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Performance Appraisal and Management
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Performance Appraisal and Management



March 2018 | 424 pages | SAGE Publications, Inc

Organizations of all sizes face the challenge of accurately and fairly evaluating performance in the workplace. Performance Appraisal and Management distills the best available research and translates those findings into practical, concrete strategies. This text explores common obstacles and why certain performance appraisal methods often fail. Using a strategic, evidence-based approach, the authors outline best practices for avoiding common pitfalls and help organizations achieve their maximum potential. Cases, exercises, and spotlight boxes on timely issues like cyberbullying in the workplace and appraising team performance provides readers with opportunities to hone their critical thinking and decision-making skills. 

 
Preface
 
Acknowledgments
 
About the Authors
 
Section I: Introduction
 
Chapter 1: Performance Appraisal: Research and Practice
Learning Objectives

 
Performance Appraisal: Historical Development and Present Status

 
Organization of this Book

 
Summary

 
Exercise: Can Organizations Manage Human Resources Without Performance Appraisal?

 
 
Chapter 2: Performance Management and Performance Appraisal
Learning Objectives

 
Why Study Performance Appraisal Rather Than Performance Management?

 
Performance Management

 
Performance Appraisal and Performance Management: Similarities and Differences

 
Human Resource Management, Strategic HRM, and Performance Management

 
Can Performance Management Be Simplified?

 
Can Performance Be Managed?

 
Challenges in Evaluating Performance Management

 
What Is the Role of Performance Appraisal in Performance Management?

 
Performance Appraisal, Performance Management, and Integrated HR Interventions

 
Summary

 
Analysis: From Strategy to Performance Goals

 
 
Chapter 3: Defining Job Performance
Learning Objectives

 
Defining Performance

 
A General Model of Job Performance

 
The Distribution of Job Performance

 
Dimensions of Job Performance

 
Units of Analysis and Methods of Measurement

 
Objective Versus Subjective Measures of Performance

 
Summary

 
Analysis: Values and Validation—How the Definition of Performance Influences Conclusions Test Validity

 
 
Section II: The Performance Appraisal Process
 
Chapter 4: The Four Key Challenges to Performance Appraisal
Learning Objectives

 
The Structural Causes of Failure

 
Summary

 
Exercise: Maintain a Behavior Diary

 
 
Chapter 5: Obtaining Information and Evaluating Performance
Learning Objectives

 
Who Should Evaluate Performance

 
Cognitive Processes in Performance Evaluation

 
Liking and Emotion: Affective Influences on Performance Appraisal

 
Standards for Evaluating Performance

 
Summary

 
Exercise: Writing Performance Standards

 
 
Chapter 6: Rating Scales and Rater Training
Learning Objectives

 
Rating Scales

 
Ranking as an Alternative to Rating

 
Rater Training

 
Summary

 
Exercise: Developing Behavior-Based Rating Scales

 
 
Chapter 7: How Context Influences Performance Appraisal
Learning Objectives

 
The Emergence of Context-Oriented Research

 
Distal Context

 
Proximal Context

 
Summary

 
Case Study: Why Rank and Yank Failed at Microsoft

 
 
Chapter 8: How Organizations Use Performance Appraisal
Learning Objectives

 
The Purpose of Performance Appraisal

 
The Uses of Performance Appraisal

 
Informal Uses of Performance Appraisal: Downward and Upward Influence

 
Summary

 
Case Study: Even Terrorists Get Performance Appraisals—And Act on Them!

 
 
Section III: Challenges in Implementing and Evaluating Performance Appraisal Systems
 
Chapter 9: Giving and Receiving Feedback
Learning Objectives

 
The Definition and Purpose of Feedback

 
Multisource Feedback

 
Why is Feedback Hard to Give and Receive?

 
Culture, Climate, and Feedback

 
The Effects of Feedback and Reactions to Feedback

 
Do Employees Want Feedback and Development?

 
Summary

 
Exercise: Evaluate Your Company’s Feedback Program

 
 
Chapter 10: Dealing with Reactions and Attitudes
Learning Objectives

 
Reactions to Appraisal Systems

 
How Reactions Affect Performance Appraisal Processes and Outcomes

 
Determinants and Effects of Reactions to Appraisal Systems

 
The Death Spiral of Appraisal Systems

 
Summary

 
Case Study: Understanding Resistance to Performance Appraisal

 
 
Chapter 11: Evaluating Performance Ratings
Learning Objectives

 
Do Raters Agree? The Reliability of Performance Ratings

 
Rater Error Measures

 
Rating Accuracy

 
Construct Validity of Performance Ratings

 
Conclusions About the Reliability, Validity, and Accuracy of Performance Ratings

 
Summary

 
Exercise: Analyze Rating Data

 
 
Chapter 12: Rater Goals and Rating Distortion
Learning Objectives

 
Why are Ratings Inflated?

 
Whose Goals?

 
Rater Goals

 
Analyzing Performance Rating Strategies as a Choice Between Alternatives

 
Summary

 
Exercise: Build a Goal Assessment Tool

 
 
Section IV: Improving Performance Appraisal Systems
 
Chapter 13: The Performance Appraisal Debate
Learning Objectives

 
Getting Rid of Performance Appraisal?

 
We Can’t Get Rid of Performance Appraisal

 
Can Appraisal Systems be Saved?

 
Summary

 
Case Study: Can This Performance Appraisal System Be Saved?

 
 
Chapter 14: Building Better Performance Appraisal Systems
Learning Objectives

 
Improving Performance Appraisals

 
Make Appraisals Easier and Less Risky

 
Trust: The Essential Currency of Performance Appraisal

 
The Ethical Practice of Performance Appraisal

 
Summary

 
Case Study: Implementing a Performance Appraisal System

 
 
Appendix A: Rating Scale Formats
 
References
 
Index

Supplements

Companion Website

study.sagepub.com/murphy

Password-protected Instructor Resources include the following:

  • Editable, chapter-specific PowerPoint® slides offer complete flexibility for creating a multimedia presentation for your course. 

“[This is] a practical, cutting-edge, research-based textbook that bases its conclusions and recommendations on the state-of-the-art science for explaining why performance appraisals fail and how they can be designed for implementing a more successful and sustainable performance appraisal system in organizations. A must-read for students and practitioners alike!”

Uma J. Iyet
Austin Peay State University

“Murphy, Cleveland, and Hanscom have brought together decades of sound research and practice knowledge to shed light on the controversial performance appraisal practices found in almost all organizations. Every designer of PA and HR systems, and those aspiring to be, will run to get and read this book. Don’t abandon Performance Appraisals, re-invent them.”

Mo Cayer
University of New Haven

“Murphy, Cleveland, and Hanscom’s Performance Appraisal: Why Does It Fail and How can it be Fixed? offers a well-grounded in-depth review of current performance appraisal process steps and illustrates the strengths and weaknesses of today’s practices. The focus of the book is on making performance appraisals better for both the employee and supervisor. Case studies allow students to engage in discussing the root-causes of failure and success in the performance appraisal performance process.” 

Bruce E. Winston
Regent University

“Hopefully ‘a bible’ for measuring and evaluating performance.” 

Ann Membel
Southern New Hampshire University

“This book provides a research-based, comprehensive overview of performance appraisals in modern organizations.” 

Sean Valentine
University of North Dakota

“A seminal work for understanding the social psychological processes underpinning performance appraisal process in the workplace.” 

Cort W. Rudolph
Saint Louis University

“This is a very comprehensive tool in explaining the history and value, theorists and models of the performance appraisal process, and it brings the process up to date with a hopeful future.” 

Ann P. Membel
Southern New Hampshire University

“Detailed overview of performance management with relevant and current issues” 

Jennifer E. Fairweather
Regis University

“…The authors provide extensive literature to illustrate their ideas. It is enlightening and worth reading.” 

Jing Zhang
California State University, San Bernardino

“Well-researched, comprehensive, and yet imminently accessible discussion of challenges of performance appraisal.” 

Eric S. Ecklund
Saint Francis University

Kevin R. Murphy

   Kevin Murphy holds the Kemmy Chair of Work and Employment Studies, Kemmy Business School, University of Limerick, Ireland.  He earned his PhD in Psychology from Penn State in 1979, has served on the faculties of Rice University, New York University, Penn State and Colorado State University. He is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology and the American Psychological Society, and the recipient of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology’s 2004 Distinguished Scientific Contribution Award.   He has served as President of the... More About Author

Jeanette N. Cleveland

Jeanette N. Cleveland is a Professor of Industrial & Organizational Psychology at Colorado State University. She earned her B.S. from Occidental College and M.S. and Ph.D from the Pennsylvania State University. She has held faculty positions at Baruch College, The Pennsylvania State University and has served as an external examiner for University of Limerick, Ireland.  She has served elected Program Chair for the Human Resources and Gender & Diversity in Organizations Divisions, Division Chair for HR and GDO, and prior to this to the Executive committees for these Divisions of the Academy of Management. In addition, she... More About Author

Madison E. Hanscom

Madison E. Hanscom is a doctoral student in the Industrial and Organizational Psychology doctoral program at Colorado State University. In addition to working on her PhD, Madison is a trainee in occupational health psychology through the Mountains and Plains Education and Research Center.  She earned her Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Kennesaw State University in 2014. More About Author

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ISBN: 9781506352909
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