Discuss the following and answer the questions:
1. Consider this scenario: John Hopken is the new supervisor of a team of 12 computer programmers. He has been in his position for 10 months, after being promoted to his position from programmer (where he had been in place for 8 years). The promotion was hard-won; four others on his team also applied for the promotion, and when he got his promotion, the other four employees who didn't get the position were rather disgruntled. One of them lashed out in a meeting early on and called him a yes-man, but otherwise most of the issues have been undercurrents and rumor based. These four employees are referred to as Competitors 1, 2, and 3 and Competitor Yes-Man for the purposes of this question.
During the year, five older members of his team resigned, four through regular retirements and one after being accused of falsifying expense reports. None of the five were in the group of four who had competed against him for his position. John filled all five position openings with outside hires. Three of them had similar backgrounds to John's-they all went to his alma mater for their computer degrees and like basketball. In fact, last week John and the three of them attended a Bulls game together. These employees will be referred to as Bulls 1, 2, and 3. The other two employees were both females he hired because HR told him he had to. (Up till now, there were no females on the team.) We'll call them Lady 1 and 2. They don't like basketball. Lady 1 was hired 6 months ago, and Lady 2 was hired last month.
Now, it is performance appraisal time. Assume each of these employees does a similar amount of work, produces relatively similar amounts of code, and does a good job. None of them create waves, and the new people have gotten their work under way and are working hard. Other than the yes-man meeting and one comment on the men's room wall saying that "Hopken is a jerk," things have mostly gone smoothly. John figures that one of the Competitors wrote that.
John is told by HR he has to do performance appraisals this month. He is told to rate his people on a scale of 1-4, where 1 is "not meeting expectations," 2 is "too new to rate," 3 is "meeting expectations," and 4 is "exceeding expectations." HR said that he must have no more than two 4s, no more than eight 3s, and at least two 1s or 2s. He asks an HR representative what "too new" means, and she says it applies to anyone who has not been in the position for 3 months or more.
He looks at the paperwork and his list, and 20 minutes later has his ratings done with a paragraph scribbled out to provide to his workers.
Here are his ratings and his support paragraph.
Bulls 1: 4: What a great guy-always comes through, works hard, fun loving, makes the day brighter for everyone
Bulls 2: 4: Team player-what a help-great worker and asset to the company
Bulls 3: 3: Always there for the work group-works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Lady 1: 3: Always there for the work group-works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Other 1: 3: Always there for the work group-works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Other 2: 3: Always there for the work group-works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Other 3: 3: Always there for the work group-works steady and helpful to others, accurate coder
Competitor 1: 3: Accurate coding and steady performer
Competitor 2: 3: Accurate coding and steady performer
Competitor 3: 3: Accurate coding and steady performer
Lady 2: 2: Too new to rate but next year should be great
Competitor YM: 1: Not a team player and can work harder to prevent discord
Discuss the below:
(1) What are the three major methods of conducting appraisals? Briefly explain each one.
(2) What method is described here? Justify your answer.
(3) Write a memo to HR explaining why you feel this method of performance evaluation needs improvement, and give three specific examples of the improvement you recommend based on the scenario above.
2. Debra is in line for a senior vice president position at a large HOTELconglomerate. She has just received a letter appointing her to the national environmental task force for water and electricity conservation. Which is happening to her career?
Promotion
Job rotation
Adjusted
Committee assignment
Survival training
3. Which of the following best explains the role of the CEO in orientation?
Optional but helpful
Provides direction and inspiration, such as a cheerleader at a pep rally
Shows why his or her cubicle is the same as everyone else's at the company
Provides an open-door access to the CEO and board of directors from Day 1
4. Compare individual career development to organizational career development.
They are both the responsibility of the individual.
Organizational career development focuses on meeting organizational goals and needs. Individual career development focuses on meeting individual goals and needs.
Individual career development involves training. Organizational career development does not.
They are different terms for the same experience.
Individual career development has a much shorter time frame than organizational career development.
5. According to research cited in the text, what is the primary reason that top-performing, high-commitment employees gave for voluntarily leaving an organization? (Points : 5)
Career development
Work-life balance
Promotions
Salary
6. Lisa, a compensation analyst for a large government agency, is completing a job evaluation for her organization. She is reviewing the grades that have been established by skills, knowledge, and abilities, because several managers have complained that the jobs no longer fit into the defined grades. Which job evaluation method is Lisa using?
Ordering
Classification
Basic factors
Point method
Prioritization
7. Which of the following is an extrinsic source of employee motivation?
Increased responsibility
Impressive job title
Participation in decision making
Opportunities for job growth
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