Review the Case -Performance Evaluations
John has been working for Unitas Corporation for eight years. He is a mid level manager in the accounting department and has received two promotions during his tenure. Both of his promotions were awarded to him at a pace which would be considered to be on time and in keeping with the promotion patterns of his peers.
Unitas Corporation evaluates its personnel annually. The format for the evaluation includes the awarding of numerical scores which reflect the evaluating official's interpretation of the employee's performance in five categories. The scores run from a low of 1.0 to a maximum score of 5.0. The average score is 3.8 and those employees receiving a score below 3.5 in any category are quietly encouraged to seek help.
In addition to the numerical scores the evaluating official has a space to make comments. Few supervisors actually use this space for comments, awarding only numerical scores. It is the numerical scores which are important since these scores are used to compute annual raises and are part of the promotion landscape. Many supervisors see the comment section as a waste of time.
John's scores for his last six annual evaluations have been in the low to mid 4s. His trend has been upward, and he has every reason to believe that his next promotion will come to him on time. Over the last three months John has noticed that his boss has been just a little cold toward him. His supervisor is very professional having been with Unitas for more than 20 years. John considers him to be a no-nonsense guy who values good performance and treats his employees fairly. John wonders if his boss is cold because he has become dissatisfiedwith some aspect of John's performance. But extensive self analysis has revealed no area of his job in which John thinks he is having difficulty. Something is wrong but he can't put his finger on it.
John is summoned to the supervisor's office for his annual performance evaluation review. When he reads the reviewhe notes a shocking decline in the numerical score in the category entitled "Effectiveness."
What is wrong with this picture?