preview

Essay about Case 7.1 the Politics of Performance Appraisal

Decent Essays

Case 7.1: The Politics of Performance Appraisal Max Steadman, Jim Coburn, Lynne Sims, and Tom Hamilton are managers at Eckel Industries, a manufacturer of arc-welding equipment in Minneapolis. They work in the manufacturing division each supervising a different department within the division. Every Friday the managers meet after work for drinks to relax, gossip, and give and receive advice about problems on the job. This week they discuss performance appraisals which they recently conducted. Each of the managers completed evaluation forms using graphic rating scales on each employee then discussed the appraisal with that employee. Throughout the discussion they give their opinions on how performance appraisals should be conducted and …show more content…

They agree to disagree on some levels but it seems as though they feel the scale rating system is flawed. 1. Based on your view of the objectives of performance evaluation, evaluate the perspectives about performance appraisal presented by the managers. Performance evaluations should focus on the individual’s job performance and not the individual. The four managers all have the same goal when it comes to their perspectives on performance appraisals and that is, they want to do what is best for their subordinates to motivate them to perform in their department’s best interest. Tom has a top priority to provide true and accurate feedback so employees know exactly where they stand. While I agree that evaluations definitely need to have a base of accuracy, I like Max’s view that most of good management is psychology. To know to act to do what is in the individual’s and department’s best interest, a manager needs to understanding people’s strengths and faults, and know how to motivate and reward employees. If that means a little fine-tuning, then so be it. Lynne, on the other hand, contaminated one of her workers evaluations by considering the individuals personal issues and inflated her rating to encourage and support her. Personally I don’t think it should have been a consideration in the evaluation however, supporting and encouraging the employee in other ways may be a more

Get Access