greater deed, which is to create and motivate a good team.

Sources Goffin, Richard D. , R. Blake Jelley, Deborah M. Powell, and Norman G. Johnston.

Human Resource Management 48. 2 (2009): 251-68. Print.